Salt and Light

Why can't I keep up with my blog? goshh.

I wanted to write in here since Monday but it never happens. I'm busy, but I feel like I'm not THAT busy.

This Monday Courtney and I went to a Bible study with college kids from the church we've been going to.

It was awesome! The way it works is that different people lead each week I guess, on a topic they have picked. It was pretty in depth and I really got a lot out of it.

We were mainly focusing on the first couple of verses in Isaiah 40.

¹ Comfort, comfort my people,
says your God.
² Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and proclaim to her
that her hard service has been completed,
that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the LORD’s hand
double for all her sins.

The boy who was teaching gave us a lot of hebrew words that gave more insight to the verses.

When it says speak tenderly it also means, personally...which I loved. God speaks personally to His people. We also talked about how it says MY people, and YOUR God.

God is OUR God. We are HIS. So cool.

"Her service"...meaning enlistment (challenge, battle) has been completed.

Basically the people in the passage were looking to Babylon and worrying about that... they wanted comfort and reassurance for THAT specific thing. God gave them comfort (listed twice which is always more meaningful) NOT for that, but because their sins HAD BEEN PAID FOR!

Often we want answers or we want to be comforted in certain areas, but God doesn't often comfort the way we think He will. We're looking at *this* over here, while God is saying, Yes, but look, your SINS are forgiven!! They are paid for! Find comfort in that.

We talked about the next verse a little bit too..."make straight in the desert a highway for our God". We discussed just HOW we can do that.

New light was brought to this verse for me :

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Someone in the group mentioned the difference between salt and light.

For salt to have any effect, it needs to be touching whatever you are using it with. For example, if you're eating corn, and you have salt next to you, it does nothing. The salt needs to be ON the corn. The salt needs to touch whatever it is to have any effect.

Whereas light, shines and can be seen from a distance.

We need to be both in this world! We need to get "up close and personal" with people to be Jesus, but we also need to generally shine our light, and live our days glorifying Him.

I love that.

In other news, I subbed 3 times this week :) And would have subbed all week if it weren't for my own little issues. I was in the same k-4 class two days in a row, which was good, and then I was in 5th grade. I love 5th graders.

I now have a cold :( no fun. Today I went to a district admin building to pick up an application for something in a school...not a teacher though. (I may say more about this later) That's the main reason I didn't take a job today.

I'm excited for the weekend!

Hope yall have a great one too!

A jumble of thoughts and Phil 1:21

Hey Y'all!

Sorry I've been so MIA. Posting in the summer this year is a lot harder then I ever thought it would be.

This past week was verrrry busy. No down time at. all.

This was basically my schedule:

-Camp

-Home for an hour to eat and shower (no rhyme intended haha)

-VBS all night

-Bed at 9:30 because I was so tired.

-Repeat until Friday.

Whew!

It wore, me, out. I'm telling you.

At VBS I was in the preschool room with about 15-20 little tiny kiddos. They were sooo cute though. Most of them were really sweet too. Those few hours were usually filled with lap sitting, back rubbing, swing pushing and tickling. :) I love, love, that age. The kids were mostly 3 and 4 I think. Some 2 years though.

Oh yeah, I also worked my new job at Kids Park on Monday night. They are a newly started business so not many kids have been there.

I worked today as well and there were more than they've ever had when I was there. (seven kids)

I wasn't going to say this, buuut. I just can't contain my excitement about it...

I ordered some business cards for Kari Rachel Photography. :) I'm super pumped about it.

More people are liking my facebook page and some people who I don't even know! I'm excited about it and so glad that it's so fun for me. and also that I can use it to make other people happy.

Ever since last week's Bible study on Wednesday I've been pondering about whether or not we got to Heaven or Hell RIGHT when we die. Of course I have always thought so...it's what everyone always says... and we were trying to find the verses in the Bible that say specifically supporting that right when we die we will go to heaven.

I couldn't find one! It was frustrating. I'm sure that we will go to heaven in the last day when Jesus comes back, (there are a lot of verses supporting that) but I couldn't find much else.

It was kind of bothering me.

After talking with several people and investigating some verses I found a comforting one.

²¹ For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. ²² If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! ²³ I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; ²⁴ but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.phil 1:21-24

Paul is clearly saying here that when he dies it will be a GAIN because he will be with Jesus.

My study Bible notes say: "Either alternative was a good one. While mysteries remain, this passage clearly teaches that when believers die, they are with Christ, apart from the body."

We were basically trying to disprove the idea that when people die there is a "resting"....and that they go to Heaven later.... and I think this verse disproves it . :)

What do you think?