Old Blog Post — Part 1
Some random things I've written and didn't want to lose.
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Standing Firm -- given by Anne Frank
Jesus never changes; He is consistent.
"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,
'Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you.'
Hebrews 13:5
"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."
Hebrews 13:8
Know that the Bible says that God NEVER changes.
The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.
He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
Psalms 18:2
Anne went on to give an example where she was holding Nancy's hand, and even when Nancy tried to let go, Anne kept holding onto her.
That's like God. Even when you can't hold onto Him any longer, He will continue holding on to you.
"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9 NASB
Know your enemy. The Devil is scheming against us in order to attack God, because we are the apple of God's eye, we are His favorite creation. That is why we are to
"11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For 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. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." - Ephesians 6:11-17
The belt of truth represents honesty in our lives.
The Breastplate of Righteousness is what protects our heart, where Jesus lives in us.
"Fitting your feet with readiness" means reading the Bible and preparing yourself.
The Helmet of Salvation covers our head, our mind, our thoughts.
Ephesians 6:18 tells us the importance of prayer. And not just for ourselves, but for our brothers and sisters in Christ, so that we don't fall into temptation
"In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other's spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out." Ephesians 6:18 (The Message)
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God's Plan for US! -- Written by me
First of all, I'm going to use a probably lesser known Bible verse to try and illustrate what I'm talking about.
The virgin will give birth to a son and call him Immanuel. --Isaiah 7:14
In Luke 1:34-35 Mary says to the angel Gabriel "How will this be, since I am a virgin?" Gabriel responds, telling her that "The Holy Spirit will come down on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you."
Matthew 1:22-23 says that "All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 'The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel1' "
(1Matthew is quoting Isaiah 7:14, stating that through the virgin's birth, Isaiah's prophecy was complete.)
So, now to the point. How did Isaiah know all this was going to happen? Because God let Isaiah in on one of His plans, and because it was God's will for it to happen. We might not hear from God in this kind of way, but that doesn't mean that He doesn't have a plan for us.
Sometimes you may wish that you were born in a different time, or that you lived somewhere else. But right now, God wants you living HERE and He wants you living NOW.
He knew that YOU would be living wherever you currently live (I'm guessing Mexico if you go to youth group) and God knew that YOU would be alive at this exact time, because He has a plan for YOU.
So that means we've already got two things going for us: We're living WHEN God wants us, and we're living WHERE God wants us.
Now, what can we do to please God even more, and live as He wants us to live? By living HOW He wants us to live.
Sometimes that might not be easy, and sometimes you will mess up (I mess up aaall the time, but He still loves me 
) All God wants from you is a willing heart, and He WILL help you with the rest.
If you believe that God has a purpose for your being here; and if you want His help in doing His will, and living the way He wants you to, then please pray this prayer with me.
Dear God, I thank You for placing me here and now. Sometimes I would rather be somewhere else. When I think those thoughts, please help me remember that You have me here for a reason. Lord, I'm willing to serve you God, I pray that you bless my heart so that it is always willing to do Your will, and I pray you show me Your will.
In Jesus name, Amen.
Application: Now that you've read this, how are you going to live for God? Try paying more attention to your circumstances and look for things that God wants you to do for Him.
Original Post Date -- Feb. 16, 2008
A Lesson From The Urinal
Heaven
Whoah, Heaven is going to be so awesome. "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away" Rev. 21:1a. We will literally live on a new planet, and we won't need water to survive anymore. "...and there was no longer any sea." Rev. 21:1b
Oh, and God's gonna be partying it up with us, 24/7, or however we measure time in Heaven, because "...I heard a loud from the throne saying 'Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.' " Rev. 21:3. That sounds pretty cool to me, 'cuz I would definitely like being able to be with my Lord everyday, for the rest of eternity. Oh, and "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 has passed away." Rev. 21:4... NO MORE death or mourning or crying or pain. Sign me up!!
Revelations 21:10-12, 18-21, 23-27. "...and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates.... The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass....The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life." The new Holy City sounds like it's going to be pretty awesome, I can't wait until I'm seeing it firsthand. We won't need a sun anymore, because God's glory will light everything for us. There also won't be any night for that same reason.
Only those "whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life" will be allowed entry, no one else. Is your name in the Lamb's book of life? If you haven't accepted Jesus into your heart, and asked Him to be your Saviour, your name isn't in the book of life. My prayer is for everyone who reads this to accept Jesus into his or her heart. If you'd like to talk about it, or anything else, I'm always ready and willing to talk about anything.
I hope you've enjoyed this, or at least learned something from this rather long blog.
Zac
Originally Posted November 27th, 2006