His Presence in My Life

Where do I start? Well, He has placed me in a school that has forced me out of my comfort zone, and made me reexamine my priorities and lifestyle. The circumstances have me on my knees daily, sometimes hourly, praying for their lifestyles and also for strength and patience for myself to love them as Christ would and shine His light for them through my actions and words (mostly my actions). Also, it has let me experience first hand (to a small degree) the difficulties and challenges of Christian martyrdom. It has made me realize that I want to make a difference for Christ, not just try to get through life living the easy (fake) Christian lifestyle. It has also made realize that to do that, I have to be very very careful about the way I live my life.

He is teaching me to love those who hate me, and to love without judging (it’s not easy). He is teaching me that if I smile, I soon start to feel happy, and if I smile enough, it grows and grows, and I find that I can’t force my face back into a frown even if I want to (which I don’t). He is teaching me that love is patient, kind, and unfailing (1 Corinthians 13:4-8). He is teaching me to respond to persecution not with anger, but with love (1 John 4:7-8, 1 John 4:20). He is teaching me silence (Proverbs 29:11). He is teaching me not to judge (John 7:24). He is teaching me that I will always find strength and courage in Christ (2 Chronicles 32:7-8, Matthew 14:27, Hebrews 3:6). He is teaching me respect (Leviticus 19:3). He is teaching me the meaning of faith (Galatians 2:20, 1 Peter 1:6-9).

I maintain my relationship with Christ through doing daily devotionals. I study his word daily. Several times a day I am forced to my knees (figuratively and sometimes literally) in prayer. I try to make all of my decisions based on What Would Jesus Do? (I know it’s cliché, but it works for me, I’ve actually been trying to find a bracelet that says that, no luck yetL). I carry my Bible with me absolutely everywhere, along with a small paperback book called Armed and Dangerous- Straight Answers from the Bible that is filled with tons of helpful verses on dozens of topics relevant to today’s teens. It feels like I am constantly opening one of them, either for answers for others, or (more often) for answers and encouragement for myself. I have regular theological discussions (after school, of course) with one of my teachers that used to go to Calvary. I have been throwing myself into serving (see first page). I have at least 10 people that I have asked to help keep me accountable in everything that I do, and I know they will. Every time I am outside, I admire God’s beautiful creation. I smile at strangers to try to make their day brighter. I don’t watch unGodly movies, or listen to unGodly music. I stop myself from hearing gossip and slander by listening to praise and worship music on my CD player when the teachers aren’t talking, and the teachers are okay with that.

And finally, amazingly, wonderfully, for the first time in my (new) life, I feel like I am really living the life of a Jesus Freak! To quote Sunday’s video, I wake up every morning and I am so on fire for God that I feel like I am going to burst into flames! It’s as if my blood has been replaced by the Holy Spirit, and my heart is pumping it through my veins every second! It’s like being struck by lightning every morning, because I wake up and think ‘YES! I get to live today for God!’! This is my life how I have always wanted it to be, and I’m not going to let it change!

I was going to use this for my Gathering Worship Band audition form thingy, until I decided that this was not the year for me to do it, for obvious reasons of busyness.