Your Faith Has Healed You

I've been reading the book of Mark, and countless times, Jesus says, "Your faith has healed you." He heals so so many people, and it is because of their faith that He is able to do so. In fact, He even says that if you tell a mountain to throw itself into the sea, and have no doubt in your heart that it will happen, it WILL happen! (Mark 11: 22-23) Your faith CAN move mountains.

I recently went to a retreat called SALT with the campus ministry Chi Alpha, and there, God showed me that he is still a God of miracles. 

The retreat was in Dallas, so it was a 9 hour drive, and including all the stops we made, it was a total of about a 12 hour drive. I get very car sick, so I was not feeling so well when we finally made it to Dallas. I started getting a migraine, and if you've never experienced a migraine, let me tell you that it is the worst pain ever and I would never wish for anyone to have to go through that kind of pain. 

Well, I went to the first session and I could barely concentrate on the sermon because of my migraine. After the sermon, Donnie Moore began to pray for different illnesses. He prayed over people with migraines, and at that moment I told the Lord, 

"I know you are a God of miracles. You cured so many people while you were on Earth, but I know you can still do it today. I believe that you can cure my migraine, I have faith in you."

And guess what? HE DID. The pressure on the right side of my head disappeared, and after getting a good night's rest, I felt like a new person the next day! 

But that wasn't the end of it. 

The next day, I went exploring downtown Dallas with a few friends: Cydni, Cynthia, and Mikayla. Well, it was freeeezing! I couldn't even feel my hands! On our way back to the hotel, Cydni and I told Jesus to pretty please stop the wind for just a few minutes because we were really cold. Once again, I told Jesus that I knew He could do it and that I had faith in Him. And once again, HE DID IT. 

God cared about us and wanted us to be warm, so He stopped the wind for us just like He did for his disciples!

"He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm." -Mark 4: 39

Miracles aren't a thing of the past, they aren't things that only happened in the Bible. 

Miracles did not stop happening when Jesus died on the cross, miracles still happen BECAUSE He died on the cross. He rose again and saved us from our sins, which is a miracle in and of itself. 

So I say to you, my friends, never stop believing in the power of prayer and miracles. Never stop believing in the power of the almighty God. 

New year, new calling

As 2017 came to an end, I kept trying to think of new year resolutions, as many people do. I came up with some goals for myself, but I didn't really know what God wanted from me in this coming year. But as always, God answered my prayer and told me exactly what He wants from me.

I went to a retreat with the campus ministry Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship (no, it's not a sorority), at which God told and showed me so so many things. Among those things was a new calling He has for my life. He wants me to reach out to the Muslim community of New Mexico State University and show them Jesus.

This honestly did not come as a shock to me, as I was recently called to go on a missions trip to a Muslim country in North Africa. I truly felt like God has called me to go to this Muslim country, it was not just for the adventure of traveling, but I do not have any Muslim friends right now whom I am trying to show Jesus to. It made total sense to me and I felt foolish for not hearing God telling me this earlier. But He is faithful and patient, and opened my eyes to His great calling for me.

A few weeks ago at Chi Alpha, Mike Winters said something that shook many people, and got me thinking. He said something along the lines of,

"If you don't have a heart for international students here, what makes you think you'll have a heart for international people anywhere?"

I already understood that God's calling for all His people is that they go out and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19-20), but I did not yet have a heart for ALL nations. The craziest part is that this calling which God has given me is not only for me.

He wants all of us to go and make disciples of all nations. Of course it's important to reach out to Americans, but there's an entire world that needs Jesus. Step out of your comfort zone and talk to someone from a different culture than yours about Him.

As this new year begins, please join me in prayer for the Arab world and Muslims all around the world. Pray that they would come to know and love Jesus.