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100% Life Change

I don’t know the first thing about love

I love 1 Corinthians 13(aka. the love chapter of the Bible). I recently bought Thrice’s album The Alchemy Index vols. iii & iv Air and Earth. One of the tracks on this album is taken straight out of the first few verses of 1 Cor. 13. Hope you enjoy the song and I hope you think about the lyrics and how important it is to love and to know the one true love, Jesus. 

“Moving Mountains” by Thrice 

I speak in many tongues to many men;
Argue with angels and I always win,
But I don’t know the first thing about love.

I prophesy and know all mysteries;
All hidden things are opened up to me
But I don’t know the first thing about love

I have the keys to open any door;
I give all of my possessions to the poor,
But I don’t know the first thing about love

And moving mountains ain’t nothing to me;
I’ve faith enough to cast them to the sea,
But I don’t know the first thing about love

But all other things shall fade away;
While love stands alone and still holds sway
All other things shall fade away;
Into the ground into the grey.

I give my body up unto the flames;
And never once have I denied your name
But I don’t know the first thing about love.

This encouraged me….

I was reading my Bible and found this passage encouraging and God really spoke to me through it. HE alone is my rock and I will trust in HIM. 

Psalm 62

1For God alone my soul waits in silence;
   from him comes my salvation.
2 He only is my rock and my salvation,
   my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken. 3How long will all of you attack a man
   to batter him,
   like a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
4They only plan to thrust him down from his high position.
   They take pleasure in falsehood.
 They bless with their mouths,
   but inwardly they curse. 
                         Selah

 5For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
   for my hope is from him.
6 He only is my rock and my salvation,
   my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
7On God rests my salvation and my glory;
   my mighty rock, my refuge is God.

 8 Trust in him at all times, O people;
    pour out your heart before him;
   God is a refuge for us. 
                         Selah

 9 Those of low estate are but a breath;
   those of high estate are a delusion;
in the balances they go up;
   they are together lighter than a breath.
10Put no trust in extortion;
    set no vain hopes on robbery;
    if riches increase, set not your heart on them.

 11 Once God has spoken;
    twice have I heard this:
that power belongs to God,
 12and that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love.
For you will render to a man
   according to his work.

God is the King

Psalm 47

1Clap your hands, all peoples!
   Shout to God with loud songs of joy!
2For the LORD, the Most High, is to be feared,
   a great king over all the earth.
3He subdued peoples under us,
   and nations under our feet.
4He chose our heritage for us,
   the pride of Jacob whom he loves. 
                         Selah

 5God has gone up with a shout,
   the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.
6Sing praises to God, sing praises!
   Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
7For God is the King of all the earth;
   sing praises with a psalm!

 8God reigns over the nations;
   God sits on his holy throne.
9The princes of the peoples gather
   as the people of the God of Abraham.
For the shields of the earth belong to God;
   he is highly exalted!

Hope for the Hopeless…

I was doing my quiet time this morning and was reading the book of Psalms. The two chapters i read were really encouraging to me and i felt like they real spoke to what i know a lot of people are going through lately. The psalmist begins chapter 42 with a proclamation of his deep desire for God(v.1-2) the reason for this desire can be seen in verse 3 where the psalmist is in despair and desires God to deliver him from a situation that is going on in his life in which his enemy’s mock him saying “where is your God?”(v.3 and v.10).

In verse 4 he remembers the times when he used to praise God with everyone else. This leads him to encourage his soul in verse 5 to find hope in the fact that he will again praise God despite what he is currently going through(this thought is repeated in verse 11 and in 43:5 also). The rest of chapter 42 contains this continued theme of being down but finding hope in the fact that God has proven Himself in the past and will continue to do so because He is still the same God. Chapter 43 is very similar to Psalm 42 in content. I hope you find these Psalms encouraging and take hope in the fact that you will “again praise Him” no matter how bad life might seem right now and/or how dry your spiritual life might be at the moment. 

Psalm 42

 1As a deer pants for flowing streams,
   so pants my soul for you, O God.
2My soul thirsts for God,
   for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God? 

3My tears have been my food
   day and night,
while they say to me all the day long,
   ”Where is your God?”
4These things I remember,
   as I pour out my soul:
how I would go with the throng
   and lead them in procession to the house of God
with glad shouts and songs of praise,
   a multitude keeping festival.

 5Why are you cast down, O my soul,
   and why are you in turmoil within me?
 Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
   my salvation 6and my God.   

   My soul is cast down within me;
   therefore I remember you
 from the land of Jordan and of Hermon,
   from Mount Mizar.
7Deep calls to deep
   at the roar of your waterfalls;
 all your breakers and your waves
   have gone over me.
8By day the LORD commands his steadfast love,
   and at night his song is with me,
   a prayer to the God of my life.
9I say to God, my rock:
   ”Why have you forgotten me?
 Why do I go mourning
   because of the oppression of the enemy?”
10As with a deadly wound in my bones,
   my adversaries taunt me,
 while they say to me all the day long,
   ”Where is your God?”

 11 Why are you cast down, O my soul,
   and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
   my salvation and my God.

Psalm 43

 1Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause
   against an ungodly people,
from the deceitful and unjust man
   deliver me!
2For you are the God in whom I take refuge;
   why have you rejected me?
Why do I go about mourning
   because of the oppression of the enemy? 

3Send out your light and your truth;
   let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy hill
   and to your dwelling!
4Then I will go to the altar of God,
   to God my exceeding joy,
and I will praise you with the lyre,
   O God, my God.

 5 Why are you cast down, O my soul,
   and why are you in turmoil within me?
 Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
   my salvation and my God.

It has been Awhile….

So i haven’t written anything in about a month on here so i figured that i would change that and type this instead of my three page paper that is due thursday(not a big deal). here is what has been up with me over the past months in no particular order or hierarchy:

-I love traveling with Joyful sound(one of my colleges singing groups) almost every weekend and getting to minister and hang out with awesome people and share Christ with them. I love it!!! thank you Jesus for the wonderful opportunity and experience!!!

-This has easily been my busiest semester yet, but it has also been the best semester ever. I’m busy but not stressed and that is the best. 

-I’m falling more in love with Jesus and especially with His word(the BIBLE) and his church. 

-I love my Biblical interpretation class. It is my favorite class i have ever taken and i have learn the most relevant and applicable things in it.

-I have been enjoying Lecrae’s new album ‘rebel’ and Emery’s new ep ‘While broken hearts prevail’. 

-God has been showing me a lot of my weaknesses and sins lately and it has been hard to confess them and work on them but overall it is encouraging and helpful and it is so worth it. 

-I really enjoy my Psychology class(i know i’m weird) and God has further confirmed to me through this class and my interest in psychology that he wants me to get into counseling to help people mentally, physically, and most importantly spiritually. 

-I’m reading through Psalms during my quiet and getting a lot out of it.

-i have been noticing that most people that talk bad about other people don’t even know that person that well and have just jumped to a hasty conclusion about them without never caring enough to talk and get to know who they really are what they have gone through in life.

-i have also noticed that politics brings out the worst in people and causes people to attack others needlessly because of who they support as a candidate. 

that is all i have for now. peace, love, and grace to all in the name of the Heavenly Father.