Standing Strong

"Then his disciples began arguing about which of them was the greatest. But Jesus knew their thoughts, so he brought a little child to his side. Then he said to them, 'Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me also welcomes my Father who sent me. Whoever is the least among you is the greatest.'" -Luke 9:46-48 Do you think you are better than others? Because you don't sin in the same way they do, do you think that somehow their sin is worse than yours? Do you find yourself judging others and thinking, "Well, at least I'm not like them." Lately, God has been dealing with me about this subject. I am going to be completely honest and say that when I was homeschooled, I thought I was better than people who went to public school. (God told my mom to homeschool, but He tells each family differently.) I thought I was better because I didn't watch R-rated movies. I thought I was better because ...

  Ever seen this bumper sticker before?   While this may be true in the sense that Jesus gives people joy, the theology behind it is not entirely true. I am not saying our lives don't change at all after Jesus comes into them. We definitely DO change. However, we will not always be happy. Many Christians fall into this trap. They think they are supposed to constantly be happy, and that they can never be discouraged, sad, feel lonely, or even angry. I am not saying God doesn't want us to be happy. He definitely wants us to be happy. But we are human. God made us with emotions. We are supposed to show those emotions, not put on a façade. Why would God make these different emotions if we were not supposed to show them? But instead we put on our masks everyday. We don't let anyone see beyond our masks. We show them what we want to show them. We show them our "happiness," our selfishness, our arrogance, when in reality we are lonely, depressed, and insecu...

It's so easy to get caught up in the mundane things of life, that oftentimes we don't pay attention to what is going on inside us and around us. We go to school or work every morning, just going through the motions of everyday life. We may not pay attention to what God is doing. We may not pay attention to the fact that Satan could be trying to attack us mentally, spiritually, or physically. 1 Peter 5:8 says, "Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." When I was a child, this verse frightened me. However, this verse was not written to instill fear into others, but rather, to help people to be on the alert and ready for when Satan tries to attack. Satan likes to use many different avenues to open you up to him. He likes getting into your mind and twisting your thoughts. He lies to you. He wants to distract you and keep you from fulfilling God's plan for your life. John 10:10 says, "Th...

This week I am featuring a poem that my mom wrote. It's not only a summary of her spiritual journey, I also believe it is a great prophetic word for the new year. Hope you will be blessed by it! One Body The Baptist church introduced me to a relationship with Jesus Christ, The Presbyterian church taught me to be quiet in His presence. The Lutheran church showed me the value of good deeds, The Brethren church introduced me to world missions. The Catholic church gave me a love for family, The Vineyard church ministered healing to my broken heart. The Assemblies of God church taught me to honor the Holy Spirit, The Word of Faith church admonished me to use my tongue wisely. The Pentecostal church gave me the freedom to dance, The Apostolic church unveiled to me the foundations of The Church. The pieces of my spiritual puzzle are still coming together, But this has been my journey thus far. So which one of these churches do I b...

As a child, I dealt with a lot of fear. Throughout my twenty-two years, I have overcome many fears. It has only been by the grace of God that I have overcome them. Although I do not have the kinds of fears I did as a child, I still wrestle with overcoming my "grown-up" fears, such as not knowing what the future will bring. Sometimes I just don't want to grow up. When life gets stressful, I just want to crawl into my bed, drink hot cocoa, and get lost in a book, one that lets me escape from reality. Often times, I just want to sit down to old cartoons I watched as a kid and eat fishy crackers or doodle my own characters or write my own stories again. Boy, do I miss those days! Then reality sinks in when I realize I will never be a kid again, and will only continue to grow older. I mean, it's scary to think that in eight years, I will be thirty years old. Sometimes I think about what it would be like to be Peter Pan and never grow up. Recently, I watched Disney'...

This past weekend was a huge blessing to me. I was able to attend Xtreme Winter Conference. I haven't been able to go in the past due to work. This year, however, my family and I all were able to go. Mandisa and the Newsboys were there the first night. Sunday morning, Jordan Howerton Band opened with a worship session, and then Matthew West finished it off.  The message that Matthew West left with everyone was very powerful. He sang, "Hello, My Name Is," (which, if you have not heard, is an awesome song). He hadn't planned on singing it at first, however. Actually, he hadn't planned on singing it at all. But he said he felt like someone in the room needed to hear the song.  After the song, he went on to talk about how people may have put name tags on us that don't belong on us, such as "defeated," "addiction," "hopeless," but that if we are the sons and daughters of God, He has put name tags on us that say, ...

Check out this new song by Moriah Peters!