Follow up on the Community Christmas Celebration, it was fantastic! I got to go for the whole day yesterday. It was beautiful, nativities from all around the world: Italy, Germany, Sweden, African countries, Brazil, Venezuela, Chile, etc. they had one made out of complete Chocolate. The Entertainment was wonderful! the Orchestra was great and the Choirs sounded professional and they were just local schools. This is an event for everyone it is all completely free and they have a live nativity that I was able to be apart of. It was pure fun!
In order to keep the quality and schedule of a missionary I will only be posting a blog once a week and it will be Thursdays. Unless big things like this celebration comes up on Thursdays then it will be as close to Thursday as possible. Like today:)
Today I will share something that has been very close to me and very important in my life, it fits in with the whole Christmas theme and I think of it every time I think of the Christmas season, the Easter season, and when think of Jesus Christ. This thing is very important and that is Repentance. In my, what has been relatively short, life I have had the wonderful chance to see myself and close friends change because of this one word. I have seen it in scripture and I have seen it take people from "I dont believe in God." to "I Know there is a God and that he loves me!" Repentance to me is"The act of turning away from", "Forsaking", "Putting trust in god", "Improving". I have felt the love of our Savior as I have asked him to help me change myself more than ask him to change my circumstances. For Example in the scriptures there is a man who showed this pattern. He was taken and bound and the people that did this were wanting to kill him, he says "O Lord, according to my faith which is in thee, wilt thou deliver me from the hands of my brethren; yea, even give me strength that I may burst these bands with which I am bound." Notice he asked the Lord to bless him with strength to burst the bands, not bless that his problem of these bands magically disappear. It often is the same with us we get ourselves bound in the cords of the devil and we need to do as Isaiah says and "Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem [or our own name]: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter [or son] of Zion." it is far more effective if we will pray for strength and work to break the bands which we have gotten our selves in, than to pray for him to do it all and just wait for him to do it all with out us trying to quit our addiction or clean up our mess that we have made. The Lord loves us and is merciful, he does not expect us to be perfect this instance but he expects us to use this instance to become perfect. This scripture says it better than anything else Isaiah 1:18-19 "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
In order to keep the quality and schedule of a missionary I will only be posting a blog once a week and it will be Thursdays. Unless big things like this celebration comes up on Thursdays then it will be as close to Thursday as possible. Like today:)
Today I will share something that has been very close to me and very important in my life, it fits in with the whole Christmas theme and I think of it every time I think of the Christmas season, the Easter season, and when think of Jesus Christ. This thing is very important and that is Repentance. In my, what has been relatively short, life I have had the wonderful chance to see myself and close friends change because of this one word. I have seen it in scripture and I have seen it take people from "I dont believe in God." to "I Know there is a God and that he loves me!" Repentance to me is"The act of turning away from", "Forsaking", "Putting trust in god", "Improving". I have felt the love of our Savior as I have asked him to help me change myself more than ask him to change my circumstances. For Example in the scriptures there is a man who showed this pattern. He was taken and bound and the people that did this were wanting to kill him, he says "O Lord, according to my faith which is in thee, wilt thou deliver me from the hands of my brethren; yea, even give me strength that I may burst these bands with which I am bound." Notice he asked the Lord to bless him with strength to burst the bands, not bless that his problem of these bands magically disappear. It often is the same with us we get ourselves bound in the cords of the devil and we need to do as Isaiah says and "Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem [or our own name]: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter [or son] of Zion." it is far more effective if we will pray for strength and work to break the bands which we have gotten our selves in, than to pray for him to do it all and just wait for him to do it all with out us trying to quit our addiction or clean up our mess that we have made. The Lord loves us and is merciful, he does not expect us to be perfect this instance but he expects us to use this instance to become perfect. This scripture says it better than anything else Isaiah 1:18-19 "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:" I am comforted when I learn more about forgiveness and repentance. it is not a scary word but a comforting word. I have seen the "good of the land" talked about in verse 19, it is those experience's that I shared earlier. The Lord can and will change you if you ask for his help and "reason with the Lord" or really intend to do what you tell god you will do or change. I know that God is real and he loves us, he wants what is best for us and he is the gardener here. He knows what he wants us to become.
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