Does the way you live reflect belief in Christ?

Sure, you believe in G ♡ d. But does the way you l i v e reflect that belief? Too often, Christians seem more like atheists because they live as if God doesn't really exist - despite saying that they believe in Him. God wants more from you than just belief. He wants you to act on your faith by living it out in every part of your life! That's the only way you can grow closer to God & let others know that your faith is real, so they'll be inspired to seek God themselves. So stop living like an atheist & start living like a Christian! I am gonna be discussing different obstacles that can cause a person to "remain still" in their walk, so much so- that they seem to be unbelievers. Here's the most common thing I hear...

"I believe in God but, don't really know Him"...

G ♡ d wants a close relationship with you - one in which you get to know Him well! He promises in the B i b l e that those who seek Him will find Him! So make it your top priority to pursue a closer relationship with Him. As you get to know Him better, you'll change into a better person throughout the process! Tell God that you want to know Him more, & invite Him to transform you & your life. (This is the first step to recovery from lukewarm living.) ♡

If ya stir the pot- You have to lick the spoon!

If you decide to cook up some trouble, remember this... if you dish it out you will in fact have to eat some yourself! Don't serve cold, distasteful & disgusting garbage- to others if you wouldn't wanna try a lil' bit yourself! Life can be hectic, stressful & difficult as is! Why strive to hurt others? All it proves is that you (as the troublemaker) need therapy b/c you get your kicks outta other people's pain! Is it really so hard to be nice to eachother? Ya catch more bees with honey! ;)

Discipleship:::

A disciple of Jesus is a learner, a grower, a builder, and a battler. It is someone who wants to be like Him! A disciple is someone who understands that discipleship is a life-long process. It's someone who knows He will meet their every need. A disciple of God shares in Jesus’ life and ministry. This means total commitment & complete surrender to Jesus!


Jesus shows us what total commitment looks like. Total commitment means being willing to give up family,friends & the things of this world to follow Jesus. What Jesus is saying is this: if your attachments to those you love prevent you from loving Jesus completely and committing your whole life to Him, then you must not love them as much as Jesus. It may seem to the world that you hate them, but you just love Jesus more. In your sinfulness you may become attached to others, to the point where your allegiance to Jesus suffers or dies. What is unfortunate is that when loved ones oppose Jesus, or don’t see any need for any attachment to Jesus, usually it is the believer that ends up falling away. A disciple of Jesus will commit to Jesus, no matter what, and will endure the hardship – if there is any.


In your sinfulness you may like your lifestyle; you may like to do what you want, when you want, even if your lifestyle or desires do not match up with your Savior’s. If you can’t love Jesus more than your family, your friends, yourself, or life itself, then you are not worthy to be Jesus’ disciple. Nothing should come before Jesus. You cannot be a disciple of Jesus unless you love Jesus better than anyone or anything in this world. The Lord’s hand-picked disciples are great examples of this truth. They left their boats, their families, their jobs, and more, all to follow Jesus. Jesus never said it would be easy to be His disciple. Jesus Himself was hated by the unbelieving world, and He bore the shame of the cross for you, for me, and for the whole human race. He won for you the forgiveness of sins, and made it possible for you to love Jesus back. He also made it possible for you to become a disciple of Jesus. As they hated Him, they will hate you too. That is the burden of bearing the name Christian. And yet, Jesus comforts us with His encouragement to stay the course b/c the hopes and prospects of eternal life with Jesus will make His “hard saying” become easy.


A disciple’s life is to be a monument to God’s glory. It would be sad if your life remains unfinished and it becomes a monument that is mocked by unbelievers, a stumbling block to believers and unbelievers, and a source of disappointment to Jesus. It would also be sad if you only express half-hearted discipleship. If your heart isn’t in it, you can’t give Jesus your all. There are way too many distractions that can, and will, pull you away from Jesus. It is clear that the resources to build such a monument to the Lord’s glory will not come from you, but from Jesus. I submit that the greatest monument you can construct is that of a fully committed disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. The life of a Christian disciple is one of a battle, not a banquet. Being Jesus’ disciple means you enlisted into God’s army to fight against the three great armies: the devil, the unbelieving world, and your own sinful nature. That is a huge challenge.


Here’s the bottom line! If a person knows the cost of the building or the strength of the enemy, and if he realizes his own weaknesses and inabilities, and if he knows that Jesus can, and will, supply limitless resources, then it is clear that they must surrender themselves completely to the Lord Jesus, who loves them and gave Himself up for him. Jesus will supply all they need to build a life dedicated to God’s glory, and to win the crown of victory!

Your sinfulness prevents you from being a disciple, however Jesus’ gracious work of redemption enables you to be totally committed to Jesus, and you will be able to completely surrender your heart, soul, and mind to Him. He will enable you to be all that He wants you to be. I have noticed that not everyone wants to be totally committed to the Lord and His ministry. Too many members want to remain on the fringe, rather than move forward with Jesus in their commitment and service. You can’t stay where you are and follow Jesus, who is constantly moving forward. He requires you to GO and to get out of your comfort zone. Someone put it this way: either you are a fan or a follower.  

A FAN feels like he is a part of the game, but he never plays in the game. A fan can look like the real thing, but he is not the real thing. A fan can support or not support the team without it costing him anything. A fan can follow his team on his own terms. On the other hand, a FOLLOWER is part of the “game;” he gets “dirty, sweaty, and exhausted” – only to play again. A follower is the real thing. A follower will persevere to the end, because he has invested everything. A follower will follow Jesus on His terms. Remember, there are no fans inducted into God’s Hall of Fame. Be Blessed...Krystal

What makes Jesus mad:::

On Sunday, Jesus entered the city riding on the foal of a donkey. But he came in humility. Warrior kings rode in on prancing stallions. Jesus came on a donkey. He also came with tears in his eyes for the city that would reject his offer of grace. On Monday, the tears have turned to fire. His eyes blaze with indignation.

Between now and Easter weekend, we are following Jesus day by day through the last week of his life. This week, from Palm Sunday to Good Friday and on to Resurrection Weekend, was the most important week of Jesus’ life. This was what it was all about. Everything he had done for his entire thirty-three years and especially his three and half year ministry led up to this week. If we don’t understand the significance of his last week, I doubt very much if we grasp who Jesus was and what he to do for us. These events matter.

Monday reveals a side of Jesus many would rather not have to deal with. Everybody likes a Jesus who teaches us to love our neighbors and takes little children into his arms. People honor a miracle worker who heals the sick and promises to answer our prayers. They eagerly quote the Jesus who says, “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.” There is something nice and comforting about the baby in the manger, the calmer of storms, and the forgiver of sins. Monday presents a disturbingly different portrait of our savior.

Two events take place. First, on the way into town, he curses a barren fig tree. It eventually withers and dies. He then heads straight for the Jewish temple and forcibly drives the merchants and moneychangers from the outer court. This Jesus has fire in his eyes and fierce indignation in his heart. There is no way around it. Jesus was good and mad. 

For some people this raises a bit of a problem. Some define anger as a sin. But the Bible clearly teaches that Jesus was without sin. How do we make this match up? Perhaps we are misreading Jesus’ attitude. More likely, we misunderstand anger. 

Christian psychologist Dr. David Seamands has a helpful comment. “The person who cannot feel anger at evil is a person who lacks enthusiasm for good. If you cannot hate wrong, it’s very questionable whether you really love righteousness.” That explains a rather curious statement in the New Testament. Ephesians 4: 26 says, “In your anger do not sin.” The KJV renders it, “Be angry, but sin not.” Temper tantrums are always evil. Anger that boils over into vile words and vengeful attacks is never good. But a person who does not feel angry and indignant at evil knows nothing of the righteousness of God. 

Jesus carefully planned these events. Both the cursing of the fig tree and the cleansing of the temple were really acted out parables. The Old Testament prophets often used object lessons to make a point. Jeremiah paraded through the streets with a yoke about his neck to warn of God’s judgment. Ezekiel packed his bags and carried them through the streets to predict the coming exile of the nation. Likewise, Jesus cursed the tree and drove the money changes from the temple because he wanted to illustrate important truths. These two events provide a clear picture of the things that makes Jesus good and mad.

Your life is your responsibility!

Your life is your responsibility. And it’s only when you take full responsibility for your life is when you actually do something about it. When you blame somebody, in effect, it actually means you expect somebody else to change your life situation. It means you are waiting for the other person to redeem you of your problems. It isn’t their life though, it’s your life. If you think about it…

It’s actually your fault that you are not happy, it’s your fault for not taking those great opportunities, it’s your fault for letting that person take advantage of you. Your life is in direct response to the way how you treat yourself as a person. Everything you have in your life is a manifestation of how you treat yourself, NOT how somebody else treated you or what somebody else has done.

The reason why we blame others is because we become uncertain about our own capabilities and we become thwarted by our problems in life. We tend to come up with excuses to stay away from what we should be doing. Regardless of how much you blame others, it will not change your life; but the less you blame others, the more you will exercise greater intuition and greater judgment about what’s really going on. It means you rely on yourself to determine your outcomes in life and break through adversity... and this is a powerful thing!

Take full responsibility for your situation and discover how you can create success for yourself without giving away your power. Ask yourself the following questions: Am I in charge of my life outcomes? Can I personally make things better in this situation? How can I take responsibility to become better? When you do this, you grow to feel more independent, increase determination and grow stronger as you find new ways to enhance stronger character traits.

Fulfill your deepest needs and take responsibility for your outcomes that you want to manifest into your life – from now onwards!

Food for thought:::

Class is knowing what to say, when to say it & when to stop. When you are tempted to lose patience with someone, remember how patient God has been with you. He who kneels before God can stand before anyone. & stand up for what you know to be true always. The Lord knows your heart, your intent & your reasoning behind all you do. And just b/c someone is hateful to you, doesn't permit you to seek revenge. Wisdom is knowing how to hold your tongue and strength is being able to do it- especially when it is difficult. The Lord tells us to turn the other cheek- this is vital in our spiritual growth. He was saying if someone abuses you, do not do back to them what you feel is fair or just. He wants us to let it be- He will handle it. 

It is so hard not to lash at at people who lash out at you b/c nobody wants to be viewed as a push over or as weak. I know because I have had to practice what I preach and it is def a battle. Your flesh wants to tell them off but, God tells you to be still. The meaner someone is- the more difficult it is to stay calm. The devil will use those around you to try and "break" you. Try not be blame them b/c it isn't them- it is the devil in them who you are at war with. Just some food for thought. 

2013 A Yr. of New Beginnings:::

"Our scientists talk about the end of the world and the possibility of the destruction of civilization. Just one wrong move by some of our diplomats could plunge us all into eternity by intercontinental missiles and hydrogen bombs. When we read about the death rate on our highways, the death rate by cancer and heart disease, none of us know whether or not we are going to be alive tomorrow. Life is the most uncertain thing in all the world. We never know when our moment is coming." -Billy Graham


I guess what I have had on my mind the past few days is that, since we are not promised another day- shouldn't we make them count? I mean, it is so easy to waste our days counting down until the next big event that we don't take the time to enjoy the here and now. We have an opportunity to live this life b/c the Lord afforded that to us... & since He blessed us with life, isn't that a reason in itself to achieve all He intended for us to with it? He made us each for a "purpose". I for one, would love to know what that purpose is.

I wonder if there are other people who truly try to live in the "spiritual" and not in the "physical". I focus more on God and what He wants me to do for Him and His Kingdom- than what people expect of me. I seek His approval over people's opinions. I have sacrificed people, my flesh and my lifestyle for Him and even if it was hard- I did not question it. I hear people say they believe in God and yet, their lives say the opposite. It's almost like they want to believe (or they want to avoid hell) just in case God is real- but if they believed with all their hearts- they would not live the way they do b/c they would KNOW better. I don't understand why people are comfortable with secular views of a "Christian lifestyle". For example- "It's okay to sin, just don't abuse it." Are you serious? It's like, people try to make God's Word say something other than what it truly says b/c if they "alter" it- then it is "easier" to accomplish.

Truth is, living for the Lord is NOT difficult. The difficult part about living according to the Word is not the blue print the Lord left for us- But being able to live that way surrounded by Pharisees, Atheists and Luke Warm Christians. Ya see, people make our walk difficult. They knowingly or unknowingly, make it extremely hard to live the way Christ calls us to. The challenge is, trying to live a godly life with ungodly people. Sacrificing worldly ways is not hard- surviving in a "World of Sin" is the difficult part. I know the Lord has a reason for showing me what I am truly up against- & I trust He is with me all the way... But sometimes, I wonder why He even tries anymore. That is the most amazing part about God. His love is unlike anything we can imagine... If it were me- I'd have thrown in the towel a long time ago. But b/c He loves us- I will mimic that love and try my best to stay on track & not get distracted with the nonsense.

I just wish people invested as much time in God as they do doubting Him. I wish people talked to our Lord at least equally to the amount of time they pray to Him if they "Need" Him. He don't need us- We need Him. & yet, folks are quick to "talk God" or ask for "prayers" if things are hard. Yet- why can't they brag on God even through the hard times and especially in the good times? That right there is what I call "disbelief". If you really knew God- you would love Him so much that you would not be able to go a few minutes without feeling Him, Talking to Him, Thinking about Him or just being aware of Him. I get aggravated more by folks who "Believe in God" than by those who don't. It's one thing to not believe and live that way but, to claim to believe and live like an atheist- that is far, far worse.

I honestly love each and every moment the Lord gives me and I want others to understand that even in a world of sin- we are called to righteousness. Just b/c things are hard or uncomfortable- doesn't mean there is nothing good in our lives. It is so easy to get distracted with the "hog wash" that we lose sight of the Grace! Anyways, hopefully I made some sense. I may have hopped around a bit- but, all I want to leave you with is this- Do not waste your days- someone would love to be in your shoes but, they are taking their last breath. I do not fear death- I don't want to leave this world without achieving as much as I can for my Lord! I want Him to know, that I gave it my all and loved the life He blessed me with. && when He calls me home- I will rest then. Until then, I am going to fight for my God... Even when I am tired. I am going to love people- even if they do not love me. I am going to do things I don't want to- b/c I am a soldier for Christ and He is my commanding officer.