Life donation

So, the other day, I went to a Red Cross blood drive to donate some blood. It took about an hour of my time to do the whole process of checking in, reading the little booklet they have on donating, going through a screening test, and finally actually getting my blood drawn. By donating blood, I saved a life, maybe a few. But that is NOTHING compared to what Jesus did on the cross. Jesus didn't just donate a pint of blood so that one person's life could be saved, that kind of sacrifice is actually not that hard, it takes an hour, and it's fairly painless, and you get food afterwards. Jesus died, a gruesome and painful death not just so that a couple people could be saved from physical death, but so that millions upon millions of people could be saved from spiritual death and suffering. But like a blood donation, we must also take Jesus' life donation in order to truly be saved. He gave His life, but we have to actually accept it. It's like a blood transfusion. The donation is completely pointless unless the blood is actually put in the person's body. That's just a cool parallel that I wanted to share with you.

Trusting God

Do you worry? Are you constantly stressed out about what could go wrong in any given situation, whether it's financial, or someone's safety? It's really understandable, I tended to stress about tech situations back when I was on the tech team in youth group. See, that was my main responsibility almost every Wednesday night. Worrying is a natural thing; it comes with not knowing what is going to happen in your life. College students worry about their grades, most mothers worry about their kids; it's a very normal thing for most people.

             But Jesus says in Matthew 6:31-34 "³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

            Not knowing what lies ahead can be a scary concept, but at the same time, God knows exactly what plans he has in store for us, and He will always provide for us. So remember not to worry, because that would distract us from what we need to focus on currently. Remember, God's always with us and only wants the best for us!

God's plans for your life

     Almost everybody, at one point or another, has put thought into what they wanted to do for their lives. Even kids 5 years old think about it, albeit, most want to be police officers, firefighters, astronauts, or movie stars, they've still thought that far into their future. I know for years that I wanted to have my career in computers, because I loved all that techie junk. That, however, was not God's plan for my life. He had much different plans for me, and I'm glad I was listening. Before I go on any further, I want to share Jeremiah 29:11 with you, which says, "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'"
     God always has the perfect plans for us, and His plans for me were to make me a youth pastor. I had waited until my graduating summer to actually hear that loud and clear from God, at which point, I had to change my plans very quickly from going to a life focused on getting a degree in computers to a life focused on getting my degree in youth ministry. And while changes in plans got a little hectic for a bit, God kept me calm through the whole thing, because I know for a fact that He has the perfect plan for me, and He also has perfect timing, so He told me I was going to be a youth pastor right when I needed to hear it, not a second early, or a second late.
     So let me leave you with a challenge: have you been listening to what God wants you to do with your life? Or are you dead set on a path that you want to be on?