Is Loving God Really A Sacrifice?

Today as I was speaking with my best friend Barbie God gave me a revelation. We were talking about a friend who continued to ask for advice on their walk with God but refused to listen to what we were trying to tell them. As we were talking about why this person might be so against what we were trying to tell them God began to reveal something in me.

We as people are creatures of comfort especially when it comes to our daily routines and lives. Its no different when we think about our walk with God. Many people find their comfort zone in God and don't want to move out of it for fear of where God will take them. I recently described a similar situation I went through in my last post. To put it short, God was pulling me out of a comfort zone I'd been in and I spent a brief period of time trying to turn away from that pull. But through that I realized that my love for God was stronger than my fear of the future. I was scared of the sacrifices I may have to make for God, as many of us are. I didn't realize at the time that that sacrifice wasn't truly a sacrifice as I saw it. It was simply a way for God to grow me closer to Him.

We are often not taught that when we come to Jesus that sacrifice is necessary. The church has failed in properly spreading the word of God. We are scared of telling people that they will have to give up lifestyles, things, ideas, and actions. When we evangelize we tell people that they can be saved and have eternal life but we leave out all the important bits of salvation. If we as a people want to get closer to God then we must follow Him in all things and not try to twist His words to fit our beliefs. We will have to give things up and make sacrifices. Many pastors and evangelists are afraid of telling people this and as a result we are surrounded by Christians who don't know the gravity of what they have decided. Christians who believe that they have a form of "Life Insurance" instead of a relationship with God.

The lie that we as a people fall into is that the sacrifices we make for God will hurt us or be negative in some way towards us. But as I said that is a lie. Once we've experienced the love God has for us we become even more obsessed with Him. Our love for God grows along with our desire to get closer to Him. In our desire to grow in Him we begin to lose our desire for the things of this world. I'm not saying that we completely stop enjoying these things or that it's simple to give some things up but it is easier. Once you've experienced the love of God what is there to compare to it? What could you possibly go back to that could measure up to His love and mercy?

People who have not yet experienced God's love, or even learned to accept His love will fall back into their old 'comforts' and habits in an effort to keep from the fear of uncertainty like my friend has. But if you've felt God's love then you can try to turn away from God but He is a jealous God and will always draw you back through His love and through your desire to know Him more. If you wont speak about sacrifice than you don't know God's love truly. In John 15:14 Jesus tells us that "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." Jesus showed us the ultimate sacrifice in dying for us. His sacrifice was not only a sacrifice itself but it was love. Love for us, and a desire to see us closer to Him.

We can try all we like to satisfy ourselves with this world, but really comes of that? It is meaningless in the end if it is not for God. Ecclesiastes says it best when it says that everything is meaningless, and that everything under the sun has been done before. The entire book goes on like this describing the many things we could give our time and attention to in an effort to find meaning and fulfillment in life. Each time the writer describes the task as meaningless. The only thing he finds that has any meaning or sense of fulfillment is in the Lord. Not only does he write that we find our meaning in the Lord but every good thing in our lives is a gift of God and should be enjoyed and treated as such.

So what I'm trying to say is don't be afraid of sacrifice, it only leads to a greater love and a greater walk with God. You can try the things of this world, but until you begin to seek after God with everything in you and become willing to give up the things He's asking you to give up then you will only find emptiness. When you do begin to follow through with what He desires for you then life will take on new meaning and you will find breakthrough in the things you are struggling with. Give your all to God and see where He takes you. I dare you.

More Verses:

The book of Ecclesiastes in general

Wrapped Up In Fear

We are all scared of something, and sometimes we are even petrified by that fear. I’m personally terrified of cockroaches and anything that looks remotely like one. If I spot one I’ll stare it down until I can work up the courage to smash it into oblivion. But I don’t let the fear of the bug stop me from dealing with the situation or handling the problem. Many times the presence of the fear drives me to put more effort into dispelling it.

This same thing happens in our spiritual lives. We can allow irrational fears to hold us back in our walk with God. When I was younger I let the fear of eternity and what would happen to us after we died keep me from pursuing a deeper worship relationship with God. I know that probably sounds odd to you, why would any Christian be afraid of spending eternity in Heaven? But to me when I was younger the simplest thought of eternity terrified me. Somehow I’d gotten it into my head that when we went to Heaven we would spend eternity worshiping God like robots. I didn’t want to be a robot with no free will and I was not looking forward to having to be that way. I let this fear tear at me secretly for years. It got so bad that I would walk out of the room if anyone even mentioned the end times or eternity.

But finally one day my youth pastor at the time began to speak on eternity and tell us how we were being prepared on Earth for our Heavenly jobs and the purpose that God had for us in eternity. He told us that he believed that Heaven wasn’t simply going to be a big party but that we would have assignments from God to do even there. After hearing this message I felt a sense of peace wash over me that I’d never experienced before. This was an explanation of eternity that made sense to me and my fears were relieved. From then on I found myself able to worship with a newfound joy and my walk with God has blossomed because of it. Now there are few things I like better than locking myself away for a few hours and just spending time worshiping and praying to God.

Do you have fears that eat away at you like mine did? Is it something that you’ve let hold you back from getting closer to the Lord? Don’t let those fears control you any longer. Get in prayer with God and ask Him for revelation about them you could also go to a seasoned believer who you trust and tell them the fear and ask for advice. Psalms 56:3-4 tells us, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?” Fear can be a crushing device of the enemy and it will hold you back from the purpose God has for your life.

Your fear may be of a different kind. Recently I’ve been growing much closer to God at an amazing rate. But I began to become afraid of my future in God, just where was He taking me? What was He going to ask me to give up that I wasn’t ready to? And was I really ready to devote the kind of time to God that He needed to take me to the place He wanted me to be? This fear caused me to briefly throw myself into a form of escapism, devoting far too much time to videogames, tv, books, and the internet while giving God very limited time. After only a day (thank the Lord) of this I grew sick of it. I felt terrible and weighted down by exhaustion. Trying to run away from God was far more exhausting than anything I’d ever done. The very next day I threw myself back into God and found myself immediately refreshed. I realized that my desire to grow closer to the Lord and fall more in love with Him was stronger than my fear of the future. 1 John 4:18 tells us that, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” Once we’ve experienced God’s perfect love all fear should be cast out of us. Fear is a tool of Satan to try and keep you from moving forward in your walk with Christ.

Whatever your fears may be remember not to let them control you. Have faith in the Lord and take them to Him. God will always take care of you. Psalm 139:2-3 says, “You know when I sit down and when I get up. You know my thoughts before I think them…You know thoroughly everything I do.” He knows everything about you and will be with you always. He wants you to grow closer to Him and fear can hold you back from that. Give your fears to God, seek advice, and push through those fears that strive to hold you back. An excellent quote on fear I found is from A. B. Simpson who said, “Fear is born of Satan, and if we would only take time to think a moment we would see that everything Satan says is founded upon a falsehood.” This is so true the bible says in John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” How better to accomplish this than to put fear into your heart? With fear the devil can steal your joy, kill your dreams, and destroy your future. Don’t let him fool you into fear, let it make you strive to grow even closer to God. I dare you.

More Verses to Consider:

Romans 8:15

Deuteronomy 31:6                

Psalms 27:1

Matthew 21:21-22

2 Timothy 1:6

Psalm 34:5

Luke 1:37

Stop All The Worrying

When it comes to doing things for God we waste a lot of time trying to figure things out. I’m currently attending a bible college and recently we had a guest speaker and his wife speaking on prophecy and on letting God work through you in order to further His kingdom during our lecture hour. One day they asked us to get with a partner and pray over them then ask God to reveal something about them to us that He needed/wanted our partner to hear. When I did this exercise I spent most of the prayer time worrying about what God wanted me to tell my partner. When it came time for me to tell my partner what God had spoken into me I froze up, I had no idea what He wanted me to say. It was terrifying, thankfully once I got started talking God began to move and I was able to tell my partner what God wanted me to say in the first place. I had wasted so much time worrying that I almost missed what God wanted me to say.

This is a problem Christians face every day. We are asked by God to do something for Him and we blow it by trying to figure out what He wants us to do. It’s not just when we are telling someone what God wants them to hear but when God prompts us to speak to someone about Him or when we feel like we should give money to a visiting missionary or even when we feel like the person sitting in front of us needs a friend. We waste time wondering things like, well what if they don’t want to listen? What if they cuss me out? Will I have enough money for the week if I give to that person? Will they turn me away? Sometimes we worry that we won’t know what to say when the time comes. We think that we need to know exactly what to say and because we don’t then its not going to work. But that’s not how God wants us to follow Him. Sometimes its just best to act now think later when it comes to listening to God. In Matthew 6:30-33 (NKJV) Jesus tells us,

²⁸ “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; ²⁹ and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ³⁰ Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? ³¹ “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

He is telling us here not to worry about the little things, as in what were going to wear and where our money is going to come from. As long as we are doing what the Lord asks us to do then He will provide for us. Not only does the bible tell us not to worry about our finances and daily needs but it also tells us in 2 Corinthians 3:12 “Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech” Here we are told to be bold for Christ because of our faith in Him.

The next day of classes the guest speaker finished they asked us to find another partner and we were going to put into practice what he’d just spoken on. This time we weren’t going to pray over the person first but we were going to declare what God wanted to tell them. The guest speaker asked us to think of one thing that we needed breakthrough for in our lives and to tell it to our partner. You can imagine how I felt faced with this new task, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to do this exercise but I had faith that God could and would give me the word He wanted my partner to hear. I was partnered with a person that I’d never met before, she was a wonderful young lady who was bright and outspoken, but she was having problems giving her testimony to someone God had told her to share it with and wanted breakthrough in that area. The preacher asked us not to pray over the person but to say “I command that in the name of Jesus you will have breakthrough over…” and to let God’s word flow through us after that. When it came my turn to speak over my partner I took a deep breath and said the words, as I said them I felt the Spirit of God moving through me and before I knew it I was speaking words over her life that I’d never even thought to say. I didn’t waste time trying to figure out what God wanted me to say I just said the words we’d been told to say and then everything came naturally.

I almost lost my chance to do what God wanted me to do by worrying about not saying the right thing and worrying about what I was suppose to say. But the second time I didn’t worry, I simply trusted God and my partner was blessed for it. How much more would we get done for God if we simply trusted Him when He asked us to do something? How many people would be touched and changed for Christ if we would just open up our mouths and tell them about the love of Jesus? God is not asking you to talk to that person because He wants to see you fail, He wants to see them changed and He knows that you are the person who can help them. The bible says that God will never give you more than you can bear and He will never send you some place your not ready for. Romans 8:31 (NKJV) says, “What then shall we say against these things? If God is for us who can be against us?” So why worry about failure when God is with you?

If you are stuck by fear or even doubt then even after reading this then I challenge you to think about how much that person NEEDS the love of Jesus in their life before you let the opportunity slip away. Go out and talk to someone about God without worrying about it. I dare you.  

More Verses to consider:

Luke 12:31
2 Timothy 41:5
 Psalm 111: 5

2 Corinthians 9: 10

Luke 12: 24

God's Gravity

I just recently finished my last class towards my associates degree, the class was a Geology course. This class was mostly about space since my teacher use to work for NASA and much of the information in the class was interesting. We learned about the Universe, how it worked, and theories on how it was created. All of these things were fresh in my mind as I attended a conference my church held this week. During this conference we sang a song about how God should be the center of everything and suddenly while singing those lyrics something clicked into place.

The solar system is made up of planets that revolve around the sun. They do this because they are held in and caught by the sun’s gravity. People are the same way. We, even when we don’t know it, revolve around God. We were drawn in by the gravity of God’s great Son Jesus Christ and the hope of salvation that He brings to us. And from there we revolve around Him caught in His hold of love, mercy, and grace. 

The awesomeness of it doesn’t stop with simply revolving around Him. In the future our Sun will expand and eventually engulf many of the inner planets. It is the same with God, He wants to expand in our lives and engulf us completely so that we can be as close to Him as possible. And so that we can grow in Him as Christians. The bible says that we were originally created in God’s own image and in our walk with Christ we are suppose to become more like Him.

Now let me point out that the planets and sun aren’t the only things floating around our galaxy, there are also comets and asteroids shooting through the stars. And sometimes these comets shoot themselves right into the sun. They are like the people who crave God so much that they don’t simply wait around for the end to come, they jump right into His glory in order to get as close to Him as they can as fast as possible.

People who are like comets are the ones who go out and do things for Christ to expand His kingdom. They are on fire for God and are always trying to grow closer to Him. I always want to be like a comet shooting through space shortening the distance between God and I as fast as possible. But there are some people who want to be like Mercury and Venus and revolve around God but not do anything for Him. These people are the ones who go to church every Sunday and say prayers before dinner but never actually do anything to further God’s kingdom. Now don’t get me wrong I’m not saying that its bad to sit in church and enjoy God’s presence, that’s wonderful but what do you do with what you’ve taken from that service?

God hates people who are lukewarm like this. The bible says in Revelation 3:15-16, “¹⁵ I know your [record of] works and what you are doing; you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot! ¹⁶ So, because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of My mouth!” Whew that is harsh, but true. God hates and detests those who are simply lukewarm. He would much rather your be on fire for him or cold towards Him. Think of it this way, when in a relationship you want the person you care for to be straight with you about how they feel right? You’d rather know if they are in love with you or just stone cold hate you. You’d hate to see them lukewarm towards you because you would have no idea what they are thinking. It’s the same with God, he wants to know where you stand with Him and He will have none of your, “Well I like God today but maybe not tomorrow depending on how I feel” nonsense.

Romans 8:29 (in the amplified) tells us “For those whom He foreknew [of whom He was [a]aware and [b]loved beforehand], He also destined from the beginning [foreordaining them] to be molded into the image of His Son [and share inwardly His likeness], that He might become the firstborn among many brethren.” Here the bible says that we were made to be molded in the image of Jesus. When comets fly into the sun they are becoming like the sun and part of it, they are being consumed by its awesome power and become one with it. Why wouldn’t we want to be consumed by God’s power and become not only a part of His family but more like Him in the process? This is the path I choose, to be on fire for God and seek after Him.

 

Here’s my question to you, do you want to be lazy like Mercury and just float in space doing nothing until the end comes or will you fly like a comet into the Son’s welcome embrace and become more like Him and do His work? Will you be lukewarm in your walk with God and eventually thrown away from Him or will you work towards Him with everything you do? Do something different this week to get closer to God and see what happens I dare you.

More Bible Verses relating to this topic:

Genesis 1:27

James 3:9

Amos 5:26

1 John 2:6

3 John 1:11

Hebrews 6:12

Philippians 1:6

Assembling Ties

So guys today I want to talk about the Avengers. And when I say that I do mean the Avengers. You ask how could I ever relate a team of Super heroes to God right? Well its not about the superheroes its what we get from them.

I saw the Avengers a few weeks after it had come out in theaters, and I loved it. To me it was a great movie filled with equally great actors. I get stuck on things, you could call it addicted to them, and this was one of those things. The movie stuck in my head for days and days after I’d seen it. I still find myself contemplating things that went on and laughing about some of the things that happened in it. But one night I started thinking about why we all loved this movie so much? What is it about a group of superheroes that makes everyone so excited? Do we all need a hero of our own that badly? I’ve heard the line “I still believe in heroes” more times than I can count since that movie came out, and I don’t think its just because Nick Fury said it. I think its true.

Our world looks for someone to look up to, something to make them whole and fill that gap inside of them. As Christians we have found that missing part of us it is God. And its our duty to share that with the world, so that they may find Him too. Not only do we need to go out and tell others about Him but we must be unified in Christ. A good friend once told me this regarding her thoughts on the Avengers:

"It reminded me of something...As Christians we have a group of us...with a goal to fight the enemy. But many think "I am the strongest here for the best here so really the other Christians are going to hinder it or get in My way." So we are fighting the enemy but we are loosing ground. The enemy manipulates us because he knows as long as we let that ego feed and we are not unified, he will continue to gain ground. But at the end of the movie all the Avengers (mainly Ironman) realized they weren't going to win unless they humbled themselves and became unified with the others, is the only reason they won. That is WHY God tells us to be unified. The power is in the body not one individual."

This struck me as true for many reasons. First of all the bible says in Matthew 18:20, “For wherever two or three are gathered (drawn together as My followers and (into) My name, there I AM in the midst of them.” God is telling us how powerful we are as a team here. When we work together anything can be done. The bible goes on to say that we should, “Not [forsake] or [neglect] to assemble together [as believers], as is the habit of some people, but admonishing (warning, urging, and encouraging) one another, and all the more faithfully as you see the day approaching.” Hebrews 10:25 God is telling us to Assemble, yes that's right assemble together, and not only pray but encourage each other as well.

I believe that God has given each of us a calling in our lives and made us all ‘superheros’ for Christ. He has given us His word and Spirit so that we can go out and do what He has called us to do. But sometimes we fall into the trap of this world even when we are trying to follow God’s plan for our lives. Have you heard the new saying “I do what I want”? Its something that’s come partially from the Avengers, I’ve seen t-shirts that have Loki on it saying that line. Some days as Christians we fall into this category of person and we don’t think we need anyone else to help us move forward in what God has for us. We don’t realize it but we are being fooled. Much like how Iron Man thought he could do it alone we too think we can do it alone but that’s not always the case. We often have struggles that we cannot face alone and that is the reason God tells us that we must both rely on him and stick together as a team. Because like my friend said, the power is in the body not the individual. The bible says in Proverbs 27:17, “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another." And in 1 Corinthians 12:20-25, it says “As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, ...”

God knows how important it is for us to work together as a team, two heads are better than one after all. So let us remember this lesson from the Avengers, as a team we are more powerful than we are alone. We are all superheroes for God sent to bring the light back to this world. Lets give the devil ‘performance issues’ and stop letting him trick us into thinking we can do it all alone and work together to advance the Kingdom of God. I dare you to try it and see what happens.

Getting It Right

A few weeks ago I went through a lot of...lets just say stuff. My two siblings left for Disney World at the same time that both of my parents decided to leave on a trip of their own. This left the house to me. And at first I was excited, I was going to get a feel for what it would be like to live on my own. But as my first day went by I simply felt lonely. It was a hard day for me to get through and by the end of the night as I was talking to God I started crying. I really missed my family.

After that day the rest of the lonely week went by fairly quickly with a few hiccups here and there. Because I was on my own I was doing things just to keep my mind off of being alone. So I skipped Monday night prayer and went to the movies and then I skipped Wednesday night service to do math homework. I did attend church on Sunday and it was awesome, just what I needed to keep me going.

But after Sunday I still had two days before my brother and sister got back and four days until my parents returned. I felt really empty and alone almost the entire time everyone was gone. And looking back on it now yes some of it had to do with my family being out of the house but the rest was my fault. Because I was lonely and letting the little things bother me I chose to push God away as well, preferring to be alone with myself. I didn't do it consciously but I found my nightly prayers getting shorter and my daily bible reading ending all together. I wasn't worshiping in the car or thinking about God during the day and it was terrible.

Why am I telling you all this? Well its because I've realized after going through all this one very important thing. For some reason I had a preconceived idea that to get back right with, or to get back into God's good graces would require going to church. But Tuesday night when I went to pick up my brother and sister all of that changed. I got in the car and turned on my favorite radio station 89.7 Power fm. Its a Christian rock station and the only thing I listen to. What started playing was not rock but a worship song! I was shocked, but it was one I loved and so instantly I began to sing along and guess what? I felt God's presence! It was like all of a sudden everything that had been bothering me was lifted! And I realized then and there that you don't need to be in a church service to get right with God but you only need to be willing. And God let me get to the point where I knew that I needed Him more than anything. And when I reached out for Him, God reached out towards me. In Psalms 94: 19 David says, "In the multitude of my [anxious] thoughts within me, Your comforts cheer and delight my soul!" Even David had bad days but God was always there to bring him out of it, and David didn't need to be in church to receive that joy or happiness, he simply needed to cry out to God which is what we all should do.

He is never far away from us even when we've decided to try and push Him away the bible says in Acts 17: 27-28 "So that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel after Him and find Him, although He is not far from each one of us. For in Him we live and move and have out being; as eve some of your [own] poets have said, For we are also His offspring." Wow not only is He never far from us, but this verse is telling us that we should seek after Him, and that we truly do need Him to make it day to day.

So here is my question, what are you waiting for? Are you waiting for a Sunday or Wednesday to get back together with God? Or will you just simply stop what you're doing and cry out to Him now? Do you want to spend a week like I did wallowing in self pity or do you want God to pull you up out of that and fill you with joy and happiness now?

Ask God to be with you, to take care of your situations, to comfort you, just take some time out to praise Him, and something amazing will happen. I dare you.

Your Story

Wow, its been a while since I've talked to you all, and there's a good reason for that. I've been bogged down with life. God's been doing amazing things in my life lately, He's got me doing ministry in way's I never imagined myself doing and because of that I haven't had as much time to write as I usually would, but I've got something God's been pressing on my heart to tell so I'm here to tell it.

What is it? Testimonies, that's what.

Everyone has a testimony not matter what kind it is. It may be the story of a person radically changed for God or the miraculous tale of someone who's known God all their lives. Either way its something that God can use to advance His kingdom. No testimony is too big or too small. Your testimony is just what God needs to change the people around you.

Its taken me a while to realize this over the years, because I fall into the second category of people with testimonies. I've known God since I was about six years old and I was raised in church. For years and years I let the Devil fool me into believing that my testimony was no good, worthless, and wouldn't help anyone. At some points in my life I felt like I had no actual testimony. Satan would whisper these lies in my ear, even going so far as to use my own father's testimony against me. My father use to be a mess to put it lightly. He smoked, drank, and did who knows what else. Only by the grace of God is he even alive today and now he is on fire for God spreading His word to many nations across the globe. How did Satan manage to use something so awesome against me? Simple, he told me things like, "Your father has a real testimony unlike you." It hurt me to think like that and I often felt inadequate to the point where I almost wished for that kind of a testimony because I believed it was the only kind that could affect people. 

But thank the Lord that everyone has a different type of testimony and we don't all go through things like that. Recently God reviled something amazing about myself to me. I was taking a tour of a bible college and we were talking with the counselor who was our guide. She told me that she'd recently moved from Miami and I asked her how she had liked living there. Her answer surprised me she said, "If Las Vegas wasn't already called Sin City then I'd call Miami Sin city." My dad went on to say that I'd been born in Las Vegas and they continued talking. My thoughts however drifted away from their conversation as God told me something amazing. I had been born in a place known as Sin City but God lifted me out of that sin and brought me into a new life and light. Not only that but He now has me working to advance His kingdom and pull others out of that same sin. Isn't it amazing how things happen like that? From our birth the Devil tries to trap us in sin and keep us from God's light, but He is stronger that Satan and pulls us out of our sin and into His arms.

As I pondered my life further I realized that not only had I been born into Sin city and brought out of it but God had been steadily changing me all my life to make me into the person I am today. I use to be painfully shy. To the point where I wouldn't even get up in my high school classroom to get a tissue for a runny nose because I felt everyone would stare at me. But God put people in my life that served as role models for me and helped pull me from my shell. He gave me people that most would think were a little crazy, but to me they were the perfect people to base my actions off from, because they weren't scared of anything. He also gave me a best friend who's bold and a little crazy who really helped me become the person I am today.

He placed me in a church full of teens on fire for Him and not afraid of anything as well. After three years of this He has grown me in so many ways I can't even describe them all to you. I know I still have a long way to go and much to learn but I also know that I have a reason and purpose in God and He has something for me to do. I know that I do in fact have a testimony of my own and it is a powerful one. How many people can say that God pulled them out of Sin City, changed them from shy to bold, and are now trying their hardest to do everything they can for Him? Its amazing to see how He has changed my life.

God has brought each of us through our own struggles for a reason. And all of our experiences are different so that we can help different people. The difference is that my father's testimony will touch people mine can't and my testimony will touch people his can't.And guess what? Your testimony will touch people that mine can't as well.

So think about this, what has God brought you through? What events in your life at a second closer glance are God driven? Is your life not a testimony in itself? Yes it is, God brings us through each and every day that we live and guides us in our lives, that's amazing. You have an amazing story to tell others, so go out and tell it. God's given you this for a reason and purpose. Don't ever let anyone tell you that its not good enough, because it was given to you by God and all good and perfect things come from Him. Your testimony is one of the most powerful tools at your disposal. Go out and spread your awesome testimony. I dare you to see what happens.