Strength in Storms (continued)

As I mentioned yesterday we will all go through storms regardless if we are walking with God or not. During our storms it is important to remember to:
2. Pursue God in the storms. How do we do that? Follow God's word. Continue to read, pray, and stay in fellowship throughout your trials. The strength you receive from dong these things will help you get through your storms.
If we pursue God through the storms he will turn that storm into a blessing.

3. Also we need to pray for spiritual insight. Storms can bring blessings if we allow them to. We can learn a lot through our storms if we are praying for spirtual insight.

4. Obey God's Word. God's word is what we all need to build our foundation upon. In the midst of our storms we need to be persistent in obeying God's word.

Tomorrow I will share with you how you can use storms for good in your life.

Strength in the Storms

I wanted to share a great sermon that was delivered this Sunday by my Pastor. Some of you may be familiar with similiar sermons, however, I just really think it is important to revisit this topic every now and then to help keep us focus through our trials and tribulations.

First of all we must realize that we will all have storms in our lives regardless if we are walking with God or not. I think a lot of people think that when we you are a Christian and walking with God then you should be free of trials and storms in yor life, when sometimes you are faced with even more storms. A few things that we must remember to help give us strength in our storms:

1. Expect Storms (1Peter 4:12)
Storms will come to everyone. And sometimes God will use storms to have people come to Him.
As mentioned above sometimes when ou walk with God you go through storms because people will challenge your faith, for example Job, Daniel, and Joseph.However if you ask God to help you, he will. But we also have to keep in mind, that God will come in HIS time not ours. WE must be patient and Keep our eyes on Jesus and not on our circumstances. Remember when Peter called out to Jesus for help during the storm and Peter trusted God and began to walk on water as he focused on walking to Jesus. However, he began to doubt and began focusing on the storm around Him, and what happened? He began to sink. He began to sink because he took his eyes off Jesus and began to focus on the storm around HIM.

We will too be like Peter if in the midst of a storm we continue to focus on our circumstances and not on Jesus. Of course this is difficult to do when you are in a midst of a storm (ie crisis), but if anyone can bring you out of your current situation it is Jesus. So why not put all your energy into focusing on Him instead of your circumstances?

The Foundation of the Revelation

Human predictions end up looking silly, but God's word is accurate. Trust God's Word including the Revelation because it wil come to pass. We must begin to understand the book of Revelation.

Guidelines for understanding the book of Revelation:

1. Everything that can resonably understood literally, should be taken literally!

2. When comparative words "like or as" are used, it should be interpreted as figuratively.

3. Descriptions that are obviously figuratively should be taken figuratively. For example Revelation 1:16, Jesus did not have a sword out of his mouth, but instead the sword represents God judgment.

4. Symbols should be interpreted consistent with their meaning in other scriptures. Nearly every symbol that is used in the book of revelation has been used in other scriptures. Connect the symbols when you read. There is no hidden mystery.

Many times the book of revelation is used to scare Christians. However, the book of revelation brings blessings when reading it. We should not be afraid to read it.The book of revelation was written so that we can know how to live our life. The more we live like Jesus, the more we become like Him in his purity and holiness.

Introduction to Revelation

Revelations 1:3 States, " Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prohpecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near."

I want to be confident in knowing my fate and what will happen at the 2nd coming of Jesus. So I am devoting the next couple of months to following the sermons from my Pastor online as he goes through the book of Revelations. I think a lot of times people are afraid of this time that is inevitable because it is unknown territory. Of course we fear what we do not know. So I am hopeful that I can feel secure and confident in my position when the time comes of what my destiny will be by understanding the Book of Revelation and the 2nd coming of Christ. If you would like to follow along as well with the online sermons you can visit: http://www.sunrisechurch.org/files/Sermons/stream/jan_7p.m3u to listen to the message.

I will post here every day the message that I am listening to and then make my own comments in relation to the sermon or just reiterate what I learned.

The more you discuss and engage in a topic the more you learn. So I hope to learn from you too. Please participate in our discussions.

What does Easter mean to you?


Growing up I never knew the true meaning of Easter. I only knew it had something to do with Jesus and we didn’t celebrate it. I grew up in as a Muslim in an Islamic household.

But now as an adult I know the true meaning of Easter which is, the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus. Easter acknowledges that Jesus is alive. Of course alive in the sense that He is in Heaven, not walking around here on Earth. Alive in the sense that he rose from the dead after being crucified on the cross. Alive in the sense that he is no longer buried in his tomb... his tomb is EMPTY! Easter is not about the Easter Bunny or about hunting for eggs. The true meaning of Easter is to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, which gives us hope. Hope knowing that life after death is real, Hope knowing that a better life now is real, and Hope knowing that when I commit my life to Jesus I will live eternally in Heaven with Him.
With this knowledge I can now pass that on to my child. I don't want him to get caught up in the hype of Easter with egg hunts, candy, and the bunny, that he doesn't even realize the purpose of Easter. I will make sure that I educate my child so he will always know the true meaning of Easter.

So what does Easter mean to you? Please share with me.

Purpose and Teaching of Proverbs

Many people have told me if I want to gain wisdom to read proverbs. There have even been suggestions to me to begin memorizing some of the verses. Every now and then I will flip through Proverbs and find a handy verse. However, there are many times when I am reading through this book and I catch myself saying, "Huh?" What does that mean? Trying to decipher through the book of proverbs can be a duanting task for some. For me, I wanted to know the purpose of this book and it's origin. So I did a little research on my favorite site:www.ibs.org and found this:

According to the prologue (1:1–7), Proverbs was written to give “prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the young” (1:4), and to make the wise even wiser (1:5). The frequent references to “my son(s)” (1:8,10; 2:1; 3:1; 4:1; 5:1) emphasize instructing the young and guiding them in a way of life that yields rewarding ends. Acquiring wisdom and knowing how to avoid the pitfalls of folly lead to personal well-being, happy family relationships, fruitful labors and good standing in the community (see outline, p. 1279). Although Proverbs is a practical book dealing with the art of living, it bases its practical wisdom solidly on the fear of the Lord (1:7; see Ps 34:8–14 and note). Throughout the book reverence for God and reliance on him are set forth as the path to life, prosperity and security (cf. 3:5–10; 9:10–12; 14:26–27; 16:3,6–7; 18:10; 19:23; 20:22; 22:4; 28:25; 29:25). Such godly wisdom is a virtual “tree of life” (3:18; 11:30; 13:12; 15:4) that yields the happy life that God fashioned the creation to produce.

Those that Transgress against us

Psalm 94:12-23

When I said, "My foot is slipping," your unfailing love, LORD, supported me.
19 When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.
20 Can a corrupt throne be allied with you— a throne that brings on misery by its decrees?
21 The wicked band together against the righteous and condemn the innocent to death.
22 But the LORD has become my fortress, and my God the rock in whom I take refuge.
23 He will repay them for their sins and destroy them for their wickedness; the LORD our God will destroy them.

As I read through this, I thought about all the times I felt like the world was crumbling down all around me and reflected back to those moments. It was without adoubt that when man wasnot there to support me or lift me up, God was always there. I also thought about all the times that I felt betrayed or hurt by someone who was just "evil" and this passage helps as well. Those that transgress against me may have temporary satisfaction or achievement, but God willprevail in the end and they will be destroyed. Is that wrong to feel comfort knowing that they will be punished by God? It may be, but in a way it brings peace tome knowing that I don't have to deal with their actions because God will get them in the end. This may be my way of sick revenge and that tells me that I have not fully forgiven someone if I am still concerned about revenge. So that is something I am working on: True Forgiveness in the same way God forgave me.