Cup of Thoughts

Resurrection Day is here! I cannot believe that Spring has already come. Every year, I like to read one of the 4 Gospel's views on the crucifixion around Easter. This year I started reading from Matthew. During my Bible reading, I felt led to share this with you all. Here is what I got out of Jesus's parable in Matthew 21:33-44 . Characters (perceived by me): The Landowner is God. The servants are the previous prophets in the Old Testament. The Son of the Landowner is Jesus. The vinepressers are us. Parable summary: The landowner plants a vineyard puts up a hedge, builds a winepress, and creates a tower for it. After he leases the vineyard to some vinepressers, he sends his servants to receive the fruit of the harvest. The vinepressers kill all the servants that are sent. The landowner sends more servants and the vinepressers commit murder again. Then the landowner decides to send his son, thinking that the vinepressers won't kill him out of respect. Yet,...

What does aroma mean in the Bible? When the Jewish people wanted to be forgiven of their sins they would purchase a spotlessly clean animal and take it to a high priest for a sacrifice. ( "Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.." ) During the sacrificial ceremony on the altar in the holy of holies, there was a separate  offering of burnt incense  in front of the curtain. The aroma was a mixture of oils and spices that was pleasing to the Lord. This altar is a representation of Christ.  As Jesus was our intercessor, he preceded the sacrifice for our sins. He became not only our sweet-smelling sacrifice, He was our precious lamb that was slain. "Christ Jesus is the One who died, but even more, has been raised; He also is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us." Romans 8:34b Why are there two forms of sacrifice then?   "...The altar is especially holy to the Lord.”   The incense had to be by the exact recipe God ha...

"Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him."  I John 5:1 I was listening to that new song, " So Will I " on my way home from work last night and I used the space inside of my little car as a sanctuary. The words flooding out of my speakers stirred my heart. You spoke to the dark And fleshed out the wonder of light I had one of those nights. The nights where everything needs to be done and you really don't want to pick up someone else's slack and do it yourself. When everything you touch seems to turn into a safety hazard. When you can't count back change correctly because you're too focused on the inside worries of the mind. When you walk into a guy trying to clean the bathrooms. Yeah, I understand. I've been there. When you feel exhausted and torn. Alone and overwhelmed. Times like these make the verse in II Corinthians 12:10 so much sense...

I partnered up with Livy, from Crown of Beauty magazine to write a post focusing on Finding Worth. To all the girls out there who are searching to find themselves. To all the ones who are wanting to feel loved or worth something in this world. To all the daughters of the Heavenly King, this is for you.  'Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.' ( Titus 3:5-7 ) If you are a born-again believer in Christ, then you are one of His children. Which makes you a daughter of the King of Kings, Lord of Lords. You are His heir. 'Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised .' ( Proverbs 31:30 ) ...

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Matthew 5:8 Do you ever feel like your on pause? Like there's something happening all around you but you can't see it? Recently a friend mentioned something that stuck with me. She made the reference to Peter denying Jesus. Even though Jesus' disciple sinned against Him three different times during the crucifiction, what happened to Peter 50 days later? Did Peter stay hidden and scared for his life? Was he trampled on by the enemy? Or did he become stronger and braver as a voice for the Lord? (see here the day of Pentecost) “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden." Matthew 5:14 I think we as believers forget after we get stuck in a rut, that we can come out of it much stronger than before. I am as guilty as anyone when it comes to being caught up in the moton of things. But God reminded me this week that we don't have to be that way. Foc...

Family devotionals have always been very trivial with my family. We either don't get enough time to do it, or events take place and we simply forget to do it. But most cases we end up just making excuses. After coming back from our mission trip we realized how important those devotionals were with our group. They were empowering and motivating. Each day it became one of the things I looked forward to doing.  When we came back home we knew that we wanted to include my dad in the devotionals, who wasn't able to join us on the mission trip. We've picked through some really good devotionals, but books never seem to be finished with us, so my dad found a video devotional series by Mark Hall  that we are almost finished with. Every night he reads a scripture in the devotionals and goes over it with funny analogies and stories that tie everything in together.  After a few nights passed things started to happen.  First epidemic, my mom was saving a bunch of edited ...

Last year, my youth group and I traveled to North Eastern Indiana to help out with other churches partnered with our church's association. While we were on the mission trip our comfort zones became almost non-existent. This year, however, we were a little familiar with our surroundings, but there were still scenarios that were unexpected, and a bit surprising.  Heading north, our group had no clear  mission work  schedule, we were literally going up to help out wherever was needed. That's no easy thing to do, at least for me it isn't. I like things planned out, listed and crossed to the 't'. Which made me step back and realize that is one of my faults. I like to be in charge of everything around me. I like to be the boss sometimes, or all the time... However, in God's word, it tells us to be quite the opposite.  "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up."  ( James 4:10 ) There are multiple ver...

wedding ring ˈwediNG ˌriNG/ noun a ring worn by a married person, given by the spouse at their wedding. That's the definition of a wedding ring currently, thanks to Google. Haven't you ever wondered why married couples or soon-to-be spouses buy fancy rings for one another? When did the tradition ever start? Why do we wear rings on our left hand and why do we wear rings in the first place?  Get ready, there might be some history facts ahead. What's with the ring finger? The ring finger or the fourth finger of your left hand is said to have the Vena Amoris , or in English: the 'vein of love'. The allegory, or the symbolic picture, is the vein that interweaves itself straight to the heart. Some say that's one of the reasons why we associate wedding bands with our fourth left finger. Others wear engagement rings on their right hand until the actual wedding day and then transfers the ring over to the left hand. The ring finger has been as...

"Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others." ( Philippians 2:4 ) After a long day of work, or a school day that seemed as if it was dragging on for a century, do you ever feel drained? We carry on as if we're one-track minded. Never stopping to seek the needs of others. I find myself in this grudging feeling of complacency. Have you ever begun to notice the way people say things over and over again? It's as if we're in this ongoing routine every day of formalities that deep down, we don't even care about. I bet I ask, 'how are you,' more than a dozen times a day - to random strangers, and also to people I'm acquainted with. Sometimes I honestly care what they say, and most of the time it's out of habit. If I'm not sincere about asking, then why does it bother me so much? Because it's a thing we all do. Once you start to notice the verbal pattern, it starts to jab at you and make ...

How do you become a Soldier of God exactly? Acknowledge the existence of a Creator.  Admit that you are not perfect. In fact, nobody is. We've all made mistakes in our lives, ( Romans 3:23 ) . Believe that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God, ( John 14:6 ). Believe that He alone took the punishment for your sins. Because there is a punishment. God is so holy that He cannot look upon sin. In Romans 6:23, it says that the payment for sin is death. However, you can take hope in that He has removed your iniquity as far as the east is from the west, ( Psalm 103:12 ). Finally, call upon His name and you shall be saved, ( Romans 10:13 ). As Christians, we are called to be ambassadors for Christ, ( Ephesians 6:20 ). An ambassador is someone who represents someone else. We are called to be lights in a dark world. The light that is in us is the light of Him who saved us, ( Matthew 5:14 ). Not only that, but we have been given the privilege to defend the gospel. The life o...