Tag Archives: life

You Are Worth More

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…than your career, a relationship, your fav designer shoes. Sometimes we place so much value on these things that they began to define us. We want the next promotion, more money, the newest gadgets, and enough is never enough (Luke 12:15, Ecclesiastes 5:10). They become our identity.  When we feel empty or we are looking for something more to fulfill us, it’s easy to turn to the things society deems as important.
 
Reality is, this only leads to confusion because we are so much more than these things. Career, money, power and even relationships are all temporal things. We should be kingdom focused, storing up treadures in Heaven, Matthew 6:19-21.

I love this quote from author/writer Richard E Simmons, “We live in a culture that measures greatness by building a business, amassing some great fortune or being a celebrity. But in my mind, true greatness is measured by the impact you make on the lives of other people.”

If you are you looking for something more in life, what are you looking to? Are you fulfilled in Christ first? I know this might be a bold statement for some of you, but, if you’re not, you’ll forever be searching. 
 
Ephesians 3:19 says, “May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.”
 
So how can you be made complete or find contentment where you are? To be made complete, you must first believe in Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:8-14).
As far as contentment, a couple of things: depend on Christ to strengthen you, to take care of you, trust God and be thankful no matter what your situation or circumstances are (Philippians 4:10-13, Ecclesiastes‬ ‭6‬:‭9‬).
A lot of us are not where we want to be… trust, you’re not alone lol. But, you’re where you are for a reason. You’re learning, you’re growing and as long as you’re focused on God, you’re one step closer to the next thing He’s called you to do, so keep going! 🙂
With lots of love,
Rinny

Lonely On Valentine’s Day? This Is For You!

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Heyy y’all!

Happy Valentine’s Day 🙂 I just wrote a post about loneliness on my church’s Strictly Young People (youth ministry) blog.

Here’s a snippet of the post:

If you’re not smiling today because you think Valentine’s Day is just another day to remind you of your loneliness, I hope that this blog puts a smile on your face. And for everyone who feels “ugh not another Valentine’s Day to remind me how single I am,” this is especially for you… you are not alone!

You’re probably like, well yeah I am. I don’t have a boyfriend/girlfriend. My friends are all going out on dates… I’m sitting at home alone. I live in this hugee city with millions of people and so much to do, but I still feel empty. There is no one for me. I am lonely.

Firstly, let me say that loneliness is biblical. It is a desire to be with someone because that’s the way God created us…

Finish reading it here: Lonely on Valentine’s Day? This is for you!

Be blessed and have a great day y’all!

P.S. Last year I wrote about what I think is The Best Kept Relationship Secret. Check it out!

“What God Is Calling You To Do Doesn’t Exist Yet”

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That’s a quote from a sermon I heard last year. Promising right? There’s something here in life that only you can do. You’re special. So live like you are.
Be salty. I love this scripture, Matthew 5:13-16 “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. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 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. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”Don’t do the ordinary, do the extraordinary. Don’t be average, be above average. Don’t live how everyone else is living, live differently. Romans 12:2 says “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
Don’t want what everyone else wants, want better. If you are walking with the Holy Spirit, your desires should be those that come from the Holy Spirit. ‘Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.’ (Romans 8:5, check out Galatians 5:16-17 too)
You are called to be set apart. ‘Thus you are to be holy to Me, for I the LORD am holy; and I have set you apart from the peoples to be Mine.’ (Leviticus 20:26)
Be bold. Only God will give you the direction, the wisdom (James 1:5) and strength you need. ‘A man’s heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.’ (Proverbs 16:9)
How are you walking, in His will or your own? You’ll only be as great as you think you are or can be if you follow yourself. Follow God and he’ll make you greater, more successful and everything else than you would ever dream of.
Keep going, keep pushing, keep praying, keep praising!!
Love y’all,
Rinny

What Does It Mean To Be “Saved”?

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…to be “redeemed”, to be “bought by his blood”, to be “born again”? The list goes on, but I’ll stop there lol. Ever heard one of these phrases and wondered what it means?

Simply put, it means ALL of your sins are forgiven, they are erased and forgotten. You are a new person and everything of your past is gone (2 Corinthians 5:17). Even though there may be consequences of past wrong doings or mistakes, you never have to look back and be condemned by them. You don’t have to care about past wrongs or mistakes. You are cleansed, pure, holy and righteous because of God’s sacrifice and the righteousness of his son Jesus Christ (1 John 1:9). You are a new person.

So if you’re wondering what it takes to be “saved”. Start with believing 🙂 (Mark 16:16, Luke 8).

8 quick reasons I think you should believe:

1. All of your sins, past, present and future are forgiven. (Hebrews 8:12…but, this doesn’t mean you can go sin knowingly, not repent and keep “living for God”…you should still live a spiritually pure life Read Romans 8, flesh vs spirit, lovee this book!)

2. You are no longer living under law, but under grace. (Romans 6:14, check out Galatians!)

3. You are loved more than anyone here on earth could ever love you. Yes, including your parents, gf/bf, bff, wife/hubby 🙂 (1 John 4:7-11, Romans 8:35-39, Isaiah 49:15-16, John 3:16, 1 John 3:1, Psalm 52:8..God’s love for us is all throughout the Bible). God is longing to know you more and to show you His unwavering love. If you don’t know God, you will never know true love.

4. You don’t have to worry about anything. God is in control and has already taken care of it..will you submit to Him? (Philippians 4:6-7, Jeremiah 29:11, Romans 8:28)

5. You can wake up everyday and walk in peace. No matter what you are going through, God is with you.
John 16:33 I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. (Deuteronomy 31:8, Psalm 29:11, Isaiah 26:3, 54:10, 1 Corinthians 14:33, Philippians 4:6-7)

6. You have nothing to fear because perfect love (God) hath no fear (1 John 4:18). You always have the victory as long as you trust and have faith in God despite the circumstances. (Check out the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednegro in Daniel 1-3, also 1 Corinthians 10:13, Deuteronomy 20:4, Joshua 10:8)

7. You are free. Free from bitterness, unforgiveness, hate, etc. These things take time, but they are no longer your battle.
Psalm 34:4-7 I prayed to the LORD, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears. Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces. In my desperation I prayed, and the LORD listened; he saved me from all my troubles. (check out 2 Chronicles 20:15-17 too)

8. God has your back! Everything you need, He will provide. It may not be your timing, but He will come through.
1 John 5:14-15 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. (Luke 11:9-13, Matthew 6:25-34, James 1:6-8)

And I’ll leave you with this scripture:
Romans 10:9-11 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”

Pretty awesome right? Life will be a lot easier, not easy, but easier if you trust in Him. Praying that 2015 will be a year of salvation, peace, freedom, joy, happiness, love, prosperity for everyone reading this.

Feel free to add your thoughts on being saved, would love to hear your comments!

With love,

Rinny

For Those Looking For Recognition, Validation…

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I saw a documentary last night on master art forger Landis. Dude was super talented! Watching his story made me want to cry though. Not only because his life went completely downhill after he got caught/exposed, but because what he did was driven by his desire to be seen, to be known, to make someone proud, to be somebody.

That was me a year and a half ago. I always wanted to be on top of my game, make a name for myself, make top 30 under 30 for my industry. But then I realized, there’s a much greater purpose to life, for my life. Achieving these things would be awesome and I’m not saying anything is wrong with being at the top of your game…we should aspire to such things, be ambitious. But, what are our motives behind wanting those things? Why do we set the goals that we set? Do we just want to be successful, fame, money?

Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content. But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. (1 Timothy 6:6-10 NLT)

It took me one experience to realize that the people (friends, managers, co-workers, etc.) you expect to support or appreciate you, won’t always do so. When these people don’t validate you, don’t support you, don’t give you your promotion, thank you, etc., what happens? Do you get discouraged, encouraged, quit, work less hard? Do you realize how it affects you? If we’re always working for recognition, to please others, will we ever have true peace?

As long as we work for and unto others, we will never be fulfilled or find joy in our work. And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. (Colossians 3:23-24 KJV). Pleasing God is what matters most. (Galatians 1:10)…but, please don’t take any of these scriptures out of context 🙂

Purpose. Wouldn’t you rather live a life of purpose instead of always searching for that something to fulfill you? If you don’t know what yours is, pray about it! We should work because we have purpose, not for recognition. You have a purpose that needs to be fulfilled, and only you can do it…with God of course, let Him lead you. It’s all for His glory.

Love y’all!

-Rinny

Sidenote: This has been sitting in my drafts for a while, gotta do better…I know!

Why is It So Hard to Believe God?

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I mean, the word says it. I believe God, I know that the Bible is truth, but even still it’s hard to look beyond where I am sometimes. To have faith and know that God is working it out. It’s God’s promise that he’ll never leave us nor forsake us. God has always kept his promises to us, he never fails.

So why is it so hard for believers (and non-believers) to believe God sometimes? To trust Him and His word and to walk in ALL of His promises? If we really, fully believed in the power we have through the Holy Spirit in us, we’d be unstoppable (in a good way). God loves you, He’s working on your behalf- And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose, Romans 8:28. If you know God, you’ll be alright.

Try to see the positive in the midst of everything because God’s promises are always true, He never fails. Always give praise, because He was, is and will always be our King.

Amen if you love Jesus 🙂

With love,

Rinny

25th Birthday…Finally Decided What To Do!

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I’m turning 25 on August 26th. So close! Yes, I’m getting old haha. At first I was super excited and planning this big party and told a bunch of friends to save the date, but a couple of weeks ago I just thought about how birthday celebrations are all about “ME”. This week, my little sister said the same thing and not too long after, my mom said something similar. Sooo, this confirmed my feelings, my loss of excitement in planning this big party. I still want to celebrate, but in a different way…and I’ve finally figured it out.

I’m spending the next 25 days helping others. 25 people in 25 days. Whether it’s prayer, apt hunting, helping with a job stuff, cover letter/resume, talking, connecting peeps…anything, let me know. I only hope/ask that 25 of y’all don’t ask me to do something with monetary value though (I know time is money lol but I mean buy me this/that, dinner, lunch, etc) because I want this to be deeper than that. #25daysforothers

Side note y’all, I feel like 25 is legit grown up age! I had some pretty aggressive goals to achieve by 25, but I’m not there yet. Socially, I’m great (so thankful for my fam and friends). Spiritually growing (I lovee Jesus!), financially and professionally…not anywhere near where I’d like to be lol. For everyone who feels me, stay encouraged — Proverbs 21:5, Proverbs 14:23, 2 Peter 1:10. Cheers to learning patience and what diligence really means.

One more thing…I love celebrating birthdays and I don’t think there is anything wrong with it, I usually do something every year. This is just where I am for my 25th : )

Rinny

Are You Trying To Please God? Stop.

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Hey hey, I posted a recap of last Friday’s young adult service on our Strictly Young People (SYP) blog.

Go check out the full recap there, but here’s an excerpt:

Yes to Friday’s message, for two main reasons: it’s something that everyone needs to hear, and it was a “been there, learned that” message for me. Guest pastor, Pastor Gary Wilkerson (David Wilkerson’s son) spoke on trying to please God. Sounds kind of funny, right? Can we ever please God?

Even though Pastor Gary’s son grew up in the church and knew who God was and had parents that loved him and loved God, he still felt like God had let him down in some areas of his life.

When we see that something is wrong in our lives, we try to fix it. We try to do extra to make God be pleased with us. But, that’s not what God is asking us to do. We are applying the wrong law to our problems. Making God promises, doing good deeds, acting more righteous, very little sinning one week, lots of bible reading and praying…and then you fail. (Or, maybe you don’t do these things at all.)

But, when sin dominates us, it rules over us and causes us to choose the wrong way. It may seem that sin is superior to the power of the savior, but nope, thank you Jesus. Check out the book of Romans, Pastor Gary called it the “key of liberty” and I think that is so true! There is so much truth about living in God’s freedom in the book of Romans.

You don’t have to try to earn His blessings, you already have them! He is looking for you, ready to pour into you and to give you life. Nothing you do has to be in your own effort.

Ok, enough here…go check out the SYP blog !

With love,

Rinny

You Have Nothing To Worry About :)

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God loves us soooooo much that he already made provisions for everything we go through, EVERY sin, mistake, problem. All He asks is that we believe and accept Him. He will do the rest (Hebrews 8:8-13), all we have to do is believe and accept it. He will give us the faith, the wisdom, the ability to overcome, to succeed, to change. What changes in us is that we do it unto Him, not for ourselves, to glorify “me”.

Matthew 6:25-34 tells us not to worry about our lives — Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? 28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

God already knows what you need before you even need it and he WILL take care of it. He has your best interest in mind, better than what you could ever dream of. But you can’t get there if you don’t believe He will give it to you. Pray for strength and understanding to lay everything down before God, “Ok God, I give it to you. It’s all yours, I need you to guide me, to do everything in, for and through me. Your will be done.” God says He will never leave you nor forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:8). He says come to me in prayer and supplication and I will hear you (Philippians 4:6, Ephesians 6:8). I have an expected end in mind for you, plans to give you a future, hope (Jeremiah 29:11)…plans to do something GREAT with your life if you just trust in me. He loves us more than our parents, friends, fam, etc and he WANTS to give us happiness, peace and the righteous desires of our hearts.

You feel me? If not, go read the Bible! lol 😉

Love y’all.

-Rinny

What Jesus’ Death Really Means

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Easter eggs and bunnies right? Easter just passed and that’s what flooded so many retail stores. Anyone know where the bunny and eggs thing came from? Fun maybe, but it almost overshadows what Jesus’ death and resurrection really means for us.

God loved us so much that He gave us His son so we can be forgiven of ALL our sins (Romans 5:8). An innocent man, Jesus, died for us so that we:

– Can be made pure, cleansed of all our past, present and future wrongs. You are made new in Him. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17 If you have already asked for forgiveness and acknowledged Jesus as your personal savior, never look back. You have soo much ahead of you!
– Can have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. – John 3:16 (I love 1 John 5:13-14 too.)
– Love. Love yourself and love others. We love because He first loved us.1 John 4:19 (2 Timothy 1:7)
– Live in peace, joy and happiness. All of these things come from above, not from anything in this world.
– Have something to stand on, depend on someone other than ourselves. (Hebrews 8:8-13, Ephesians 1:11, Psalm 138:8). Have faith!
– Live in light. Ephesians 5:8-9 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth). — God has overcome all powers of darkness and evil. We are not bound to any of them because of Him. If you are struggling in darkness, turn to God.
– Live in FREEDOM. It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Galatians 5:1 (Ephesians 3:12, Psalm 116:8). Live in victory, God made us conquerers. We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Romans 8:35-37

Love y’all and Jesus loves you more 🙂