Why Shouldn't We?

Last week I was finishing up my reading in Mark, and a certain few verses have been stuck in my mind ever since. This is when Jesus rose from the dead, right before he was going back to heaven. Mark 16:15-16 is the great commission. However, in verses 17-18, Jesus said,

"These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: 

They will cast out demons in my name, 

and they will speak in new languages. 

They will be able to handle snakes with safety, 

and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. 

They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed."

I read these promises, and realized that many Christians, including myself, seem to forget about just how powerful the Holy  Spirit is, who is living in those who are following God. 

Do I really believe that I can cast out demons in Jesus's name?

Am I certain that I can handle snakes and drink anything poisonous without being harmed?

I want to live a life that is so empowered by the Holy Spirit, that I become careless about the judgments and criticism of this world.  I never want to get caught up in the stupidity of this temporary life again. I don't want to lose sight of the ability I have through the Holy Spirit. 

Tonight my mentor and I started talking about what the Holy Spirit can do through Christians who allow Him to work. 

Jen brought up a verse that has been on her heart lately, 

"I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms." 

Ephesians 1:19-20

When we allow the Holy Spirit in our hearts, we allow the same power that conquered death to work in us!!!

Why don't we remember that or believe that? It's so powerful.

I'm sure that once we have seen the Spirit work in our lives in such a powerful way, we'll never forget or let go of it.

A couple years ago I was limping because my knee was in pain. I was at "church camp" and all the walking did not help one bit. During worship that night, I felt a nudge from God to pray over my knee. When I prayed I said, "In the name of Jesus, please heal my knee so walking is not painful." Well guess what? As soon as I was done praying my knee was better, and walking didn't hurt anymore. I will always remember the power of that prayer and the faith that I had in that moment. 

The problem with this story is that it was a couple years ago. I don't want to ever again have to say that the last time the Spirit miraculously moved in my prayers was "years" ago. 

How can I change that? I think that the first step is to pray for more faith and discernment in my life. I think another thing I have to do is pray every morning for the Spirit to fill my heart and mold it into God's will, not mine. 

I think sometimes, I can be afraid to let God move. That sounds odd because most people are excited for Him to work. I'm not saying that I don't want him to perform miracles. I think sometimes I get in the habit of being afraid that he won't. You know, sometimes God has other plans in mind. 

That night when my knee was healed, that was in His will. Maybe, sometime if I am praying for something else, God will not answer it. So what? I should not be afraid of His Will being done. I shouldn't be afraid that I look "naive" if I believed He would but  then He didn't. 

**My prayer life should not be about believing that God will do something a certain way... it's about believing that HE CAN and HE IS ABLE, but with that being said, in the end, I only want what He wants for me because His ways are perfect. His ideas are far beyond what I can comprehend. (Psalm 23).

**" 'My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,' says the LORD. 'And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.' " Isaiah 55:8

It is time for some change. I have known that the Holy Spirit can perform miracles through me. I've seen it in my own life and others' lives for years. Now, it is time to embrace the Spirit's power more in my life.


God has given everyone the same purpose in life but with little tweeks in the end to fit them. 
What I mean by that is.... we're all called to share the Good news of Jesus Christ and lift His name high. However, we have different callings in order to share Jesus. For me, I feel a pull to some type of girls or women's ministry in my life. My best friend feels a call to nursing and counseling. People are always called to be disciples, but God brings His people to different and unique plans that fit them personally .


With that being said, In order to go and make disciples of ALL nations, we have to be disciples of Christ first.


As a Christ follower, I need to embrace and believe in every part of the living Bible.
"For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires." Hebrews 4:12


I want the power of the Holy Spirit to be alive and evident in me. It's time to have full-fledged faith in the Power of God. I hope you will too. 


"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline." 1 Tim 1:7



If anyone has any comments or ideas.. please share!

WE are ABLE to Fight for Justice

A woman at my church felt called to get a group together to help stop the sex-trafficking that goes on heavily in the world. In January, this lady met with my college group (Engage Ministry) to tell us about how we could help. What we didn't all know was that sex trafficking IS in America... it has no limit and it's everywhere. We were told that during the Super Bowl every year, pimps bring their sex slaves to that city for entertainment purposes. This woman found an organization (i'm keeping the name private) that has found a successful way to rescue these abducted girls (and boys). The founder of this non-profit organization was actually taken from Michigan. When she was rescued she knew she needed to stop this madness.

Every year, this group buys several boxes of soaps. Then, they print stickers with their sex-trafficking help hotline phone number, and they put the stickers on the soap packaging. Since these poor girls are always needing to look their best, when they leave hotels they take all the soaps with them.



The company then calls all the hotels in the city or near the city that hosts the Super Bowl every year to tell them about their organization. The hotels that agree to accept this company's soap not only gets FREE soap for a few weeks, but they also choose to fight for justice.

On January 29th, I met with a group of volunteers who were willing to help. Speakers from this anti-sex trafficking organization trained us and equipped us to help out. They had us pasting stickers on soap for an hour, and then they sent us off to specified hotels in Indianapolis.

My group had 5 people: Megan, Mark, Trey, Carlos, and I. We were given only 2 hotels, and they had not agreed to take soap, so we were pretty nervous. Before getting out of the car my group would pray for the hotel, the workers, for our presentation, and for the customers. Then, three people would go in one to talk, one to handle the pamphlets, and the other to take notes. One hand out was a booklet of local missing people (Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee, Illinois, Kentucky). The other paper had instructions for how to react if a hotel recognizes a girl.

The first hotel we arrived at had absolutely no interest in helping. It was kind of sad, and in my opinion, we could not do much more than be kind to the manager and leave her be.

The second hotel that we went to did not have their manager present, so they could not officially agree to put out our soaps. However, they took a box of five hundred bars just in case their manager was up for it. One guy at that hotel really stuck out to me. I could tell that he really, truly cared for this cause and wanted to get involved. This guy's attitude really touched me, and it was particularly relieving after experiencing the other hotel's manager. The other guy next to him was more reserved and professional.

At the end of our trip I have to admit that it was some what disappointing. It was not fun to be a part of something big, and have no idea if my group really did anything at all to help besides pray. However, we did plant seeds. I tried to keep positive about it and to be grateful for the experience. I knew that whatever happens is in God's hands and that I just needed to continue to trust Him and not doubt Him.

Well, I was ecstatic to hear a month later that the soaps in Indianapolis hotel ended up rescuing
14 girls!!!!!!! I am so excited. I don't know if any other groups besides Engage went out to deliver soaps, but the feeling of being a part of something great and fighting for justice is absolutely irreplaceable. Fighting for justice is becoming my passion.

Here's one of the news reports I could find regarding this issue.

And now, as Invisible Children's cause gets BIG. As the war criminal Joseph Kony becomes famous.. I encourage all of you who have a heart for this issue to GET INVOLVED! Spread the word, go to Cover the Night events, donate money, PRAY, and do whatever you can to help. God can use you in ways that you can't imagine. Please, just.. LET HIM. Trust Him and let Him use you. You will not be disappointed.

#STOPKONY