Obadiah

Hello everyone! Today's blog is going to be really short because I'm writing it ten minutes before July 6th (because I've been at church all day) and because I haven't had much inspiration. Anyway today in church we read Obadiah. Obadiah is the shortest book in the bible with one chapter and twenty one verses. In this book, Obadiah is having a vision of the consistent battle of Edom. The Lord is describing what the people have done and what will happen if they continue to do these things. I really suggest reading it if you want to learn a little bit more. Well that's all I have today. Goodbye until tomorrow. 

With love, 

Madison

Temptation

Hello everyone. In today's blog post I wanted to talk about temptation. I looked up the word temptation and its definition is a desire to do something, especially something wrong or unwise. Of course, the bible says a lot about temptation and its evil ways and that is what I want to describe in today's blog post. I want to focus mainly on James 1:13-15. It says, "When someone is tempted, he shouldn't say that God is tempting him. God can't be tempted by evil, and God doesn't tempt anyone. Everyone is tempted by his own desires as they lure him away and trap him. Then desire becomes pregnant and gives birth to sin. When the sin grows up it gives birth to death." Now I'm going to break down these verses and make it just a little easier to understand. Verse 13 is saying that God doesn't tempt us and he can't be tempted by evil. I know several people think that God tempts us. I always think that Satan tempts me but God allows it to happen, which is basically the same thing. But verse 14 and 15 changed my mind about that. It is saying that our wants is what tempts us. Our wants and wishes soon become sin which becomes death. Thinking of everything that tempts me is very hard because there are so many things. But I think one big temptation for everyone is smartphones. Even when I am trying to read scripture, my phone is calling my name. Our society has become so addicted to these things, and I am definitely guilty of it too. But when we are tempted we are to turn to God and he will guide us. I challenge everyone who reads like to do the see you in seven challenge. This is where you stay off social media, computers, phones, etc. and spend more time with God in his word. I am going to try it and you should to because it could really change your life. I hope that I explained everything correctly and that you got something out of this post. I am always here if you need to talk about something. 

With love,

Madison

More scripture about this topic: 1 Corinthians 10:13

Friendships

Hi everyone! Welcome to my new blog. As many of you know last week I went to Cragmont Youth Camp and I had a wonderful time meeting new friends and becoming closer to God. This was my third year attending this camp, and it was definitely my favorite year so far. We had wonderful lessons and sermons but one that stood out to me was about friends. The topic is "Are your friends real friends?" There is soooooooo much scripture about friendship which I will include throughout the blog. In our class, we talked out how important it is to surround yourself with Godly, Christian people. This is because whoever you surround yourself with is how you will act. I've noticed in my life that I had not surrounded myself with people that will strengthen my relationship with Christ. Proverbs 13:20 says, "Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm." I want to change who I surround myself with, but I'm not sure how. It is something that I have been praying to God about so he can guide me in the right direction. We also discussed what a true friend is. True friends love at all times, weep with you, rejoice with you, encourage you. This part of the lesson hit me hard because not only did I know people who haven't done this to me, I also haven't done this to others. Romans 12:15 says, "Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn." This verse describes what a true friend does for others. In class we also discussed two categories that our friends are out into to determine if our relationship with them is a Christian relationship. The first category is a lampshade. This is a friend who knows who God is, but covers his light. The second category is a light post (which is what everyone should strive for.) This is someone who knows about God and isn't afraid to show his beautiful shining light. As I was listening to the lesson, I thought to myself "I think that I am a light post, but is that what others think of me." This was stuck in my head the whole day. That night we had a wonderful sermon about how we could become a Christian friend. We discussed 4 things you must do to become a Christian influence on others. The first thing is to know who you are. My first thought is, "How would I not know who I am?" But it turns out that you must know who you are when it comes to your walk with Christ. The second thing was to know whose you are. This was describing and making sure that everyone knew that we are God's beautiful children and we must make sure that everyone knows this. The third thing was probably the most obvious one, which was to surround yourself with Christians. I know that many people don't go to Christian schools, so I know it can be hard to do. I know, because I'm in the same boat. But it is important that you make sure that non believers don't have an influence on you. I was thinking in my head how many non believer friends I have and wondering what to do. But then the fourth thing answered my question. The fourth thing was to also surround yourself with non believers and become an influence on them as a Christian. The past three years I have been at my new school I just now realized how much of a terrible influence I have been on others. I want to conclude with John 15:13, "Greater love has no one than this; to lay down one's life for one's friends." In the end the two most important things to do for a friend is to guide them through their walk with Christ and be loving. I hope this helped anyone who is struggling. Because it definitely helped me. 

With love, 

Madison

Here is some more scripture about this topic: 1 Corinthians 15:33/ Proverbs 12:26/ Proverbs 27:17/ Proverbs 17:17