Enslaved in 2015, Freedom in 2016

Hello, if you don't know who I am.  My name is Annie Hoang-Pham, freshman in high school and Jesus freak.

I just wanted to share my experience lately because I feel so filled up with the holy spirit, I do not want that to go away.  Recently some events have hit me and it hurt quite a bit but instead of ranting to someone.  Which I did anyways and it didn’t make me feel any better.  I turned to God.  I started bible plans, reading my bible and looking forward to it.  This sounds insane but when I have problems now, I start an excessive amount of bible plans.  I recently started making little sticky notes, index cards, and journal pages of just bible verses and encouraging things.

   


I feel that my eyes are completely focused on God.  But I didn't feel like this instantly because my life has been extremely rough for the past year.  2015, I was in the chains of slavery.  I felt enslaved in my own life.  I felt attached to people, relying on people, seeing if others read my messages, if others liked me.  But I would not accept the fact that I don’t need approval from anyone but God.  I was not living the right life I was supposed to be living.  Only to be enslaved in others approval.  Until a couple of nights ago I was finally set free.  I prefer not to go into detail but it happened.  Now I was broken hearted, I was so upset.  But it put clarity to my eyes for what I have been doing to myself all through 2015.  The point I am telling you this is because I am starting 2016 feeling so free.  Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy Psalm 126:5.  I have cried many times this past year just wondering when my pain will end and feeling so much pain a couple nights ago. But the clouds have passed by and I can finally see the sun and feel freedom through Christ. I feel that my heart, mind, and soul is all focused on God.  He is the center of my life.  I was so consumed about me.  Only me and nothing but me.  But it’s all about Him and His glory.  I cannot explain to you how amazing it has been for me.  I used to be so Reliant on friends to be there for me.  But I’m going to completely honest, I could care less anymore.  I love the friends I have but they aren’t the center piece.  But I’m not saying to get rid of all your friends because you always will when you need them.   But I don’t want to rely anymore.  I don’t want to be enslaved anymore.  This year will be different.  Less of me, More of Him.

I pray for you all to have a great 2016.

-Annie Hoang-Pham

Trust

There are certain things we pray for and sometimes we begin fixing them ourselves.  We think we are helping God but in the process, we are hurting him instead- by doubting him.  But we need to trust that God is writing our story.

Personally for me, I have the most hardest time trusting in God.  Trusting in his timing and trusting that he has it all covered. I like to solve problems and jumping in to fix them.  But as I became a christian, the concept of me trusting in God was difficult for me.  I’m learning to trust in his timing.  When I do, I am rewarded in indescribable ways.  God has truly provided me a wonderful life and don’t get me wrong, I complain and I sometimes doubt God’s plan for me. When I do, I remember this verse: 

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.”  Proverbs 3:5

Whatever you are praying for, trust in God’s timing and trust in his plan for you. Seek Him first and Pray for His will for you over your own. You’ll be surprised when you do.  If you aren’t sure if something is in God’s will, check the scriptures.  If it doesn’t agree with his Word,then it is not from him.  Be willing to give your all to God and letting everything go.  Let HIM fight your battles and reading and praying daily.  God hears every single prayer.  The power of a prayer is powerful.

Celebrate the Gifts, Thank the Giver

I think that sometimes in life we find ourselves longing for something not in God's will. I find myself in this situation many times - even if it is a decision that is not sinful. Maybe sometimes we want something that will take us away from God or distract us from Him. This could be as simple as being determined to get the best score on a video games or spending too much time watching TV. Whatever it may be in your life, I find myself spending too much time and effort in worldly things. It reminds me of a quote from C.T Studd,

This life will soon be past. Only what you do for Christ will last...

Again, many things I am referencing to are not sins. That is a different subject. I am speaking about monitoring our day-to-day activities. If there is something you enjoy doing, it's totally fine to enjoy that, just make sure that it doesn't' take away from our relationship with God. Here's a good thought to live by: Everything you do should make your relationship with God stronger (even if it is just a little bit).

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. - Matthew 6:33

I encourage you to start praying about God's will and that you have the encouragement in your life to accept His plans. I'm definitely not saying that we shouldn't enjoy that gifts we've been given, we just have to make sure that we always thank the Giver, and that He is the One who is the most important.

Daily Bread

A couple of days ago, I had my bible in English class along with my other school supplies. I had everything but the one thing I needed - my English binder. I turned to the girl next to me. "Well, you've got the only thing you'll ever need, Brian," she said jokingly, looking at my bible. Suddenly it hit me. Isn't God the only thing we'll ever need? The thing with our modern lives is: we are always so busy. We are always hurried, trying to get somewhere. I know I am. Do you have a set bible-reading time in your busy schedule? It's true - the Word of God should be a priority in our lives and most of the time, it's not. It's not for me a lot of the time, and I need to work on that.

I've been reading The Good Life from Trip Lee. Near the beginning of the book, he made a point on how real our "Daily Bread" is. We need to constantly be "eating" or else we will be spiritually dead. We have breakfast, lunch, and dinner for our physical bodies - and maybe even a bedtime snack. This should one the standard for time in God's Word. Trip made a statement on how he can read and be spiritually full at eight in the morning, but by one in the afternoon, he can be close to falling into temptation. This is how read we need our Daily Bread.

Do not be spiritually dead. Make spending time in God's Word a priority.

The Great Commission

Yep, that's right. I'm talking about The Great Commission again. At the end of the gospels, before Jesus ascends into Heaven, he talks to the disciples about this mission in Matthew 28:16-20. It is our calling to be messengers of The Good News that Christ died for our sins. If we don't tell the world, who will? We are His hands and feet on this Earth. This is the main reason of Live117, based on Mark 1:17:

Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!”

Based on Ray Comfort's Hell's Best Kept Secret, Ray explains that the modern gospel says that Jesus is there for the good feelings. I'm sure all of us have heard something along the lines of "Come to Jesus and you will have a good life and He will make all of your struggles better." Jesus never said that, did He?

I've even presented the gospel that way before, but when I realized that Ray was right, I had to change how I thought about this. Following Jesus is going to anything but make your life easier. Most likely, it will be harder, but we have God to call out to.

Ray's way of presenting the Gospel is the best and most effective way. I'm not promoting Ray's products, I just think that He really has a point.

Now, in presenting the gospel, you have to tell people about the Law. This is the Ten Commandments. If you aren't familiar with them, they appear in Exodus 20. The best way to confront sinners is to tell them that they have sinned against God and the punishment for sin is death (Romans 6:23). If you come in and literally tell them that they are sinners, then it will come off as if you are judging them. Ask them if they have lied and stolen. Have them admit it. Once they understand that they have sinned, then present them with the Good News that Jesus Christ came down to save them from their own death because of the love He has for us (John 3:16).

Lastly, I was doing this yesterday - presenting the gospel in this manner. As I was answering the different questions, the two boys were asking and I was trying to help them understand what Jesus did for them. After a while of talking at the lunch table, one of the boys said, "This is actually starting to make sense now." This is more of what we need.

The last two things you have to do is tell them how they can be saved: believe in the Lord Jesus (Acts 16:31), trust in Jesus (Psalm 9:10), and ask for the forgiveness of sins (1 John 1:9).

I was with my friend Ethan at the time, who was helping me out, and after we prayed for the boys. We asked them if they had bibles at home, and they didn't, so I am bringing them two today at school. 

May God give you strength and courage to share your faith, and let's go tell the world!

The End

Honestly, I don't know why I'm starting our first blog post and naming it "The End," but that's mainly what I want to talk about.

But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. - Matthew 24:36

Here it's talking about The Second Coming. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's when Jesus will return to Earth a second time to gather His people, and save them from the end. Now this is a sort of crazy topic to start off on, but I think it should be dealt with as soon as possible because we don't know when the end will happen. It could be 3,000 years or 10 seconds from the time you are reading this.

I saw a post on Instagram  a while back and it got me thinking. It had a picture of the Twin Towers and the impact of the planes on 9/11. It said, "If you knew about the events that were going to happen on 9/11, would you warn people?" Then it said, "So why aren't we doing all we can to warn others about the Second Coming?"

Wow. It is so true. In Matthew 28:16-20, Jesus tells His followers about their mission:

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” 

This is what is called The Great Commission. Reality hit me two nights ago as I was watching a movie called Left Behind. It was about all the people who were left behind on Earth as God's people went up to Heaven. It was a normal day but in the blink of an eye, the rapture happened.

As believers in Christ, we know about The Second Coming and it is our mission to warn anyone we can about it. If they don't ask for forgiveness of sins, repent, and trust in Jesus, their eternity will be in The Lake of Fire. So I encourage you, share The Good News with those around you. Show them God's Law (the Ten Commandments) and ask them if they've broken God's law. If they have, they deserve a punishment and God's punishment is Hell. That is the truth. But it is also the truth that the whole human race can be forgiven.

This is real stuff guys. It's time to carry out our mission and be messengers for The Lord.