Foreign

First of all, we all need to watch our mouths. Really. I have people coming to me and telling me what is and isn't right. What I'm doing wrong. How I'm not acting like Christ. How they know more about Him because they've been alive longer. I'm not going to stand for that. I don't compare my faith to anyone else's. My walk with God is mine only.
I am me. God made me how he wanted me. I am changing and will forever change to be more like Jesus. That's what I want. I never want to stop learning. I never want to stop growing. I hate it when people attack me, but that's going to happen. It clearly states it in the bible. Matthew 5:3-12:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
I love that verse.
If you're going to tell me something about God or heaven or anything relating to that, I want to know where you're getting it from. I want you to tell me where in the bible you found this so that I can read it for myself. If you give me a verse, I'll read the entire chapter. Why? Because many times, one verse can be misinterpreted.
Another thing that's bothering me is how we treat other people. As followers of Jesus Christ, we are supposed to treat people with love. Love your enemies. Love your neighbor as yourself. LOVE is one of the most stressed things in the bible. Was America not created with Christian beliefs? Yet look at how they treated the Natives. It makes me sad. They were there first but they got kicked off of their land. It's not right. In American History class we watched a movie called Dances with Wolves. I really wasn't into it in the first half hour, but the next class I got so into it. This white man decides to approach the Native camp. He finds a girl who hurt herself and brought her back to them, and they were very defensive at first. But soon enough, they became friends. They tried to communicate. They shared their goods, they didn't need to fight. Because one man reached out his hand in love. What if everyone did that? Actually, the camp has a really good relationship with the Native reserve that had the Mission Point land before us. We were told that they said that we've always treated them different, better than anyone else. I love that. That we can show them that love. To show them that we're not bad people. I just don't get why people have to treat people of different nationalities poorly. In our town, it's the Germans that are treated like the Natives in a way. No, they weren't here first, but same idea. And no, I am not being racist. They are from Germany, I call them Germans. That's where they're from. Just like Canadians. We are from Canada, therefore, Canadians. Same idea. They are treated so poorly. Of course I get annoyed with them too. Here's my view point. I think that they should speak English as much as possible. Just like if I went to France, if I didn't know French (which I don't) I would try to learn it, and use it as much as possible. I don't want them to lose their first language, but I don't like not knowing if they're talking about me or not. It makes me feel very insecure, and it annoys me a great amount. I think that if they would have had different attitudes, they would have been treated better. To us, it seems like they come into our school acting like they own it and they're better than everyone else. That's not cool and no one's going to take that from anyone. I feel bad, because they've been isolated to only be friends with other people from Germany. There are very few that are friends with Canadian people. I wish that we could all be friends, but that's not the world we live in. I'm going to make a real effort to treat them with love. I don't want to have a bad relationship with them. Why would I want that?? "Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt."-Exodus 22:21. "Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt."-Exodus 23:9. "And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt."-Deuteronomy 10:19. There's your biblical proof.
I had a devotion last night about how God gives you everything that is good in your life, but what if that good thing becomes more important in your life than He is? So, I am cutting facebook out of my life for 2 weeks. I'm not telling you this to get praise, because I don't want it at all. I'm telling you so that you can pray for me. Facebook has become such a big addiction. I have it on my phone so I check it every commercial break. Sometimes even during the show. When I get bored, I go on facebook. When I do devos or read my bible, I have the urge to go on facebook. It's become unhealthy and it needs to stop. Please pray that I'll desire God so much and be on fire for him and have no temptation or urge to go on facebook.
God bless,
Ariel