How Death Inspires Me

It seems like death is a very hard thing for us to talk to people about. I think this is because every time someone mentions the word death, people automatically associate you as being "Gothic" or "Emo" Also, death is just flat out a scary thing when you start to think about it. I think that's where the problem lies. I know for myself, I have a hard time accepting death as a reality. I mean yeah, I've been to funerals and I've stood there staring at this lifeless person lying in a coffin, but I have a hard time accepting that one day I myself will die. I'm pretty sure that I'm not the only person who feels this way. Maybe that's where the Gothic cultured people are right. They've spent so much time pondering on death, that now its so real to them. The truth is, we are never promised tomorrow. In fact, in the middle of writing this, I could fall over dead. Now, where I think these death-obsessors have gone wrong is this: They use the time spent thinking about death to become depressed. Some even put their life to an end at their own will. I believe that death should be what gives us a reason to live. We should spend our lives doing something actually worth living., because guess what. Life doesn't last forever! We must bury ourselves in Him to receive life. Scripture tells us that anything else leads to death. "For whoever finds me finds life and receives favor from the Lord. But whoever fails to find me harms himself; all who hate me love death." To sum that up: Christ=Life, anything else=death. Death should not be something we desire, but it also shouldn't be something we fear. Death should be something that gives us inspiration. Inspiration to life life to its fullest, but to live life the right way. To live life in a way that glorifies God, the one who gave us life. The thought of death always seemed scary to me, although i never knew why. But there is hope! 1 Corinthians 15:55-58 says, "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brother, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourself fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." God has given us victory when he sent his son to triumph over death. All he asks of us is to devote ourselves to doing His work. So go and what is right in His eyes and let nothing bring you down. One last thing to think on. Christ DIED on the cross in order to give us eternal LIFE.

~*Elizabeth

Here I go again

Imagine this:Judgement day comes, and your standing before the throne of God. To your surprise, He reminds you of an old friend. THen you see this friend. A grown man with tears rolling down his face crying out, "Why didnt you tell me? Why didnt you tell me that there was a God who loved and cared for me? WHy didnt you tell me that the things I was doing was destroying my whole life and future? Why? Why?" Suddenly this horrible feeling of guilt came over you, and you knew exactly why God was showing this to you. You remember questioning your friends faith. You remember watching the wrong things he was doing. Maybe he was doing drugs, having sex with his girlfriend, stealing, or getting drunk. Yet through it all you remained silent, and now it was too late.
"When I say to a wicked man, 'you will surely die', and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuage him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin and I will hold you accountable for his blood." Ezekiel 3:19
When I found this verse it sent chills down my spine. Maybe it was because the words "hold you accountable for his blood" kinda freaked me out a little, or maybe it was because I had no doubt in my mind that God was showing me this verse for a reason. It was really the first time I ever felt God so blatantly speak to me. But when I look around at the world I see so many broken people out there. People searching for something to hold onto, something that makes them feel better about themselves when the rest of the world has ridiculed them, they need something real. Sadly, many of them turn to getting drunk or high to numb the pain they feel instead of seeking the one true God who loves them with a passion that no one can even begin to comphrehend. You and I know this God and(hopefully) have a personal relationship with him, yet why do we sit here silent? Why havnt we told them? So maybe your reading this and you know exactly who this person in your life is. Do something about it! Dont let the ones you love live like this any longer! Trust me, I know that these things are a lot easier said then done, but at some point in every Christians life you are going to be persecuted. But if we are persecuted for righteousness sake then isnt it worth it in the end??!! When I read the verse in Ezekiel I became interested and began to read a little further. In the next verse it tells us that if we warn the sinner then we would have saved ourselves. If you dont have the heart to save someone else, then at least save yourself. I also found in 33:8 it repeats these exact same verses. Why would he tell us this more than once if it wasnt so important? That is why I am sharing this with, because I believe it is important. In the Great Commission Jesus commands us to "Go and make disciples of many nations", but still we sit here and do nothing! We only speak about God within our Christian circle of friends, while the ones who really need it never know. What are we so afraid of??? YOU can make a change in someones life. Sometimes all it takes is inviting someone to church, or just being a friend to them. Never underestimate the power of what Christ can do through your life, and and always keep your eyes and ears open because you never know when he is speaking to you.
The lyrics to this Casting Crowns really reminds me of what we go through. Have you been there before?
Father, hear my prayer
I need the perfect words
Words that he will hear
And know they're straight from You
I don't know what to say
I only know it hurtsTo see my only friend slowly fade away

So maybe this time I'll speak the words of life
With Your fire in my eyes
But that old familiar fear is tearing at my words
What am I so afraid of?

'Cause here I go again
Talkin 'bout the rain
And mulling over things that won't live past today
And as I dance around the truth
Time is not his friend
This might be my last chance to tell him That You love Him
But here I go again, here I go again

Lord, You love him so,
You gave Your only Son
If he will just believe; he will never die
But how then will he know what he has never heard
Lord he has never seen mirrored in my life
I know this was kinda long, but if you read it all then I really appreciate it!If you want, check out this video. I thought it did a good job of showing the statistics of where our world is today. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtEa9Dr22bA

~*Elizabeth
first written: 2/4/08

just a poem

There are those who deny a God in any form
It is these who only once were born
They spend their whole lives searching for something in which to believe
But they have a hard time trusting in a God they cant even see
So they put all their faith in science and facts
But there is this one thing that their science lacks
A God with a power that surpasses all wisdom
The blessed Trinity, may his kingdom come

And then there are those who say an athiest doesnt exist
That God rules over us all with his mighty fist
They fight against human nature and try to rebel
For this, one day their souls will be cast into hell
Because we all have something deep insideThat draws us to him and keeps us alive
But still, some say they dont believe
Yet only themselves are the ones they decieve

For me, its an instinct, a calling or intution
That shows me the way and gives me remission
I'm not one to lie, I've been lost before
But when I pray, he leads me to an open door
And there have been times I've lost all faith and hope
Yet he pulls me close, he hasnt dropped the rope
Also the times i dont understand and I just cant see
But thats ok, even Jesus cried out "Lord why have you forsaken me?"

~*Elizabeth
first written: 2/29/08

Why is this happening to me?

This is the question that many people ask over and over again . I thnk that a lot of times Christians have the most trouble understanding why God makes us go through so many hardships and struggles. In the same way, non-Christians look at us thinking we are complete idiots for putting our whole lives in the hands of this "God" who allows things like natural disasters to kill thousands of people or tragedies such as 9/11 to happen. I was once asked this question by a non-Christian and I honestly had no clue what to say. I quickly found out that saying thinkgs like "all you neeed is faith" doesnt really mean anything to athiests. Now I realize that it is these hardships that build character. We are filled with hope and perserverance. Even just the small things build us up and bring us closer to Him. On a much larger scale, things such as September 11 and Huricane Katrina did this same thing. Not to one individual, but to millions of people across the world. Although I was only about 10 years old when our country was attacked the thing I vividly remember is how much everyone suddenly cared for each other and how much unity there was among us. Because for those few weeks, just that day, or maybe even a moment, we werent millions of people or 50 states, we were one nation and that how we wer founded so thats the way its suposed to be. For once people could talk about God without the fear of being sued for all they were worth.
James 1: 2-4 says: "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trial of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perserverance. Perserverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complet, not lacking anything." So the next time ou are going through ar hard time and you think that it cant get any worse, remember that you are building yourself. You are building yourself through perserverance to become stronger and ultimatly closer to Christ, the one who gives you your every breath.
~*Elizabeth
first written: 1/9/08

"What lies behind us and what lies before us...

.....are all small matters compare to what lies within us."

Lately I've been thinking a lot about the past. Reminiscing on the good times, regretting the bad. But now that I really start to think about it, I realize that I'm just wasting my time. The past in unchangable. I can't go back in time and fix my mistakes, I can't relive the memories. Plus, humans naturally make mistakes and by trying to fix them I would probably just make it worse. I've had friends from the past who I miss the good times with, but now I realize that if their not here with me now then they probably didn't have a place in my life anyway. But the friends that are here for me even when I don't need them, the ones that know when I do just by a simple word, and the ones who take my hand and walk beside me; those are the people God placed in my life for a reason. I'm learning that everything happens for a reason. Everything leads up to something in the future. Whats going to happen in my future, I have no idea. Nobody knows. But worrying about the future is just as bad as worrying about the past. I think sometimes people(often including myself) live in fear of regretting things. From past experience I know that sometimes you don't something because your afraid of regretting it, but in the end you actually regret not doing it. Life is full of regrets, you just gotta learn from your mistakes to avoid making them twice. I have no idea what the plans for my future are, but someone does and one day He'll show them to me. Jeremiah 29:11 says "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you, and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Knowing this, I have no reason to be afraid of what lies ahead of me, because there is hope. Everyday I can just be as happy as the happiest person in the world. Not to say there aren't those days I just feel down, but when I do he always sends someone along to bring me right back on my feet. From now on I'm gonna live life to its fullest. Not because life is perfect, but because I'm willing to see beyong the imperfections and make the best of whatever comes my way!
~*Elizabeth
first written: 11/14/07