Just Believe

God's Given You a Dream - Just Believe!
***Please share your dreams with Hannah after you read her story.

“Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, ‘Don't be afraid; just believe.’"
Mark 5:36

     What will happen—really, if I don’t believe God has great plans for me? Won’t life go on as planned anyway? Isn’t luck a big part of the picture?  Just because I believe something won’t make it happen.
   
     But we’re talking about God’s Word. The Bible says  His thoughts for you are as many as the sand on the seashore  You are always on His mind.

      The Lord has given you dreams. You have an enemy who wants to take them away. His name is Satan. He wants you to feel small and insignificant. When you start believing that you’re a King’s kid and acting like one the devil gets running scared.

     Go in the direction of the dream God has placed in your heart.  Don’t be shy. If you like to sing, join the chorus group. If you like the theater, try out for a play. Even if you stink at what you want to do, do your best If you don’t get the part you want be good at the one you do get.Even if you stink at what you want to do, do your best. Try out for track or football or become part of a chess team.

     The sky is the limit. If you’re on the wrong track, don’t worry. The Lord will help you.
Take the plunge. Just believe!

                                           “See, I have placed before you an open door.”
                                                                 Revelation 3:8   
   
Dear Lord,
        I like being your kid. Let’s go places together. Let’s just do it, Lord!

Hannah’s story:

     I recently decided that I want to become a professional clarinetist. I just attended my second year at the Stetson University Clarinet Clinic. The first year, I was amazed at how many other people were just like me! I was inspired and worked to be a better player. This year was even more amazing. There were kids my age and younger who were so much more advanced. Now, I’m determined to do whatever it takes to flourish with the wonderful talent God has given me. I don’t care if people at my school call me nerdy or a band geek. That’s just the devil trying to discourage me from reaching my goal. With God on my side, I know I have the power to accomplish anything. You can have that power too - just ask the Lord to guide you. “Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” -Matthew 7:7

Turn It Off!

 Turn It Off!

***Be sure to read Emma's review before leaving your own comment.

“Commit everything you do to the LORD. Trust him, and he will help you.”

Psalm 37:5 NLT

  

           Jessica was being tortured. The disturbing words of the music bombarded her mind. Negative doubts  screamed louder and louder. "You're not this and you're not that...you have no friends...time to eat worms."

“I should turn off the music,” she thought.

            What do you open your mind to? What music? What movies? What books? What words of cruel “friends”? What messages play in your head each day?

     Jessica’s messengers brought fear...condemnation.  She was sad and depressed.  She had no peace. She didn’t expect anything good to happen. She was doomed if she continued on this path of poison. She had a choice to make. Believe God or believe lies. Believe that God loved her or believe her thoughts...feelings.

            A worried heart is not the heart you follow. This is not from the God who adores you! You already know He has awesome plans for you (Jeremiah 29:11).

Turn off the music.

                               Sit still.

                                               Be quiet.

                                                                Get away from all distractions. 

                                                                                                     Get you pen and journal

                Ask God to speak to you. 

 

  Tell Jesus  all that’s in your heart. Then share with a good Christian friend who loves you.

“Before you know it, a sense of God's, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when

 Christ displaces wholeness worry at the center of your life.”

Philippians 4:7 MSG

                        Dear Lord,     

                        I belong to You. I will trust. I will relax

                        

  God knows what is right for me. He will show you what's the good and bad in life.

                           "For I am fearfully and wonderfully made." I will not let any bad music or anything

                             else of the sort, get in the way of my worshiping the Lord.

What If I Stumble?

What If I Stumble?

    “Peter replied, ‘Man, I don't know what you're talking about!’ Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him:
‘Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.’
And he went outside and wept bitterly.”
Luke 22:60-62 NIV

   
    “Never, Lord! Never will I desert you. Even if everyone else does, I won’t.
 I’m your man.”

    Those were the words spoken by Peter before the handcuffs were slapped on Jesus and He was dragged away. Jesus knew. He knew that Peter would fail. He knew this disciple, whose feet He’d washed, would run like fire and ditch Him for his own selfish reasons. Three times, Peter swore “@#&*, I don’t know this Jesus!” Fleeing from the courtyard and the accusing faces, Peter crumbled to the ground and sobbed. He could never take back his words. How could he ever face Jesus again?

     But Jesus had a plan. “Do you love Me, Peter? Are you sure you do? I’ll ask again.
     Do you love Me?—Then feed my sheep.”

    Three times, the Lord cancelled Peter’s sin. Three times, He gave direction. Three times, a new beginning was offered. All Peter had to do was say yes. And he did. Peter became a powerful leader in the early church. His very shadow brought healing. He didn’t stay stuck in his failure. He was forgiven and moved forward. The scripture below was written by Peter. Take it from one who knew!

“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.”

 Acts 3:19 NIV

   

      Dear Lord,
        Forgive me for ________________. I will follow You.



Review by Macy-

"We all make mistakes. But God forgives us. He does not hold a grudge on us when we mess up. We sin all the time, but it helps us grow in our faith."

What If People Hate Me?

Day Three - What If People Hate Me?

“’Here comes that dreamer!’ they exclaimed. ‘Come on, let's kill him...We can tell our father that a wild animal has eaten him.

Then we'll see what becomes of all his dreams!’"

Genesis 37:19-20 (NLT)

***Don't miss Hannah's review before posting your own comment!

   
    Joseph: You wouldn’t believe the dreams God gave me. I saw your wheat sheaves bowing to mine. I saw the moon, sun and eleven stars bow also. And don’t you love the coat Father gave me?

    Brothers: You’re not our boss. You’re just a little boy. You’ll never amount to anything. Bow down to you? Never!

    Misunderstood by Jacob, his father, and rejected by his brothers, Joseph was sold into slavery and taken to a far off land—Egypt.  The jealous brothers lied to Jacob, their father.  “Oh Dad, doesn’t this bloody coat belong to Joseph?” For the next seventeen years, Jacob cried himself to sleep. 

    But Joseph’s dreams did come true. His brothers bowed, Joseph forgave, and the nation of Israel was saved. How could it be? God was with Joseph and Joseph honored God.

    This is the key. He never forgot his God-given dreams. He could have gotten even; he could have gotten mad at God. But Joseph let God take care of him. In the far off land of Egypt, God lifted Joseph to unbelievable majestic power. Did God take care of him? Oh…yeah!

    You have dreams and hopes. They are from God. Don’t hang out with those who jeer at your dream. Hang with the people who believe in God and believe in you!

“So don't be intimidated by all this bully talk. You're worth

more than a million canaries.”

Matthew 10:31 (MSG)

       
        Dear Lord, I choose to believe that Your plans for me are greater than I know. What the bullies say won’t change Your mind. I won’t change mine either.       

Review by Hannah- 

"A great example of what Satan is trying to do to us every day just happened recently. My friend, who is in ninth grade, told me that she wants to graduate high school a year early. She said she is willing to take online courses over the summer and during the school year. When my other friends heard about it, they laughed and looked at her like she was crazy. No one thinks she can do it, but that just gave her more determination. I know my friend has the capability, but she's got to give it all she's got. I'm confident in my friend and with God on her side, I believe she will graduate with flying colors."

 
       

What Does God See?

Day One -What Does God See?

“But the LORD said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.’"I Samuel 16:7 NIV

***Don't miss Jacob's review before posting your own comment!

   
     When the prophet Samuel saw the sons of Jesse, his eyes popped out. One of these seven boys had to be the next king. They so looked the part! Quickly, the Lord corrected Samuel’s evaluation.

    “Forget it, Samuel. Don’t even go there. I’m not interested in appearance. I see the heart. That’s everything to Me.”

     Well, what do you think? What does God look for? Is it beauty, intelligence, money, coolness, popularity, or clothes?  Maybe the Lord looks for a good person who rarely makes a mistake or one whose parents are respectable.
     When God chose David, he was taking care of sheep, and just a few according to his oldest brother. David wasn’t in the king’s army, just an errand boy for his father. He held no aspirations for greatness. He was just the youngest of eight. But David honored the Lord.
     David was chosen, not because he was perfect, but because at his very core was passion to honor God. Psalm twenty-three, written by David, is a tribute to God’s wonderful care for you. Honoring the Lord was David’s heart and the Lord liked what He saw.   

“After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: 'I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart;
he will do everything I want him to do.’”
Acts 13:22 NIV

        Dear Lord, Teach me to honor You above all others.

Review by Jacob-

"God doesn't look for beauty, intelligence, or money, he looks for the ones who truly love him and want to serve him."

Day Six - I Am Not Condemned?

“With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ's being-here-for-us
no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud.”
Romans 8:1 MSG

***Don't miss Emma's review before posting your own comment!

    Did something jog your memory of a past failure? Did someone help you remember? Did a coach remind you of your low status on the football team or nix your chances to be a cheerleader? When you shared your hope for the future was it met with laughter? “You? That’ll be the day!”
    You have an enemy. He is doing his very best to crush your destiny. If he succeeds in his deception, you will fall frightfully short of the mark. Your enemy wants to destroy you. He will stop at nothing to do so. The condemning voice has its source—Satan . This is not God. It never is. Not—for the child of God!
    You are loved by God. You are valued by your heavenly Father. If you do not know you are precious to Him, the voice of condemnation will shut you up every time.
Condemnation is one of Satan’s fiercest and deadliest weapons.
    Imagine the following scene. A woman caught in adultery is thrown into the dirt before Jesus. Her accusers shout, “The rule says she is to be stoned. What do you say?” Jesus ignores them at first and then responds, “Those who have never sinned, start throwing!” They all walk away. All had sinned. Then Jesus approaches the cringing woman and asks her, “Where are the men who hate you? Who condemns you?” Read the breaking news report:

She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you;
 go and sin no more."
John 8:11 NKJV

                  Dear Lord,
                  I ask you to bless me today. Show me a token of your love and approval..
                  Thank you.


Review by Emma-

"God is slow to show judgment for He loves everybody. I pray for the Lord to show me the enemy so I shall not be condemned. You guide me in the way to go Lord. Through times of suffering you are there. In the days of your glory I shall rise upon the wings like eagles and settle in the house of the Lord forever. You are slow to anger and quick to forgive, never to judge and forever to love. I follow your path of righteousness and will never cower in your glory, but bathe in your glorious love."

He Forgives Me?

Day Five - He Forgives Me?

“As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our sins from us.”

Psalm 103:12 GNT

***Don't miss Macy's review before posting your own comment!

     After reading the above scripture, does a picture of the earth come to mind? Do you see
the east and west of the planet and say, “Wow, that’s how far my sins are removed? They are that far away?” But where in this verse does the geographic range of your sins being removed refer to the earth? Read it again!

     Why should we limit God’s desire to throw our sins away to just the eastern and western sphere of this planet? Rather, He removes them as far as the eastern galaxy—wherever that is, to the western galaxy—wherever that is. Why do we limit Him to just the earth?

     How extravagant is His love for you! Your sins are removed beyond what the Hubble Space Telescope can ever find! He has chosen not to remember them. Why should you? If the Almighty can throw your sins into the vastness of the universe, isn’t that enough for you? Are you shouting yet? You should be.

“God is faithful and reliable. If we confess our sins,

he forgives them and cleanses us from everything we've done wrong.”

I John 1:8 GW

“I -- yes, I alone -- am the one who blots out your sins for my own sake

and will never think of them again.”

Isaiah:43:25 NLT

     He’s calling your name. It’s time to party!

     Dear Lord,
     I will honor You today and believe that what I have confessed to You
     is forgiven. If You choose not to remember my sins, then who am I
     to remember them?

Review by Macy-

"God does forgive me in everything that I do. 
He loves me anyways, and when we need 
forgiveness, He gives it to us. I think that is 
saying we should forgive and love other people 
just as God did the same for us."