{Monday Meditations} Make Me A Channel of Blessing

Hey! It's Monday...the dreaded day of the week. Let's start it off right though with looking to God.

I was planning on continuing some thoughts on Psalm chapter 1, but I have been waiting to share this with you guys for a while now, so we're going to pause Psalm 1 and check out this for a week.

This was part of my other blog I did for a school project "Beyond the Hymn", but this was something God really spoke to me earlier this year and it continues to convict me. Hopefully this will make you think and give you something to ponder and chew on as you go throughout your Monday.


Back at my home church a couple months ago, the speaker used an example I had never heard before. He gave a brief geography lesson. He talked about seas in Israel. The Sea of Galilee is a thriving sea; lots of life, vegetation, and animal life. Just 50 miles south the Galilee Sea flows into the Dead Sea. However, true to the name, the Dead Sea is dead, empty, and lifeless. But the Sea of Galilee is just north of the Dead Sea and it is doing great!

What's the difference between the two?

The Dead Sea does not have an outlet. The Sea of Galilee outlets into the Dead Sea but the Dead Sea takes in all that water and keeps it in. Because it has no where to go, everything dies in the Dead Sea.

Now the speaker applied it to the Christian life. Christians learn and gain knowledge and blessings from other Christians through fellowship, interaction, Sunday School, church services, etc. Other Christians are sharing their knowledge and blessings through different forms of media (Pastor through church services, Sunday school teachers through their class, other Christians through interaction and fellowship). These Christians are usually happy Christians who are growing, serving, and being blessed by God.

There are also Christians who struggle. Perhaps they complain a lot and whine about different circumstances. They gossip, they are jealous, angry, and irritable. What can be a reason for this?

These Christians do not have an outlet.

These Christians are not sharing what God has done for them with other Christians. They aren't taking the time to minister to others. We are all called to be salt and light to the world. We should be bursting with blessings and Biblical knowledge to share! Maybe you don't think something God did in your life was a "big enough" blessing. Or maybe you think you don't know enough about the Bible to share. You never know how God could use a "small" blessing to bless and impact someone else.

Christians who fail to share and minister to others the love of Christ are dead Christians.

This made me think of the hymn "Make Me A Channel of Blessing" by Harper G. Smyth. Harper G. Smyth doesn't have a story like some other hymn writers do. He was simply a faithful servant who served as a music director in local churches and for other organizations. He penned these strong words that will most likely convict anyone who takes the time to really read the lyrics.

Verse 1:

Is your life a channel of blessing?

Is the love of God flowing through you?

Are you telling the lost of the Savior?

Are you ready His service to do?

Refrain:

Make me a channel of blessing today,

Make me a channel of blessing, I pray;

My life possessing, my service blessing,

Make me a channel of blessing today.

Verse 2:

Is your life a channel of blessing?

Are you burdened for those that are lost?

Have you urged upon those who are straying

The Savior Who died on the cross?

Verse 3:

Is your life a channel of blessing?

Is it a daily telling for Him?

Have you spoken the Word of salvation

To those who are dying in sin?

Verse 4:

We cannot be channels of blessing

If our lives are not free from known sin;

We will barriers be and a hindrance

To those we are trying to win.

{Monday Meditations} Psalm 1 Part 2

Good morning! I hope you guys had a fantastic weekend. Mine was relaxing ... I'm getting sick so I just relaxed, caught up on homework, watched Youtube :P I did go out to eat with some friends to a Hibachi Grille for the first time! That was exciting, trying new foods and the like. It wasn't too bad either :D

Today I wanted to continue the thoughts I expressed last week. I want to move to verse 3 of Psalm chapter 1.

3And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season;

The Psalmist uses a tree to explain how our lives as Christians ought to be. Why is the tree planted by rivers of water? Because trees need water to survive! (Duh) The water supplies nutrients and strength so the tree and grow big and strong and produce fruit! The further away water is from the tree, the less healthy the tree is likely to be.

How does this apply to us?

We are to be like a tree planted by the rivers of water. Obviously, we aren't literally to be by the rivers of water, but what can we relate the rivers of water to? What do we need to survive, to grow, to produce spiritual fruit in our lives? The Bible! The Living Water! John 4:10 says "Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water."

So here's what I conclude:

Tree............planted by water....water supplies strength................produces fruit

Christian....in God's Word........God's Word supplies strength.....produces spiritual fruit

Have you ever heard of the hymn "Springs of Living Water"? I think it's an old one that isn't very popular nowadays. But I feel like the author wrote this from Psalm 1.

CHORUS

"Drinking at the springs of living water,

Happy now am I,

My soul they satisfy;

Drinking at the springs of living water,

O wonderful and bountiful supply!"

Do you see the link between this chorus and Psalm 1? The Blessed Man in Psalm 1 delights, or is satisfied, in the Word of God. He doesn't delight or seek satisfaction anywhere else. The chorus rejoices that he has found the living water! And he is HAPPY (Blessed means happy, remember?) and satisfied.

Another comparison from the tree to us, is how the water is supplied. A tree gets the water through its roots, it's most inward part. We receive the Living Water, through our hearts, our most inward part. Nothing can reach the tree quite so effectively without coming through the roots. We are most effected by what we hold in our hearts.

If a tree has roots by contaminated water, it will not grow. If our hearts are in a contaminated source (wrong reading, inappropriate TV shows/movies, ungodly thoughts, etc.) we will not grow.

Did you ever sing that kid's song "Read Your Bible Pray Every Day?"

Read your Bible pray every day

Pray every day

Pray every day

Read your Bible pray every day

And you'll grow grow grow!

Don't read your Bible, forget to pray

Forget to pray

Forget to pray

Don't read your Bible, forget to pray

And you'll shrink, shrink ,shrink!

It fits. What we choose to delight in (Psalm 1:2), will effect how we grow spiritually (Psalm 1:3). And I need this reminder constantly. I love to watch TV shows and movies, I love music, especially musicals, and I love following celebrities and things like that. But if that's where I'm keeping my heart, I'm gonna shrink, shrink, shrink, spiritually and I won't produce any fruit for God's glory. And as my pastor reminded us in church today, our purpose on earth is to glorify God by producing godly fruits in our lives.

I hope this week, you'll remember to delight in the things of the Lord to that you will be a strong tree producing beautiful fruit for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 

{Monday Meditations} Psalm 1: Part 1

Howdy Readers!

Let's start this week off right with some Monday Meditations to ponder for the week! I was asked to head up a Sunday School class at my church here in Wisconsin. I agreed because
               1.) Being pushed out of your comfort zone is a good thing and...
               2.) The class is only two girls, one 17 and one 18 so it was a very relaxed class.

Anywho, I got to share some thoughts with one girl yesterday! The other girl didn't make it in, but it was good for me to get to know this one girl better. I chose to share from Psalm 1, a very familiar passage for most of us. But digging through it brought new things to light for me. I'd like to share you some of those thoughts today :)

1Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

The first thing I want us to remember is "Blessed" in the Bible means "Happy"! Don't forget that as we read. 

Secondly, check out the downward progression in verse 1. "Walk ... stand ... sit." We do not want to walk in the counsel of the ungodly. Do not seek ungodly counsel. Do not walk with those who give poor advice. Do not stand, hang out with, the wrong people. And do not sit comfortably with those who mock or critic others. 

I'm sure we all can think of someone who whenever you're around them, they just criticize EVERYTHING. It gets old really fast and we don't really enjoy being around those people. And we shouldn't hang around those people because they're a poor influence on our lives. 

Instead, of our lives being influenced by the ungodly, the sinners, and the scornful, we should be influenced by the Bible! I know it's super cliche, but it is so important to be saturated in the Word of God. The things around us impact and shape our thinking. 

Think of movies. I love movies, I love TV shows, I love stuff like that. But it is very easy for those shows and movies to impact how we think, good or bad.

For example: My favorite current TV show is Heartland (anybody watch or read those books by Lauren Brooke? I read the books when I was younger and now I'm watching the show on Netflix.) Heartland has an interesting family dynamic. It focuses on Grandpa Jack, the patriarch of the family. Then his two granddaughters, Lou (33) and Amy (23)  and their estranged father Tim. And then Lou's husband Peter and Amy's boyfriend Ty.  In some ways, the family dynamic is really good. They eat dinner together every night, Lou gives Amy sisterly advice, Grandpa sets firm rules for his family, and they always help each other out. But there are also poor dynamics such as the estranged father Tim who left his daughters when they were young or Lou's relationships before she got married.

If I'm not reading the Word of God and understanding Biblical principles, I can let these shows influence me to think that certain things are okay. The family has never truly forgiven Tim for leaving the family. What Tim did was wrong, but we as Christians should forgive. Heartland is not promoting forgiveness in that aspect. I'm sure you can come up with your own examples for this.

If we aren't delighting in Scripture daily, we lose that discernment. In order for us to have genuine happiness, we must AVOID walking, standing, and sitting, with the wrong crowds, wrong examples, etc and we must be saturated in the Bible.

Remember, praying is how WE TALK to GOD. Reading our Bible is how GOD TALKS to US. Don't just have one-way communication. Both are needed for a healthy, strong relationship.

ALSO:

Don't forget 9/11 today.  Never forget the meaning of the day. Never forget the beautiful freedoms we have in this country and don't take them for granted. 

Have a great week y'all.

{Monday Meditations} Casting All Your Care

Happy Monday everyone!

I had a great day yesterday! Spent my day in the house of the Lord and heard a great message I want to share with you guys. I planned on writing this earlier so I could finish homework in the evening (it's 9:19 here and I haven't finished homework yet) but something more important came up.
My Room Leader here got sick and went to the health center. So, me and my two roomies were leaderless...someone has to assume leadership so I took over. I started small, placing a sticky note on our door announcing my dictatorship leadership. Then I made a sign "Queen Lauren" and hung it on our wall. :) I was writing up an official decree of dictatorship leadership when in walks my room leader AND the dorm sup. I slowly turn and my room leader goes "Okay. Dictatorship OVER."

Moral of the Story:

• You don't have to grow up to go to college :P 
• When you start a dictatorship, make sure you're aware when your room leader is coming back.

ANYWAYS, on to the good stuff.

Today we had a special speaker, my choir director from Maranatha. He spoke from 1 Peter 5:7 "Casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you."

He defined each word in the verse and I just LOVED how he defined each word and showed how much this verse really means. I'd like to share these with you and I trust you'll be encouraged.

• "Cast" -One time abandonment.
  He used the example of fishing.  He said you cast your fishing line and it hits the water. You wait a little bit, then reel it back in and cast it again. He told us this is NOT the kind of cast 1 Peter 5:7 is talking about. This cast is a ONE TIME abandonment. We cast our cares on God and we leave them there. We don't take it back and worry over it. We leave it there.
• "All" -Every burden, big or small. God wants us to share all our burdens with Him.
• "Your" -Personal. God is personally interested in you. Some people may think God is too busy. Never. God wants to hear your struggles and burdens.
• "on Him" -Go to God first. Give Him your problems. Don't just tell friends or family. Give it to God first before you tell others.
• "Careth" -God is actively showing compassion. God has a plan for this burden in your life and He is already working on using it as part of His big plan for you because He cares!

If we don't cast our cares on Him we show distrust in God and we are distracted from important things, like preparing for Christ's return!

So I hope today that you are casting your cares on God. Remember that He cares and if we don't cast our cares on Him, we show that we don't trust in God.

Have a great week all!

{Monday Meditations} John 3:16 (5)

John 3:16: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life."

The Love of God
The Gift of God
The Grace of God
The Mercy of God

The Fifth and Final point from my pastor on John 3:16

5. The Promise of God

Song: "Hallelujah 'tis Done!"

1 Tis the promise of God, full salvation to give

Unto him who on Jesus, His Son, will believe. 

Refrain:

Hallelujah, ’tis done! I believe on the Son;

I am saved by the blood of the crucified One. 

2 Though the pathway be lonely, and dangerous, too,

Surely Jesus is able to carry me through.

3 Many loved ones have I in yon heavenly throng,

They are safe now in glory, and this is their song:

4 Little children I see standing close by their King,

And He smiles as their song of salvation they sing:

6 There’s a part in that chorus for you and for me,

And the theme of our praises forever will be:

This hymn is special to me. We sang this hymn right before I stood before my church and made my "profession of faith" (what we call it at church where you tell the church you got saved and you plan to get baptized). This song just "seals the deal" and brings assurance. It's done. We are only saved once and we never have to worry about losing our salvation, because that isn't possible. And now we can look forward to a home in heaven!

{Monday Meditations} John 3:16 (4)

John 3:16: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

The Love of God...how measureless
The Gift of God...He gave His life for us
The Grace of God...Whosoever will may come to Him

And now...

4. The Mercy of God

Song: "Depth of Mercy"

1. Depth of mercy! can there be 

Mercy still reserved for me? 

Can my God His wrath forbear, 

Me, the chief of sinners, spare? 

2. I have long withstood His grace, 

Long provoked Him to His face, 

Would not hearken to His calls, 

Grieved Him by a thousand falls. 

4. There for me the Saviour stands, 

Shows His wounds and spreads His hands. 

God is Love; I know, I feel; 

Jesus weeps, but loves me still. 

These lyrics are slightly different than the traditional hymn version, but it is SO beautiful and you have to give it a listen if you have time :)

One of my favorite songs that I could listen to all the time. This song shows the DEPTH of God's mercy toward us. Unfortunately, God's mercy is often taken for granted. It is good to take time and really understand the DEPTH of God's mercy.

{Monday Meditations} John 3:16 (3)

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish but have everlasting life."

First we looked at the Love of God, then the Gift of God, and now the third point...

3. The Grace of God

Song: "Whosoever Will"

1. “Whosoever heareth,” shout, shout the sound!

Spread the blessed tidings all the world around;

Spread the joyful news wherever man is found:

“Whosoever will may come.”

Refrain:

“Whosoever will, whosoever will,”

Send the proclamation over vale and hill;

’Tis a loving Father calls the wand’rer home:

“Whosoever will may come.”

2. Whosoever cometh need not delay,

Now the door is open, enter while you may;

Jesus is the true, the only Living Way:

“Whosoever will may come.”

3. “Whosoever will,” the promise secure,

“Whosoever will,” forever must endure;

“Whosoever will,” ’tis life forevermore:

“Whosoever will may come.”

Old video, but best one I found of this old hymn!

God is not a "respecter of persons" or He is a God who loves all and cares for all equally. He offers the gift of salvation to "whosoever will may come".

{Monday Meditations} John 3:16 (2)

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Last week we looked at the Love of God, and today I want to highlight the second point.

2. The Gift of God

Song: "I Gave My Life for Thee"

1. I gave My life for thee,

My precious blood I shed,

That thou might'st ransomed be

And quickened from the dead.

I gave My life for thee;

What hast thou given for Me?

3. My Father's home of light,

My rainbow-circled throne,

I left for earthly night,

For wanderings sad and lone.

I left it all for thee;

Hast thou left aught for Me?

4. I suffered much for thee,

More than My tongue may tell,

Of bitterest agony,

To rescue thee from hell.

I suffered much for thee;

What canst thou bear for Me?

(this video is just music but it includes extra verses too)

Take time to really consider the gift of God, salvation through the blood of Jesus. I think this song clearly conveys how much that gift cost God, yet He offers it free of charge to us.

{Monday Meditations} John 3:16 (1)

On Christmas Day this past year, my Pastor preached from what I would dare to say the most famous verse in the Bible: John 3:16.

He provided five simple thoughts from the verse and tied it in with a song. I'd like to share these points and song lyrics with you over the next few weeks :)

John 3:16: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

1. The Love of God.

Song: "O Love of God"

The love of God is greater far

Than tongue or pen can ever tell;

It goes beyond the highest star,

And reaches to the lowest hell;

The guilty pair, bowed down with care,

God gave His Son to win;

His erring child He reconciled,

And pardoned from his sin.

Refrain:

Oh, love of God, how rich and pure!

How measureless and strong!

It shall forevermore endure—

The saints’ and angels’ song.

Could we with ink the ocean fill,

And were the skies of parchment made,

Were every stalk on earth a quill,

And every man a scribe by trade;

To write the love of God above

Would drain the ocean dry;

Nor could the scroll contain the whole,

Though stretched from sky to sky.

I've sang this song numerous times at my church. It's such a lovely song with such beautiful lyrics :) It paints an amazing picture of God and the vastness of His love.

This is the version I found when doing a quick YouTube search.

If you're new to the song and want to hear how it sounds, you can check this out :)

{Monday Meditations} Seeking God

Howdy guys!

I really wish I was spending more time on the blog but clearly I'm struggling. Maybe this semester I can spend more time connecting with you by posting more and commenting on other posts... I'm going to try harder!

I'm going to keep trying to post O'Neal chapters...they may not be as nicely edited as I want, but I know there are some out there that enjoy reading about them so I want to post something!

Also, I was supposed to do a special O'Neal story for the 12 Days of Christmas Link up but the week I had scheduled my post to go up, I got sick and I never finished writing it! But I finished it now and I think I'll share it with you soon :)

I'm back at college, second semester!! I'm nervous again and a little anxious about some classes, but I know I need to calm down and read over my post on anxiety again haha. But, I know I'm where I'm supposed to be and that if I trust in God and seek Him, I'll be okay.

We've been having revival services here and the speaker, Bro. Mark Herbster, shared these thoughts on how to seek God. I'm going to share my notes with you today and hopefully it'll encourage you and give you something to think about.

Four Ways to Seek God (Psalm 63)

1. Deliberately (vs. 1)
   - You have to choose to seek God
2. Diligently (vs. 1; Jeremiah 29:13)
   -The world "early" translates to diligently 
3. Desperately (vs. 1,8; Matthew 5:6)
   -"Thirsting", "longeth"
4. Devotionally (vs. 6)
   -Ask yourself these two questions:
       >Are you devoted to God?
       >Are you reading the Bible intensely? Seriously?
   -When reading the Bible, follow these two steps:
       >See God
       >Respond to God

I appreciated this message and realized that if we truly want to seek God and want Him to play an important part in our lives, we need to be serious about seeking God continually. I appreciated his thoughts and the Psalm he used. 

Until next time readers!

[Monday Meditations] Words and Thoughts

Hey guys.
I know it's Tuesday but I started writing this yesterday and didn't post it in time. :P Bear with me

Wow it's been a while. College is no joke and I'm still trying to set priorities for everything. Clearly the blog has taken a very low priority in my life. Unfortunately, other things have fallen down on the priority list that shouldn't.

Today I was reading the Bible in Psalm 19 and the final verse, verse 14 says " Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer."

That just hit me right between the eyes. We say so many words every day. A study from 2014 says we roughly speak 16,000 words a day. How many of those are pleasing to God? I know how guilty I am of this... especially when I think about how little of those words were spent in prayer or how many times I say a word that perhaps isn't necessarily a "bad word" but it certainly isn't a good word. Or I think of how many times I comment about someone else or say something negative. 16,000 words a day, yet so few I use to glorify God.

And to dig even deeper, let's consider our thought life...

If you're like me right now you're going "No...let's not." I don't really want to think about this, but in order to grow, I know I need to face this.

It is so easy to give in to our flesh and let our thoughts wander to ANYTHING. I know how guilty I am of allowing my thoughts to think of things that God would abhor. And even then, I spend so much time thinking about myself. Rather than thinking about God or thinking about others, I'm so concerned about myself.

It is hard to battle the flesh and our sin nature, but it isn't impossible. Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." When we were saved by the blood of Jesus, we inherited the power of the Holy Spirit to become new! We now possess the power to overcome our sin nature with Jesus' help. 2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

It isn't easy. We all know that. But we can do it in some very simple steps:

1. Recognize our faults, our sins, our shortcomings
2. Confess them to God, repent
3. Ask God to help turn our minds on good things, not bad things

God wants to help us grow. All we have to do is ask.

Whenever you might be tempted to think or say something you know God wouldn't be pleased with, remember this verse. (Bold used for emphasis)

Philippians 4:8 " Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, 

think on these things."

[Monday Meditations] What Kind of Love Do You Have?

Hey everyone =D The other day in chapel, we talked about 1 Corinthians 13, the Love Chapter of the Bible. Our speaker outlined the characteristics of love (or charity) and asked us to use this as a check list to see which characteristics we have and which we are lacking. I thought this would be something good for us to ponder this week.

• Suffereth long: Love is patient 
• Kind: towards everyone, not just select people
• Envieth not: not jealous
• Vaunteth not itself: not prideful or boastful or puffed up
• Doth not behave unseemly: not rude or speaking inappropriately or offensively
• Seeketh not her own: love is selfless
• Thinketh no evil: not remembering something someone did against you and seeking revenge, not plotting. The speaker explained how it referred to an accounting term and meant to remember and keep track of how someone wronged you
• Rejoices not in inquity: Our speaker put it this way: "Do you find pleasure in something that put Christ on the cross"? This one really got me thinking
• Bears all things: protects someone who is struggling, not gossiping about them
• Believes all things: believe the best about someone and about different situations
• Hopeth all things: hope that someone will do better or will get saved. Hoping for the best, not giving up
• Endures and never fails: love's rope has no end

Just some simple thoughts and notes I jotted down during chapel. I'm sure there is at least one thing we can find on the list that we struggle with. Take one thing and purpose to work on that this week. 

In other news, I GO HOME THIS WEEK! SO EXCITED. I fly home on Friday and I get to spend like ten days with my family! College has been going great, but I'm so ready to see my family again.

If you guys think about it, I have two prayer requests.

1. Travel Safety.
2. Potential Church Switch. I've been attending this one church all semester but I'm thinking about switching to a new church...but I'm really undecided on the situation so prayers for guidance would be awesome :)

Have a great week all!

[Monday Meditations] Coincidence? I think not!"

=D Happy Monday y'all! Another week is upon us. Less than a month until Thanksgiving break, can I get an amen?

...

"Amen!"

Thank-you!

This is going to be a shorter Monday Meditation since my last one was long and I also want to have time to write more O'Neal girls. I'm thiiiis close to finishing up the last chapter or so of this new stuff I've been adding in. Technically I have 40+ chapters written and we are only at 20 something. However, I decided to add in some chapters so that's why I've been so slow at uploading chapters.

ANYWAYS

This was brought to my attention during one of my classes. The text I'm drawing from is Acts 17:14-34. The title for this meditation is: Coincidence? I think not!

hehe

Acts 17:14-34 is a long passage so here is some quick background I learned in class.

"(15)And they that conducted Paul brought him unto Athens: and receiving a commandment unto Silas and Timotheus for to come to him with all speed, they departed. (16) Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry."

Paul was doing his missionary work--travelling around and preaching the Gospel. Then, he was travelling and ended up in Athens. He was supposed to meet up with Timothy and Silas but for some reason, Paul ended up being stuck in Athens for some time while he waited for his pals.

Paul wasn't supposed to be in Athens, but God placed him there and gave him the opportunity to witness.

I think we all would agree that God is in control of every situation and nothing happens by chance or luck or fate. I always agreed to that statement, but I never really thought that nothing happens by chance. Nothing.

Paul was stuck in Athens but while he was stuck there, God allowed him to speak and share the Gospel. The first thing Paul noticed about Athens they they were "given to idolatry," They had no idea about the One True God. In verse 22, it says: " Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said..." Paul stood in front of thousands and preached unto them. He respectfully informed them of their sin and told them about God.

Here are the last three verses of the chapter. "And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter. So Paul departed from among them. Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them."

People came to know Christ!

Paul didn't want to be in Athens and he surely didn't plan to be there, yet God worked it all out so that people could get saved!

Here are some modern day examples that I thought of.

• You get a flat tire and you're late to work: God might have protected you from an accident. Or maybe by changing the tire, you noticed another issue that you needed to fix.
• The cashier at the grocery store. God could use your witness to impact the life of your cashier. Even if you don't mention God or witness vocally, your attitude and actions could influence your cashier.
• A trip to the hospital. When my dad went to the emergency room this summer, my uncle told us he believed someone in that hospital needed my dad's witness that night. When my uncle said that, I got goosebumps over my arms. I had been angry all day that my dad was seriously injured, but then I realized how God is in control of every situation. I don't know if it happened, my dad could've influenced a nurse or one of his roommates. God had a purpose for my dad being there.

These are just some hypothetical ideas of how God uses "coincidences". They aren't coincidences though. God uses everything for good. I think of Joseph in Genesis. Genesis 50:20 "But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive."

Remember this week that everything happens for a reason! God can use you in every situation.

{Monday Meditations} "Who is the Greatest?"

Wow, my blog page views has gone up in the past week or so! That's encouraging! Probably because I'm actually posting again :P


This was brought to my attention this past week while at a Bible study. This is something I struggle with and I feel like God wanted me to share.

Mark 8:33-35 "And they came to Capernaum; and, being in the house, he [Jesus] asked them [the disciples], 'What was it that ye disputed among yourselves on the way?' But they held their peace; for on the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest. And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, 'If any many desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.'"

Mrs. M, lady who runs the Bible study, read the above passage to us girls and explained how the disciples were arguing over who was the greatest, the best, the most popular. And while it may be easy to laugh at them and think "How silly is it for them to argue about that?", this is something many of us do.

I don't write these "Monday Meditations" to be preachy at whoever reads it. I write them because it is something new I learned, or something that struck my heart. You guys are actually a form of accountability for me.

So, that being said, I'm gonna be super real with you guys. This post will get long because I'm gonna confess about this struggle I've battled with for a decent part of my life. You don't have to read it, but if you do, maybe it will somehow encourage you.

 I've struggled with this "who is the greatest?" idea a lot. I'm driven by praise and recognition. I may not come out and demand praise or blatantly seek recognition, I tried to do it more subtly. When I was in our church's Master's Club program (3rd-6th grade awana-type program) we had this system where you did different things to earn badges. This one girl was the same grade as me and she always earned all these badges. She always did better than me. She worked very hard and each time we had our award ceremony, she was presented with more badges than me. Her name was always called before me because her name was alphabetically higher and they would read the long list of badges she earned and all the parents and church members would clap for her and be so impressed. Then I would be next and while I did a good job, I always fell short of this girl. She was more popular than I was among the older kids and adults and I grew jealous over that.

Because of this, I became driven to be better than her. My focus was simply "Beat her in anything you can." I knew I couldn't beat her in certain areas, so I tried other areas. When we both joined the youth group, I worked at getting to know the older teens and adults at church. I tried to be like-able, fun and good at sports with the teens and helpful and respectful with the adults.

I worked for months and even years and I finally became "popular" in my church.I went to more activities got to know the adults better. I established a reputation for always offering to wash dishes when we had meals at church and I tried to help out whenever I could by carrying things or running errands. With my peers, I would crack jokes to make them laugh, I would work hard at youth group games so my team had a better chance of winning, and I memorized Bible verses for our Bible quizzing.

These things are great but I was doing them for all the wrong reasons.


Matthew 18:4 "'Whosoever, therefore, shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.'"

I was not humble in my actions. I tried to be subtle in my actions, but I tried to make it prominent enough so I would be noticed. If I wasn't noticed, I got a bad attitude. Humble is not any of those things.

My conscience nagged at me but I tried to justify my actions, saying "well I do want to help out!" And while there was some truth to that, the main reason I was doing these things was for the praise of others. I loved it when I would be doing dishes and the adults would see me and say "Lauren, what are you doing in the kitchen again? You helped last week." "Thanks for helping Lauren, I appreciate it." I was thrilled when my peers would pick me first to be on their team for games. That's the flesh within me, reveling in pride.

And you know what, I thought after all those years of finally being "better" than that girl I would finally be satisfied. I wasn't. The jealousy has mostly left, but I never felt like I had achieved something great. I never felt "at rest" that I had finally accomplished my goal.

Luke 9:46-48 "Then there arose a reasoning among them, which of them [the disciples] should be the greatest. And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a child, and set him by him, And said unto them...he that is least among you all, the same shall be great."

Being a servant, what I was trying to do on the outside, needs to be from the inside. True servanthood (servantship? I'm just making up these words as I go lol) comes from a right heart attitude. And that attitude needs to be something like "I will serve others because God wants me to. I'm here to serve God and I can glorify God through sacrificing and helping others."

My attitude was more like "I'll do this because if I do, someone will praise me." or "No one else is doing it...I  might as well." These are not the right attitudes.

I love hymns and how they put the truths of Scripture into song. It makes it more relatable for me. Here is the third verse to "Be Thou My Vision"

"Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise

Thou mine Inheritance, now and always

Thou and Thou only, first in my heart

High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art"

That needs to be my attitude. I shouldn't crave the praise of man because it holds no value. God holds true value and He needs to have first place in my heart.

In James 4, James writes a number of verses on pride and humility. Verse 6 says "...God resisted the proud, but giveth grace to the humble."
WHOA.
God RESISTS the proud. I know I'm a proud person and that means God resists me. God is holy and perfect and cannot look on pride. The first ever sin with the fall of Satan was because of pride. Verse ten says "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up."

Learn to hate pride (Proverbs 6:16-17) and learn to be a servant, a humble servant. Be that person who doesn't mind coming in last. The one who is willing to help and sacrifice but doesn't seek recognition. It's hard. I know. But if we ask God for help and we really, truly purpose to change, God will help us change and we can conquer our pride.

I hope this gives you something to think on, or somehow encourages you as you start your week. Thanks for reading. 

{Monday Meditations} Anxiety and Blog Tag Idea

Hey guys,

I wanted to share some verses on anxiety since I've been facing that quite a bit as I'm adjusting to college life.

Philippians 4:6 "Be careful [anxious] for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God."


Rather than panic, worry, or freak out when you are afraid or uncertain about something, stop, drop and PRAY. Confess your fears and uncertainties to God. He already knows what you're going through and He knows how to help us. Instead of trying to push through it by yourself, allow God to help you carry your burdens.

Matthew 11:28 states, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." When you feel heavy with burdens and trials, go to the Mercy Seat and drop off your burdens to the Good Shepherd and He will help you carry them.

I don't know what you're going through and I know that it is SO easy to type this and tell others what to do and "it will be okay" or "it will get better" or "go to God" or "read some verses".

Look, I totally understand. On my second day of college classes, I literally called my mom FOUR different times throughout the day, always in tears. I hated it here and I wanted to come home. I only knew a few people and I felt so alone and I was overwhelmed with classes, I wasn't sleeping or eating well, I was a mess. My mom kept telling me that God could help me and I just need to pray and trust in Him. She kept telling me it would get better and I just couldn't believe her. 

However, here I am today, enjoying college, meeting new friends, my appetite is back, and I'm sleeping much better! I went to God, in tears I threw all my burdens at His feet and asked Him to help me carry them and guess what? He helped me carry them. 

God knows what we are all capable of and He never gives us more than we can bear. Of course, you could argue that God gives us more than we can bear so that we realize our weakness and His strength. That's one lesson I learned already here at college. I can't handle everything by myself but I can handle everything when I ask God to aid me. 

I also came across this verse. Proverbs 23:17 “Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long.” The fear of the Lord needs to constantly be in us. It isn’t a “one and done” thing. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom according to the first chapter of Proverbs.

            Each day we need to wake with the fear of the Lord. We need to start our day by trusting in God. This has become something I desperately need out here at college. Some days, I picture myself as Peter.

            He bravely stepped into the water.

            I took the big step, leaving home and coming to college.

            He looked at Jesus and did well.

            The first week of college was fine for me.

            But Peter looked away to the things around him and began to drown.

            I looked at all my assignments and at the circumstances around me and I began to panic.

            He cried to the Lord and He rescued him.

            I cried to God and He calmed me.

            If I don’t trust in God, my days struggle. I get homesick and miss my family. I get overwhelmed with looking ahead at homework assignments. If I do trust God and meditate on Scripture, He calms me.

            Psalm 56:3 says “What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee.” When life gets rocky, there is nothing else we can do but go to God. I am learning this out here. Whenever I struggled at home, I would pray about it, but I could always go to my mom or my sister and talk about it. Out here, I don’t have that luxury of face-to-face conversation with my family. So instead, I go to God.

            Psalm 34:1 says “I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” Take time to thank God and really appreciate what He has done for you. As humans, we so easily get caught up in other things. Stop and count your blessings… “see what God hath done!”  I promise you’ll feel better after you’ve looked back at all God has done for you. 

That's where my blog tag idea comes in! I won't start it right now...I want some feedback before I officially do it. But a man was speaking at my church out here and he challenged us to wake up each day and praise God for a specific attribute of His. His grace, His mercy, His Righteousness, His omniscience. Then he told us to look back on the day before and thank God for a specific blessing that He gave you. THEN (only one more I promise haha) he challenged us to share that blessing with someone else so they can be encouraged too!

So here's my thoughts. Each day for a week, join me in this challenge. Praise a specific attribute of God, thank Him for a blessing, and share that blessing. Write all of this up in a post and at the end of the week, post it on your blog and tag at one or two people to take up the challenge and pass it on! What do you think? Would some of you be interested in this? If so, I'll do the first post and challenge some of you :)

Have a great week y'all. Thanks for checking in with me. Hopefully I'll have more O'Neals up soon.

{Monday Meditations} Test Your Choices!

During revival at my church this week, our speaker Dan Knickerbocker presented a message about testing your choices before you make them. He gave us eight different tests and I want to share them with you for a Monday Meditation.

1. Scriptural Test (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
Has God spoken to you about your decision through the Bible?
II Timothy 3:16 says "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect thoroughly furnished unto all good works."
The Bible is our letter from God to us! All His instructions for us on how we are to live our lives! Check the Bible before you make a decision.

2. Secrecy Test (Proverbs 11:1-2)
Would it bother you if everyone knew about the choice you made?
Proverbs 11:1-2 "A false balance is abomination to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight. When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom."
This is pretty self-explanatory. Would you want others to know what decisions you made? You decisions should not be something you want to hide from others.

3. Survey Test (1 Timothy 4:12)
Would you want everyone to follow your example?
I Timothy 4:12 says "Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity."
We are to be examples and leaders to everyone we meet. Would we want other people we know to make the same decision we are making now?

4. Spiritual Test (Galatians 1:10)
Are you being people-pressured or Spirit-led?
Galatians 1:10, "For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ."
Don't make a decision just because other people want you to make that specific decision. God should be clearly leading you to this decision, not people.

5. Stumbling Test (Romans 14:21)
Could it cause someone else to stumble?
Romans 14:21 tells us, "It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak."
Some of you might have heard of the "Weaker Brother Principle". This basically means, we need to be cautious of the decisions we make especially around new Christians. Going back to the third test, we need to be an example to others and need to make decisions that show we are a Christian through and through.

6. Serenity Test (Philippians 4:6-7)
Have you prayed and received peace about it?
Philippians 4:6-7 says "Be careful [anxious] for nothing; but in every thing by prayer an supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God."
Every decision we make we should check with God and ask for His wisdom and guidance.

7. Sanctification Test (2 Corinthians 3:18)
Will this keep me from growing in the Lord?
II Corinthians 3:18 reads, "But we all with open face beholding as in a glass [a mirror] the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord."
Keyword here is CHANGED. When we become a child of God, we should be a new creature, our lives should change for the better. Now we need to make decisions that help us to grow in God and not decrease our growth.

8. Supreme Test (1 Corinthians 10:31)
Does it glorify God?
This verse says: "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." Every decision we make should glorify God.

Whether you're making a big decision, like where to go to college, or making a small decision, like what you're going to wear today, think about these eight tests!

{Monday Meditations} What do you Desire?

Hello all! Thanks for dropping by. Sorry I haven't been posting much recently. This week is VBS at my church. I will do little to no writing. I'll mostly be editing videos. I am in charge of editing the VBS video for the end of the week and also, I like to do personal vlogs. Me and my friends have fun during VBS with vlogging :D

Hope you enjoy these thoughts I have for you today.

1 Peter 2:2 “As newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby."

"What do you Desire?"

In this world, there are an abundance of things we can desire. People desire wealth, prosperity, a spouse, a family, good friends, good job, nice car, the latest electronics, anything! The word desire means to have an "intense craving". I'm sure something has come to mind for you that you desire. Keep that thought in mind. The Bible says we shouldn't desire material things or the things in this world, but we should desire the things of God. Think about your desires. Do you desire the things of the world or the things of God?

Paul writes to the Philippians  in chapter four verse seventeen, "Not because I desire a gift but I desire fruit that may abound to your account." Paul wasn't concerned with the things the world had to offer. He wasn't worried about money or social status. He was concerned about spiritual things like leading lost ones to Christ and helping young Christians to grow! Paul was writing to the Philippians to encourage them to have the right desires—the desires of Christ.

1 Corinthians 14:1 says, "Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts..." Paul again says that our desires should be for the things of God and not after the things of men. This is a big issue. We are all under the curse of sin and we have to battle our sin nature and the flesh in order to follow God. Christians can easily get caught up in desiring the wrong things if we are not careful. Peer pressure wounds a lot of Christian teens. People like to be accepted and included and to be accepted, some teens change. It's a sad reality to watch friends or acquaintances I once knew turn away from spiritual things and follow their wicked desires down a destructive path. But this doesn't affect just teens, although teens have a greater chance at this. Adults can get caught up in work and ranks and forget about working for the Lord. Everyone has a weakness that Satan will target. If our focus is not on God, we will fail. But praise the Lord that He is right beside to help us get back on our feet, IF we allow Him too.

In Proverbs 11:23 it says, "The desire of the righteous is only good." Children of God should be focusing on clean, holy, Christlike thoughts. Our main goal should be to honor Christ with our words, thoughts, and actions. That's why we are here.

The final passage of Scripture I have is Psalm 73:25. Here the psalmist says, "Whom have I in Heaven but Thee? And there is none upon the earth that I desire beside Thee." The psalmist desired Christ. He had his priorities straight and he had decided that whatever happened, he would keep desiring Christ. He had a strong love for our loving, merciful Savior. He wanted to be like Christ. Wouldn't you love to have that testimony?

Today we need to ask ourselves, "Is Christ my first priority? Do I desire Him?"

{Monday Meditations} If Jesus Didn't Resurrect

Verse: 1 Corinthians 15:14 "And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain."

"If Jesus didn't Resurrect"

My devotional today gave me this thought: "Could I go to heaven if Jesus had not risen from the dead?" That was an interesting thought for me...a scary thought actually. I never thought about Jesus not dying on the cross and not having victory over death. The world would be much different if Jesus did not come to this world to be our Savior. The verse I chose for today simply states what it would be like if Christ did not conquer death. There would be nothing to preach and nothing to have faith in. The word vain has multiple meanings. In this verse, vain is defined as "having no meaning or likelihood of fulfillment". There would be no reason to preach...there would be nothing to preach about. If Jesus didn't come, the prophets would have all been lying and there would be no purpose to preach. And if there is nothing to preach about, then we have nothing to place our faith in. We would have no one to trust in and confide in.

This truly is a terrible thought. It is interesting to ponder about life without Christ and to see how lost we all would be, but it is scary to imagine everyone lost and with no one to turn too. Without Christ, our lives would be pointless. We would live life, then in eternity we would perish forever.

However this is not the case. God had lots of grace and He decided to send His Son to die on the old rugged cross so that we would be able to live in Heaven eternally. My Youth Pastor uses this acrostic for grace. It is:

God's 

Riches 

At 

Christ's 

Expense. 

That sums up grace exactly. Grace is giving us something good we don't deserve. Mercy is sparing us from something bad that we do deserve. God graciously gave us access to Heaven while He mercifully saved us from abiding in Hell forever.

But too often we take for granted God's grace and mercy. Too often we don't thank the Lord for sending Jesus Christ. We forget about all the agony Jesus endured on that cross. We forget how that after all Jesus did for His people, the people chose Barabbas, a murderer, over Jesus. We forget about the jeering crowds and the evil soldiers who hurt our loving Savior. We take for granted the crown of thorns that was thrust into Jesus's head. We forget about the cruel whip that lashed and shredded Jesus's back. We never think about how they ripped the beard right out of Jesus's face. We forget that the soldiers spit on Jesus and hit him. We forget that they hurt Christ so much that He was basically unrecognizable. We fail to recall that God had to turn His back on Christ because Christ was bearing our sins! We take for granted those words "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" We never take time to think about Jesus, injured, bleeding, hanging on that cross, crying out in pain and agony to His Father asking "Father! Why did You leave me?"

I am guilty for taking Jesus's death for granted. I don't always take time to thank the Lord for sending His Son. Let us never grow accustomed to hearing about Jesus's death. Let it always cause us to think and meditate on that event. Let it always cause us to praise our Savior and thank Him for His loving kindness.

A world without Jesus...no purpose...no reason to live...no point...everyone would be lost and wicked sinners. Give God thanks for sending His Son so that we have a purpose. But now let us live that purpose. Let us witness and be a testimony unto others. Let us live a life that glorifies God! Let us work hard before The Lord takes us home to Heaven...what a day that will be! 


I wrote that a year or two ago. It really hit me hard about how much I took Christ's death for granted. I wanted to share these thoughts with you. I often write things but I don't put them into action. I haven't been very thankful for Christ's sacrifice recently, but writing this post has been an excellent reminder and wake up call. Don't take Christ's selfless sacrifice for granted like I was. Always give Him praise and glory for His grace and mercy.

Thanks for reading :)

{Monday Meditations} Blessed is the Man that Endureth Temptation

Verse: James 1:12 "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him."

"Blessed is the Man that Endureth Temptation"

Trials and temptations are a part of life. God gives everyone different trials based upon their own personal situations. We all have different struggles that we must face. People don't like to go through hard times though. Hard times are difficult. They test our faith. But they build us and shape us.

I know that trials are rough and they can be very stressful and/or painful. But all through these struggles we must remember that God is preparing us. He is building character within us. He is strengthening us for times ahead.

God is not punishing us as many people think. God is simply getting our attention and preparing us for what he has prepares for us in the future. So many people get angry with God. I feel bad for those people. I can't imagine turning my back on God. God has helped me so much just in the past two years alone.

Of course, God hasn't deemed it necessary to put me through any extremely difficult trials so far. I have been through only one struggle that lightly tested my faith. I struggled a bit, but it has made me stronger. It taught me to trust in God more strongly than I had been. It wasn't drastic, like others I know. I could name so many people whose loved ones passed away due to cancer, or people who deal with terrible physical pain and trials. But God puts us through trials that are special for us.

No matter how difficult our trials and struggles are, they still aren't fun and most of us wouldn't want to endure them again. However I am glad that God drew me closer to Him. I'm sure that I will go through more hard times in my lifetime. I pray God will help me to remain close to Him when I go through those times.

In brief, I just want to encourage those who are going through trials and those who are struggling. God is trying to show you something. He is trying to strengthen you for the future so He can use you more effectively. Do not be discouraged or frustrated or angry at God. Rejoice in that God is working in your life. Keep praying and God will hear you. We must rely on Him for strength. If we ask Him for help, He will supply us with what we need. Remember that God’s will is perfect even if we don't agree with it. 

1 Corinthians 10:13

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

{Monday Meditations} Colossians 1:16

My dad really encourages me to meditate on the Word of God. I used to think of meditate as something from yoga or something like this:

When Dad first told me to meditate, I envisioned my Dad as Rafiki
 and I looked like Timon :P

But now I understand what he means by meditating. Really, all meditating is is simply thinking and pondering on something. In this case, on God and the things of God. 

I hope to do a "Monday Meditations" this summer. It will be good accountability for me and perhaps an encouragement to you guys =D

I have a hard time remembering to meditate and getting into the habit of it. What I find that works for me is to write out my meditations. So over the past two years, I've collected a few meditations and thoughts. These thoughts were written back in 2014.

Colossians 1:16b “...all things were created by Him and for Him;” 

In my history lesson today, I saw this verse. The whole verse is a good one but  I just want to focus on the latter part. 

God is our Creator. Yes we know that, you say. Well look at the last three words of that verse. “And FOR Him.” We were created FOR God. God created us for His glory. 1 Corinthians 6:20a says “For ye are bought with a price; therefore glorify God...” God sent His only Son to save us. God created us as a people who are capable of doing what we want. We know right from wrong but we have the ability to choose. We are not robots who are perfect and do everything right. God gave us freedom to choose. But man went against God’s rules and fell into sin and now the whole world is cursed. 

However (you know the story) God sent Jesus Christ to die on the cross and now everyone has a way to get into heaven and spend eternity with God. If that isn't enough reason to praise and glorify God, here are some more verses. Deuteronomy 10:21 “He is thy praise and He is thy God, Who hath done terrible [awe-inspiring] things which thine eyes have seen.” Most of us have seen God work in our lives or seen Him work in the lives of others. We can clearly see God through lots of things in this world. Think about all the animals God created. I think of majestic horse with his billowing mane and graceful legs and rippling muscles. I think of the mighty lion with his mane and loud roar. I think of the bald eagle and his nobleness as he flies through the sky. Look at nature around you. Look at the vibrant flowers, the towering trees, the fluffy clouds, the sunshine...God created all of that! I’d say those things are all awe-inspiring.

Here is another verses Isaiah 12: 1 “AND in that day thou shalt say, O LORD, I will praise Thee; though Thou wast angry with me, Thine anger is turned away, and Thou comfortedest me.” We do so much to anger God but He still loves and helps us each day. There is another reason to praise and glorify God. But Isaiah doesn't stop there. In verse two he says “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and be not afraid; for the LORD even JEHOVAH, is my strength and my song; He is also become my salvation.” Just like God was the source of Samson's strength, God is the source of our strength too. God is the reason we have air to breath. He is the reason we are living today. If God wanted to, He could take your life right now. If He wanted to, He could wipe out the entire earth right now. God gives us daily strength and help if we allow Him too. God is patiently waiting for us to seek His guidance for help and strength and when we shut up and listen to God, He will kindly supply us.

Isaiah praises God again in chapter 25. There is so much more I could write but  I will just suggest for you to read it yourself. Basically what I’m trying to say here is we need to glorify God with our lives. We need to be God-pleasers not men-pleasers. Paul chose to stand up and be different from the others because he trusted in God. We need to stop living our lives to glorify ourselves but live our lives so that God is glorified. I speak from experience on glorifying myself and not God. I'm guilty of choosing to do something for myself and put off my prayer time or Bible reading for later. It's hard to deny the flesh, but it isn't impossible. Philippians 4:13!

Here is a hymn most of us are familiar with. Next time we sing it, let's put meaning into those words.

“To God be the glory, great things He has done;

So loved He the world that He gave us His Son,

Who yielded His life an atonement for sin,

And opened the life gate that all may go in.

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,

Let the earth hear His voice!

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,

Let the people rejoice!

O come to the Father, through Jesus the Son,

And give Him the glory, great things He has done.”