My Goals.

      My first goal is to grow more in my relationship with Christ. I could accomplish this goal by making a point in my day to stop and do my devotions. Also just spending more time in His word would help me on a daily basis leading to my second goal. My second goal would have to be working hard in everything I do whether it be working on growing in my walk with God, school work, or even a sport. I could practice this by remembering who gave me the ability to do things I am able to do. Placing my focus completely on God and not myself. My third goal is to practice forgiveness on a daily basis. Remembering that in order to be forgiven I have to be able to forgive others. The practice of forgiving is realizing Gods forgiveness for me. This requires me to die daily to myself and grant forgiveness to those who have offended me. My goals for this year are to grow more in Christ, to give everything I have in all I do, and to forgive those who have hurt me realizing God's grace for me.

The Synoptics.

      The Synoptics consist of three books which are Matthew, Mark and Luke. The similarities between these books consist of the same stories described with different details. In Matthew, Mark and Luke they all discuss Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. In my eyes, these three things are  the most important part of Synoptics. Reason being, is that it shows Jesus' life while he was here on earth. It shows us how he lived and was tempted, but yet never once did he fall into that temptation. They also show Jesus' earthly ministry all throughout whether he was actually spreading God's word, or even just living out his everyday life. It is extremely evident that Jesus is the Son of God and that He is the one that God sent to die for us on earth to fulfill a promise that no one ever could. Jesus' death is also very important because it demonstrates Him saving us from our sin. Without His death, no one would have hope in the future. Jesus was a living sacrifice who died and rose again to symbolize Gods love for us. This brings us to His resurrection. This is Jesus fulfilling God's promise and showing us that we do have hope in the future. This shows us how awesome and loving our God is. Some other similarities between the books consist of the Transfiguration, the Triumphant Entry, the call of His disciples, His miracles, and His use of miracles. The differences between the Synoptics were not as easy to find as the similarities however that does not mean there are not any. For example, Luke was a physician, therefore the details that were included more of a medical description. Whereas Matthew was a tax collecter therefore his description of events were less detailed. Another big difference between the Synoptics would be that Jesus' birth and His genealogy were only found in two of the three books. Matthew presented Jesus as king and included many of Jesus' teachings. Where Mark focused on trying to strengthen the believer during a difficult period of persecution. Luke wrote in such a way to help believers understand the Gospel of Christ. Matthew and Lukes setting were similar where as Marks setting was around the Sea of Galilee. The similarities of the Synoptics far out weigh the differences however some differences do exist. 

 

How it all came into being...

     So many people today have different perspectives on how the world came into being. What they do not know is that there is only one absolute way that everything was created. This is the story of how it all began. God as creator came down and decided that He would create the heavens and the earth in 6 whole days. He left the 7th day for Him to rest and reflect on all the glorious things He made just through His words. He was the creator of the universe which was once formless until He spoke light and life into it. The first day of creation began with Him saying "Let there be light" and light came to be. He separated the light and darkness. The second day He separated the expanse of the heavens from the earth. The third day He created dry land and all vegetation. On the forth day, He created all the heavenly bodies the sun, the moon and the stars. The fifth day He created all birds and all animals that live in the ocean. On the six day, He created man and woman in His own image and all animals on land. God created the earth in six literal days and He gave man dominion over everything on earth. 

"Gods Story & My Life"

     Having a good understanding of God's story shows us how we should live our lives on a day to day basis. Often when you are reading a part of scripture you may find that it applies to certain circumstances in your life. Our mission as Christians is to spread what God sent His one and only son to do on the cross for us. He lived, died and rose again. All of those things are extremely important. Without His life, Jesus would not have established himself as King of the world. Without His death, He would not have died and we would have not had a perfect sacrifice for our sin. Without His resurrection, and without His death, death would have won and He would be the same as everyone else who dies. Also, God has a plan for every single person’s life whether we actually live for his purpose or not, that is our choice. There comes a time in our life where we have to make a choice, which way will you go? Will you live for what you think your purpose is? Or will you live out what God has in store for your life?   

The woman at the well. John 4:1-26

     This passage offers hope to the believer and the unbeliever. The story begins with Jesus stopping at the well in Samaria where He comes to find a Samaritan woman. She recognizes that He is a Jew and asks why He is associating with her. Jesus responds with a question and an answer, which is if you only knew who was asking you for a drink you would understand the gift that God offers. Jesus explains to the woman that the gift of God offers her eternal life through Living Water and that she will never thirst again. The woman questions Jesus because of her past. Jesus responds with how He knows all about her past which included her five husbands and the one she lives with now who was not her husband. Jesus offers forgiveness for her past, which gives hope for the unbeliever today. It should also encourage the believer who may have sin in their life as well.The story of the Samaritan woman is one that should minister to all people. She is the classic example of someone who thinks that they could never be forgiven. In that day, an adulteress woman was often stoned to death. Adultery was seen as a horrible sin. If Jesus could forgive her sin, it should show us that he will forgive any of ours.

hiiiiii