Really, People?

           A good portion of the old testament is written in regards to the Israelite people and how they have messed up once again. Here is how it usually plays out. Israel sins, Gods sends a prophet to proclaim to the people that they need to repent and turn from their wicked ways, and sometimes, they make a clean sweep of the nation and for a time, they are back on track. Then all of a sudden, idolatry, lust, and pride sneaks its way back into the camp, and before the people even realize what has happened, its already too late. Even though Israel is the nation God chose as his people, that nation alone is not just the one God wants to save. The cool thing about scripture is that it shows that God is a loving, compassionate, just God who wants ALL nations to be saved. We find examples of this in several book including Daniel and Jeremiah along with many others. The book of Jonah is one of these examples of repentance for another nation. God tells Jonah to go to the city of Nineveh to proclaim that, because of their wickedness, He is going to wipe them off the face of the earth. After some resistance on Jonah's part, he finally relents and tells the people of Nineveh that if they don't repent, they will be destroyed. The king of Nineveh was so  willing to turn, that he proclaimed a nation wide fast and made a decree that everyone would wear sackcloth on their heads, hoping that God would see they act of repentance and spare them. And guess what, because God is merciful and loving above all else, he holds back his wrath and does not destroy them. We then flip over a few books down to the bock of Nahum, which takes place just about 100 years after Jonah. In the book of Nahum, we see that they people have already forgotten how God saved them and they have returned to their ways of old.God had the ability to wipe them out in the blink of an eye, yet he held back because he saw that they asked for forgiveness, yet a century later, it seems as though it never happened.

           After all the Israelites had been through where they saw things that could have come from God, being rescued after 400 years in Egyptian slavery, the splitting of the Red Sea, and manna from heaven even though their 40 years in the desert; pagan rituals and idolatry always took center stage.   The people were so stubborn that they could be rescues from on trial, yet they managed to complain about how life was better in captivity. People can get so stuck in their prison better known as sin, that God can come in and swing open the door of their cell, but they don't come out because the sin is comfortable and change is always hard. Following God's command can sometime make us look silly of make us uncomfortable. Many times, people will follow for awhile, but as soon as things get hard, they go back to what used to be comfortable, They forget what God did through them when they followed him, and began sinning just as before.

           True change is designed to be challenging. it is placed in our lives to push us and stretch us into the men and women of God that we are intended to be. God doesn't want Sunday morning Christians who say amen on Sunday, yet push God aside the rest of the week. God is not something that should be on the back burner of life, in case he is needed. This may be just me, but I think the Israelites believed that they could do whatever they wanted, and when a prophet came to town, they would repent to hold back the judgement, then once the prophet died or relocated, the would quickly go on living their life as if nothing was different.

         This nation that we now live in was founded on a pure belief in God, yet we have fallen so far away that it is a wonder God still tries to get us back. This is one of the reasons that I am so grateful for his love and mercy that is new everyday. For even when the world is full of darkness, God still sends his messengers of light to bring people back under God's covering.

           Let us not forget what God has done for us, not now or ever, but let us always remember where we were then, and where we are now. Don't be like the Israelites, or Ninevites or all the other nations in the bible that turned away from God, but instead let us be a people that repent of our sins and leave the past behind us, rather than around us. 

Adam Semple- a young man on a mission from God.  

Nothing is Impossible

Nothing is Impossible. Let me say that again. Nothing is Impossible.
We live in a world full of doubt and worry and fear. These things consume our mind and slowly takes over our whole bodies. These things stop us from believing that with God, everything is possible. This generation needs a focus shift. We should no longer let the things of this world stand in the way of us and God. the bible says time and time again to trust him with everything. Yet we have this notion that trusting him halfway is going to work. We say we trust God with some areas of our life, but we hold things back, with the thought that it would be impossible to fully let that one thing go. What would happen to our world if everyone truly gave all that they had into the open hands of the Father? The Bible says that when man tries to do things on his own strength and willpower, he is going to fail. It might work for a time, but all of a sudden, things begin falling down on top of us and we panic. God has promised us that when we truly let go of the things we have held on to for so long, and place it in God's trusting hands, there is nothing that he can't do.
God doesn't want half-Christians or only Sunday morning Christians. He wants fully committed believers, those who will say God is good in the good, in the bad and in the ugly that comes our way on a daily basis. God is a day-by-day God. not only is he preparing you for the end result, he is protecting you in the wait. We must realize that when we hold onto the promises of God, not as a distraction, but rather a declaration, he will always come through. No matter what you may be going through, God has always got your back, and he will always provide for the in-between stages of life.
Adam Semple- a young man on a mission for God

Here I am, Use Me

Hello, My name is Adam Semple. It has been on my heart for a few months to start a blog, but I haven't had the time to do so. So let me just start with a little info about my self. I am the middle child of 6 kids. I have 2 older brothers, 2 younger brothers and a little sister. I was raised in a Godly home and have always believed from a young age that God is the only one that can save, and Jesus Christ was sent to save our world that is so lost and broken. When I get in the right crowds, I can be a very outgoing, unexpected, "what just happened" kind of person. It was never easy for me to introduce myself to new people and I preferred to stay to myself. I have always felt a call of some from God of some kind on my life, but never knew what it was or what it involved. this past year, I was apart of a school of missions and evangelism called Missio Dei. Missio Dei is a Latin term that means the mission of God. Basically it means that from Genesis to Revelation, God has been trying to bring his people back to him. In Genesis 3, man sins and is banished from God's paradise. Immediately following, God sets a plan in motion that will draw his children back to the Father. Throughout all of scripture, God raises up individuals that have been called according to his purpose,no matter the background or family history, God used anybody, and everybody that answered the call. it did not matter if they were young or old, rich or poor, or strong or weak. It did not matter if they had messed up at some point in their lives. God called them, and they answered. if we look back through the Bible, we see that the people most commonly used by God, were not the ones raised in the Godly home, or who studied the scriptures without hesitation. He used the individuals who were murders, adulterers, liars and thieves. So what is stopping us? Why do we as Christians hesitate when it comes to sharing the things God has put into us? In Jeremiah 1:6-8, Jeremiah doesn't believe he could be called because "I am just a youth", Samuel the prophet was called at age 8. Sometimes we feel too young or insecure when God says go. We don't feel adequately prepared to do what God planned for us. Whether we are young in our faith, or have been saved as long as we can remember, God can and will use you if you say,' Here I am God, Send me'- Isaiah 6:8. Moses had a speech problem, yet God use him to free the people of Israel out of bondage from the Egyptians. David was an adulterer and a murderer, yet he wrote most of the book of Psalms, a book of pure adoration to God. Sometimes people, myself included, believe we can't be used because we don't know the scriptures like some of the people around us, or we are not good at public speaking. You could know 5 scriptures, or 500, but that doesn't exclude you from the will of God. God doesn't call the equipped, he equips the called. Sometimes, we just have to take that leap of faith and declare, 'Use me God.'

This past year, God has really shown me what it is to be a light and to share his good news with the people around me. To be honest, it stills scares me, but I know that through God, nothing is impossible. It says in 2 Timothy 2:7 that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love and a sound mind. God knows this life will not be easy, but the thing is, he has not called us to an easy comfortable life. He has called us into places that are put in our paths to stretch us out of our little box, out of our own little world, and put us right in the middle of a dark world. God wants to use all of us, and in order to be used, we do not have to be perfect or completely prepared, we just have to be willing. How would the world change if the Christians of this nation stood up against he enemy and with a bold step of faith, commanded the devil to back off, for these people belong to the Lord.

Satan, a generation is rising up to take back what you have stolen. Families will be mended in the Father, pasts will be lost and forgotten, pain will be no more. I know that right now, God has called me to be a light to my community, a hope to a world that has none, a comfort to a world of hurt. Who's with me? Who is ready to say " Here I am God, Let your will be Done!" I am tired of the devil having authority over stolen property and I want God to use me to take back what was lost in the Garden all those years ago. Who else?


Adam Semple- a young man on a mission from God.