Born to Sin, Born to be Saved

2 Timothy 3:2

For men shall be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, haughty, railers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy.

Wow! At first sight you kinda think-- "harsh!"

But then you read again and you realize, yup, thats me. Thats EVERYONE! Everyone has sinned, is sinning, and will sin in the future. I remember I met someone who was like "why can't we be as good as God wants us to be? Why doesn't he want us to compare? Why must we be so unholy?"

I thought about that a lot, and didn't know what to think. Finaly, at an inspirational service at a local church in the small town my collage is in, I hear a pastor make this clearer.

Our God is so amazingly AWESOME, how could we ever compare? Do we WANT a God that we are almost as holy as? I know I don't! My God is so high, so holy that only through His son can I be saved. And it's hard to take in, at least I thought so. It wasn't easy to accept how even if I worked my whole life to be rightious I can't even compare. Our best works are but rags to him!

Ephesians 2:8-9

For by grace have you been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, that no man should glory.

 But then at second thought, I am reasured by this. I need Him to save me, to purify me when I pass so that I am good enough to get into Heaven.

Because without Jesus, NONE of us are good enough to get into Heaven.

So! On that thought...I want to talk about money. I was surprised to see how often money comes up in the Bible! It's interesting to research. And I'm not going to lie to you, I do enjoy having money. I mean, I'm not selfish with it, I know how I like to spend the money I do have. And that's what I want to advise you about.

We're currently on Earth right now, correct? This  is our physical world...and everything on this world is...well, worldly! Now, here is my point. You can't bring anything with you to Heaven.

Now, I'm not telling you not to buy pretty things anymore! But what I am telling you is to think about what a physical item is going to do for you EXPERIENCE here on Earth! Are you getting it to raise Him up...or to raise yourself up? Is it going to play some kind of role in living your life for Him? Even in the smallest kinda way? Now, don't get ridiculous, of course buy a nice coat that won't fall apart to keep yourself warm during the winter, but don't spend $500 on a designer one when you can get a perfectly adorable one for half that price, or less!

Lets make a better example...

How about you want an iPhone

Well...why do you want it? Do you want the iPhone to look cool at school, when you walk around in the morning before classes? Or to impress your friends when you whip it out to check a text? Or you want to listen to your music in style...because you can just get a iPod Nano, which is cheaper...and have a normal phone.

Personally, I have an iPhone 4.

(Yes, I know the picture is of the iPhone3GS) Now...I know what it looks like. I liked the phone because it was the latest, sleekest, coolest phone on the market. I got it the summer it came out, and even bought it with my own money! But when I bought it I wasn't seeing all those worldly things that come to mind when one thinks of the iPhone...

I wanted it to see my mom through "FaceTime" while I was gone at college. One of my favorite apps on the phone is my Bible app, which I used even to find the scripture for this post. I use the calender to keep track of when my finals are, and which days I have to work. I listen to some of my favorite Christian rock bands with it, so in a way it helps me praise the God that made my life what it is that made me able to get this phone in the FIRST place. I send pictures of scripture to a friend of mine that seems to have lost sight.

I'm constantly thankful for everything I have.

I'm lucky I even have a phone.

Another example!

Clothes.

I've talked about clothes in my previous post. About how modest is hottest, all that jazz.

But it's even more than that. Of course, you NEED clothes. You can't run around naked, thats just not okay (THANKS A LOT EVE!...jk) BUT do you have God in mind when you're buying a dress for your sister's graduation party? How can you serve God in that dress? Would God approve of you in that dress? Do you think you are totally deserving of having that dress? Many people are under the impression that if they alone earned their money, they can spend it how they see fit and not worry about it.

Whoa, what about God?

Because without they blessings he has granted you, you would have absolutly nothing. You think you deserve everything you have because you earned that money at your part-time job?

Here is another personal example, going back to the iPhone thing.

I bought my iPhone4 with MY money I made from selling paintings I'VE painted for people. Sounds like I did it own my own, right? I mean, my brother didn't help or anything, he doesn't get a say in how I spend the money.

But....

A few years ago I got into this car accident that made me rethink my whole life. It may sound overdramatic, but since I broke my arm and had to go under the knife to fix it, and now walk around with a metal plate in my arm...I am thankful EVERY DAY for the body that God has given me. That day made me realize the only reason I can paint, play the flute, swim, even put on eyeliner, is because God has blessed me with two arms. It breaks my heart to think of the people who are missing body parts...what did I do differently to deserve a healthy body? Nothing, I did nothing to deserve it, God has just blessed me, and was graceful enough for me to have what I have. Not that people missing legs are not blessed, since we ALL are bless to have such an amazing God, who would sacrifice his only Son so we'd have a way into Heaven.

Spend your money on things that you CAN take with you to Heaven.

Spend it on experiences. Travel, visit the people that are important to you. Christmas is coming up...I love going broke spending money on the people I love. Material things aren't everything...you can't take your wedding ring with you to Heaven, but you CAN take your soul. Make sure you make the most out of your money. Decorate your bedroom if it helps you, in some way, praise the Lord! Spend money painting it, buying blankets to cuddle in, curtains to protect yourself from prying eyes...then pray in that room. Pray and say thank you for everything you have. Even if you barely have anything...you still have God, and HE is EVERYTHING.

 That's a picture of my flute. Now...I'm not going to play you, it's a darn expensive flute. It's got a rose-gold lip plate with engraving, open holes, white gold springs (this probably means nothing to you, haha) and it was an indlugence. Yet, flute is what I DO. I study music at school, and I feel God has called me to be a music educator, and to bring kids to Him through music, like how I am moved by music. With every note I play it's for Him, and I'm thankful beyond words to own such a fabulous instrument.

Sadly, the flute cannot come with me to Heaven, hahaha!

BUT I could possibly pass it on to my future child, or maybe a grandchild, and who knows what God has in store for the people that come across this flute? His plan is much bigger than we realize. The flute plays a role in my praise for my Lord.

So next time you go to sleep in a bed thats similar to how comfy this looks:

Think about the people who sleep like this:

And wonder if you "deserve it"

Because I'm sure those kids don't deserve that.