Time to rise.

You CAN'T be different.
You CAN'T stay pure until marriage (I've had people literally laugh in my face about this one)
You CAN'T be happy unless you have (fill in the blank), (fill in the blank) and blankety blank.
You CAN'T be okay with your body image because it isn't flipping Hollywood, Shape magazine worthy
You CAN'T say God is REAL after what this messed up world looks like with wars, murders, shootings, greed, natural disasters, abductions, and all the evil
You CAN'T follow God in this generation, that is impossible.
You CAN'T live a life that glorifies Him.
You NEED to make a ton of money to ever find happiness
You CAN'T believe true love is real when the divorce rate in America is over 50%
You CAN'T stay true to God's promises.

What if I came up to you, looked you straight in the eye and said every one of these untruthful things? You'd call me a liar right?

This is what the world screams at us. Every. Single. Day.

The people around us, the news, the internet, the media...Oh my goodness the media!!

Gladly for us, God responds with words which cut straight through the heart of the lies.

For happiness, God responds with Psalm 37:4
"Delight yourself in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart."

For purity, He calls out to us with 1 Corinthians 6:18"Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body."
For body-image, He responds with 1 Samuel 16:7
“Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

For worldly tribulation, He calls back with Psalm 46:1-3,7
"Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold."

For being a devoted follower, Jesus responds with John 8:31-32
“If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

Even in the midst of this sometimes shadowy world, the truth is always present.  God has been speaking to me a lot these days through signs and different people who have come into my life because I've opened myself up to experiencing Him daily. 

As I was commuting this morning, I had a lot of time to reflect with God and myself.  Yesterday, it was sky time-:) - and today it was music! A certain song hit me FULL ON. BAM. Train collision in my heart.  The lyrics gave me chills as I began to imagine a world where those with God at the center of their hearts began to act on it and break out of the lives we've settled into so comfortably.

"We will hold, we will love
We will fall in surrender
We will rise, we will run
We will live to declare Your Name
Forever to bring You praise..." -"Rise" by Hillsong

NOW is the time to rise.  The time to share your faith with the people around you.  Shine the light. Carry the banner for a greater cause.  Seek out the passion God puts with a burning fire in your heart.  Stop letting your surroundings and doubt dictate how you live and how you run after God and His mission for your life.  Time is something many of us tend to take for granted because we always think we have SO much of it but there's never been a better time to change this world than right at this moment.  This generation has the divine tools it needs to begin a revival of what is real and true in this world. 

"The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.' -2 Corinthians 10:4

We need to shine into this world and we do have the tools!! When you live for something greater, God shines so brightly through your words, your good deeds, your actions, your relationships and most importantly, your heart.  The only opportunity so many in this world will ever have to see Him is through YOU.

It's time to change your world, are you ready to take that step into the unknown? Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "Faith means taking the first step even when you cannot see the whole staircase."

God will strengthen and uphold you through whatever this world can throw at you.  His promises are the only truth we need to stand on.  Psalm 1:6 says, "For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish."

So BRING IT ON!

"Swing the doors wider, sound the praise louder,  lift the Name higher, shine the light brighter..." -Hillsong United