John 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world

He says it himself! If he did it, we can too!

God did NOT promise us an easy life on earth.

The only time life will be perfect is when we are dead and gone on to live with Him. But don’t get so ready to pack your bags and leave just yet! If you are still alive, you are alive for a reason. (When C.G.I.A. has its second key release, we will be teaching you all how to find your purpose for living!)

But remember to keep that in mind! You are here for a reason.

Yeah, yeah, we know. Your boyfriend just dumped you to “work on himself”, you’ve gained 26 pounds in 2 months, your bank account only has 37 dollars in it, your car won’t start up again for the third time this month and now you’re late for work. We know. God knows. We all get it.

But you have two choices. Either crawl up in a ball, collecting gray hairs from stress, eating the rest of the tub of ice cream that you just bought 20 minutes ago, or you can let the pain/hurt/lies/bankruptcy go right back out the door that it came in through.

You simply have to find your escape route!

To find your route or your path, you’ll need a light. (…you see where this is going?) Jesus is the light!

Escape route 1.

Use prayer and faith in order to aim that light on your problems! His light is so bright that the problems will burn away, and you will then have a clear path before you!

Psalm 112:4 Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness

And yes, sometimes it’s good to pray for yourself. But more importantly;

Escape route 2.

Remember to pray for other people! Whenever you are going through your darkest times…like all the happiness is sucked away from you, that is when you should begin to pray for someone else. The main times when we are unhappy are when we are stuck in a rut thinking about ourselves! When we begin to stop putting ourselves as the main focus of our lives (sounds backwards, we know) that’s when we are the happiest. Pray for others with a sincere heart. Don’t just say, “God bless whats-his-name”. Pray for them what you would like for your own self! Happiness, Peace, Love, Health, Strength, etc.

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Remember to keep your mind on God’s love, light, and lessons.

Remember that you can do ALL things through Christ!

When in times of trouble or hurt, ask God to bring back to remembrance all the things that you have learned from Him. He’ll do it!

John 14:26 …he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you

Peace be unto you all!

Light and Love,

The C.G.I.A. foundation

P.S. We’re interested here at C.G.I.A.. What’s your escape route???

Talk to us at cgialca@gmail.com or on Twitter! >>>>>>>>>>>>>

Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

We slightly touched on this topic in our last blog post “Be the Light”.

We talked about how we should remember that as “lights of the world” we are instructed to shine our light in dark places so that ALL may see His Truth and Goodness.

To spread the light, we simply share our faith and what all we have learned from God, Spirit, Allah, (whomever/whatever you choose to believe in) on our individual life journeys.

Another way of spreading the light is mentioned in this Bible verse as well. “…that they may see your good works…”

Here’s a fun question. In order for you to get full usage of the sun…does it ever have to talk to you first?

Well, we hope that most of you answered ‘No!’

To get good usage from any light source, the light doesn’t have to say anything at all. It simply shines, shows us whatever we need to see, and gets the job done.

That’s how we must also be. Yes, sometimes we may need to share a word with others, but honestly, and you’ve heard it a billion times before, ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS. It doesn’t matter if you say the most buttery-sweet things. If after that you get in a fight, or throw litter on the ground, or decide to “twerk sum’ girl!” at your friend’s house party, people’s original thoughts about you will change. If you’re okay with that, well then, okay. More power to you. Just make sure that when their thoughts begin to change, you give them good things to think about you.

Remember that everything you do on earth is to glorify and honor the One who decided to put you on earth.

No one is asking you to be perfect. We all make mistakes.

But also, and the Bible itself says so, “You can do all things through Christ”. Ask God to give you the strength necessary to put your best foot forward and to practice what you preach.

Shine your light so that others can see Him working in your life!

You can do it.

You can do all things!

Sending you Light and Love,

The C.G.I.A. Foundation

Our last post talked about how Jesus is the light of the world, and how instead of trying to control our own lives, we should let Jesus light our paths.

This is what we at C.G.I.A. figure. If Jesus is the light of the world, and we are made in His image, then we are also lights of the world! But you don’t have to take our word for it.

Matthew 5:14 Ye are the light of the world…

Yeah. That means YOU, dear reader. You are the light of the world!

God also says, Out of darkness, the light shall shine.

Remember that no matter what you are going through, you will always overcome if you are following Jesus Christ. John 8:12 I am the light of the world: he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

And think about it this way: In order to truly appreciate light, there has to be darkness! You may go through some really dark times in your life, but your light will shine so brightly that the darkness will begin to dissolve!

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Now. What does light in the physical world do? It allows people to see.

Spiritual lights do the same thing. We allow people to see and hear the Truth. We share our faith and what we’ve learned in order to spread the light.

After following Jesus and surrendering yourselves to Him, you won’t even be able to hide your light. Shine brightly!

Matthew 5:14…A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

Shine your light on everything and everyone–not just to other people with the same light. (Even though it is good practice. There is never too much spiritual light.) But remember to shine your light in dark places so that ALL may see His Truth and Goodness as well!

Remember what Mr. Adrian Rogers said: When you get right with God and are filled with the Holy Spirit, He will simply shine through you!