Writings

Summer Reading Book Report: “Jesus Freaks”

Summer of 2020

This book told the story of many people who gave up their lives for Jesus. One thing that I found  in common for all of them was their bravery. They knew what consequences believing in Jesus would  bring, but their faith never wavered. They were all very courageous, and went through a lot of tough  things to spread the Word of God. They were not scared about what would happen to them, because  they knew sharing the Word of God was the most important thing. There was a story about a man who  was forced to go out in the cold every night because he refused to deny Jesus. This man knew exactly  what would happen, every single night, but he never gave in. He kept going out into the cold and singing praises every night. This must have been very tough, and very scary for him. All he had to say was a  couple of words, and all his pain would be over. If he was even a little bit scared, he could’ve just denied  God, and everything would end, but he never did. There are many examples like this in the book, and  one thing I’ve learned is that we should have bravery too, even if our lives are not on the line every day . 

Another common thing in all of the “Jesus Freaks” was their perseverance. This relates to  bravery. They knew the consequences, but they were brave enough to keep believing. Then came the  perseverance, when they would keep facing those consequences over and over, but never stop believing in Jesus. People would get tortured, and even threatened with death, but they fought through all of  these hard things.  

Another thing they had was faith. One tough thing for them must’ve been when their families  were threatened. A young girl was being threatened to be killed, and all her mom had to do was deny  Jesus, and the girl would live. But the little girl was not scared, and the mom did not deny Jesus. This was a statement that is remembered even today, through the book, and faith is something that is shown  here. The woman knew that her girl would be in heaven, and be safe and free of all pain. Even though  they might’ve died, they all knew that it was God’s will for them to do what they were doing, and they  had faith in him. 

In the end, all of these “Jesus Freaks” missions were complete. Their legacies even live on today. Countless lives were saved by these acts of faith, bravery, and perseverance. All of them are now in  heaven, knowing that they’ve done their job well. We can learn from these lessons, too. One step is to  always be brave. We should not be afraid of consequences of sharing God’s word. This might mean  going to scary places, or doing dangerous things, but we should. This is also where faith comes in. We  need to have faith in God to always keep us safe. Even if we do die, it will be God’s will and we will have  done our job sharing God’s word. We will be in heaven, and be happy with God. We should also always  persevere. Our faith might be tested constantly, but we need to keep our faith and persevere through  hard times. We might not be hunted down every day, but there are still challenges we face. We should  always persevere, and have faith in a God to help us through these times.

“Jesus Freaks” was a book  that taught me many lessons, and I know that the “Jesus Freaks” who were martyred for Christ are now  in heaven, where they live eternally with God.

Our faith might be tested constantly, but we need to keep our faith and persevere through  hard times.

Summer Reading Book Report: “Romans”

Summer of 2020

The author breaks this book into seven sections, and three stuck out to me the most. The three  were the wrath of God, the righteousness of God, and the service of God.

The wrath of God stuck  outside to me because it shows a different side of God. God is loving and kind, but he hates sin, and Paul writes about this aspect of His personality in Chapters 1-3. In Romans 1:18, Paul talks about the wrath of God being revealed to men who hold the truth in unrighteousness. This means that men know the truth, and know what they should do, but they don’t do it. As Christians, we know the truth, so we should hold the truth in righteousness, rather than unrighteousness. We can also see the wrath of God through Jesus , like when he threw the tables in the temple. Even though God is forgiving, he still hates sin, and his  wrath will be revealed from heaven. 

The second section that stood out for me was the righteousness of God. A main theme in this  section is justification. We are not justified by the law. That means that we are not saved by what we do, but rather by Jesus. Praying, going to church on Sunday, and helping the poor are all great things to do,  but we are not saved by them. Our works are not what makes us be able to go to heaven. We can only  go to heaven through Jesus. The Pharisees did everything “right”, but they did not believe in Jesus. They  believed in the law, and believed that their works would save them, but that is not true.

Our justification , though, came at a price. That price was Jesus, who died on the cross for all of our sins. This came at no  cost to us, but yet, we are saved through it. Our justification is free. Another thing that stuck out for me  was when in Romans 3:29, when Paul says that justification is needed equally by Jews and Gentiles.  Even though the Jews were God’s chosen people, they still needed justification through Jesus. 

The last section that stood out for me was the service of God. It is only comprised of one  chapter, chapter 12, but it has some good points in it and things to learn. One thing is that the body of  Christ is comprised of many members. This shows that everyone in the church is important. You might  feel small and useless, but this verse will show you your importance. The next verses talk about gifts.  This is why people in churches are important, because they have different gifts. In verse 10 says:  “Be  kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another;” and the author  of the book brings up a good point in his breakdown. He says “It is so important for there to be an  atmosphere of love in our churches.” I think this is important because love is what brings people into the church, where they can be saved. We should help new people coming to church feel loved, and through  our love, feel God’s love. Then, they can be saved. 

This book taught me a lot about the book of Romans, and the God’s word in general. I learned  that while God is forgiving, loving, and kind, he hates sin. I also learned that we cannot be saved through our own works. We are only saved by Jesus. Our justification also came at a price, but for us it was free.  This shows the love of God. Finally, I learned that everyone in a the body of God is important, and we  should make people feel love in church.

Our works are not what makes us be able to go to heaven. We can only  go to heaven through Jesus.

Summer Reading Book Report: “William & Catherine Booth”

Summer of 2020

William and Catherine Booth did not have an easy path to start what is now known as the  Salvation Army. They would go from organization to organization because William was not allowed to do the evangelistic work he wanted to. One of the main organizations they were in was the New Connexion , where there was a big fight about this in a meeting at the New Connexion conference.

One of the big  takeaways I will have from this book is to fight for what you believe God is leading you to do, even if  others disagree, and this was evidenced by this fight. The people from the New Connexion wanted him  to stay in his “circuit”, while William wanted to evangelize. Dr. Cooke, William’s old mentor, did not take his side. This infuriated Catherine, causing her to speak out, which was greatly frowned upon in those  days. Eventually, William and Catherine did leave the New Connexion.

Catherine always fought for  women’s right in churches. There was even an occasion where Catherine walked up during a church  service when she felt God was telling her to say something. William let her do it. This shocked a lot of  people. Catherine and William believed that it wasn’t against the Bible for women to speak in church. 

Once William was able to do his evangelistic work, he went to the dirtiest and most dangerous places,  because he believed that those were the people that most needed to be saved. This attitude brought  many people to salvation. Upper class people had a perception that the poor people should not be  respected or cared for, but William knew that these people were just as important as anyone. He also  knew that one of the best ways to get people to Jesus was through practical means. This is another big  thing I took away from reading this book. Some people aren’t going to come to church because you  preach complicated things to them, but rather by giving them necessities. This was the main thing that  led to the Salvation Army being started.

William and Catherine had a lot of kids, and something that  impressed me was how involved their kids were. They didn’t sit around, but helped their parents spread  the word of God. Some kids might have felt that they were living under their parent’s shadow, but their  kids put a lot of work into it. The Salvation Army also expanded to America because of the success in  England. William started it without even touching American ground. This showed how he trusted others. He didn’t feel like he needed to be in control of everything. He was also very brave. In the beginning of  his ministry, he would preach open-air and get pelted with anything from rotten eggs to beer. William  believed alcoholism was a big sin, and he would preach to the alcoholics to try to save them. He  would go into bars and there are many stories of poor people saved because of William’s ministry.

I  think we can apply these lessons in our everyday lives. One way is helping people by practical means.  We can help people who need help and give them something even more important, which is salvation.  Another thing we can learn is to stand firm in our faith. If we feel that God is leading us to evangelize,  we should evangelize. If God is leading us to preach to homeless people, we should do it. William and  Catherine felt God telling them to evangelize, and if they had just stayed in their “circuit”, the Salvation  Army never would have been formed, leaving thousands who would have been saved, unsaved. This  book had a lot of good takeaways and things to learn from.

William and Catherine had a lot of kids, and something that  impressed me was how involved their kids were. They didn’t sit around, but helped their parents spread  the word of God. Some kids might have felt that they were living under their parent’s shadow, but their  kids put a lot of work into it.

Paper on Joseph

7th Grade, January 2019

Joseph: A Story of Ups and Downs

The story of Joseph is a bible story found in the book of Genesis. The story consists of many ups and downs and twists and turns. There are many lessons we can learn from this story. We see Joseph going through tough things in life, and then we see him enjoying the pleasures of life, and at the end, it is a story of forgiveness and redemption. Three lessons we can learn from this story are to have faith, to be excellent in everything we do, and to not hesitate to do the right thing.

One of the main things we learn from this story is to have faith in God. We need to learn that God never has and never will fail us, so we need to trust in him. Joseph went through a lot of tough things in his life. His brothers sold him into slavery. Still, he had faith. He got put in jail. Yet again he maintained his trust in God. This led to him having better positions in life. Genesis 39:21 says, “the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.” Because Joseph had faith, God blessed him, and we all need to learn to have faith so we can be blessed by God.

Another thing we need to learn is to have excellence in everything we do. Genesis 39:3-4a says, “When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant.” Joseph was excellent in what he did, and that led to him getting promoted. There is a famous saying that goes “You reap what you sow.” Joseph put in a lot of work to be excellent, and he sowed the rewards, standing out everywhere he went and getting promoted. He did the same when he was in jail. Genesis 39:23 says, “The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.” Because he was so excellent, the prison warden didn’t need to pay attention to anything Joseph was doing because he trusted Joseph that much. In whatever circumstances we are in, we need to be excellent, and that will
help us go further in life.

The last lesson we can learn from the life of Joseph is not to hesitate to do the right thing. Genesis 37:21 says, “When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. ‘Let’s not take his life’ he said. ‘Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into the cistern here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him.’ Rueben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father.” Joseph’s brothers were trying to kill him, but Reuben did not want it to happen. But instead of stopping it then, he decided to hold it off and save him later. The mistake proved costly in verse 29: “When Rueben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes.” Instead of acting then and protecting his brother, he hesitated and that proved to be a costly mistake. The lesson we should learn from this is to not hesitate to do the right thing. These are three lessons we can learn from the life of Joseph.

We need to learn that God never has and never will fail us, so we need to trust in him.

Bible Class Journal: Psalm 91

Written in 7th Grade, 2018-19

One way we can learn about God is through nature and all his creation. We can also learn more about God through his laws, or the Bible. The Bible is more specific as there are individual laws, individual truth, and individual words. Nature is more general as the word “nature” covers a lot of things, but yet they both direct us to God in a way that shines more light onto who He is as a person.

One place I’ve been where God’s creation is evident is the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The Upper Peninsula has hiking trails, lots of plants and animals, and a lot of amazing rocks that all have been created by God. We can experience God through nature because we know that he created all of it, so we can learn more about him through his creation. Nature is also calm, and is a good place to pray and talk to God, as it removes distractions from us when we are trying to pray.

There are many waterfalls in the U.P., and for me it gives you a sense of
peace, seeing it and hearing the sound. Everything God has created is wonderful, and in nature we can see more about Him and what he wants for us in the future.