Monday, April 30, 2012

Doing The Golden Rule, A.S.A.P.!

We have all heard of The Golden Rule, at one point in time in our life's. But sometimes I wonder, "When it comes right down to it, do we really practice what we preach? Do we do unto others as we would have them do unto us?"



Do we think of others as we think of ourselves? I am afraid that the answers to all these questions are most of the time...no! I mean, think about it, when you see, what you think is a "weird" person. Do we think, "Now there is a soul in need of Christ!" Or do we think, "Man, look at so and so, I am glad I don't look like that!" I fear that the answer to that is we often think of the second one, myself included!



What if we had the kind of love in us, do speak to the "weird" people? Do you think it would change lives? I think that it would change some of the lives! You might have some people, that no matter what you do, they don't want it, and the best thing and first thing you want to do with all people is PRAY!



I read an article where it had the acronym A.S.A.P. and usually we think of that means 'as soon as possible' but the acronym they used meant 'ALWAYS SAY A PRAYER'!!! And I would have to say that I agree, in every emergency, in every difficulty, in every area we should always say a prayer!



The Golden Rule doesn't just mean to do good things to others and expect them do to something nice back to you. It means that you treat others with love, no matter what they may say or do to you. It means that you don't give up on them and that you treat them nice even when they are being mean. It means to do a good deed and not expect to get anything in return, or get any reward! Although sometimes you will, that isn't why we should do it. We should do it to show God's love to everyone that means EVERYONE we come in contact with!



Know, I will say that this will not be easy!!! No, do you think that the devil will sit back and relax while you are sharing Christ, the One he hates, with everyone! I don't think so! That is why it is so important to stay connected with God, and to do it A.S.A.P!!!! Christ never said that it would be the easiest way, but He did guarantee that He would go through it with you! Which shows how much love He has for all of us!



Do you know why The Golden Rule is called The Golden Rule? Well, here is my opinion of why it is called The Golden Rule. It is because when you do something nice for someone else, not expecting anything in return, you will feel Golden on the inside! And Christ did say that He tries precious Gold and not invaluable ore!



So with all that being said, will you try to do practice The Golden Rule? And also saying an A.S.A.P? I am going to try by God's grace, how about you?


Thursday, April 26, 2012

Who Shall I Send?

When people talked to me about my favorite Bible text, I would have a hard time answering them. There was so many that were good!! That was until a few years ago...I was reading my Bible and I came to Isaiah chapter 6! I was captivated by Isaiah 6: 1 - 8 and from then on that has been my favorite chapter in the Bible, Isaiah had been my favorite book in the Bible (still is) so when I was reading it, I came across these verses and I simply loved it!




My favorite verse is Isaiah 6:8 which says - "Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me." Can't you just here the Lord asking that? Can't you hear the voice of Isaiah answering Him back? With a little imagination it is not very hard to seem to be there! 






Sometimes though I wonder if we really will go when the Lord asks us. It doesn't always mean to go to a foreign land, or to preach, or to become a prophet, as it was in Isaiah's case, he didn't have to go to a foreign land but he was called to become a prophet and to preach what God wanted him to say.




The Lord will ask us this regarding anything, even what we think are the unimportant things, like doing dishes or ironing or any chore around the house for that matter! Anything our parents ask us to do, it is really God asking us to do it, for when we obey our parents we are obeying God. But there are times when our parents can be disobeyed, but that is only if they ask you anything going against what God has told you to do, in the Ten Commandments or anywhere else in the Bible.



When God asked this to Isaiah, it was the turning point in his life. God will ask each one of His followers the same question. This is what Ellen White says: "To everyone who becomes a partaker of His grace the Lord appoints a work for others. Individually we are to stand in our lot and place, saying, “Here am I; send me.” Isaiah 6:8. Upon the minister of the word, the missionary nurse, the Christian physician, the individual Christian, whether he be merchant or farmer, professional man or mechanic—the responsibility rests upon all. It is our work to reveal to men the gospel of their salvation. Every enterprise in which we engage should be a means to this end."{MH 148.2}



That to me is amazing!!! God calls each one of us to do something for Him, whether big or small, we can count it a pleasure, because we are serving the King of kings and Lord of lords!!!



God is asking you the same question today that He asked Isaiah over 4,000 years ago. "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" What will your reply be?

As for me my answer is the same as Isaiah, "Here am I; send me!"







Sunday, April 22, 2012

The Ten Who Left...And The One Returned...

We have probably all heard the story of the Ten Lepers, but did you know that all ten had actually left Jesus? 

These lepers had probably about given up hope,  I mean they had probably lost their fingers, toes, and they were numb to heat, cold, etc.! Then one day news reached this lonely band of lepers, but only ten of them decided to take advantage of it! The news was that Jesus had healed a leper! Maybe He would heal them too.






So these ten lepers decided to journey to where Jesus was. And when they were near they cried unto Jesus. (Read below)

Luke 17: 12 - 19 And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: and they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole. 



They all had left to go show themselves at the temple, all ten! But on the way they looked down, and realized that they were whole! Oh what joy, what happiness! They were whole, they could go home, they could be with others now! They raced away to show themselves to the priest! Except for one...



One of them realizing that he was made whole, he turned around and made his way back to Jesus. And fell down and worshiped Him and gave thanks! I think that warmed Jesus heart to see him come back! While the others forgot about the one who truly made them whole. 



Jesus knew ahead of time that only one of them would come back and say thank you, but instead of healing only that one, he healed them all! What a compassionate and loving God we serve! 

You know that two little words mean so much, those words are...Thank You! We should never forget to say thank you when someone has done something nice for us! Especially Jesus, for He has given His life for us! 

Why not say thank you today? After all, you may never get another chance to say it.

Speaking of which, thank you for reading this! May God bless you! 

Thursday, April 19, 2012

The Fruit of The Spirit...

I sat at the table peeling my favorite fruit. I have it everyday! I love, love, love it! It is big, round, juicy and it tastes so good! This fruit, to me, is at the top of the list. Then there are two other fruits that go along with it, one is second and then their is the third one. If I could have all three of them at one meal, I would be very content.

Ok, so I will tell you what my favorite fruit is...it is...Grapefruit!!! Yummy! Would you like to know the others as well? Ok, I will tell you as well, my second is Blackberries and the third is Granny Smith apples! Now some people think that all three of these are sour, but to me they are delicious! 





Do you know that we as Christians should have fruit inside of us? Do you also know that God has favorite fruit as well? Well believe it or not, it is true. But they are not what you might think. These fruit you can not buy at the local grocery store, or the farmer's market. These must be obtained in an entirely different way. Would you like to know how? Well, we will find out today!



First off, what are the names of these fruit? And where can I find them? And then how can I obtain them? 

The names of these fruit are these:  love, joy, peace, long-suffering (also known as Patience), gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. 




You can find these fruits in the Bible, to be more specific in Galatians 5: 22 and 23.




You can obtain these fruits by asking Jesus into your heart, and by asking Him to give you these fruits, but once again don't be surprised at how He does it! Try to work on one before you ask for another one, that might be easier! 


When these fruits are prominent in the Christian's life, others will see Christ in us. Some will ask what is so different about us, and others will be mean to us and treat us bad because of it. But keep looking to Jesus for He is our only example!



These fruits may be hard to swallow at first, but we must ask Jesus for help, because without Him we can do nothing! Some of these fruits are also harder to obtain, and some come easy or you could say sweet! These are the fruits of the Spirit, which means that if we have these fruits we will reflect Jesus. 



But there is an adversary, who will not let you obtain these fruits easily. Which when he comes with temptations, we must go to Jesus all the more! And remember Jesus will let nothing pass by us that He doesn't approve of first! He knows that you will be able to handle it, and the fruit that you have the easier it will become!  


The Bible also says, "By their fruits ye shall know them." This means that others will see what character you will have, they will notice your "fruits", whether they be rotten or fresh. You can also tell which fruits to work on, but if you are still not sure you could ask someone you trust to help you out, or go to the Lord and He will be your guide!





So why not let your fruits be seen? I am going to try to get these fruits, how about you?



Sunday, April 15, 2012

A Leap Of Faith!

 One day, a long time ago, my mother said that I should take a spiritual gift/ gifts test, just for fun. So she read me all the questions and then I answered them all. I wondered what would be my spiritual aspects, what was the strongest spiritual gift that I had?



Well my mother figured it all up, and she told me that the top one was my faith in God, and the second one was my musical ability. I thought that it was fun to do the test, and see what the results were! Maybe you could ask someone or search it out yourself and see what talents the Lord has given you! And then you can strengthen them and use them for God's glory and honor!

Faith, the meaning is "Believing in things that are not seen." Or to trust in something that you have never have heard of before.

Everyone has at least a little bit of faith, I mean after all, they do get in a car each morning without examining it. Or walk on something without first stopping to see if it is safe. Everyone in the Universe has some faith. But there are people out there who have a lot of faith!


For instance there was a story about a little church, this church had been praying for rain, well one day they called a special prayer meeting to pray for rain. Well one of the members, a little girl, came to the prayer meeting, but she came with her umbrella! Some of the older church members smiled at such faith, others frowned. Well they prayed and believe it or not when they were done, it was storming out! Everyone got wet, except for the little girl! What a great example of faith!



Faith is necessary, if we didn't have any faith we probably wouldn't leave our house. And still, even staying in our house would take faith! Would the walls stay up? Would the roof? Without a small measure of faith we would probably die or end up losing our minds, or something like that.
 
Here is one thing Ellen White says about faith: 

 “Without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6). There are many in the Christian world who claim that all that is necessary to salvation is to have faith; works are nothing, faith is the only essential. But God’s Word tells us that faith without works is dead, being alone. Many refuse to obey God’s commandments, yet they make a great deal of faith. But faith must have a foundation. {FW 47.1}

Those of you who don't have as much faith as others, you can always pray for more faith, and I am sure that God will answer your prayer. But try not to be surprised about the way He does it.



Sometimes we must take a leap of faith, even though we might not know there is anything below to catch us. But I do know that God's hand is always under us, to catch us! But it takes faith to make the jump.



Usually children have the strongest faith, they look up to the people around them, and think they can do anything. Which is why children have great faith in God. It is also why Jesus says in the Bible to have faith like a little child. Because when you have that kind of faith you will believe in whatever God tells you.



But if you do only have a little bit of faith, don't worry, you can still use it for God, and in time it will grow. Jesus says in the Bible that if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can move whole mountains! And a mustard seed is a really, really small seed!



So, are you ready to take a leap of faith?


Thursday, April 12, 2012

Only Today...

I stood near the sink, washing some fruit, and while I was; I looked over to the side of the fridge. When I saw a quote, and I knew, as soon as I saw it, that I should talk about this subject.

The quote is: "This is a daily matter. Each morning consecrate yourself and your family to God for that day. Make no calculation for months or years; for they are not yours. One brief day is given you, and that one-day, work for yourself and your family as though it were your last. Surrender all your plans to God, to be carried out or given up, as His providence shall indicate.In this manner you may, day by day, be giving your life with its plans and purposes into the hands of God, accepting His plans instead of your own, no matter how much they may interfere with your arrangements nor how many pleasant projects may have to be abandoned. Thus the life will be molded more and more after the divine Model; and "the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." {Signs of the Times, August 7, 1884}



It occurred to me that often times we don't act as if it were our last moments. We take for granted that we will wake up again tomorrow. But that may not be the case...



I asked myself, "What would you do differently? What would you say differently? How would you act?" Ect. And believe it or not, it had a huge impact on me. I suddenly realized that I probably would act differently, if I knew that it would be my last day on Earth.

Then I made the decision that I would try and act as if it were my last day on earth. For if it was, and I had said all sorts of unkind or mean things, that would be the last memory anyone would have of me. And I don't want to leave that kind of impression behind! After all each day is a blessing from God!



We only have this moment on Earth, tomorrow is not even guaranteed. That is why we must surrender to Him first thing in the morning, because even today you could...die. That's why at the end of the day when the work and play is done, we must be sure and say thank you to Jesus for giving another day to work.



A good thing to do is to ask for forgiveness, at the end of the day, to everyone. That way your record is clear with each one, and then of course, go to Jesus and ask for forgiveness. Now I'm not saying to put off saying sorry until night time, we should say sorry right away if we know that we have offended someone, but at the end of the day saying it again to each one, probably would make an impact on them.

For example you could say something like this: "I'm sorry for everything I said or did to hurt you, in any way, shape, or form. Please forgive me." And that way you know that you would be clear from having done anything to them. But the most important person to make amends with is, Jesus. For, He keeps a record in heaven, that one day we will have to face.  



I believe that if we were to follow the quote above, that we would become better Christians, and people would see a change and a difference. And each day that the Lord gives us, is another day to serve Him! Each day is a gift from God. So let us cherish today! After all, it might be your last.




I am going to try by God's grace. How about you?



Sunday, April 8, 2012

Quiet Moments...

Maybe you are wondering why I have quiet moments as part of my blog title. Well today I will expound on that!

Quiet moments are the moments that we spend with God! It needs to be quiet in order for us to hear the voice of God speaking to us. That is why when we see or hear something that we aren't supposed to, God has to work with us all the more, and the harder it is for us to be quiet.



The quiet moments are times when we spend alone with God, just God and you - or just God and me. These times are the most precious, they see us through the day, and help us if and when we face temptations. They are also great times in which to memorize scripture, or put some armor on! God's armor of course!



The quiet moments are also times when God reveals things to your mind. Something new in the Scriptures that you might never thought of before. Or a secret sin that you might be clinging on to. Anything...God uses this time to reach your heart, to cleanse you, to call you, to reveal things to you!



When I first thought about starting a blog, I had no idea what I should name my blog! I thought about different nature things that I liked and none of them seemed to fit. So I prayed and asked the Lord to help me, after all I wanted this blog to be about Him, so I needed to ask Him what I should name my blog!

And then it hit me, Quiet Moments, I saw if that was available and I saw that it wasn't, but they suggested Kaila's Quiet Moments, and I liked it...so that is what it ended up being!

Right away when I thought of quiet moments, I thought that it was perfect because it is in the quiet moments that the Lord puts things in your heart, and I knew that it would be the quiet moments that I would be writing my blog in...so I knew that once again my Heavenly Father pulled through!
 

Quiet moments are also times when we go to God in prayer, telling Him whatever is on our heart's. When we are sad, discouraged, happy, joyful, or in need. Whatever it may be, you can turn to God and He will be there!



Just remember, to spend some quiet moments with Him each day!




Friday, April 6, 2012

Miracles Still Happen!!!

Do miracles still happen today? I should say so! But sometimes they happen in a most unexpected way! To prove to you that God still works miracles today, I am going to tell you a miracle that just happened to me!



I was talking to my mom one day about something or other and she said to me, "You should get a laptop."

At the time I had a Net book computer, and I loved it! The only problem was, that, one night when I was on my way to my bed (in the dark). I stepped on my computer! And now it had a little inkblot at the top of the computer screen. I was so sad!

This is my computer, this is what the lady bought!


Well when my mother told me a couple months after this happened that I should get a laptop, I really started to wonder if I should. So I decided to put up my Net book for sale, "Just to see what would happen!"

Well I didn't know what the Lord was going to do about this one, I mean who's going to buy a Netbook with a blotch on it? For the price that I was asking for it. Well anything is possible with God, and I had faith that He would do it!

So I put it up April 2 and for 3 nights I dreamed about my computer! Well the first day one guy asked about it, and then he didn't want it. The second day someone tried to scam me, and another lady asked for pictures. But then said she didn't want it either!

By this time I was getting a little bit discouraged, but my faith once again lifted me up when on the second night I saw an advertisement saying that they bought computers! I decided to try it! So I emailed them, and the next day I found two other places that bought computers. So I emailed them too. Well two of them made me an offer which I could not accept, since it was so low.

Well I was still going back and forth with this one guy when I got an email from a lady asking if I still had my computer. I told her that I did. She said that her daughter was wanting a new computer and thought she might like mine. So after a lot of emails back and forth we agreed to meet the next day! I was so excited!!

That was April 4th that I received her email, so the next day my mother and I went to meet her and she bought my computer for a good price! I could hardly believe it! I was so excited!! Praise the Lord!

Talk about a fast answer to prayer!



This too was confirmation that I should go ahead and start earning money for a laptop. So now I don't have a computer of my own anymore, and am searching for a new one! It might take me awhile but the Lord will see me through! And in the mean time I can use our second computer!

But that proved to me that God still works miracles today! So to answer the original question, Yes! Miracles still happen!