LifeMinistries

God is AMAZING! He loves us and protects us and provides for us constantly, even when we turn away from him. I've got some friends right now who I know are struggling with different challenges, whether relationships, whether it's worriedness, temptations, challenges in knowing what God's will is, or even just feeling God's love. So, for those of you who are dealing with these, and you know who you are, this goes out to you.God is the all-mighty, all-powerful, all-loving, all-forgiving, Father, Saviour, provider and protector over us, his children. He created us in his likeness, to be a source of joy for him to see and display. Ok...on to the good stuff for ya...God has promised us many things in his word. Many of us take for granted the fact that they're PROMISES...and just kinda say "well, he might do this if we do this." But NO! lol. God says that for those who walk uprightly, no good thing will be with held from them. Check this verse out:"And He will give you all you need from day to day if you live for Him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern." - Matthew 6:33, NLTGuys, ya gotta know that this is TRUTH! This is fact, not what you sometimes feel or think. Our faith must lie in God's word, not in our own minds and emotions, which constantly change. God's faithfulness and word never change, they're always consistent. So have faith! Everything's going to be fine! lol.Now here's the most difficult part to applying these principles...faith. The most fundamental building block of our belief and salvation. C.S Lewis once said "It is your senses and your imagination that are going to attack your belief...the conflict is not between faith and reason but between faith and sight. We can face things which we KNOW to be dangerous if they don't look or sound too dangerous; our real trouble is often with things we KNOW to be safe but which look dreadful." We gotta realize that we can't always trust our emotions, feelings, or even what we sometimes see and hear.We Have Peace!!!!!!!So...most of these are pretty self-explanatory, which is why I really don't go into much detail about the verses. Anyway, once again I hope these can encourage and bring you courage, strength, challenge, and joy. God bless!!Isaiah 26:3-4 You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock Eternal. This is one of my two absolute favorite verses in the Bible!! Now this can be flipped around, because if our minds are NOT steadfast, as in focused on God consistently, how can we have peace? All we can ever do is wonder what's going to happen next. On the other hand, by remainding steadfast, (through prayer, reading God's word, and taking part in ministry as we're called to do), God can grant us peace because we trust in Him, and we don't have to worry anymore!!Matthew 11:28 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Of all the coolest promises God gives us...just to be able to take ownership of this in a SMALL way...to know that God will give us rest, and that the work we're called to do through the power and strength that comes only from serving Him through the Holy Spirit, WOW what a cool thought...Romans 8:6 The mind of a sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace. Galatians 5:22-23 The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. I posted this with Challenging Situations, but here it is again...Philippians 4:6-7Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Isaiah 57:2 Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death. John 16:33 (NASB) "These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world." The verse that God has called Jeremy to take ownership of, to lock in my heart, to bring me through all the trials and sorrows this life can bring. Our Father, our Dad...has already overcome this world, and we may have peace through Him, and courage, to fear not those things which our savior has already gained victory over! Soooo cool!! Ciao n God bless! Notice from BuffaloHELP: Disabled for 7 days from posting for ignoring my caution notes. Credits deducted.

So whoever reads these forums knows who I am and what I'm about, so now I'm gonna try and give some hope to anyone who may read this and it catches their eye...hopefully God can bless you through me here...Alright...this is somewhat of a difficult subject for me to post on, because satan enjoys attacking me with this even as I know God's truth, and he enjoys attacking me both through myself as well as through others. I feel that satan attacks this issue so heavily because he doesn't want us to know the truth. And the power of God divine lives in me, residing with authority and wisdom and courage. I pray that this message will help restore and renew those who have experienced the same troubles in their lives.I begin, as always, by praising our Lord and saviour. I praise Him for loving, forgiving, mercy, power, faithfulness, majesty, beauty, and all those things which are incredible, and created in His infinite wisdom. Lord, You are amazing, and we pray that Your will alone be done in our lives, and that Your wisdom alone conquer the trials we face, and that Your power alone strengthens us daily, and that Your grace alone sustains us of all things.Ok, so for those of us who have "lost" our virginity, there's so much hope to be had, and so much joy to be had, for the glory of God is greater, and the mercy of God is yet greater than that which we have lost. The power of God is restoring, renewing, and forgiving. Many of us have felt that in sinning in such a manner, we have lost something that cannot be regained, and also we feel that it will affect us for the rest of our lives. Satan attacks our feelings, our emotions, and not only through ourselves, but also through those we care about, whom he speaks lies to about the truth God wishes us to know in this matter.First of all, all sin is equal in its violation against God?s will and law. This takes too long to explain, so, I won't unless asked. The basis of this comes from a number of different biblical scriptures, but I?ll use this for now: James 2:10-11?For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. For he who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.?Secondly, as children who have accepted Christ's payment for our sins, we are forgiven of ALL sins, past, present and future. (Yes, that includes this sin.) Colossians 2:13-14?When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.?Thirdly, we know that we are not controlled by our sinful natures or emotions, but instead by the Spirit who is much more capable than we at overcoming trials and temptations (Romans 8:9). Because we are now ruled by the Holy Spirit, we are restored, renewed, healed, and made like new. Basically, we enter a second virginity, because the Holy Spirit makes us new and restores us.I get a lot of people who ask, "What if I had pre-marital sex AFTER I was saved?" The truth is, if you have repented, (repentance being composed of three steps...admitting sin, accepting forgiveness, and altering your behavior), then the Holy Spirit has done it's redemptive work in your life, and you are restored, renewed, and made new again. This does NOT mean you can do it again, ask forgiveness, do it again, ask forgiveness, etc. Remember, part of that repentance, the third step, is in altering your behavior, meaning you stop committing that sin. This doesnt mean stop all at once or else you wont recieve redemption, but it means work at quitting, utilizing the power of the Holy Spirit inside you, and eventually you WILL quit, because God will NEVER allow you to be tempted beyond what you can restrain yourself from. (I really think it SHOULD mean you have to quit right away, but I'll be realistic for your sake...repentance is in many cases a process that takes time.)So for those of us who feel weighed down by this past transgression, you should enjoy and accept the peace and comfort and redemption that is yours by the grace of God. Should you run into someone who holds it against you, remember, the bible is good for reproof. Show them the truths of God's word, that you have taken your sins to the cross, left them with Christ, have asked God to do a redemptive work in your life, that he has cleansed you of your sins, and he has healed the areas of your life that could be affected by it.These things I have done, and I asked God that he would not let my future be affected by my past.God replied, "There is no past." Notice from BuffaloHELP: Issued cautionary PM for not using QUOTE tags and posting it twice.

My Life So yea...I'm a Christian, and proud of what God's done in my life, and I just wanna let some of you know how I came to where I'm at now....(serving as a youth leader.) Alright soo...this is like, a very basic version of my walk with Christ. This is like my...everyone can read...story. I'm MORE than happy to share with anyone the whole story, just ask lol. Anyhow, hope some can be blessed or relate. Ciao and God bless!!When I was younger my family didn't attend church. If church ever was an idea, it usually ended in an argument, and was never considered necesarry or even important. In my first year of middle school, a friend of mine invited me to an outreach at his church and I decided to go. At the service, the message really spoke to me, and convicted me of a need in my life for change. I accepted Christ at the service, with an understanding that I was a sinner, and as a result, was destined for death, and an eternity apart from God. I accepted that Jesus Christ died on the cross in my place, that I could have eternal life with Christ in Heaven. After this point in my life, I became actively involved with the youth ministry, desiring to share the love I now had in my life with everyone I came in contact with.At my school, I was often teased or made fun of for my faith, and for carrying a bible around while I was at school. I grew very quiet during the rest of middle school, and by 8th grade, had also stopped going to church. Between 8th and 9th grade, I decided I wanted to change myself to fit in with other kids more, and I sacrificed a lot of my morals and beliefs in order to do so.During my freshman year I was known as one of the popular kids, at all the parties, getting involved with girls, drinking, and the contest of who can be the toughest guy. I gave up who I was for something I really thought I wanted, which was to be accepted and liked.When I was 15, my family and I moved to Elburn, Illinois, and it was difficult for me to fit in with the new life. The size of the community was substantially smaller than it was back home in champaign, and the people were different. I was never quite able to fit in at my new school, and I became depressed, and felt like I didn't really belong anywhere unless I completely gave up on who I was.I started attending Village Bibe Church, where God spoke to me and reminded me of who He is, and how awesome and powerful He is. For the first time since 6th grade I felt like I belonged and fit in somewhere. I became active in the church youth ministry, especially in the areas of worship and evangelism. As I accepted and surrendered my life to God, He began to move and shake different things in my life so I could see Him. After a little over two years, God tried my reliance and dependence on Him, and I gave in to sin and ended up leaving the church as a result.I spent two years after this searching to replace and fill the void that was left open from leaving the church, with worldly thing that couldn't even compare to what I had in God's presence. My life became an enormous vaccuum, sucking up things like money, nice cars, and girls. Nothing could fill the void, but I kept trying and trying, and my drive took me a long way in the business world of things, seeking money, which I still always wanted more of.In August, 2005, I visited the area where my former church was. I ran into the girl I was with while I was at that church, and God used her in a way that He could've used no one else in my life. Through her I was reminded of what I once had, who I once was, and what an awesome love and life there was in Christ. I realized I needed that back.Two days later, I went back down to champaign, which is where I was living at the time, packed up a bunch of clothes, shut down the garage I had began running, and came up to the Aurora, IL area, to find someone who could help me grow closer to God. I found Mario Arindaeng, who has consistently poured his time and life into me, and God has worked through him so much to reveal His truths, will, and power in my life.In the months since august, God has revealed piece by piece a small amount of His majesty and grace. He provided a home for me when I arrived to the area, as well as an amazing church family. God has blessed me with a desire to seek His will, and leave behind the worldly things that I once sought after with so much passion. God has granted me a peace of mind and a freedom that's uncomparable to anything of this world.I now am seeking once again to head into ministry, specifically Youth Ministry, and I continue on with a hope and excitement granted only by God toward the goal of bringing Him glory. Many things of my past continued to haunt me for the first few months back, but through the grace, power, and love of Christ, I have been able to bring them before His cross, and lay them at the feet of Christ. Through the power of the Holy Spirit my life has been redeemed, restored, and renewed in Him. One of the things I always tell people I asked God is that He'd allow my future to not be affected by the things of my past, and I'll never forget the response I so vividly heard in my heart, "There is no past."

Hey all, I'm about to begin designing a youth ministry web site. I'm fluent in HTML, Java, PHP, Perl/CGI, and CSS...but I'm really not the creative kinda guy...as in...come out with a cool looking template/design. I know there're a million "free templates" around, but I'm really just looking for some innovative ideas to start from scratch. It's been a while since I've done any web design, so I'm just lookin' for new ideas and tricks that might've come up over the past year or two. Thanks a lot!-Jeremy Mancini