It's got my heart pumping

Excitement and thrill run through my veins. Circuited all over the news, the 5.8 earthquake stretched from Virginia all the way to Massachusetts. One woman said that it even reached to Toronto, Canada. Isn't it mind blowing, to see the power of God? Within the few minutes of watching the news, they mentioned the recent earthquakes in California and Arizona. Furthermore, they spoke of the upcoming hurricane Irene in Florida, also making its way up east coast this weekend. The return of Jesus Christ is coming closer and closer! The power of God is being revealed. His glory and light will be shown. For the world, it is a very scary and undesired thought, but to us, it's something worth looking forward to. It's more than the excitement of a child on Christmas morning. It's our Savior coming back! And my prayer is that many turn to Him and start repenting before the day comes. The signs and warnings are shown, although the day and hour is not known. We all need to have our hearts prepared and set to God. We can't live in shadows and in comfort, pretending that our days aren't numbered. We are all held accountable and will all be equally judged for our actions. What matters most, is that our hearts are in the right place with God and that we are not far away from Him. As the days grow darker and darker, the more we have to draw closer to Him. Jesus Christ is the only way. There is no exception. God is the light in this darkness.

I'm not saying that these upcoming times will be easy. I must be out of my mind, for being excited. I will expect pain, rejection, persecution—possibly death. These are times of deep trouble. But God's will be done. May His name be highly lifted up. May the people of the world see. May they not wait for disasters or wait until last minute to figure it out. God doesn't play charades. His Word is boldly and clearly spoken out. God doesn't hide His sovereignty. It's completely visible through His creations. May they know that our God is a merciful God—that He always was for thousands of years. He waited for so long for people to repent, because He dearly loved His creations and didn't want anyone to perish. No one can righteously complain about these destructions yet to come. It's not the end of the world, but the beginning of a new earth and a new heaven.

O God! I cry out for these people! I pray for them all. And I pray for the world. I pray that many would know before it's too late. I pray that their eyes can see, that their ears will hear, that their hearts and minds will understand. I pray that the wisdom of Your Spirit will be poured upon them! Your will be done and may the touch of Your hands save many lives. Thank You God, thank You!

Acts 28:26-27 "Go to this people and say, 'You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.' For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them."

2 Peter 3:8-9 "But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Instead He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."

Matthew 24:4-8 Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Messiah,' and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains."

Matthew 24:30-31 "At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other." 

Hi, Hello, Salutations!

This blog used to be "Stories of My Life" but now, I thought, "Ew, the title is so bland and cliche. So I changed it. I'm sorry I haven't been posting as much as I used to. I'm not that same thirteen year old middle school girl, with all the time to post, post, and post. High school made me so busy. I will be a junior in the fall. For the past two years, high school was kind of a transitional experience for me. But I know, that through my days, I'm thankful that I keep growing even closer and closer to my God. I make sure I hold on tight to Him, because I'm in a world which isn't my permanent home. I remembered right before the start of freshman year, I prayed to God to guide me and give me wisdom. I prayed that He'd help me to choose the right crowd and that I'd adjust just fine with the new classes, new teachers, and practically a new environment. I drew far away from some friends, but I also made new ones and became close with them. I faced some things that might have hurt me, but at least they gave me unforgettable lessons in the end. It's hard to believe that I'm two years away from college. My future is still unclear. Nonetheless, I live day by day, walking by faith and not by sight. I must say, I really am loving Bayside High School. :) I'm sure God put me here for a reason. Anyway, if you're looking for a blog, which I update often, it's on tumblr. Ahaha I hope you don't look at me as a traitor of blogger.com. XD Okay, that's it for now. Bye bye! God bless!

“You may be the only Bible some people will ever read.”

So…I ran into a verse in 2 Corinthians, that totally blew me away. God’s words are just so amazing. It’s living. It truly speaks directly to your heart.

The people around you, are the people you influence. You show something to them, with the life that you live.

“You yourselves are our letter. You are written on our hearts. Everyone knows you and reads you. You make it clear that you are a letter from Christ. You are the result of our work for God. You are a letter written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God. You are a letter written not on tablets made out of stone but on human hearts.” 2 Corinthians 3:2-3

So live day in and day out, making sure your actions glorify God. Every move, every step, every motive, every word you say, and everything you do can be seen by others.

“In the same way, let your light shine in front of others. Then they will see the good things you do. And they will praise your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16
There are thirsty people out there, longing and aching for the truth. The world we walk upon is lost as it is. They don’t know what they’re missing. Our God is there with outstretched open hands, willing to heal and save. May they see the light through us.

Is Christmas worth celebrating?

A while back, I was questioning the whole holiday of Christmas itself. Is it worth celebrating? Are Christians even allowed to celebrate it? I’m not looking for debates. I’m just going to share my opinions. So…just last year, I found out that Christmas actually had a pagan origin. In the past, Christmas was a holiday where people worshiped pagan gods. In reality, December 25th is actually the birthday of an Egyptian pagan god named, Nimrod. I was actually worried, thinking about this. Just last year, my dad told us that we would no longer celebrate Christmas. My heart was torn in half, because I loved Christmas since I was little. Everyone knows that there’s a big debate concerning when Jesus Christ was born. They talk about how it’s impossible for Him to be born in such a cold climate, in a manger. It’s true that in the Bible, it never said anything about celebrating His birthday. So isn’t Christmas full of quirks?

Sorry, maybe I’m thinking too much. But when something gets me confused, divided, or torn, I will keep searching and searching, until I have answers and come to a verdict. I need the truth.

John 8:32 “Then you will know the truth. And the truth will set you free.”

I know for sure, that when I know the truth, I will be set free. That’s how it works. The truth that comes from God, sets us free.

I’ve shared this verse before, in my question. I’ll share it again.

Jeremiah 10:2-4 “Do not follow the practices of other nations. Do not be terrified by the warnings in the sky. Do not be afraid, even though the nations are terrified by them. The practices of those nations are worthless. People cut a tree out of the forest. A skilled worker shapes the wood with a sharp tool. Others decorate it with silver and gold. They use a hammer to nail it to the floor. They want to keep it from falling down.”

Doesn’t this verse, get you pondering with questions? Well, it did for me. It reminded me of the Christmas tree. I was completely bewildered. So…these were the practices of pagan people long ago. They cut a tree down, took it to their homes, and decorated it. Basically, in Jeremiah 10, God declares that there is no other god like Him. We shouldn’t uplift any other god.

What about the warmth and joy of Christmas time? What about its encouragement in giving? Isn’t that something good?

Matthew 10:8 “….You have received freely, so give freely.”

Knowing that there’s paganism behind the history of Christmas, killed me internally for these past 2 years. It really upset me. What is the right thing to do? I wasn’t so sure.

Just a few months ago, I ran into some verses that caught my eyes. You always find something “new” when looking back into the Bible. For the past year, I cried to God for answer, concerning celebrating Christmas. I believe He gave me the answer right here.

Romans 14:2-6 “The faith of some people allows them to eat anything. But others eat only vegetables because their faith is weak. People who eat everything must not look down on those who do not. And people who don’t eat everything must not judge those who do. God accepted them. Who are you to judge someone else’s servants? Whether they are faithful or not is their master’s concern. They will be faithful, because the Lord has power to make them faithful. Some people consider one day to be more holy than another. Others think all days are the same. Each person should be absolutely sure in his own mind. Those who think one day is special do it to honor the Lord. Those who eat meat do it to honor the Lord. They give thanks to God. Those who don’t eat meat do it to honor the Lord. They also give thanks to God.”

Seems like a confusing and vague passage, right? But of course, the Bible speaks in figurative language. But there were also words there, that directly spoke the message, concerning “special days” or holidays. Here’s what I thought. When I read this, I automatically thought of the whole situation about Christmas. This whole passage, about “diet” isn’t simply talking about what we eat, but our lifestyles and personal beliefs. Why do you think Christians are divided up and have denominations of their own? It’s because of their personal convictions. The Holy Spirit will always give us some sort of conviction. And people will always come up with their own conclusions.

Some people say that Christmas is worth celebrating, because we do it to honor Jesus Christ. They say that we should honor the fact, that God came into human form, to live among us imperfect humans, and save us through a sacrifice. So regardless, of whether Christmas had a pagan background, we only uplift God, during Christmas time. Others strongly stand on the belief of being disconnected during Christmas time. They say that we honor Jesus Christ everyday of our lives, so why make a big deal one day in a year?

Why is there so much diversity in the world? People will always have different viewpoints. That’s why debates happen. That’s why wars happen. What matters, is that we could take the time to understand and accept that we have different opinions.

This verse really struck me in the heart. It gave me a sense of joy and relief.

Romans 14:22 “No matter what you think about those things, keep it between yourself and God. Blessed are those who do not feel guilty for what they allow.”

So I finally came to a conclusion. It’s all up to you. I agree with those that said that God looks into the heart. That’s very true. And God knows all our intentions.

The funny thing is, my dad disregarded what he said last year. This year’s different. We’re celebrating Christmas again. :) Of course, we’re well aware of the truth now. But God knows our hearts. So…that concludes what I want to say.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!! God bless you!!<3

God is soooo good!

Today, right after lab, I totally forgot my binder. I left it on top of this cabinet and forgot about it completely, when I grabbed my backpack and left. As soon as I got to the second floor, I felt like I was missing something. I started freaking out when I realized I didn’t have my binder. I rushed back over and prayed in my head: Lord, I don’t care if I’m late for my next class. Please, just let me get my binder back. I arrived to the lab room, but only to find out that the door was locked. My heart sank, looking at my binder through the little glass window. I started knocking on the door and paced around. I assumed people around me, thought I was weird. I tried knocking the door in the next room, hoping someone might have the keys to the lab room. Still, after a knock, there was no reply. Finally in desperation, I saw another teacher wearing one of those lab coats. I was hoping something could be done. So I walked over to his class asking, “Uhm..excuse me. I left my binder in the lab room. Can you please open it? Or do you know someone who has the keys?” “Oh sure, just wait a second.” The teacher replied. Right away, I saw him reaching for his pocket. The jingling sound of those keys made me so happy and relieved! And as soon as I got my binder, I promptly thanked him and made a dash for it. I noticed how some people were still walking to their classes. I walked right in to solo vocal training class, and sat down. Within a minute, the bell rang! I came right in time! I was so happy! Not only did I get my binder back, but I also came to class on time. I’m telling you, God is so amazing! <3

Mark 11:24 “So I tell you, when you pray for something, believe that you have already received it. Then it will be yours.”