Leadership and Me.

So I may never be the leader that people want or expect me to be. I know I will be one in God's eyes in His own time. Philippians 1:6. I have to trust in the Lord and do everything for Him fully from the heart. That's something I've been keeping hold of for the past 3 months. I've found that trusting in God is very beneficial and He alone is satisfying.

Verses to meditate on: Proverbs 3:5-6, Philippians 1:6, Philippians 4:13

Being a successful leader shouldn't based on what you do or what you've done. I see it to be based on how you do it (where are your motives?). And I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.

But,
It's not up to you to tell me that I'm not a leader.
I'm not going to be a leader to try and prove you wrong.
That itself is wrong.
God chose me to lead and I will fulfill His commands, not yours.
He's the judge of me, not you. I could care less what you think of me.
He's in control of my life, not you.
If there is a chance that you do read this (I highly doubt that), I hope you're happy where you're at.
Just know that you've hurt me.
But I forgive you.
I love you.
Not so sure that you feel the same way.
Remember what you told me before: there is no fear in love. [1 John 4:18]
I'm no longer scared and running.
I'm striving to be more like Christ and the person God made me to be.
If you can't see that, then oh well.
I'm not perfect.
I will never be.
I'm gonna slip.
I'm gonna mess up.
He is my strength, when I fail. [Psalm 73:26]
I'll always be here whenever you're ready.
It's hard to believe that it could happen.
Where's your faith?
He is my rock, and I will not be moved.
I'm not scared.
I'm hopeful.

A New Toy.

I have recently discovered a new toy to use while doing my blogging. During my time of doing absolutely nothing during my fall break, I finally found the RefTagger tool. Whenever you place your mouse over a Bible verse on my blog (hopefully it works for the old posts) you will be able to see the verse instead of having to flip through your Bible or typing in Biblegateway.com or something. I'm way to excited for this.

Here's an example of a couple of favorite verses:

Philippians 4:13
Romans 8:28
Proverbs 3:5-6
John 3:16
1 Corinthians 2:9

I LOVE IT!!!!

EDIT: It does work for the old posts!!!!! SO AWESOME!!!

Follow You - Leeland.

I haven't been blogging lately, but I will start again once I crank out these two midterms on Wednesday. Yesterday, I got back from a retreat (Summit) with the Christian group I joined on campus (Campus For Christ, if you must know it is the Canadian branch of Campus Crusade For Christ). Anyways, I was really convicted over the weekend to not be scared to talk to others about the gospel. God was really working in my heart to talk to my closest friends back home. With that, all the things that are happening the South Pacific, my hearts are really going out to them and I can't wait to visit my relatives next summer. But I'm posting this song that is close to my heart because it talks about the poor and the needy that need help around the world. The victims of the typhoon, earthquake, and the tsunami aren't the only people in the world being affected with not only poverty, but the message of Jesus Christ. I'm hoping to go on the missions trip to the Dominican Republic set up by the youth group at my church next summer. God wants to use me and I will let him have His way.




-----
Leeland featuring Brandon Heath - Follow You

You lived among the least of these
The weary and the weak
And it would be a tragedy for me to turn away.

All my needs You have supplied.
When I was dead You gave me life.
How could I not give it away so freely?

And I'll follow You into the homes that are broken.
Follow You into the world.
Meet the needs for the poor and the needy God.
Follow You into the World.

Use my hands, use my feet
To make Your kingdom come
Through the corners of the earth
Until Your work is done
'Cause Faith without works is dead
And on the cross Your blood was she'd
So how could I not give it away so freely?

And I'll follow You into the homes that are broken.
Follow You into the world.
Meet the needs for the poor and the needy God.
Follow You into the World.

I give all myself.
I give all myself
I give all myself... to You.

And I give all myself.
Yes, I give all myself.
And I give all myself... to You.

And I'll follow You into the homes that are broken
Follow You into the world.
Meet the needs for the poor and the needy God.
Follow You into the World.
----

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. [1 John 3:16]

Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God. - William Carey

My Dream.

This morning, I woke up from a dream that made me think about something. In my dream I was supposed to go up in front of THOUSANDS of people to speak. So a guy came up to me before I went up and asked, "So what verse are you going to tell these people?" I was like, "Verse? I'm supposed to say a verse?" He says, "Yeah, isn't that what you're here for? So what is it then? If you had to pick one verse to tell people (some believers and non-believers) what would it be?" I never answered him because I kept thinking about what to say. So many thoughts and verses ran through my head. I didn't know what to say. Then I woke up. When I awoke, the verse suddenly popped into my head. It's a verse that everyone knows, but in my eyes is THE most powerful in the Bible. It clearly shows God's love and sums up the gospel in one small verse. John 3:16.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

The devil even uses Scripture to overlook things. A while ago, one of my leaders and accountability partners asked me this question. "If you had one verse to preach the gospel, what would it be?" I flipped and I flipped. And after a good 5 minutes of searching, I was lost. He then gave me a hint because my mind was literally blank. He said, "Everyone knows this one." It was then I remembered John 3:16. We can memorize and practice so much Scripture, but the basis for the gospel and God's presence unto man can be overlooked because it's a verse in the back of your head that you don't often think about because of other things going on in your life that you attribute other verses to. I admit that I do this a lot, but this dream really awoke me to a new mindset and new beginnings. Life life the way God intended it to be: Telling people about the gospel and THE ONLY way to get into heaven.

"Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'" [John 14:6]

The One - Phat Chance.

My buddy Simon sent me the lyrics to this song and I was moved by it. I haven't seen the subject of purity in relationships expressed in music before. Purity is something that is dear to my heart because I've had to deal with instances in a past relationship where I wasn't pure at all and I was just dragging the both of us down in our relationship with God. I can't stress enough how important it is to not only have a pure relationship with someone, but also in the way that we think.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. [Philippians 4:8]

Unfortunately I don't have a copy of this song, but from the little snippet I heard, it sounded pretty good. Here goes:

I know I've never met you, but I know
Someday you'll be by my side
And we will share what the Lord's prepared,
And we'll have nothing to hide

I will never give myself away
I'll be right here waiting
Holding on for you

Wherever you are, under these stars
You know tonight I'm praying
For a love that's pure, you can be sure
That love is worth the waiting

You'll be the one sent from above
'Till then I'll be waiting, praying
Knowing that you are the one

I know I've never met you, but I know
You're a promise I can hold on to
We belong, so please be strong
I'm waiting for you, too
-----
Backstory on the band: http://www.crossrhythms.co.uk/articles/music/Phat_Chance_Bryan_Nance_talks_about_purity_in_pop/33019/p1/

Waiting.

Playing the waiting game is a hard thing to do. There are many times in life when you have to wait. For example: waiting in line at Costco (so long), waiting for a call back from a job, or waiting for God to speak to you or show you something in your life. I find that impatience is in common with all of these, but very harmful with the latter. Being patient with God is a good thing and is very beneficial.

Let's take a look into a couple of verses:

The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. [Lamentations 3:25 ESV]

I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. [Psalm 40:1]

Be still, and know that I am God... [Psalm 46:10]

Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. [Psalm 27:14]

But as for me, I will watch expectantly for the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me. [Micah 7:7]

Yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; they will mount up on wings like eagles; they will run and not get tired; they will walk and not become weary. [Isaiah 40:31 NASB]

God is sovereign. He knows all: past, present, and future. He knows what your career will be, who you are going to marry, how many kids you will have, and when you will die. Be still. Be patient. Let God work in your life and don't do everything on your own.

For all you people out there who are looking for a significant other need to remember that you should wait for the Lord. It's not about finding the right person. It's about BEING the right person. You shouldn't rush into a relationship to only end quickly and find out that it's self-centered instead of Christ-centered. WAIT because God wants to use your singleness to build others (and yourself) up. BEING the right person doesn't happen overnight and it may take time. (I put this in bold because it applies to me)

The moral here kids...wait for the Lord because He is going to do great things in your life. Don't go out and try to figure out the world on your own because you are going to be unsuccessful at it. Pray and seek him with all your heart.

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. [Matthew 6:33]

A Journal Entry. (6.18.09) - Tithing

For some odd reason I was thinking about tithing today. Why? I have no idea, but it reminded me of a journal entry and a real-life story that happened to my sister over the summer. It definitely changed the way I approached tithing.

Journal entry dated 6.18.09:

...Ate (Tagalog for "older sister") just called me. She had an awesome story to tell. Here goes: On behalf of her and Graham, she tithes 10% of their net income every Sunday at Church. One day, they both went to visit Elizabeth (Graham's [brother-in-law] sister) at a safehouse (that is run by a Christian organization). As part of her duty as a Christian to tithe, she donated $375 to the safehouse. So today she had told me that she had gotten a medical bill earlier this morning. Ava (my niece who was 2 months at the time of this entry) had to be admitted into the hospital for jaundice. They were tight with money and Ate didn't know how they were going to come up with enough to pay for it. The hospital bill came up to $700. She then called the hospital to ask if it was covered by insurance. The lady told her that it was already taken care of. Insurance DID pay for it, well most of it at least. The remaining bill was a whopping sum of $16!!! Hope and prayer came a long way. They also gave back to the Lord and they did it from the heart. God is gracious and he gave back to them. That family is very blessed. God works amazingly!

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. [Luke 6:38]