~Something Good Will Always Come Out of Something Bad~

     Tim Tebow. We all know who he is. He became a household name in only a few weeks, over a few games. Why? 1. How he played. 2. He expresses his faith in God publicly without being ashamed. Now, I don't know a whole lot about football. At all. I don't even watch it. But everyone knows who Tim Tebow is. And 3. Because of a specific pose he does before each game called...."Tebowing". 

     Tebowing: To get down on a knee and start praying, even if everyone else around you is doing something completely different. (urbandictionary.com)

     Tim Tebow is a Christian. He was home-schooled as a child, and he learned the word of God thoroughly. He was taught to not be ashamed of what Christ did for him. Before each game he would pray to God asking for a good game, or sometimes after a game, thanking God for winning that game of that week.  Many Christians see this young man who plays in the NFL, to be an inspiration of how he stands up for what he believes in. He has become a huge role model in so many lives. People look up to him, so much so, that "Tebowing" has become a nation wide stance. People are Tebowing everywhere. Schools, work, gyms, football games and even parades. You name it people are doing it. People have lost sight of what Tebow is actually doing when he kneels. Maybe they don't know why Tim poses the way he does. He isn't looking for publicity. He isn't asking to be on the front of newspapers week after week, or have books written about him, or for "Tebowing" to come about as it has. It's one thing to kneel in prayer before God, it's another to do it for attention. Tim Tebow Kneels in prayer before God, not for the attention but for the glory of God. 

     I bet, if you asked almost any kid, or even an adult for that matter, why they Tebow, they won't be able to tell you. Or if you asked what Tebowing means, they wont be able to tell you that either. We have turned Tim Tebow into a national idol. Bowing on one knee has become a theme for all pictures, posters, even parties. He's become a huge buzz on all the social websites. He comes up in conversations all the time. I don't know one person who doesn't know his name, let alone know all about him. We talked about it at a bible study that I attend that, not only have we  made him an idol, forgot what Tim was actually doing, and have treated him badly; but also that we have spread rumors about him, talked badly about his faith and bashed almost everything about him.

     I was thinking, that I wouldn't want to be Tim right now, all this publicity, of being on the new and social websites all the time, and being the "talk of the town", if that makes sense. Also having your fans lose sight of who you really are, and turning your way of praying to God as a popular thing to do. How could anything good come from this? Tim Tebow used to paint "John 3:16" on his face...

     "For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life". -John 3:16

    This is the most well known verse in the bible. And Tim Tebow wore that verse proudly! Our purpose is to "reach the people far from Christ, and grow them into fully devoted followers of Christ." -(Journey Community Church). Doesn't matter how we do it! 

     After Tim Tebow played with that verse printed on his face for a little while, people started to notice it, hundreds of thousands of people looked up that verse purely out of curiosity. Do we know how many people got saved, or even looked into the faith of being a Christian? No. And we might never know; but to think of that possibility of even just one person coming to have a real and personal relationship with God, is so amazing, and it would be worth it too, But I'm thinking it was more than just one person! 

     So, out of all the bad of people idolizing the Tebow stance, I'm positive people came to know Christ and I think Tim Tebow would be okay with that. Theres a video Focus on the Family put out taking after Tim Tebow's wearing of the verse...

     So, next time you go to Tebow... remember what his meaning was behind it, and ask yourself why are you bowing on one knee? And how can you make a difference in your community let alone your country, as Tim Tebow has?

Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus || Spoken Word

     This pretty much sums it up! I find it crazy how most people had never seen this video, or even heard of it. In around two weeks, this video has made its rounds around the internet, people watching and sharing. He expresses his feelings, that we have all had, and wanted to share, but didn't have the words. This poem has hit a place in peoples heart, that makes us proud of being a Christian, makes us want to do more with our lives, and step it up on sharing God's love for us! You matter to God, You matter to us....

Holding Back

     So a few months ago, in school, I was doing this project on self control. I had to work on this character for 2 weeks. During this time I had an experience that taught me just how hard it is to control words in certain situations...

     It’s funny how God teaches us what we need to learn ... just at the moment that’s right. Only at His time... So, as I was practicing this character I had a girl that I know get mad at me for a miscommunication that I had with a different friend. She was kind of rude to me, and all I wanted to do was explain myself, and tell her what happened. Every time I tried to tell my side, she wouldn’t listen, and she would throw a rude or “smart” remark back. And she was budding herself in a situation that had no concern over her, and in the end I found out she was jealous of this other friendship that I had. 

     It was bugging me and upsetting me that I couldn’t defend myself, and no one was there to defend me either. This quickly turned to bitterness inside of me toward her, I felt she was taking one of my best friends away, and couldn’t do anything. 

James 1:19-20 says:

     My dear brothers and sisters: remember, everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. 

     I want to honor God in all I do. Do all things for the glory of The Lord. Everything. As this bible verse says, having anger does not please God. It’s not the righteousness He desires from us. I want Godly desires to be in my heart, I didn’t want to be angry at this girl, and I really didn’t want it to get worse, where it would have turned into hatred because I was getting angry, it took all my might, not to write her back every time she threw a sarcastic comment at me.

Proverbs 16:32 says: 

     Better a patient person than a warrior, one with self control than one who takes a city.

     Instead of having my say in, I was being calm an patient, and trying to let it blow over. I didn’t want to be mad at her, only because she was friends with one of my best friends, And I didn’t want to get my friend mad, or hurt him. So one night I was really upset about all that had gone down, and had to take myself out of a conversation I was having with this girl, and not respond to her. I went to my room and just listened to some upbeat Christian music. I didn’t really want to, I wanted to finish talking to her and tell her what I thought ... but I knew that wasn’t the best idea, and it definitely wouldn’t have helped long term. 

     While I was having my quiet time, I was reminded of the saying-- “sticks and stone will break my bones, but words will never hurt me”? Well, you know, sticks and stones hurt hen they are thrown at you, but the mark will go away fairly quickly, words, leave a mark, that are there forever. Words can hurt. Words will hurt. Even though we can pretend that it doesn’t, words will always have that mark, whether good or bad. So learning from all this, I have to remember that I have to be careful with what I say. The bible says we have the power to bring life or death with our words. 

Remember that even if we don’t think its rude, maybe we say it in a joking way, or whatever, people might take it differently, and they can take it as rude or hurtful. Once we say something, we can’t take it back. It’s there forever. We can ask for forgiveness but with or with out, those words will always be remembered. Words sear the heart, so be careful with what you say. 

2 Peter 1:5-6 says:

     For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith- goodness; to your goodness- knowledge; to your knowledge- self control; to your self control- perseverance; and to your perseverance- godliness.

    

     Knowledge is the wisdom of knowing what to say, and when to say it. The knowing of where the line is, and self control is having the control not cross that line. Self control is something that has to be worked on everyday and used in every situation, practicing it when someone gives a nasty comment. Don’t let it effect you. As well as switched around, practice building people up! Give more positive compliments and encourage one another. So your not putting yourself in the situation I was in. So try encouraging a family member or friend a day!

~ Old Ruins~

Nehemiah 2:17-18 -
     "But now I told them, "you know full and well the tragedy of our city; it lies in ruins and its gates are burned. Let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem and rid ourselves of this disgrace!" Then I told them about the desire God had put into my heart, and of my conversation with the king, and the plan which he had agreed."
 
     As I was working on this verse for school, I was thinking how God rebuilds us. Before we are in a relationship with Christ, we are just like old ruins. Sitting waiting to be rebuilt, but in a way I feel we don't notice were waiting to be rebuilt. We don't notice somethings wrong, or somethings missing. We don't realize we are just a pile of stuff without Christ. When we accept Christ into our life, He starts scraping away the rubble, which is all our old baggage and mistakes that we hold on to. He gets rid of all the stuff we don't need, and starts to build from the bottom up. As we mature in our walk with God, He's always rebuilding. It takes a long time to build a city from the bottom up, right? well that's what He's doing. Once He scraps all the debris away, He has to start building the foundation, and work His way up. Our life is like a city. It takes a long time, but man is it worth it! I have seen people change after they have Christ in their life. They are a completely new person. My best friend changed in just a short bit; but he made that decision to change himself, and they way he looks at life; and the way he changed is amazing! It has made me realize how much God can do in one person. I watch how my friend grows in God and it makes me so happy to have seen him change! You can accept Christ in your life, and do nothing with it, forget about it all. Or as I say "put it on the shelf to collect dust". Yeah, you might change a little bit, but if you don't try to make your life better, your going to spiral back down... and possibly even get worse, I've seen too.

     Give it ALL to God. Your whole life. Watch him change you! It's so amazing how God works. It really is; and the best part is he takes you just as you are. Every past mistake, every piece of baggage. He will start healing you from all that. Let God take control, let him take all the rubble you have, and start building you back up, into a beautiful city.