No middle ground

Proverbs 28:4 "They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them."

I read this yesterday and it made me think. How there really is no middle ground in life. You are either doing right or you are doing wrong. If I obey God's law then I have to be contending with the wicked. But if I forsake the law then I am praising the wicked!

It doesn't mean that I go around fighting with the wicked because I keep the law. It is just a natural result of keeping the law. Me doing right is going to cause me to have contention with those that are not doing right.

Also It means that if I am going to follow God and do His will. I am going to have opposition! I will contend with the wicked. I will have trouble.

Our God

As I was reading in my Bible today I read Nehemiah 9:17. I love this verse cause it speaks about the greatness of the God I serve.

Nehemiah 9:17, "And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not."

This whole chapter is great. It shows how great and merciful God really is. It goes through all that Israel did against God as a people and how merciful God was with them each time. Then verse 33 says, "Howbeit thou art just in all that is brought upon us; for thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly:"

Here he goes on to say that even the judgment God brought upon His people was right and just.

This is so true. I know that God really is this merciful. He has been very merciful and gracious and ready to pardon sins with me. Even when God judges me it is always light and only to bring me back to Him.

I truly serve a great and merciful God. Whose judgment is always right. Who is longsuffering.

Who do you serve?

Thank you God for saving me and being my God!

Live your age

I have been thinking about this a lot lately. When I first got here to GA I saw some people that I would like to model my life after so I tried to do all that they do and I have not been able to do it all. I get behind and overwhelmed with trying to be like people that I am around.

Now I would like to say that this is in no way anyones fault but my own cause I was never asked or told I have to be like them. I just thought that was what was expected of me so I have tried to do it and I can never seem to be just like them.

The other day though I was thinking about it and I realized I am only 20 years old and the people I want to model my life after are around 50 years old. I can't have my life look like theirs right now. I can't do all that they can do or be who they are just yet. They got to where they are by small steps for over 30 years that I have not even lived yet.

I think that I need to change it from trying to live like them and walk with God like them and serve God like them today. To making it a long term goal and taking small steps just like they did every day and someday I will be serving, walking with, and obeying God more like I ought to be.

I try way to often to take huge steps in my life and most of the time I end up tripping and getting farther behind than I was before. I am going to strive to take small steps everyday for the rest of my life and see how far God will take me.

God doesn't expect me to live like someone who has way more experience and time walking with Him than me. He just expects me to love Him and serve Him where I am now moving forward to the day I can serve and love Him more.

I have often missed seeing that everyone that is anything for God today. Started out something like me. No one starts out fully committed to God or knowing all that they know. Or serving like they do. It has been a series of small steps that have taken them where they are. I must to the same thing if I am ever to be anything or do anything for God.

Leadership

Leadership is the process of influencing people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation

while operating to accomplish the mission and improving the organization. -Army Leadership Manual

Short note

I know I don't write much on here and then when I do sometimes I write a whole bunch. Anyway boring story.

I was just sitting here reading some blogs and thinking about all that God has done in my life and I just wanted to thank Him publicly. (at least to the few people that read this) :)

I look back over my life and I know that God has been most merciful to me. I have committed sinned against God in the greatest of ways and not lived for Him like I ought. Like Paul I think I could say that I am the chiefest of sinners. I probably have Paul beat by quite a bit.

But God is incredibly awesome. He took all of my sin and died for it and has made me completely righteous in Him. He has forgiven me completely and changed me so much over the past few months.

I am so thankful to God that He has saved me and counted me worthy to serve Him. It is the greatest joy of my life to be able to work at Vision Baptist Church and attend the Training Center.

Sure I get annoyed sometimes and I am sure I don't always have the greatest of attitudes but I would not give any of this up for anything in the world. God has blessed me way above what I deserve. He has brought some of the greatest people in the world into my life. I love God so much. I want my life to honor and glorify Him completely from this day forward.

Anyway there is nothing better in this life than serving the God of heaven that forgives sinners and makes them righteous!!

Mercy of God

Ezra 9:13-15 "And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities [deserve], and hast given us [such] deliverance as this; Should we again break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the people of these abominations? wouldest not thou be angry with us till thou hadst consumed [us], so that [there should be] no remnant nor escaping? O LORD God of Israel, thou [art] righteous: for we remain yet escaped, as [it is] this day: behold, we [are] before thee in our trespasses: for we cannot stand before thee because of this."

I am so thnkful that I serve a merciful Saviour. Here in this passage I see how great God really is and how longsuffering and merciful He is.

Israel had sinned greatly against God in seeking after other gods to serve. God punished them for their sin by allowing them to be conquered by their enemies. And then when the Israelites turned back to God He restored them to their land.

I am so thankful that I serve a God that even when He may have to punish me a little to turn my heart back to Him, His judgment is light. He doesn't just beat more or punish me for the fun of it. He is longsuffering and very light in His punishment. Then the great fact that God's only purpose in any kind of punishment to His children is that their heart would be drawn to Him. God only punished Israel so that they would see that He is God and they would turn back to Him.

I am so thankful that God is willing to restore us back to Him after we have done wrong. I am also so thankful that God really only punishes me to turn my heart to him when it is distant. God is not in heaven looking down at me just waiting to hit me over the head if I do anything wrong. He wants my heart to follow Him so He will discipline and punish me in ways so that I will stay close to Him.

Then lastly in the last verse Israel had returned back to their sin of idolatry after the restoration God brought. He sees that God has not judged them again and He is not punishing them immediately but He was being patient and longsuffering with them.

I am so thankful that God is longsuffering and knows that I am but a human and imperfect and He is incredibly patient and longsurffering with me. I serve the Great God!

I hope that this makes sense if anyone reads this. I called my blog rambling cause that is all that I do. It may not make sense. If it doesn't I am sorry.

By the way to the one lady that I know reads this; I hope that this is not boring and I like you!

thought

Someone once told me that we don't make up for the mistakes of yesterday, We just live to make today a succes.

Back to blogging

I have been away from this for a while. I could give a million excuses but none of them would mean anything or help at all. Anyway I am going to start writing here again.

As usual when I start back I just want to thank God for a few things He has done in my life recently. I truly do serve the great God of heaven! God has helped me in so many ways here recently.
- He has taught me more what it really means to trust Him no matter what.
- He has showed me that He really is all that I need
- He has allowed me to be a part of Vision Baptist Church and allowed me to serve Him.
- He saved me from the sinful man that I was and has made me a saint and son and so much more

God has also given me some of the greatest people in the world to help me.
- My Pastor Austin Gardner: God has used him greatly in my life. From all of the messages he has preached to the lessons he gives in class, to the life he lives in front of us. He has helped me to grow in grace and taught me more what it means to be a child of God.
- Kathryn: Who is the greatest girl in the world. I am so thankful God has allowed me to get to know her and spend time with her.
- Tony Howeth: God has used him greatly in my life. He is going through one of the hardest time in his life and yet he trusts and loves God in spite of it all. He is an awesome example of a man that truly loves God and walks by faith and not by sight.

God has granted me with so many great people and things I could not list them all here. I serve a great God and I love every moment I am allowed to minister to His people, serve in His church, or anything else He allows me to do. He is worthy of everything!