rose-sisson

[rose-sisson]

Hey guys! So if you've read my past two posts, you would've heard two major ideas God's laid on my heart. One being on the impact prayer can have. Another being on judging with God's judgment, not ours. Well today, I'm starting a new series that pulls both ideas together to make a new point: Don't question the process. This phrase has stayed with me for a long time. Whenever I was irritated at someone, or I cringed at my own past, I would hear this phrase repeated 'Don't question the process'. It would give me an urge to forgive someone or to forgive my past self for whatever transgression. But why? What does it mean? It simply means this: God is working through each and every one of us, through a very specific process. If God is working to do something great, who am I to question it? If you don't know Job, Job was a man who faithfully followed God. But Satan swept in and took away everything Job had. And Job begins to question why God let all that happen. Job 38:1-5 says, "Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words? Brace yourself like a man, because I have some questions for you, and you must answer them. Where were you when I laid out the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much. Who determined its dimensions and stretched out the surveying line?" Skip a bunch of tricky questions down to 40:1-2, "Then the Lord said to Job, 'Do you still want to argue with the Almighty? You are God's critic, but do you have the answers?'" These are some pretty rash words, but they hit Job in the right spot. Job replies in 40:4-5, "'I am nothing--how could I ever find the answers? I will cover my mouth with my hand. I have said too much already. I have nothing more to say." Job recognizes that he doesn't have all the answers, and sees that God does. Now for this series, in particular, we will be going through the book of Exodus. I've watched the DreamWorks animation and the VeggieTales retelling of the story. And Moses seems to be the perfect fit to outline this series. I mean, he did crazy things for God. He partnered with God to free his people from slavery and served as a great messenger. He had a tight relationship with God, but he didn't start out awesome overnight. Like all the greats, Moses had to go through a process. So let's go ahead and get started. Exodus starts off with setting the scene: the Hebrews were being enslaved by the Egyptians. But the Hebrews were growing in numbers. So to keep them under control, the Pharaoh had all the Hebrew baby boys drowned in the Nile. Exodus 2:1-6, "A man from the family of Levi married a Levite woman. The woman became pregnant and had a son. She saw there was something special about him and hid him. She hid him for three months. When she couldn't hide him any longer she got a little basket-boat made of papyrus, waterproofed it with tar and pitch, and placed the child in it. Then she set it afloat in the reeds at the edge of the Nile. The baby's older sister found herself a vantage point a little way off and watched to see what would happen to him. Pharaoh's daughter came down to the Nile to bathe her maidens strolled on the bank. She saw the basket-boat floating in the reeds and sent her maid to get it. She opened it and saw the child--a baby crying! Her heart went out for him. She said, 'This must be one of the Hebrew babies.'" This was the beginning of Moses' story. What intrigues me is that his story began addressing the problem of the Hebrews and then it introduces Moses. So let's talk about the problem. We know the Hebrews are being enslaved. But their problem was much deeper than that. To start, God made the world. God made a perfect place for Adam and Eve to live with him. But Adam and Eve sinned against God. They chose their own way instead of following God. As a result, they received the stain of sin. Sin separated them from God, separates us from God. So God launches a plan to redeem us. This plan starts with Abraham. Now, Abraham was promised three things: descendants that outnumber the sand, a land just for them, and that they will bring a blessing for the whole world. Abraham had achieved bearing a son, and his family was growing fast. And they knew what land God was going to give them, Canaan. However, Canaan was still inhabited by Canaanites. And as time passes, the situation doesn't seem to get better. After all, they're enslaved by Egyptians begging God to deliver them to the promised land. But God understood fully that this was the problem. He understood this well before we could. And so God gave them baby Moses. In other words, Moses was born to be used as a vessel to solve this problem. God could've handled it any other way, sure. But it's what Moses was born to do, and then some. So today's point is simple: There is a process. I think as Christians it's easy to push people aside who don't agree with our religion. It's especially easy to push aside people who hurt us and hurt God. Richard Dawkins is a world-renowned atheist. He made several books discussing how he believes God isn't real. But would you believe me if I said that God's going through a process with him as well? Sure right now he's refusing God with all his might, and as much as I'd hate it he might go to Hell. And that would be his choice! But God's still fighting for him in ways we can't understand. It may look like Richard Dawkins is forever fighting God, and he may. But tomorrow isn't here yet. Only God knows whether or not Richard Dawkins is going to heaven or hell. However even though there's a chance he might end up in hell, we can't question God's activity around him. It's the same way with the people around us. I've seen my fair share of 'baby Christians'. They don't start out as amazing evangelical pastors. They have rough starts. They continue to curse, continue to drink alcohol, continue to stay around the same friends they need to leave. But that's because they're in the beginning of their process. Moses was just a baby and was taken into an environment where false gods were worshiped. That's how he started out. Moses didn't come out of the womb ready to go part a red sea. But that doesn't mean that God wasn't already working in Moses' favor. In fact, God protected Moses as he rode the Nile to the Pharaoh's daughter. God knew Moses' potential and worked in his life to ensure that Moses would grow to be the man he needed for the job. But it took time. So the fruit of this short message is simple: There is a process. Maybe you're a new Christian and you're just getting into the swing of being a follower. Maybe you're an older Christian and you've got a new sibling in Christ not acting right. My encouragement to you is to take your time. For the elders in Christianity, be more patient with your youth, more understanding. The process is long, and irritating sometimes. But the end result of the process is something beautiful. If you liked this post please give me a thumbs up and if you have a question or a comment please email me at fire.time.rsmith@gmail.com. Also, for those of you who've joined me on the Church of Valatie journey, I'm doing a Q&A post, July 19th to take a break from character arcs. So if you have a question for one of the characters, or for me, be sure to send them in by email, comment, or note for DA members. Until next time, God bless! And keep your fires for God, blazing!

[rose-sisson]

Church of Valitie: It’s an Attribute!

Webtoon: http://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/the-church-of-valatie/its-an-attribute/viewer?title_no=62614&episode_no=10

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[rose-sisson]

Hey guys! So this week I decided to get a little real with you. I mean, I'm real with my content all the time, but this week might be a little more on an offensive side than a normal low-key post. I've been amping my content up for a while now, and I hope it's been great so far. But I wanna get into something that's caught my attention with Christians and media. Three article titles I'd like to point out specifically: From Christianity Today, "The UK's Highest-Ranking Evangelical Politician Steps Down" and from Christian News, ""R.C. Sproul Jr. Accepts Plea Agreement for Drunk Driving With Children in Vehicle, Sentenced to Probation" "Northern Illinois United Methodist Conference Commissions Deacon Who Identifies as Neither Male or Female."

These three articles talk about Christians in high positions doing something that was either unbiblical or ill-advised. Now before we get into a disagreement as to why people are saying these people are wrong, let me point something out to you. Hundreds of other people have already argued these things online. If you look at the comment section of these articles shared on Facebook or Twitter, you'll find hundreds of comments expressing disagreement with their decisions. Then you'll find more comments expressing disagreement with the comments disagreeing with what was going on in the article. It just keeps going on. We live in a very critical and hypocritical generation.

There are news sites dedicated to reporting things that go viral on social media like "These 30 People Totally Got What They Deserved On Social Media" (by twentytwowords.com) and people comment making fun of whoever the article is about. Now I'll be honest, some of those articles are funny. Seeing people who try to lie on social media to edify themselves, and then get caught in the act is entertaining. We love to see people who pull such garbage get what they deserve. But when you think about it, that's laughing at someone else’s sin. Jesus died on the cross to eliminate sin's power over us. If he did that, why would I find entertainment through something that put Jesus on the cross?

So now we know the issue, but how do we fix it? What can we do to be the change? Do we refuse to be critical of anyone at all? Do we continue to be critical because people need to know right from wrong? Matthew 7:1-5, "Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. And why worry about a speck in your friend's eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, 'Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,' when you can't see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend's eye."

Jesus seems pretty straight-forward in this passage. Most people use this passage as a way to back up the popular saying 'Only God can judge me'. However, this is not the fine line. Jesus also speaks to us about judgment in John 8:15-18, "You judge me by human standards, but I do not judge anyone. And if I did, my judgment would be correct in every respect because I am not alone. The Father who sent me is with me. Your own law says that if two people agree about something, their witness is accepted as fact. I am one witness, and my Father who sent me is the other." With both verses in mind, we can come to a simple conclusion. We can't judge, but we can act on God's judgment. God is the only judge, but we can work with him to judge correctly.

With that in mind, I ask another question: What is God's judgment? If we're supposed to cooperate with God in judgment, we should know what it is right? Paul says in Romans 7:14-25, "So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind, I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin."

Paul the Apostle, despite his awesome cooperation with God, understood that there was a problem with sin. He struggled with wanting to sin despite knowing it's consequences. If Paul knew this, surely God does. And if this is God's mindset towards us and our sins despite whatever position we're in, surely we can offer more empathy than we're giving. In fact, we're in the same boat with people struggling with such sins. Why are we acting like we're higher than they are and making fun of their struggle? And I'm not on the attack here honestly, shaming everyone who does this. I'm guilty too! Like I said, I enjoy articles that shame people for lying online and getting caught. But I shouldn't. I should have empathy, compassion for those people. In the end, there's a root to the problem that has led that person to lie online. There's a root to the problem of why an evangelical voice stepped down from office. The pastor who drove drunk with children has a root to his problem. The Deacon who doesn't identify with a gender has a problem with deep roots.

So the fruit of this short message is simple: let's band together to be the change in the media. Social media is supposed to be a tool to unite people from all walks of life. However as we use it today, it's more of a tool to separate and divide us. We stand on different sides of a battlefield fighting fights that only end in anger and irritation. Proverbs 12:18 says, "Some people make cutting remarks, but the words of the wise bring healing." It's a popular belief that if you band together with enough people and riot, that it will help change things. But the Bible is clear that if we want to heal, we have to speak with empathy and wisdom.

If you liked this post please give me a thumbs up and if you have a question or a comment please email me at fire.time.rsmith@gmail.com. Church of Valatie will be up this Wednesday so don't miss out! Until next time God bless, and keep your fire for God blazing!

[rose-sisson]

Hey guys! Long time no post! I had to take a little break to refresh and see what God was wanting me to work on this season, and luckily I got the answers I needed. So we'll be back to two updates a month every other Friday.

Not long ago I went on a beach retreat with my church. We went to Gulf Shores, Alabama and did some evangelizing at a music festival. I'm glad to say that out of a group of about 20 students and 5 leaders we prayed over 230 people, spoke to 400. Five received salvation, and seven rededicated their lives. We divided into groups, and my group with three others prayed over twenty-five people and got one rededication. The first day we prayed over six, the second we prayed over five, and the last day we prayed over fourteen people and got the rededication. So we made a huge jump the last day, but the second day was extremely emotional.

We got five prayers down and we were pushing for a salvation. We were short on time but I said that we should try to get one more, to sort of even out with the first day. So there was this guy we had walked past twice now. So I suggested him. We walk over to him and we did a survey approach. Basically, we asked him three questions to get him thinking about theology and life after death. After we finish asking him these questions, things got bad. He answered that he believed in God and that he was real, but didn't believe he was going to heaven. In fact, he chose not to. He said he was his own hero, and that if he went to hell for it that he was okay. The more questions I asked, the more I saw his pain, the more I saw his hurt. I pressed so hard to get him to think about what he was saying. When my partners chimed in, the guy got so angry at them and it was attack after attack. I don't believe he understood yet, but he was in so much pain. Then someone from another group who saw me pulled me away getting me out of there. He said I was looking angry. But when he pulled me away from this complete stranger and got me on another street, I fell apart. I bawled on the street, on the bus, and in my bunk for a straight half-hour. That night I cried myself to sleep, and the next day I closed off everyone around me and just dove into the Bible and prayed. It took me five days to fully get over the situation and stop crying over it. Someone who knew God was refusing him and there was nothing I could do.

The whole time I cried, my friends and leaders were constantly telling me, 'You planted a seed'. But by the fifth time I heard that I was so frustrated by hearing that. If you've heard the parable about the seeds, you know that there are different types of soil that a seed can land on. Mark 4:3-8 says, "'Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it. Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. And some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.'" This parable is used to explain how God's word can land on people's hearts, and how they may react depending on how their heart is. I don't know about you, but this frustrates me. According to this parable, three out of four hearts are soil not ready to take in seeds. That's sort of discouraging if you ask me.

Maybe you're reading this and you're discouraged too. Perhaps there's someone you've been praying for, speaking life to, or just plain trying to bless them. Maybe you're not seeing any progress. Aside from my evangelical fail, my grandmother is still suffering from a stroke she had three years ago. We've prayed, and interceded, and we take care of her. My mom is about to have her 21st surgery, and she's 45. I pray for both of them, but I'm not seeing any progress. Maybe you're praying for someone you love to be healed. Today I'd like to present a few things I learned from my experience, in hopes that it'll encourage you to take heart. Let's get started.

The first thing I learned from this experience, was what a seed truly is. Luke 8:11 says, "This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God."  When you look up the word 'seed' in a concordance, there are many verses where the word pops up. If you read the verses in context there's something interesting that I've found about these verses. The word 'seed' is primarily used to describe an actual garden seed or a seed in terms of babies. Like 'The seed of Abraham', that kind of thing. It may seem like two completely different definitions and uses. But both instances are used in a way to say that something is being born or growing. When I thought further, it reminded me that God's a creator. God is also good. So when we plant a seed that is from God, we are planting something that will grow. No matter the soil, God can use seeds we plant for his purposes. What's best, is the assurance that when we plant a seed we're not doing damage. So if I planted a seed in the stranger who told us off, I can have the assurance that God will use that encounter for good.

But now that I know that I did good and not bad, the only problem now is the issue of time. I desperately wanted that stranger to get saved right then. But it wasn't time. That frustrated me as well. So the second thing I learned from this experience, was not to question God's work in progress. 1 Corinthians 3:6-7 says, "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God gives the growth." Paul is talking to the church of Corinth in regards to them constantly saying 'I'm a follower of Paul' or 'I'm a follower of Apollos'. The problem with what they were doing, is that they were giving a man credit for God's work. In the verse presented, Paul sets the record straight and lets the church know where credit is due. But look at the process. Paul 'planted', Apollos 'watered', and God gives the growth. I may have planted seeds, but the stranger I talked to has to go through a process for those seeds to grow. Someone will have to water him, and then God will provide growth. If I'm planting a seed, I've done what I can do for then. And because God's a good creator, I can believe that that seed will be watered and will grow. 

Galatians 6:1-9 says it beautifully, "Brothers, if someone is caught in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual should restore such a person with a gentle spirit, watching out for yourselves so you also won't be tempted. Carry one another's burdens; in this way, you will fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone considers himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But each person should examine his own work, and then he will have a reason for boasting in himself alone, and not in respect to someone else. For each person will have to carry his own load. The one who is taught the message must share all his good things with the teacher. Don't be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows he will also reap, because the one who sows to his flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit. So we must not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don't give up."

The last thing I learned through my experience is not to let up. I may not be able to talk to this stranger personally, but I can pray in secret. I broke out in tears every day for five days. I never grieved for someone so hard in my life. I didn't cry that much when a family member died, or when my parents got divorced. I grieved hard. But the good news is that God is so big that my sincere prayers can reach a person who lives in a completely different state. He's so big, my prayers can reach anyone in the universe God willing! And because of this, we should not let up. We shouldn't let up when someone denies Christ. We shouldn't let up when a family member needs healing. We shouldn't let up when a sibling in Christ backslides. Whatever your situation may be, don't give up on God.

So the fruit of the message is simple: People are hurting, and in the process of you helping them you may get hurt too. But God is a healing God, and he is so big that he can use a tiny seed to grow something great and healing in someone. It happened to me three years ago at a Gateway Conference, and it can happen for that complete stranger. It can heal my grandmother and my mother who are both struggling physically. It can heal you. It can heal your friends and family. Not by our power, but by God's power through us.

If you liked this message please give me a thumbs up. If you have a question or a comment please email me at fire.time.rsmith@gmail.com. To improve Church of Valatie and FireTime, FireTime will be scheduled every two weeks. Church of Valatie will be once every month. So until next time God bless and keep your fire for God, blazing!

[rose-sisson]

Church of Valatie Episode 9!!!

Church of Valatie is back with it’s monthly update! Be sure to check in on how Cyra is handling her dilemma or more how her parents are taking it. God bless and be sure to check back next Friday for a FireTime Update!

Deviantart: http://1234rosesmith.deviantart.com/art/Church-of-Valatie-Episode-8-Stumped-682419842?ga_submit_new=10%3A1495651095

LINE Webtoon: http://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/the-church-of-valatie/stumped/viewer?title_no=62614&episode_no=9

[rose-sisson]

I've hesitated for weeks to post this image. I honestly didn't want it to get stolen, hence the signature near King David. But I decided that it's something that God gave me, so it should be shared. Just to clarify, you are free to repost this and share it. At any rate, I figured that this would be a good day to retell the story of David, and where the idea for this image came from. If you're new to FireTime, the first thing you need to know about me is that I am a huge veggietales fan. I have all the classics, majority on VHS. My first word was 'veg-tales'. To this day I watch veggietales. One of my favorite veggietales shows, was Dave and the Giant Pickle. Which if you couldn't tell by the name, is the story of David and Goliath. In this show there's a song called 'Big Things Too' (go listen, it's not only funny if you get the jokes but it ties in with this message https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4DzO2ySgiM). But before we get to this song, let's get into the scripture that aligns with what's going on in the song. 1 Samuel 17:31-40, "The things David said were picked up and reported to Saul. Saul sent for him. 'Master,' said David, 'don't give up hope. I'm ready to go fight this Philistine.' Saul answered David, 'You can't go fight this Philistine. You're too young and inexperienced -- and he's been at this fighting business since before you were born.' David said, 'I've been a shepherd, tending sheep for my father. Whenever a lion or bear came and took a lamb from the flock, I'd go after it, knock it down, and rescue the lamb. If it turned on me, I'd grab it by the throat, wring its neck, and kill it. Lion or bear, it made no different -- I killed it. And I'll do the same to this Philistine pig who is taunting the troops of God-Alive. God, who delivered me from the teeth of the lion and the claws of the bear, will help deliver me from this Philistine.' Saul said, 'Go. And God helps you.' Then Saul outfitted David as a soldier in armor. He put his bronze helmet on his head and belted his sword on him over the armor. David tried to walk but he could hardly budge. David told Saul, 'I can't even move with all this stuff on me. I'm not used to this.' And he took it all off. Then David took his shepherd's staff, selected five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the pocket of his shepherd's pack, and with his sling in his hand approached Goliath." In the song, 'Big Things Too', Phil Vischer put this scene to song. David, a kid no older than fourteen, goes to King Saul and volunteers to fight the giant Philistine Goliath. Not only does David volunteer, but he argues his ability to do so. In the song, there was a lyric that stuck out to me, 'With His help I know I can do big things'. Through this conversation between Saul and David, David is trying to let Saul know, 'It's okay, with his help I can do it'. And I find it particularly interesting how David went through to explain it. To start, David uses a testimony of how he killed bears and lions to protect his father's sheep. He talks, goes into details about how he would wring the necks of the lion or bear, and kill it. I don't know about you, but I can just see David using these instances as a parallel for defeating Goliath. You've heard God's people being called sheep time to time, and I'm pretty sure that Goliath was being compared to a lion and bear. When I first read it, I thought that David was bragging. But if you continue through David's conversation, David says that God was the one who delivered him. So what exactly is David doing? Is he bragging about him killing a lion and a bear, or is he bragging about God protecting him? I'd like to suggest that it's both. It's strange to think that you can brag about something you do and that God does at the same time. Normally when Christians brag about what they do, people get a little skeptical, don't they? Do you have one of those friends who posts every time they pay for someone's meal at a drive thru? Honestly, when I see that, I get aggravated because it seems like they're bragging about their charity and are looking for praise. But David isn't looking for praise in these verses. Psalm 23:1-6 is a famous Psalm that David wrote. "God, my shepherd! I don't need a thing. You have bedded me down in lush meadows, you find me quiet pools to drink from. True to your word, you let me catch my breath and send me in the right direction. Even when the way goes through Death Valley, I'm not afraid when you walk by my side. Your trusty shepherd's crook makes me feel secure. You serve me a six-course dinner right in front of my enemies. You revive my drooping head; my cup brims with blessing. Your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life. I'm back home in the house of God for the rest of my life." From David's conversation with Saul and the Psalm he wrote later in life, I can tell what he is doing. David isn't just bragging about his strength, or about how God protects him. David is using both to validate his confidence in God. If you read the beginning of the story of David and Goliath, you'll read about how the army of the Israelites and the army of the Philistines were about to go to war. But Goliath, a ten-foot Philistine with 126 pounds of armor on and a spear that weighed more than 15 pounds, steps up and challenges the Israelites to a one on one battle between each sides' champion. But nobody stepped up to fight Goliath. The Israelites cowered in fear of Goliath for forty days, as Goliath each day taunted the Israelites. God's chosen people, who literally had a God on their side, were not confident in his ability to protect them from Goliath. My question is, what went wrong? Why did the Israelites lose confidence in God's ability to protect them? There could be many reasons for each individual in the army. Perhaps they didn't believe the stories they heard from when they were younger. Perhaps they believed but didn't believe that God could do the same in their life. Perhaps they believed that they would have to rely on their own strength, instead of God's. Whatever the reason, David proved them all wrong. David goes to Saul to say that he is confident enough that he can defeat Goliath and that God will deliver him. I don't know about you, but David's testimony is astounding. Often when we hear the story of David and Goliath, we think about how cool it was for a little kid to take down a giant. We love this story, we tell it to kids in youth services. But why do we love this story so much? It's because the faith of a little boy saved a whole nation from slavery. David stood in the gap for the cowering nation of Israelites and gave God the ability to protect them. Now you may be thinking, 'Couldn't God do it anyway?' Sure he could, but the Israelites wouldn't learn a thing. If God just took care of them all the time without them doing anything, they'd be like that forty-year-old man still living in his mother's basement. They would believe that everything was due to their power, and they would lose respect for God. If they lost respect for God, nobody would learn that the God of Israel is the one true God. But because David stood up, God was able to prove not only to the Philistines but to the cowering Israelites that he was the one true God. David was able to restore the confidence of the Israelites, by proving his own. Through David's confidence in God, he was able to do amazing things: he won more wars, became King of Israel, he had children, he repented of his sins, he wrote multiple Psalms, he ran away from God and had confidence that he could return. Through David, came Solomon who wrote many of the Proverbs. Through David, came the Savior Jesus Christ. Through all of David's ups and downs, I feel like his ongoing testimony is simply 'Don't worry, God's got this.' This life is hard to live. Anytime you read or watch the news, there's always a bad report. In our own lives, we have struggles. Not too long ago, there was a fire at my old trailer (which is next door to our current house). My mom and I were hauling buckets of water, trying to contain the fire til the fire department made it. The fire took out an acre of land, an old chicken house, and half of the underpanning of the trailer. Unexpected things happen every day that throws your plans in the gutter. But through David, we learn that it's okay and that we can have confidence in God.   So the fruit of this short and simple message is simple: Have confidence in God. Don't just know that God can do miracles, believe that he can do them for you too. If you don't believe, remember what God has done in the Bible, and believe that he values you just as much as he did David. We live in a broken world that needs to know that the Lord is God. Maybe you have someone in your life who's a Christian like you but doesn't believe that God can do amazing things in their life. David stood in the gap for his ken, and so can you. Don't worry, God's got this. With his help, even you can do big things. If you liked this post please give me a thumbs up and if you have a question or a comment please email me at fire.time.rsmith@gmail.com. If you didn't see it yet, be sure to check out the latest episode of Church of Valatie on LINE Webtoon, or on Deviantart. God bless, and keep your fire for God, blazing!  

[rose-sisson]

This was probably one of my more emotional pieces for many reasons. One reason is because a little bit of my testimony is weaved into this piece. Another reason is because while working on this, it made me realize how people have lost what it means to be a true follower of Christ. The final reason is because it made me realize how far I have to go to truly be the person God wants to make me.

I don't know about you but I live in an area where there's about five churches in one town and ten in a city. I live in what people call the 'Bible Belt' which is a safe yet frustrating area to live in. I'm constantly surrounded by people who call themselves Christian, but don't follow Christ. What's the difference? If you say that you believe in God but still party and get drunk, you might be a Christian but you don't follow Christ. If you say that Jesus died on the cross but don't tithe that ten percent at your local church, you might be a Christian but you don't follow Christ. If you say that the God of Israel is the one true God but still go out and have casual sex, you may be a Christian, but you don't follow Christ. Even as I wrote those standards out you may be thinking, "Who is she to set the standard?" or, "How can she condemn people with such certainty?" First off, I promise I'm not trying to condemn you. I was born in a Christian household, raised to believe in God, but I sure wasn't a follower. I bullied, cursed, lied, cheated, and hurt a lot of people sometimes in the name of God. Even after my true dedication to Christ I still held onto these practices. But what changed was I stopped giving myself a title, and I began to talk with God. And the reason I go so far as to say such bold accusations is not to condemn you if you did something wrong, but to challenge you, and to let you know that there is more to this that meets the eye.

Let's be honest, we all hate fakes: fake crab, fake lobster, fake signatures, nobody likes a knockoff. So what do expect people to say when you proclaim that God is sovereign, but don't change? People get irritated! People rant about Christians on the web saying that they don't back up what they preach. Wesburro Baptist Church is one of the bigger ones that are known for spreading hate by condemning homosexuality with hell. Not at all saying that homosexuality is fine, but condemning those who are confused with who they are is terrible and unbiblical. God is the gifter of identity, not the murderer of the confused. My audience today is not for people who don't know God yet, but rather for the Christian who's bored with life (However anyone is free to read). Maybe you're reading this and you're upset with living life. Maybe you're bored with work, church, work, and going through the motions. I know that I get exhausted sometimes. I'm not here to argue about what's biblical and what's not. I'm here to present what most people miss out of their Christian lifestyle. My mission today is to help reawaken a burning desire for the Kingdom so that we can see a true revival around the world.

There's something about the story of Jesus that's been known, spread everywhere in America and shared with others but is rejected. Why? Let's be honest: serving someone who 'saved' you and is supposed to 'love' you just to avoid dying and going to hell, isn't appealing. We're very independent creatures, we want to do things our own way as shown from the beginning with Adam and Eve. But in Luke 9:23-26 Jesus says, "Then he said to the crowd, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed? If anyone is ashamed of me and my message, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in his glory and in the glory of the Father and the holy angels.'" This is not one of the verses you see circulating around social media, nor is it the verse most people refer to when trying to save someone. That's because Jesus isn't talking to the Gentiles (people who didn't know God) yet, he's talking to the Jews. The Jews were the people of God. Point being, if you're a 'Christian' these words are for you. God is calling us to go against our nature and to follow his ways.

The Bible says over and over that we are to be like Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul says in 1 John 2:6, "Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked." 1 Corinthians 11:1, "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ." Ephesians 5:1-2, "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." 1 Peter 2:21, "For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps." I can keep going, but I'm sure you get the point by now. There's so much emphasis on being like Christ. In fact, it's what makes being a Christian so appealing. Jesus attracted crowds because there was something about him that made him significantly different than the average human being. That being said, let's continue.

Luke 23:44-47 says, "It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, 'Father, your hands, I commit my spirit.' When he had said this, he breathed his last. The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, 'Surely this was a righteous man.'" This is Luke's account of when Jesus died. For a moment, I want to focus on what Jesus' last words were. "Father, your hands I commit my spirit." To summarize everything we've learned so far; Jesus calls us to take up our cross daily and follow him, and Paul calls us to be like Jesus. If we're supposed to be like Jesus, we should work to imitate everything he did right? His compassion, his love, his righteous anger, if we're to be like Jesus we should imitate such things. But is it possible that we're also supposed to imitate his death? I'm not saying that we should die literally for our sins because Jesus died to save us from having to do that. But I'm saying that we should die to our selfish desires, daily.

I think it's easy to get in a mindset that Jesus had everything easy because he was the son of God. It's easy to think that Jesus didn't feel pain, or that Jesus didn't feel hunger, lust, fear, anger. Do you know how many times Jesus had to repeat things to the disciples? Do you know how agitating it must've been for Jesus to watch his so-called 'priests' cheat people for money at Jerusalem? Do you know how much Jesus wept when Lazarus died even though he was about to be revived? We have to remember that Jesus was human too. He wasn't just the son of God, he was human too. Jesus had God's power to overcome those struggles perfectly but that doesn't mean he didn't have them. In fact, Jesus plead for mercy before his crucifixion!

Matthew 26:36-44, "Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, 'Sit here, while I go over there and pray.' And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, 'My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.' And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.' And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, 'So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.' Again for the second time, he went away and prayed, 'My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.' And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. So leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again." Jesus prays three times to be freed from this painful experience but concedes knowing it's his father's will. He gets agitated when his trusted friends sleep while he is pleading his case. Sounds pretty human to me. How many times do we plead to be free from our own struggles? I believe he pleads because he's scared. Wouldn't you? He was stabbed in the hands and the feet with rusty nails hung up on a splintery cross and mocked publicly. Jesus was God, but he was still human.

But what's amazing is that despite his selfish desires, his fear of pain and mockery, he follows through with God's will. He carries a wooden cross up a hill and hung on a cross till he died a horrible death. His last words were dedicated to the Father he dedicated his will to, for the people he dedicated his life for. How can we ignore doing the same? How can we ignore this? How can we imitate Jesus without doing the one thing that defines who Jesus? Jesus lived and died submitting his will to his Father for the people his Father loved. In fact, his Father loved us so much, he sent his only son to die for us. Sound familiar? John 3:16, "'For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.'"

But why stop there? John 3:17-21, "'God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God's one and only Son. And the judgment is based on this fact: God's light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see what they are doing what God wants.'" I don't think I could word it better than Jesus himself. We are literally called to risk humiliation and punishment by admitting our sins before God. But we don't do it so we can be humiliated or punished, we do it so we can not only draw closer to God and his light but so we can lead others to do the same. Christians, we've been long overdue for a revival. It's up to us, God's chosen people, to step up and do our job. It's our job to humble ourselves, become vulnerable with God, and sacrifice our desires for God.

So the fruit of this long message is a little complicated. For my fellow Christians, I'd like to challenge you. This Easter, let's submit our will to God's. Maybe you're a Christian but you don't know what it means to be a follower. Seriously, no condemnation! I was in your shoes and I'm just here to say that there's more to it than you realize. If you get married, you don't stop learning things about your spouse. In the same way, when you become a Christian, you don't stop learning more about who God is, and what is will is for your life. It's a relationship greater than marriage, but it requires our full attention. Maybe you're not a Christian and you have a misinterpretation as to what Christianity really is. I'm no scholar, I'm just a kid with a burning desire for God, a few bibles, and a laptop. But I'm confident that in my walk with God I've learned enough to share this much. I'm confident that I know him well enough to understand his will, which is absolutely nothing but to love you. He not only sent his son to die on the cross so that he could one day be with you, but he sends blessings your way every day. You just don't see them yet.

And before I close I have one last message to share.  Someone, maybe multiple people who are reading this, are trying to find fulfillment through their own means. Whether it's looking for a spouse, gaining income, partying, or just searching for happiness, you're trying to do something impossible. You don't know it yet, but what you're really looking for is God. You search for the happiness and fulfillment he can give you through worldly means, which is impossible. We are greedy creatures, but God is big enough to give us the fulfillment we desire. And if you feel like that's you, and that may apply to multiple people, I encourage you to give God a chance. Even if it's just a one-time thing, I encourage you to just give him the opportunity, and I guarantee you that it will feel impossible to turn away once you've met him. If you don't know how there are a few simple things you can do. Just get alone in your room, and just start talking to God. That's all it takes to pray. If you don't wanna do that, google the book of Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John, and read. Even if you've read it before just do it again. And if you don't wanna do that, google Bethel Music and just listen to their music. All it takes is a well-intended step, and while there are many steps you can take, I recommend those for now.

If you liked this post please give me a thumbs up and if you have a question or a comment please email me at fire.time.rsmith@gmail.com. I hope you have a blessed Good Friday, and Resurrection Sunday. Until next time, God bless fam, and keep your fire for God, blazing.

[rose-sisson]

If you remember my Proverbs traditional media challenge in January, I did a drawing like this, so considering it was my best one, I made it into a digital drawing as well! As for Church of Valatie, I regret to inform that it will not be posted this week :(. Also I've decided that it'll be better for me to post Church of Valatie once every month instead of twice a month. Thank you for your patience, God bless, and keep your fire for God, blazing~

[rose-sisson]

If you haven't heard the song, you totally should. Like right now. Go google it. I think it's done by Bethel, which is one of the bigger worship groups out there. I've listened to this song for about two months, and it's really one of those songs you listen to when you need to be reminded of God's glory and how he's so captivating. But go listen to it yourself! BUT I've got other news to share. My collab buddy from home, Night Okami Destiny has done a few videos on YouTube and they're amazing. If you're looking for just a short bit of Jesus with a little bit of gaming, he's got you covered! He does gaming videos where he talks about a particular bible verse every week and he's pretty consistent (unlike a particular artist who's got no internet for such activities XD). I'm also his artist for his YouTube icon and banners, and I feel like I've sown some work into a ministry that's going to do big things on YouTube. So go check him out, leave a like on his video, subscribe, bell him, all that good stuff. Here's the link to his latest video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8LvgSNRAWA. As for Church of Valatie, it will be on schedule this week! So be ready to hear more on Cyra Faust's latest adventures in church! Until next time, God bless, and keep your fire for God, blazing!

[rose-sisson]

Church of Valatie Episode 7

http://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/the-church-of-valatie/sending-out-troops-/viewer?title_no=62614&episode_no=7

Check out the new episode of Church of Valatie now on LINE Webtoon! See you there! God bless!!!

[rose-sisson]

Hope you guys are having a blessed day! The next episode of Church of Valatie may or may not be up this Wednesday due to family matters, but it will be up between Wednesday and Friday. See you then! God bless, and keep your fire for God, blazing!

[rose-sisson]

Two weeks ago, I experienced something I had never thought I could experience. I thought the atmosphere was virtually nonexistent. It was nothing but darkness with a constant taunting in my ear. People drank til they couldn't speak a single word. People threw their clothes off in the attempt to gain affection and dollar store beads. People consulted fortune tellers in search of knowledge of an unknown future. People allowed demons to work through them in hopes of sharing knowledge of the future. There were puddles of spilled alcohol and other bodily fluids everywhere. This was a place where the devil was allowed to work and lead others into darkness. For the first time in my entire life, I stepped outside my Christian atmosphere and entered a street where the devil was just torturing the souls of desperate people. 

This isn't going to be a normal FireTime post. This is primarily going to be a testimonial post and an encouragement. Recently, I went to New Orleans with SUM Theological Seminary to minister during Mardi Gras. About five months back when I heard about this trip, I kept hearing God telling me to go. When I debated with him, he just kept telling me to go. It was a three-hundred and fifty dollar trip. Luckily by God's power, I was able to get the money I needed, and more. Someone was called to pay one-hundred of that fund, and I was able to have spare money for on the trip. So God was really calling me to go on this trip. He even went out of his way to call someone to ensure my financial safety. When we got there, we had quite a few classes. One class, I went to before we hit the streets, was an evangelical class done by Dr. Scott Camp. He's spoken at our church before, so I was really excited to hear him speak. One point he made on having an evangelical spirit, was that you should brace yourself. To know the heart of Jesus Christ is to know grief. I didn't quite understand that to it's fullest extent until we hit the streets. 

The first night we hit the streets was interesting. We were all partnered guys to girls. Then each partner group was matched with a group of five to six partner groups that I'll call teams, and then each team was matched to two buses. It sounds extremely complicated, but so long as you know where you're at, you're good. I luckily was on the first bus, with the first team, and I had my partner's number. There were seven teams in total, and each scattered into different sections on Bourbon Street. The team I was on was stationed on the corner of our block, where the parades drove by. What we did, was we would constantly ask for prayers, and just grab people the Lord called us to talk to. If someone enters Bourbon from one side, they go through getting asked for prayer a solid fifty times before exiting. We were also fortunate enough to have elders surrounding the area, protecting the students from the ones who were violent. For example, if some drunk idiot was throwing up a gun at us, we had plans for quick evacuation, and the elders were armed in case of emergency. We also had signals for people who would throw their clothes off. For girls taking their clothes off, they would yell, 'Eyes down', and the males had to keep their heads down while the girls scoped out for safety. Vice Versa. For guys taking off their clothes and showing junk, they would yell, 'Eyes up', and the girls would raise their heads up while the guys scoped out for safety. And when we were out ministering every hour we would have a power up. What would happen, is they would set alarms off. We would have to drop what we are doing, and meet up with our teams for a big huddle on the side of a wall. We would get in as close as we could off the streets, and do these ridiculously loud chants. We had hundreds of camera phones on us as we screamed these chants and giving glory to God. 

On the way to Bourbon the first night, I saw something amazing that gave me a confidence in our cause. I had been in the presence of God, but I had never seen a presence without God. Perhaps I ignored it all this time, but I saw it there. Not only did I see a presence without God, I saw a presence with the devil in it. We would walk by psychics and fortune tellers. Some of them I could tell were fake. They were just people who would play cards with others. But there were a few who had actual demons working alongside them to spread lies. The worst part was, the fortune tellers actually believed in what they were doing despite it's utter deceit. But in the process, I saw something greater. I saw the souls filled with God's presence, march into this darkness to spread light in this deceit. Every SUM student, every elder, every worker on this mission was filled with the Holy Spirit. We all had the power we needed to break through and share God's light with the lost. So the first night my partner and I hit the streets, we were fortunate enough to pray over seventeen people.  One guy that really pegged on my heartstrings had two others and walked over to us. While my partner was busy speaking to the other two, this one guy with a drink in his hand mocks me, "So you guys are here to preach about religion?" 

I reply, "No not at all." It was so instinctive I couldn't believe myself.His eyes lit up. "Oh? Then what are you here to talk about?" I reply, "We're here to talk about an everlasting relationship." He looked at my lanyard, which had the SUM logo on it. He goes groggily for my... area to grab it. My partner slaps him off and luckily this drunk guy paid attention with a little attitude. He asks what it was. I reply telling him it's from SUM. He immediately turns off and walks away. I legitimately wanted to burn the lanyard right there, but God assured me with the peace that I had at least planted a seed. The majority of people my partner and I prayed for, oddly enough were Christian. I was so irritated with my lack to get someone who didn't know Christ I had to continually pray over it. God assured me that because we were on the very edge of the street, that we were preparing people for entering in and getting stopped by someone who would ask them to pray their salvation prayer. And it was enough for me. 

The next day, I took off the SUM gear and we marched into the streets again. I didn't really get emotional the first night, but this second night was brutal. When we go to do our first power up, we were bombarded by... I don't even know what they were. They held up signs saying 'Jesus was a Negro', with Jesus wearing devil horns. They wore Jewish symbols and read out of a King James Bible. When we were doing our powerups, these guys spat on us and yelled at us constantly. We legitimately had to drown them out with more yelling. We were informed not to go near them, and an elder stood by these guys to make sure they didn't do anything crazy to the students. They yelled with such confidence and rage in their beliefs and people would walk over and listen to their preaching and applaud it. They would look over to me and my partner and taunt us as we walked around. We kept trying to work. We would get cussed at, smoke puffed at us, despised looks. "Look around," I would hear. I would do as it asked, checking out my surroundings. The parade drove by us, and there were women who were dancing in cages with no clothes on. There were women with no clothes, and their torso painted on. There was a male stripper dancing around. There were drunk men just collapsing hard and giggling despite the pain. There were multiple women just walking around with no shirt on. "Know me." I would hear, "Fear me. Know my power." I would panic, and continuously have to cast out this voice taunting me. People would flood through, and the street would be full of people shoulder to shoulder going down. We could barely breathe with the pungent stench of alcohol and sweat in the air. Somehow, my partner and I managed to get to pray over sixteen people and heal some sore knees. 

On the way back to our busses, we almost got ran over by an irritated driver. As a stripper danced by us, a couple yelled, 'Jesus loves him more than you'. As I walked, I just began to cry. I didn't sob or sniffle much. But tears just rolled down my face as though they were waiting to do that forever. It was the first time I've cried in a long time (when I wasn't hormonal), and the feeling seemed overwhelming like new. As I cried I could hear Jesus telling me, "Know my grief. Know my sorrow. Look at these people who were wonderfully well and made intentionally, throwing their bodies away for a few beads. Look at my beloved children, drowning themselves in their alcohol and depression. Know me. Know my grief. Know my sorrow." I didn't sob, I didn't sniffle, but the tears were rolling out of me. 

That was my last night there, but the nights in-between were interesting stories too. I won't share too many details, but we did get to pray over our waitress one night while we were there, and then my pastor was able to pray over a child on the way back. So this event wasn't made for me to just learn skills to use at Mardi Gras next year. We were finding ways to use the skills we learned as we go along with life. On this trip, God was even gracious enough to reveal the next step in his plan for my life: Going to SUM Theological Seminary to master in Biblical Studies. 

But there's a big lesson I've learned from each little prayer and each little demonic sight. Once again I repeat that I had never been in such a secular area. My brother, who's been to Las Vegas, said that Mardi Gras was worse than that. I met an elderly couple who was informing us that Bourbon Street is that bad every day of the year, there are just more people there during Mardi Gras. I can go on and on, stating the sights I saw on the streets. But that would be even more explicit than this post already is. I grew up in a Christian household, got saved at a church conference. I was constantly in a Christian atmosphere, even if at times it was religious and not christ-like at all. I knew that in the end, God was the answer. But there are people out there who didn't grow up in a church building. Maybe you're reading this and you were one of those people. If I can be extremely honest, as someone who grew up in a religious atmosphere, I always demonized those people. I always demonized people who choose alcohol, sex, violence, gossip, and greed over God. How could they not choose God after all? How dare people claim that God is dead? How ignorant are they to believe in such nonsense! How dare they say that their false gods are real and mine is not? How dare they insult God by burning Bibles, posting unbiblical nonsense on the internet, and saying things without doing proper research? How dare they?!

The most important thing I've learned on this trip is that I was saved so that they could too be saved. There was somebody who accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior, who could really play an acoustic guitar, and did a worship service where I first met God. I don't know what their living situation was, but it was in God's will that they be saved so that they could lead us into worship that led me, and many others to meet God. That worship service wasn't unplanned. God knew what I needed in order for me to finally accept him. In the same way, God was able to use me, to impact the lives of many others on streets where the devil was dancing. I may not have gotten a 'salvation' out of someone, but I know that my prayers for safety over their lives were heard. There were many news articles on New Orleans Mardi Gras, where people were getting shot and ran over. What are the odds, that some of the people we prayed over avoided situations like that or were saved before such a tragedy happened? I don't know, but God does, and I have assurance in his plans over those people and the choices that they will make. 

In four days, SUM was able to pray for 10,128 people, 357 accepted Christ for the first time, 371 rededicated their lives to Christ, and 108 got healing. This is something people walked by, mocked, and joked about. This is something that won't go down in history as a great win for Christianity. This won't go down as a war that was won. In fact, the rest of the world may not know what we did there. But there is a celebration in heaven, and God is cherishing the souls he's won that day. We didn't unleash a big mainstream revival where there's a big worship team and everyone is joining in. But we sure as heck gave the devil a run for his money by claiming those who were ready. And the best part about it, that taunting devil who thought he had the upper hand, is angry. 

So the fruit of my experience that I want to share with you is simple: Get out of the church. I knew the great commission as stated in Matthew 28:18. To go out and make disciples of all nations. I knew that. I was given my mission, to start a blog, start a webcomic, and eventually start a gaming channel with my buddies at church. My mission is to impact Christian Media to sustain Christians in the long run. But my life was not made to ensure that only I and my fellow Christians go to heaven. I love God, and I love making things to help Christians, but God's called me to do even more. God's called me to reach out of the four walls of my church, and to share my light with those who are living with none. How can I not share this amazing gift of God knowing that it can save their lives? They may mock it, they may ignore it, and they may try to snuff it out. But my God is greater than that and can do amazing things even if they try. 

I'm sorry but Church of Valatie is not up this week. It will return on the 22nd of March and continue its regular schedule. When I say that the devil is angry with our win, he is angry and is not letting up on us. Thank you for your patience, and I hope you guys are liking Church of Valatie. Until next time, God bless, and keep your fire for God, blazing!

[rose-sisson]

Church of Valatie Episode 6 is up!

Check it out on Deviantart and Line Webtoon!!! Until next time, God bless fam!

Deviantart: http://1234rosesmith.deviantart.com/art/Church-of-Valatie-Episode-5-RACHEL-STEWARDS-665143364

Webtoon: http://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/the-church-of-valatie/rachel-stewards/viewer?title_no=62614&episode_no=6

[rose-sisson]

[rose-sisson]

Hey guys, just wanted to wish you a Happy Valentines day, or single awareness day, or Galentines day, whichever one you're celebrating. With the holiday here I decided to look into the origins of the holiday. Surprisingly enough there are two legends: one catholic, the other roman. (http://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day/history-of-valentines-day) The catholic legend recognizes Saint Valentine. Saint Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. Emperor Claudius II outlawed marriage for young men, thinking it would make them better soldiers. However, Saint Valentine performed marriages in secret despite the decree. When Saint Valentine was discovered, he was arrested and killed. Others stories tell that Saint Valentine was killed for attempting to help Christians escape Roman prisons. One legend states that an imprisoned Valentine sent the very first 'valentine' card when he fell in love with a young girl. How romantic.

But yes, the holiday is upon us. And whether you're single, dating, or married, there's something about Valentines Day that pegs at our hearts. Whether you're using the opportunity to cuddle with your beloved, or curling up in a ball of hating love, you're doing something for Valentines Day. But there's a problem I have with that. When Suicide Squad came out, Harley Quinn and The Joker were everywhere. Everybody fell in love with the two romantic lunatics. In the movie, they romanticized the relationship between Harley and Joker while in the comics the relationship was more abusive. But even in the film, the relationship is depicted as an unhealthy obsession between the two mentally ill people. The problem now is that people are falling in love with this relationship if not idolizing it. At first, I really wanted to like this relationship but I couldn't. There was something about how the two idolized one another that pegged me wrong.

The world is full of unhealthy relationships, and that's upsetting. Not only that, but so many people pursue these unhealthy relationships believing that it can fulfill a person. Little did I know that it's what we've been taught since we were young. Ever heard of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs? If you haven't it's a pyramid with five needs we have to fulfill in order. From top to bottom it goes: Physiological needs, Safety needs, Love/Belonging needs, Esteem needs, and then you reach Self-Actualization. If you had a psychology class in high school, you've probably been taught this chart. You're taught through this chart that after you fulfill the needs of your body, you should fulfill the need of love/belonging. You can look into it yourself, but I find it interesting that love is held to such an importance in psychology. We want to belong, we want to find someone to spend the rest of our life with. Even if it doesn't include a romantic love, we all want company.

Genesis 2:7, "Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person." Genesis 2:18-24, "Then the Lord God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.' So the Lord God formed from the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would call them, and the man chose a name for each one. He gave names to all the livestock, all the birds of the sky, and all the wild animals. But still, there was no helper just right for him. So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the Lord God took out one of the man’s ribs and closed up the opening. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man. 'At last!' the man exclaimed. 'This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken from ‘man.’' This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one."

We see in the very beginning of creation, that God recognizes that man is lonely. We watch God as he gives Adam a job, and in time makes Adam a wife. What does this mean? That God knows that companionship and romance are things we need! He made us to be relational. He knows it's something we need. Why do I emphasize this? Philippians 4:19, "And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus." Our needs are guaranteed! But there's a catch. Matthew 6:33, "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all of these things will be added to you." The Bible promises that God will fulfill our needs, but only if we seek God first. So if we need to have a relationship, if we need a spouse, God will provide under the condition we follow his ways.

So now we ask, what is God's way for relationships? 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8, "Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to live in a way that pleases God, as we have taught you. You live this way already, and we encourage you to do so even more. For you remember what we taught you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. Then each of you will control his own body and live in holiness and honor— not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways. Never harm or cheat a fellow believer in this matter by violating his wife, for the Lord avenges all such sins, as we have solemnly warned you before. God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives. Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you." These verses state many things, but one thing that sticks out to me is to control sexual passion. Isn't that the exact opposite to what society will teach us? I've read several articles when I was younger about how sex is great for your health. And if you get pregnant you can just go get an abortion! After all, it's not an actual human being inside your stomach right? WRONG!

What does it mean to be holy, though? It means to be separate from the world and to live by God's standard. God's standard includes no sex outside of marriage (Mark 10:6-9), find a spouse (Ephesians 5:33), honor marriage (Hebrews 13:4), no homosexuality (1 Corinthians 6:9), and confess any sexual immorality (1 John 1:9). And I made sure that all the verses were New Testament verses too, just for your enjoyment.

So the fruit of this quick and simple message is simple: If you want to love, you have to do it God's way. We don't just do it God's way because it's obviously commanded in the Bible, but we do it because it's the best way. Psalm 18:30 states that "God's way is perfect. All the Lord's promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection." God, the creator of man in every little cell that makes up man, he just might know how we should exert our sexual tendencies. Not by demonizing the desire, but by investing time in a healthy relationship by a perfect standard. So whether you're single, dating, engaged or married, I encourage you to do it God's way. Because that's the love that truly loves.

If you liked this post please give me a thumbs up and if you have a question or a comment please email me at fire.time.rsmith@gmail.com. Until next time, God bless, and keep your fire for God, blazing!

[rose-sisson]

Church of Valatie Episode 4: Communion Fails

[rose-sisson]

I am frustrated! But that's okay because it has led me to this post. I am frustrated because I recently realized how much better the world would be if it was perfect. It sounds stupid, but hear me out on this one. One night as I was struggling with a terrible headache, I was browsing through YouTube and discovered a lot of motivational speakers online. Prince Ea, Boyinaband, so many people investing their time to make YouTube videos telling the world how to make it a better place. They talk about things like reforming the school system, racism, taking care of the environment, letting go of technology, and so many other things. I've primarily watched Prince Ea and in all honesty, I like his messages. I can agree to some of the things that he says. They make me feel warm and fuzzy, and I want to go out and make the world a better place. But about three months back, Boyinaband proved Prince Ea's 'research' to be not so reliable. He also made a point to say that Prince Ea is exaggerating in his messages, which I can agree to as well. Not that I agree with everything Boyinaband says (he made a violent bible rap with dan bull that got me a little more agitated so I don't really follow him).

I'm irritated by all these people trying to tell others how to make the world a better place but aren't doing anything about it. Granted, I'm trying to tell you right now how to make a world a better place so it sounds extremely hypocritical, but hear me out first. We have a lot of people telling us what's wrong with the world, but not enough people telling us how to fix it. And there are people who tell us how to fix it, but they don't get it quite right. Prince Ea gives a lot of warm and fuzzy points and as much as I'd like to believe that what he says it's true, it misses the mark. Recycle, put your phones down, reform the school system, stop being racist, you're not depressed, so many answers that will never fix the world. And I'm not irritated at the speakers themselves. I'm irritated that despite how warm and fuzzy their answers make me feel, I know it's not the right answer. And sometimes I really wish it was the right answer.

I recently googled how people would describe a perfect world. One source suggested that in a perfect world there would be no need for weapons (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/a%20perfect%20world). Another suggested that to have a perfect world you have to get rid of humans: No hunger, no hatred, no inequality, no worry, no disabilities, eye for an eye, no crime, maximal pleasure, freedom for everyone (https://www.quora.com/How-would-you-describe-the-perfect-world). All of these would certainly make the world a better place, and I hope that one day we can achieve these goals, but will it make the world perfect? Perfect is defined as having all the required or desirable elements, qualities, or characteristics; as good as it is possible to be. So check all of those things off of the list and ask yourself will the world be perfect? Will you be satisfied with living that kind of a perfect world? It may be a bit bold of me, but I would like to suggest to you that this is the complete OPPOSITE of a perfect world.

All of those things sound nice and dandy, but what about religion? Religion is seen as such a nasty word now, but let's take a moment to consider this. While we will live on this earth satisfied with how we are living, what about people of different religion. Muslims will continue to believe in Allah. Hindus will continue to believe in their multiple gods. Atheists will continue to believe in nothing. Christians would continue to believe in God. But when we die, three out of four of those groups I've listed would end up going to hell. Think on that for a moment. Is it wrong for me to believe that in a perfect world we would dismiss the great commission as stated in Matthew 28:16-20? When I look back at my testimony, it wasn't until I broke before I returned to Jesus Christ. Even now it's not until I fall apart that I recognize my need for a savior and return to Jesus. Whether it's the big things like my secret sin, or the little things like a bad attitude during work, it helps me to recognize my need for God and return to him. Not that I go to God whenever I have an issue, but because I have a relationship with Him and when he's not in my life I notice that things are a little darker. I lose joy, peace, kindness, compassion without God. To live in a perfect world without my struggles would erase the genuine need for God in my life and I would continue in a life of complacency. And that sounds awful, and it makes me out to seem like a weak-willed person. But it's the truth. We would lose more Christians in a perfect world than gain.

Now we're left with the real question, what's the real perfect world like? There's something beyond our human imagination that we haven't thought of yet that the Bible clearly states. Even if we don't understand that's the perfect world we desire, I can guarantee it is. Genesis 1:1-5, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, 'Let there be light', and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day." What I love about these verses is that God saw the light and that it was good. If perfect is defined as, as good as it can possibly be, can we just establish that the light was perfect? After all, the scriptures didn't say that the light was 'half-good' or 'too bright'. It may be a stretch. But continue through Genesis 1 and you'll find God creating many things: the earth, the seas, fruit, seasons, stars, cattle, beasts, and saw that it was all good. Then he made man to have dominion over it, and he saw that it was good too. In fact, verse 31 states that he looked at everything and saw that it was very good. So collectively, all of the things God had created was perfect. Even the part where man had dominion over all that he had created.

So in the very birth of creation, everything was perfect. It was as it should be. But what went wrong? Skip a chapter to Genesis 3 and you'll read about the fall of man. You see, there was a tree that God told the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, not to eat from. A serpent went to tempt Adam and Eve to disobey God, saying that they will be better than God if they did eat from the tree. Adam and Eve then their desire for power, and eat from the tree. Because of this, sin entered the world and humanity from an early age was separated from God. This was when the world was defined imperfect. And through the scriptures we read the frustrations of humanity, trying to return to God but failing because of sin. We read about the heartbreak of God as he watches his children hurt themselves daily as they fall to sin. We read about some victories for God's children, and some failures. All of it lines up to the New Testament, where Jesus comes. God in the flesh comes down to meet us where we're at after all those years of pain and suffering. Jesus comes and performs miracles; Healing the blind, the sick, the dumb, feeding multitudes and showing love to his enemies. All to line up for his famous death on a cross that bridged a gap between man and God using the Holy Spirit.

Two-thousand and seventeen years later, here we are. We've got a few letters from Paul about how to be a good Christian, some wisdom as to how to make the world a better place. But there's still a problem. We still live in a world full of hate, sickness, crime. We're nowhere near a perfect world despite all our accomplishments in the past two-thousand years. But we have a promise. Revelation 21:1-4, "Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.'" John, the one who wrote this book and these verses, got to see what no one has yet seen. He got to see what a perfect world with God is like despite every bad thing we've done. Revelation continues to go more in depth about what this life will be like.

We're given this great promise of living in a perfect world where we can be with a loving God forever. We can live with him as intended in Genesis 1 despite everything that has happened in-between! But there's still a problem. We still live in an imperfect world. How do we fix the world? We can't. Man will always at one point or another, choose our way over God's. It's not in our nature to surrender without a fight. We like power, we like being superior. We are not a humble species at all. But we can look forward to living with God in the end, and helping others reach there as well. Above I said that if we lived in a perfect world that three out of four groups of religions (that I listed), would go to hell. But in an imperfect world we can live as proof of God's existence and constant love. Despite what I have done, God has loved me. Despite what the doctors diagnosed me with, God can heal me. Despite what the kids called me in school, God still treasures me. These are the things that prove God's activity within us in a time when he is easily ignored.

So the fruit of this long message is simple: Help people get to the perfect world they don't know they desire. Life is short and painful without God in it. And it's painful for God to be separated from his children. Do what you can to help rescue those who don't understand it's God they truly want.  So if you liked this post please give me a thumbs up and if you have a question or a comment please email me at fire.time.rsmith@gmail.com. Until next time, God bless, and keep your fire for God, blazing!