Good Works Diet

A common mistake for people who want to lose weight is to go on a fad diet. They will eat only certain amounts of certain foods for a certain period of time. While they may quickly. Shed the pounds, afterwards they gain back even more. Why? Because they did not change their eating habits.
As Christians we often do the same thing, but instead of trying to shed the pounds we try to shed sin. We girls often think that if we look a certain way then we will be loved and accepted. Christians tend to think that if we act a certain way then we will get to heaven. Just like a fad diet, these "good work diets" leave you worse off than when you began. These "diets" blind you to your true spiritual state.
The real trick to being skinny is changing your lifestyle, so it is with being righteous. Being like JESUS will get you nowhere, instead you must be with JESUS. When you are with GOD you can not be sinning. If you were sinning you would not be able to stand in HIS presence, and it is only when we are in HIS presence that we can be truly righteous. Good works come from GOD, GOD does not come from them.
Today I challenge you to stop dieting and change your lifestyle.

GODs grace be with you,
~tickledpink

Isaiah 43:1b-3a

Another one of my favorite verses:

Isaiah 43:1b-3a

"Fear not for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by your name;

You are MINE.

When you pass through the waters,

I will be with you;

And through the rivers,

They shall not overflow you.

When you walk through the fire,

You shall not be burned,

Nor shall the flame scorch you.

For I am the LORD your GOD,

The HOLY ONE of Israel,

Your SAVIOR."

We are HIS!  Even when flooded by the worries of this life HE will not forsake us!  

this may have been just what you needed to hear today or you might know someone who needs to hear that.

let us know how it impacts your life!

we love to hear from you

love yall and keep safe

~tickledpink1994~

In Remembrance

Luke 22:19

"And He took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is My body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of Me."

     Communion.  Depending on your denomination it is celebrated in many different ways.  Some churches have communion every Sunday, others only celebrate it on holidays.  Some churches use wine others use grape juice.  The differences go on and on.  Yet communion is more than a Sunday repentance.  

     Jesus took the bread and broke it.  The Free Dictionary by Farlex defines the term "break bread" as "to eat together".  How often do you eat with other people?  you probably eat with your family or friends everyday.  Jesus said to do this in remembrance of Me.  How often do we sit down to a meal and take time to remember the cross?  We may say grace before we dig in, but that doesn't mean we thank God for dieing for us.  Most of the meal time blessings ive heard go along the lines of Dear Lord, thank You for this food . . . amen.  Not that theres anything wrong with that but Jesus said to do it in remembrance of Him.  

     Next time you sit down for a meal remember what Christ did for us.  don't just thank Him for it but take a minute to remember Him.  

love yall

~tickledpink1994~

Meaning of "X"mas

Only one week left till Xmas!!  Now before everyone jumps on me for removing Christ from Christmas let me explain about Xmas.  In Greek the first letter of Christ is X(chi).  It has been used in past centuries as a shorter way of writing Christ in words such as Xian (Christian), Xianity (Christianity) and Xmas(Christmas).  Also like other abbreviations it is correctly pronounced as if it were written out in full, Christmas not exmas.  So next time you hear someone go off about how Xmas is taking the Christ out of Christmas, politely correct them on the proper usage and pronunciation of Xmas.

Here are the websites i used as reference for this post.  I really sugest you read through the first one.  It includes some stuff i chose to leave out of this post.  Such as some reasons people used Xmas instead of Christmas and other interesting stuff.
The Origin of "Xmas"
http://www.answers.com/topic/xmas

We would love to hear what your doing for Christmas this year!!  Leave us a comment on your holiday plans or if you have anything to say about this post.  Or you can send us an email at Faithblog.ej@gmail.com
Have a very merry Xmas!!!
~Tickledpink1994~

Prayer -- My thoughts on PrayerMarket . com

This is in response to a comment we received:

 

"John Wilson said...

Hey FaithBlog, my name is John. I read a lot of blogs on religion and prayer and I've i feel like I've ended up here once before. I'd love to hear your thoughts about this prayer exchange website PrayerMarket.com I thought it was an interesting idea and would be curious to hear what you (or other Christians) think about it I'll check back here in the next day or two, thanks & God bless John W."

I believe prayer is the most powerful tool available to Christians.  It has been proven time and time again (scientific evidence for answered prayer.) to help those who need it.  Because of this i think prayer requests are wonderful and we have our own section for them on our devotionals page.  But also i dont think prayer cannot be "bought".  Read the 2006 American Heart Journal study on the page linked to above.  I have a few other problems with PrayerMarket.  First as mentioned above no one else can write your prayer for you. i qoute from PrayerMarket "Write down what you'd like readers to say"  Think of prayer as a conversation with a friend.  You dont ask them to do stuff by reading something someone else wrote do you?  You'll put it in your own words.  While writing what you want people to say is not required by PrayerMarket it still shows a lot about the page.  Again prayer can not be bought.  You should NEVER EVER have to pay someone to pray for you!  Never!  The amount of things that stick out to me on this page as 'wrong' are to many for me to give a detailed explanation for each.  so here is a general list if you would like me to explain a certain thing leave a comment.

1. Yet again prayer can not be bought
2. The prayers must be recorded
3. Prayers can be 'pre-written'
4. "Recordings can be easily shared" over various social media

ok so maybe the list isnt that long.  but heres my last reason that i dont think the page is "authenticly" Christian:  It makes me uncomfortable.  Some of you may be laughing of rolling your eyes but seriously there is a reason most things make us uncomfortable.  GOD gives us this feeling to keep us safe.  peer presure often makes us uncomfortable, theres a reason for that.  same way with our faith.  This doesnt always mean theres something wrong but it does mean you should do some reasearch.

All in all i think this page is a "fraud".  I agree that it is a good idea.  We need places to share our prayer requests.  But i dont think this is the right way to do it.  I know ive said it a hundred times but prayer can not be bought.  Remember the story of Jesus and the moneychangers in the temple?  Read Mark 11:15- 19.  I want you to pay special attention to verse 17.  This verse really sums up my thoughts on PrayerMarket.

If you do have prayer requests here are some places to check out:
     Air1 prayer requests
     Klove prayer requests
also you can check out the prayer request section on our devotionals page.

these are just my thoughts on PrayerMarket.  I encourage you to research it yourself.  2 Corinthians 11:14 "Satan can change himself into an angel of light".  Just because it has a Christian name doesnt mean its right.  remember dont judge a book by its cover.  Satan likes to bind stuff in beautiful coverings.
love yall
~tickledpink~

being a leader

I got back from boy scout camp a few days ago and one of the big things that they talked about was being a good leader and for me that's a big thing. so what is being a leader? Well one of my ideas is a shepherd why? Because a shepherd protects his flock(flock could mean family, friends, or anything else under the sun) think to Jesus not only was he willing to protect his flock but he also was willing to give his life up for them! Another idea of a leader is on who is willing to lead and yet follow.
A good leader follows those under him to learn while yes he leads he still follows. also a good leader does not make someone else do what he can't do or is not willing to do himself. One of the last things is a good leader is a strong Christian who asks God for help, a good leader is always willing to learn from God and his learns from his mistakes. So pray to God for guidance. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth His life for the sheep. John 10:11.

Wordy Weapons

And take the Helmet of Salvation
and the Sword of the Spirit
which is the word of God; Ephesians 6:17

When Satan attacks are you just going to stand there and let him beat up on you? Will you give in to the temptation? Or will you protect yourself? Will you fight back? Ephesians 6:10-17 tells us how to protect ourselves from Satan. Paul lists five different pieces of armor that we need to equip when dealing with Satan. But eventually that armor will wear down. If we just let Satan attack us then even if we are protected he will eventually get through. If we want to survive through the war then we have to fight. The last thing on Paul's list of equipment is the Sword of the Spirit. With this we are able to beat Satan back and maybe (just maybe) get a few seconds of rest. What is the Sword of the Spirit? It is the word of God. We all know that words can hurt, so why not turn the tables on Satan. When Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness all Jesus used to beat him back was scripture. When we quote scripture we are telling Satan, "sorry to disappoint you but God says that you're wrong." Its like taking a sword and giving Satan a walloping. That is one reason it is so important to memorize scripture. Satan won't wait till we have our Bibles handy to attack. Hes going to hit us when we don't have Gods word handy, when he thinks we're unequipped. If we have memorized scripture then were ready anytime and anywhere.

On the devotionals and Challenges page im going to start posting a Monthly Verse. Even if you already know a lot of scripture, it never hurts to learn more. My challenge this week to all of us is to equip Gods word to our hearts that we might be ready when Satan attacks.
Love yall

Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God,
that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day,
and having done all, to stand.
Ephesians 6:13

The End

Most little kids end a paper they wrote for school with "The End" cause it seems so appropriate for them. Thank Jesus that he didn't do that! He didn't say , The end when the world is over. We have a hope in Christ Jesus that in "The End" of this world we will still live. Many of you know I am home schooled. And one thing that we do is take a bible class. This week my verse to memorize was

2 Timothy 3:1-5, and verse 12 - which says, But mark this : There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.

In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

While we as Christians, are facing the end of this world, lets not forget those who have no hope and this is it for them. I for one am excited when I see the bible fulfilled. But, I still feel bad for those who reject Christ, b/c they dont have any hope at all. If you dont know Jesus, know where you are going now. Look to the right of this blog and there are steps to lead you too Christ, and if you are saved but want to share Christ with someone else , feel free to write the steps down , and put them in your purse, or pocket.

You Are MY Witness

Yesterday a lady came up and wished me good luck on a basketball game. She didn't even know me. This morning i saw her again, I had completely forgotten about yesterday. She asked how our games went and we said we had won one. "thank the LORD!", she said, "HIS name is JESUS!"
Wow what a witnessing opportunity. We spoke probably five sentences and she was able to turn the conversation to CHRIST!
I challenge you to talk to someone today who you don't know. Ask them how they've been or offer to pray for them. They may take no notice or already know CHRIST but then again they may have know clue who HE is or they may need a reminder.

I have declared,
and have saved,
and I have shewed,
when there was no strange god among you:
therefore ye are my witnesses,
saith the LORD,
that I am God.

Let us know how things go!!
love yall

HIS NAME IS JESUS
IT IS THE SWEETEST NAME I KNOW