We welcome ALL the stories of your Inspirational Lives!
The Colors of Christmas
By S.K. Truitt
Colors are a gift from God to us. The science behind why we see in color is easy to explain, but the joy we get in seeing colors is beyond explanation. Colors can affect our moods. A pale blue bedroom wall gives a room a peaceful feeling that will help you relax and drift off to sleep while deep red walls in a dinning room will increase one’s appetite. Colors have purposes and meanings beyond our understanding.
Many holidays have a color or colors that are associated with them. Saint Patrick's Day is green and Valentine’s Day is red. Together the combination of green and red are the traditional Christmas colors. Our Lord gave us the wonderful gift of every vibrant color in the rainbow from red to violet. Although black and white with all their various hues are thought to be plain and drab, Christ came upon earth, died for the sins, and was resurrected for those lackluster tones.
As a young White child, it was a Black Christian couple and their teen-age daughter who first showed me how a true Believer acts out his faith to those who are a different color than themselves. When that couple discovered that our family could not afford a Christmas tree, it was their sturdy, brown hands that bought a silver artificial Christmas tree into our home just a few days before Christmas. It was their daughter’s beautiful, brown hands that taught my pale peach hands how to neatly gift wrap a box. Those six brown hands bought joy to a young child’s life, not for the gift of the tree, but because they bought Christ’s love and care for me in their loving hands into my home.
Every year my family sets up a green Christmas tree in our living room and decorates it with ornaments of red and various other bright colors; yet I will always see Christmas in Black and White. Christmas is not about deep greens or bright reds. It is about God’s love for those He created in His very image. “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.“ (Genesis 1:27) Black, brown, tan, peach, and white are generally looked upon as dull or neutral colors. God must find them incredibly beautiful for it is in those colors He choose to display His image to us.
At this Christmas season let us first celebrate the gift of Christ’s life, born in human flesh. Let us not forget to celebrate and care for all human life, pre-born or born, old or young, in all of its various shapes and sizes, and in all its glorious shades of black, brown, and white.
@ December 23, 2010
I Believe In Miracles
By Cindie York
Psalms 66:5
Come and see what our God has done, what awesome miracles he does for his people!
Miracles are awesome unexplainable events that occur by the divine power of God. The purpose of a miracle is to show the wonderful, mighty power of God. They provide great opportunities for testimonies and witnessing about God's mercy, power, and love.
Miracles are life-changing events and can come at any time and in different forms. The type of the miracle depends on the individual need. Healing of an illness, deliverance from an addiction, and financial miracles are just some examples. The possibilities are endless. Regardless of the type of miracle given, it will always increase faith in God. The witnessing of these miracles has a strong impact on the doubter, who finds it necessary to see before they will believe.
Miracles provide opportunities for second chances, new outlooks, and better qualities of life. Miracles occur by faith, through prayer, and the moving of God's Spirit.
There are countless miracles mentioned in the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, from a donkey that speaks, to the resurrection of the dead. God is still in the miracle working business. There are still blinded eyes receiving sight, crippled legs that are walking for the first time, and yes, even people being raised from the dead. Not just healings, but every sort of awesome event.
God has no respect of persons, so if He is healing one person, one group, one area, He can surely do it for another. If God is transforming situations in one place, He can do it in another. We are the ones who put the limits on an unlimited God. We are the ones that tend to bind the hands of the Miracle Worker with doubt and unbelief.
We must have full trust and faith in God to meet us at our needs and to answer our earnest prayers. We have to expect that He is going to work these miracles. Faith is the essential aspect in which these miracles can occur and be performed. Believe that God will deliver. Believe that the Great Physician can accomplish any task, and bring restoration to any broken area.
We serve an amazing God, who can do anything, at any time. The scriptures tell us that with God all things are possible, not some things, not the simple or easy things, but all things are possible. Never look at a situation, illness, or need as hopeless.
Personally, I have witnessed miracles. I have been a recipient of miracles. Members of my family have received miracles of divine healing and deliverance, among other extraordinary interventions from the Lord God Almighty. Was the power of God made manifest with strong impact? Absolutely! Was the experiences life-changing? Definitely! Do I believe in miracles? You better believe I do!
About the Author - I have been a Christian for 20 years. I am one of the Sunday School teachers at our local church. I enjoy Bible study and growing in the knowledge of God's word. I literally want to soak up God's Word like a sponge.
@ December 14, 2010; Source: Faith Writers
Have You Cheated on Your Spouse? How to Stay Faithful
by Angie Lewis
Why would we NOT be faithful marriage spouses? Why do some people cheat and some people don't? I believe it has a lot to do with how we think and what we value and cherish in life. Simply put, personal morals begin with our attitude. How we have been raised from childhood and what we believe will surely be a big part of if we remain faithful in our marriage or not.
I believe that people miss out on the spiritual Christ in their life by putting God in a corner of a church building. We tend to think that God is only going to hear our prayers if we go to church. We tend to worship the pastors and ministers of the church rather than Jesus Christ, who is the head of the church. Of course most of us know that God is everywhere because He is a Spirit, but most of us stifle our daily walk with God by only worshipping and or praying when we go to church.
The truth is Christ Ones are to worship and follow God in Spirit and in Truth. God does not favor those who "go to church". In fact God favors those people who will not hold on to such outward show and who will worship Him in Spirit. This means that our walk with God is not just when we go to church, but all day long, no matter what we are doing, or where we are going.
"But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." John 4:23-24
Love the Person God Created You To Be for Your Marriage
Value the person you are. Stop disrespecting yourself! That's what you are doing every time you allow a weakness to takeover the flesh. It's easy to do when most of us have been brought up to believe it's ok to have sex with whomever we please whenever we feel like it, even if we're married. Essentially unfaithfulness to our spouse stems from not putting our TRUST and FAITH in God.
God made a big "to do" about coming to earth as the man Jesus and showing us how to live pure, upright lives for Him with our marriage. I don't think we should take this love that God has for us too lightly. Most of us love ourselves in the wrong way, probably because we have not grasped God's amazing love for us. There is a big difference from loving ourselves egotistically and loving ourselves as a child of God. Not until we stop loving ourselves in the wrong ways and start loving the person God created us to be for Him, can we love our spouse in the right ways.
Don't Be Fooled by False Flattery and Praise
In this world of ego-based love there is much false praise and flattery going around. Don't be fooled into thinking this flattery and recognition comes from real lovelove from the Father. Don't misunderstand me, there are people who truly mean what they say and do not expect anything in return for being kind, but there are also many people who claim Christ and will say anything and be anything, for a time, just so they can get something from you. In this article we are talking about how to stay faithful so in that respect I'm talking about false flattery from people just so they can have sex from you, or whatever it is they want from you.
It is believing in this false praise that tempts people into being unfaithful in their marriage. Were love to be sincere, there would be no adultery and using of each other. Love must be sincere and without dissimulation. (Romans 12:9). The minute we base our relationships on self-based, ego built love we fall into societies traps, which separates us from God His Spirit that lives within us. Going to church is not going to help us with our temptations because churches do not teach about how relationships should be according to God!
Think about how unfaithfulness begins: it begins with each other sweet talking and giving flattery to making one another feel good being with each other. If married this is called emotional adultery. This ego building usually generates a sexual relationship, which could have been prevented had you prayed about it and put your life in God's hands. Adultery runs rampant today in marriage and it dishonors God and shows a bad example to the younger generation, plus harms your relationship with God.
Remember to be discerning first and realize as a child of God you have a duty to the opposite sex. As a woman you have a duty to not give male strangers and acquaintances a reason to believe they can have a part of you emotionally or sexually. The way a woman dresses and her mannerisms will tell a guy a lot about her. What are you telling men about who you are?
As a man you have a duty to protect young women from harm if you see a guy stepping out of place. And you have a duty to respect and love women as if they were your own sisters! Imagine your own daughter being sweet-talked into having sex. How would you like to find out she was being used and abused by a wolf in sheep's clothing?
As men and women of God, are we dishonoring the temple of the Holy Spirit of Christ that lives within us by lusting after men and women? If that be true then we need to pray about it and ask God to give us pure thoughts and to love people through Him rather than in selfish, ego-based love.
Work on Self-Healing: Stop Blaming Others For Your Sins and Weak Points
This is a biggy. Many times the adulterer or the adulteress will blame their spouse for cheating on the marriage. In their hearts they make themselves believe it has something to do with not getting enough sex, attention, or love, or perhaps they think they aren't "in love" with their spouse anymore. But sadly, you're lying to yourself.
The fact is when a spouse cheats it has absolutely nothing to do with who they are married to, but everything to do with YOU! There is no justification for stepping outside the bounds of our marriages, even if we are married to the most terrible people on the earth. Do you think God cares "why" you committed adultery, more than "what" you're going to do about your soul? We are free to make our own choices in life. People cheat for only reason and it is because they are not convicted in their heart and mind to be with God they are spiritually bankrupt. But you cannot get through the bankruptcy loopholes with God and file for spiritual bankruptcy. God wants your conviction, not your fake exterior.
Anyone can "go to church" but not anyone can remain faithful in his or her heart and mind to their marriage. Look at yourself. What do you see? More importantly, what does God see? Do you have a personal growing relationship with God, through His Son Jesus Christ? If you have been unfaithful in your marriage I think you know what you need to do. Let God guide your life. Get the healing you need! Stop trusting in the appearances of others and get to know people from within.
The bottom line is do not be unevenly yoked with unbelievers, that means to watch the friends you are keeping company with. And if your church does not worship Jesus Christ as the head then I would search for a new church or begin a home church in your community. And remember, some of the places we visit and some of the things we watch and listen to can and will take us from what is good and right for us and our marriage. Pray for discernment and wisdom and God will bless you, if you are faithful to Him.
About the Author: More from Angie Lewis, My Spouse is Having an Affair: What is God's Will For Me Now? http://youtu.be/VH5c4gtP2As; Heaven Ministries ~ http://www.heavenministries.com
@December 7, 2010; Source: Faith Writers
The Love Test
By Gina Hendrix
If there was a formula you could use to determine the difference between True Love and infamous Lust or Infatuation, would you like to know what it was?
Have you ever thought you were in Love with someone only to discover later that your own heart deceived you?
Try this Love Test and consider the results.
First, we must have a working definition of Love. And where can we find Love in the purest form? What can we trust as the basis of the purest definition of Love? You may disagree, but I have found that the bible (God’s Word) contains no lies, therefore, let’s use the bible’s definition of Love.
I John 4:16 states that God is love. A simple, usable definition. Let’s go with that. If God is love (and He is), then in any situation we use the word Love, could we not exchange the word God for the word Love?
Be prepared, you may need to search the scriptures for the attributes of this True Love. There are way to many and if put into book form, “I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written.” (John 21:25)
So, try this out. Send us a note and let us know. Here are some examples I have found to be very beneficial to me…
* Parents who indulge and spoil their children and say “I God you”….
- doesn’t work there, God doesn’t indulge my sinful behavior
* Men who abuse their wives and families perhaps emotionally or even physically and then say “I God you”…
- doesn’t work there, God doesn’t abuse His children
* Friends who end their conversations with people they hardly know with “I God you” but don’t take another thought of the person after they part…
- doesn’t work there, God is ever mindful of His children caring deeply for us.
* A single mother who works two jobs to provide for her children tells them “I God you”…
- does work here, God is self sacrificing for His children
* A elderly couple who have gone through 50 years of living with each other says to each other “I God you”…
- does work here, God never changes and never leaves His children
* Parents who impose limits and discipline in their home to their children’s utter disgust at times says “I God you”…
- does work here, God chastens His children in order to better them
Try it for yourself. You might find yourself changing the language from time to time. I certainly did.
About the Author: Gina Hendrix is a Freelance Writer and Book Reviewer. She reviews for several Christian Publishers as well as Christian Authors. To learn more about The Vessel Project, please visit vesselproject.wordpress.com. This article can be reproduced and distributed without royalty provided proper reference is made to the Author and her website.
@ November 16, 2010; Source: Narrow is the Path
Will You Be The One
By Joanne Lowe
“Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.” Isaiah 6:8, KJV
John Henry Sheppard who was a teacher in singing schools wrote a song that should challenge all Christians. The name of the song is “Call for Workers”. I believe that the words in this song were written as a prayer that came from his heart.
“Oh, for workers strong and brave, Who will lift the banner high; So the lost can see the way, To the mansions in the sky.” Will you be one of the workers for Jesus who will lift the banner high so the lost can see the way?
For the lost to see Jesus in us, we must have clean hearts. That does not mean that we have to be perfect because no one is perfect. Every one of us fails Jesus in some way. There was only one perfect person who ever lived and His name is Jesus!
It is extremely important that we examine our hearts daily, and sometimes hourly, to be sure that there is nothing in our hearts that hurts Jesus and brings shame to Him. When we serve Him, we are representing Him so we must have clean hearts.
If we are going to be workers for Jesus, we must shut off the television and get out of our comfort zones. We need to visit people who are lonely and hurting and who desperately need to know that someone cares if they live or die.
Have you ever said to Jesus “Here am I; send me”? If not, why haven’t you? Jesus left His home and comfort zone to come to earth to die so we may live. How can we not serve Him after all that He has done for us? Will you go for Jesus?
About the Author: To read more from Joanne Lowe, please visit her website at www.joanne-ourprecioussaviour.blogspot.com or to be included on her daily inspirational email list you can contact her joannelowe8@cox.net
@October 12,, 2010
He Did It For You
By Joanne Lowe
“And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.” Luke 23:33, 34, King James Version
If you ever start to feel that nobody loves you or cares about you, just remember that Jesus died for you. He suffered all that excruciating pain on a cross of horror and shame for you. Yes, He did it for you. Not only did He die for you, He also forgave you from the old rugged cross.
There is nobody who loves you like Jesus loves you. It doesn’t matter what you have done or what you will do, He will love you for eternity. You may break His heart every day and bring shame to Him but He will still love you. Not only does Jesus give love, He is love, unconditional love.
We read in the Bible “The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee” (Jeremiah 31:3). Yes, lonely missionary, He loves you. He loves you dear pastor and He appreciates your service to Him.
Jesus, thank You for dying for our sins and for loving us unconditionally. How it encourages my heart to know that You will love me for all eternity. What a privilege it is to be loved by You, the Saviour of the world. I love You, dear Saviour, with all of my heart. Amen.
About the Author: To read more from Joanne Lowe, please visit her website at www.joanne-ourprecioussaviour.blogspot.com or to be included on her daily inspirational email list you can contact her joannelowe8@cox.net
@September 28, 2010
Bible Study Basics: The Importance of Discussion
By Paula Marolewski
Why include discussion in a Bible study, small group, or Sunday School class? Why not just lecture, or watch a great preacher or teacher on DVD, then call it quits for the day?
Discussion is an essential part of every Bible study or teaching time for six important reasons:
1. Discussion keeps people attentive. It's easy for listening to become a passive activity. If a class is composed of pure lecture (including DVDs or videos), people can tune out at any time. Discussion encourages people to listen actively because they don't know when you might ask a question and request their input on the topic at hand.
2. Discussion lets people actively participate. People want to be involved. Discussion opens the floor to let people share their wisdom, talk about themselves and their experiences, and help others.
3. Discussion helps people make principles their own. By talking about a topic, discussion helps people make the movement from hearing facts (head knowledge), to understanding truth (heart knowledge).
4. Discussion brings additional insights. Teachers are not magically gifted with all knowledge. The participants in the group or class will often be able to add examples, insights, and encouragement that the teacher simply doesn't possess. By giving people a chance to speak, leaders allow God to get across everything he might want to say.
5. Discussion keeps balance in the group. Sometimes people are tempted to put a teacher or leader on a pedestal as "the keeper of all knowledge." Discussion helps level the playing field: by inviting discussion, leaders affirm that they are also students of the Word, and that each person can learn from everyone else.
6. Discussion fosters relationships among members. When people talk and share, they build bridges between one another. Especially in a small group setting, discussion is critical for developing true relationships with one another.
About the Author - Paula J. Marolewski provides challenging and interactive adult Bible studies for individuals, Bible studies, small groups, and adult Sunday School classes at Sink Your Roots (www.SinkYourRoots.com). Studies include such topics as Debunking the Myths about Knowing God's Will. The site also offers free weekly Seedlings - “Little thoughts that grow big results.” © 2008 Paula Marolewski
@ September 21, 2010; Source: Narrow is the Path
God’s Receptionists
By Joanne Lowe
“Salute every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren which are with me greet you.” Philippians 4:21, King James Version
Many years ago, I was searching for a church. I went to six different churches before the service started to see if anyone would speak to me. Nobody spoke to me or even looked at me so I got up and left. How it must break the heart of our precious Saviour when we don’t greet one another.
The definition for receptionist in Webster’s Dictionary is “a person employed to greet telephone callers, visitors, patients, or clients”. All Christians are God’s receptionists. We are to greet visitors who come to our church. We may not feel comfortable talking to them but all of us can smile and shake their hands.
When I go to a place of business, the first person I usually see is the receptionist. If the receptionist isn’t friendly and doesn’t smile at me, I feel very uncomfortable. May God have mercy on us and forgive us if we are making visitors who come to our churches feel uncomfortable because we aren’t friendly to them.
What about you? When you see people you don’t know at church, do you smile at them and shake their hands? Do you go on visitation with your church to invite people to church? O that we would grasp in our hearts the importance and urgency of making sure that people know they are welcome in church.
Heavenly Father, we confess we have sinned because we have failed to greet the visitors at church. We ask You to please forgive us and put a desire deep in our hearts to be Your receptionists. I pray that we will shake their hands and smile at them so they will feel welcome in our churches. Amen.
@September 14, 2010
Memorial Stones
By S.K. Truitt
“Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan from right where the priests stood and to carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight.” Joshua 4:2-3
I have always been amazed by one, small, three letter word that I find in Scripture. The word is dry. When God’s people crossed the Red Sea, the Bible tells us that they crossed on dry land. After they crossed the river, it was so full that it drowned the Egyptians who were chasing them. Then when they were crossing the Jordan River, Scripture says they crossed on dry land when the river was at flood stage. Sometimes when we stand at what may seem like an river that is too deep for us to cross & pray for the Lord’s aide, we rarely have faith enough to believe that He will enable us to cross on dry land. Instead, we start looking for a bridge or a boat. If we do believe God will part the river for us, we expect to be at least ankle deep in mud. While waiting for this muddy river crossing we often are unnecessarily anxious. There is a way to feel at peace while we wait for God to create a dry land crossing for us.
God directs Joshua to have one man from each tribe to pick up a stone in the middle of the Jordan River and then to take those twelve stones and erect a memorial. It was to not only remind those who crossed the Jordan at flood stage on dry land that God is all-powerful, and of His ever present protection & provision, but also it was to be a memorial for future generations. When a parent came upon the stone memorial he was to use that opportunity to share with his children & grandchildren what God had done.
Our country is almost littered with stone memorials. Within a day’s drive of my Virginia home, there are numerous such memorials. There is the obelisk in our nation’s mall erected to remember our first president. In Yorktown, there is the Victory Monument to recall the surrender of the British to that same man, then General Washington. Our nationals memorials remind us of victories, loses, & great men.
It is good to have those memorials to remember these events & people, yet it is far better to have our own stone memorials that we carry with us. These should be events in our lives that we bring to our memory whenever worry, fear, or uncertainty invade our lives. These memories are of times that our God cared for us, protected us, guided us, & showed us His great love & compassion for the weak vessels that we are.
I’m not suggesting that we all carry literal rocks in our pockets, each serving as a reminder to a participate event, but rather a memory that can be filed away, ready for you to remember again & again when the situation merits it. Your stones will look different than everyone else for each of us have different experiences. You can share your stones with others, especially your children & grandchildren, but they can never own your stones. Just as we did not cross the Red Sea or the Jordan River, so we cannot truly own those experiences as our own. What we do not experience ourselves usually does not have the same impact on us as it does those who experience it. Everyone must collect their own memorial stones.
We must remind ourselves that God is our Abba Father & only wants what is best for us. He does not change. He cared for us in the past, He is caring for us now, & He will care for us in the future. We should never worry. When faced with uncertainties, we should petition our LORD & then focus on memorial stones of others like Moses & Joshua, but also our own memorial stones. We should recall to memory every time that God provided, guided, forgave, & loved us. We should not be like the Hebrews who quickly forgot all God had done for them every time they were anxious, fearful, thirsty or hungry.
Do you have pocketful of smooth stones? Do you have stones that are wore from all the times your fingers have rubbed them as you pulled them from your pocket to study them, mediate on them, & rejoice again with them? If you have been a Christian for a few years then you should have collected several by now. They may be stashed away in an forgotten, unlabeled box in your mind’s attic. Ask God to help you remember them. Share with others how God has worked mighty deeds in your life & answered your prayers. Rub those stones smooth so that when hard times arrive at your door you can dip your hand in your pocket, feel your stones, & be reminded of your ever faithful God. Then you can know, in every situation, that peace that passes all understanding.
About the Author: S.K. Truitt is a volunteer with Crisis Pregnancy Center and has committed a great deal of her time, energy and finances to helping others in need.
@August 30, 2010
Ichabod - The Real Person
By Joie Pirkey
The Lord has been speaking to me about a number of different issues that I have been compartmentalizing in my thoughts: the "Insider Movement," "Seeker Sensitive," "Social Justice," the " Emergent Church," and "Prosperity Gospel" to name several. I have been seeing these issues as separate and distinct from each other and have been praying about them, prophesying about them, and doing some research as time permitted. But this past week at the prayer group called "the House of Prayer" the Lord began to reveal to us how each of these issues that the modern day Church is dealing with are inter-connected in that they are manifestations of the same foundational sin. This sin is not allowing Christ to be the Head.
Nearly ten years ago the Lord began to speak to me about a time of shaking that would occur in the churches in our region here in northeast Wisconsin. He told me that He was about to begin to remove a large number of ministers that were not allowing Christ to be the Head of the Church. As this time of shaking transpired the prophetic words that I was receiving began to veer in different directions, or so I thought.
The Lord spoke to me about Church leaders pigeonholing Christianity with Islam. He revealed that this is what a method of missions called the Insider Movement was doing. He told me that it was spreading quickly and then asked me to prophesy publicly that He hates this.
He spoke to me about the Seeker Sensitive method to church growth and ministry and how that belief system was avoiding the cross, repentance, and the need for a savior. Seeker Sensitive methodologists are saying that they are building bridges to the lost. But the Lord told me that these bridges are actually overpasses. He said that they are the symbol of not allowing Christ to be the Head. These so called bridges are actually overpasses to get over the cross. To overpass the cross is to overpass Christ.
He spoke to me about something called "Social Justice". He told me that He is not involved in this work and to stay clear of it. He also told me not to take it into my thought life and not to consider it regarding missions or evangelism. He said that the way in which it is "sold" is deceptive. Assisting the poor and repressed needs to be directed by the Holy Spirit not by the logical deduction of man. Like the woman who poured the expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet, the disciples rebuked her for not selling it and giving the money to the poor, but Jesus was pleased with her action. Giving needs to be directed by the Holy Spirit.
He spoke to me about the Emergent Church and how at its foundation it holds a humanistic world view. He said that people embracing this movement are relativeizing truth.
Last night the Lord showed me that each of these seemingly separate issues were all manifestations of the very thing He had been speaking to me about in the beginning: Not allowing Christ to be the Head. When men step out from under His Headship they begin to create philosophies, methods, and ministries out of their own ideas, logic, and flesh. This lack of Headship has created a very weak, ineffective, and unholy church. It has created a mongrel.
At the House of Prayer, as we spoke about these issues, I found it difficult to address the topic without a name. We prayed about a name and the Lord led us to the name Ichabod.
I Samuel 4:21 - And she named the child Ichabod, saying, "The glory has departed from Israel!" because the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband.
When the Body of Christ removes itself from being under the Headship of Christ, it is a mongrel and the glory of God leaves it. It is headless. Ephesians 4:14-15 speaks directly to this:
"Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men..."
It is the Christian who refuses to be tossed about by new teachings and whims and crafty ways of deceiving others, and who chooses to simply speak the truth in love, that matures into submission of Christ’s Headship.
But when the "Insider" deceives the Muslim with his cunning ideas, and the politically-correct pastor misleads the "seekers" with crafty teachings, they move themselves out from under the Headship of Jesus Christ. Thus resulting in Ichabod and the glory of God departs from them.
When the "Prosperity Preacher" "claims a new car" instead of the cross he is to pick up and carry, he moves himself out from under the Headship of Christ.
When the "Emergent Evangelist" agrees with the homosexual that he was born with this sin and can bring it into a relationship with Christ, he has removed himself from the Headship of Christ.
These ideas are spreading through the Body of Christ and they are generated by man and not by God.
God has been explaining to me how these philosophies are wrong and in what ways they are connected to the same source, how they all result in Ichabod. What He is asking me to do is to expose this sin for what it is, of not allowing Him to be the Head, and to warn those who seek to please Him to avoid these "winds of teachings." He is asking those who have an ear to hear to pray for the Body of Christ that is being beset by such immaturity. He is asking us to put on the Armor of God.
Ephesians 6:11-18 - "Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."
He is calling us to stand firm and speak the truth in love. If we cower back and allow these teachings to silence us, we become advocates of not allowing Christ to be the Head. Our voice of light is paramount in darkness. Our stand is integral to the advancement of the Kingdom of Light. We are soldiers called to fight against principalities of darkness, and we fight with a sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. I am prophetically calling you stand! To take up your cross and follow Christ as your Head! To press on to the high calling of God in Christ Jesus by speaking the truth in love as you grow up in all things into Him who is the Head, that is, Christ.
About the Author - Joie Pirkey, Founder and President of Shouts of Joy Ministries, has a degree in pastoral studies from North Central University and has been in ministry for more than 20 years. She has a powerful testimony of a personal, miraculous healing and an encounter with the Holy Spirit that changed the course of her life. She, with her husband and three children, lives in Wisconsin. -Please comment on this article at the website below- http://www.johnthebaptisttv.com/
@ August 26, 2010; Source: Shouts of Joy Ministries
True Repentance
By Sylvia Huffnagle
Acts: 2:38-39: Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 39: For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. (Amp. V. says: Repent--change your views, and purposes to accept the will of God in your inner selves instead of rejecting it.)
This article is to show what true repentance is and what it will do.
Hos: 7:1-2: When I would have healed Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim was discovered, and the wickedness of Samaria: for they commit falsehood; and the thief cometh in, and the troop of robbers spoileth without. 2: And they consider not in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness: now their own doings have beset them about; they are before my face.
(Notice that God intended to and would have healed them, but sin interfered.)
Matt: 9:2: And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.
Mk: 4:12: That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them. (When one has truly repented, it fixes this problem.)
(God wants people to know that He sees and takes into account their transgressions. Why? So that they can feel guilty and have torment? No. So that they will have an added incentive to follow the instruction book and put on the full armor of God.
Some will say; we were taught that God doesn’t remember our sins, past, present, or future. That is true for one group only--those who truly repented of sin and truly received Jesus Christ.)
1Tim: 5:24: Some men's sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after.
Heb: 10:26: For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
1Jn: 1:9: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Rev: 2:5: Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
Dan: 9:5-13: We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments: 6: Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. 7: O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee. 8: O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. 9: To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him; 10: Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets. 11: Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him. 12: And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem. 13: As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth.
(Notice Vs 13, in order to understand God’s truth one must turn from sinful ways. True repentance prepares the way for the Lord. A right heart can receive truth.)
Repentance has been misunderstood. It has been preached and taught as if all that need be repented of is what humans call bad sins. But let’s look at what the Bible says:
Isa: 55:8-9: For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Matt: 3:1-12: In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan, And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His floor, and gather His wheat into the garner; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
1Kings: 3:14: And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days.
1Kings: 11:33: Because that they have forsaken me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in mine eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father.
1Kings: 11:38: And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do that is right in my sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with thee, and build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee.
Ps: 81:13: Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways!
This is what God wants:
Ps: 95:10: Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways:
Prov: 8:32: Now therefore hearken unto me, O ye children: for blessed are they that keep my ways.
Prov: 23:26: My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.
Isa: 58:2: Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God.
Mal: 2:9: Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways, but have been partial in the law.
Matt: 7:14: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
Matt: 21:32: For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: . . .
Matt: 22:16: And they sent out unto him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not the person of men.
Lk: 1:79: To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Lk: 3:5: Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth;
Jn 14:6: Jesus saith unto him, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Acts 16:17: The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.
Acts: 2:28: Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.
Acts: 14:15-17: And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein: Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways. Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.
Acts: 18:25: This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John.
Acts: 26:20: But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.
Rom: 3:12: They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
Heb 3:10: Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways.
2Pet: 2:15: Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
2Pet: 2:21: For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
Rev: 15:3: And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.
So God wants people to repent of doing things their way and to turn to Him and learn His ways. The things that Jesus taught are God’s Ways. If the people had this understanding the church would enjoy a far different outcome.
About the Author: Sylvia Huffnagle is an ordained minister, a bible teacher and shows us how scripture applies to our everyday life.
@ August 10, 2010; Narrow is the Path
Every Time!
By Joanne Lowe
“Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.” - Matthew 18:21, 22, King James Version
Have you ever heard a parent say to a child “You told me five minutes ago that you wouldn’t do that any more and you just did it again”? Have you ever said that to your children? I think if we will listen with our hearts we will hear Jesus saying to us “You told Me you wouldn’t do that again but you just did it”.
No matter how many times we fail Jesus and hurt Him, if we tell Him that we’re sorry and ask Him to forgive us, He is faithful to forgive us. If the Saviour of the world forgives us every time we hurt Him, how much more we should forgive those who hurt us.
How dare we ask God to forgive us if we are not willing to forgive those who hurt us. We need to remember that none of us are perfect. There was only one perfect person who ever lived or ever will live and His name is Jesus. He never sinned one time yet He died for our sins.
If we want our families and friends to forgive us, we had better forgive them. No matter how many times they hurt us, we need to forgive them. Do you forgive from your heart or do you just tell them that you forgive them? Are you only giving them lip service?
May God have mercy on us if we are harboring unforgiveness in our hearts. Heavenly Father, please forgive us for hurting You and for not forgiving those who hurt us. Help us to forgive from our hearts and not just give them lip service. Thank You. Amen.
@July 20, 2010
Willful Disobedience
By Gina Hendrix
The original sin. One that is within each of us, to all our dismay, the very one that can be tracked back to Adam himself – is alive and well.
Let me tell you a story. It started with a question from my husband, “What do you suppose ‘the sin of the world’ means as it appears in the Gospel of John?” (The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. – John 1:29) My first reaction was “prideful disobedience”. He reacted with a ‘Hmmmm, okay”.
Of course we could not let that just hang in the air. A lively discussion soon followed. I lovingly refer to these conversations as ‘talking God’. We started first with the definition of sin, which is ‘a transgression of the law’. So, the ’sin of the world’ is a transgression of the law. But what exactly was transgressed? My ADD mind took off in all directions pondering what exactly is willful disobedience.
In the garden, Eve was beguiled by the serpent. Adam was not beguiled. Adam took of the fruit in ‘willful disobedience’. Unlike Eve, Adam knew his one and only instruction from God (But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die – Gen2:17), and willfully disobeyed. So, ‘the sin of the world’ can be factored down to one description – ‘willful disobedience’.
After our discussion, I continued to ponder sin and track it back to willful disobedience. It is said that once the Lord reveals something to you, a trial is soon to follow. This, of course, is to determine if you truly did learn what was revealed.
Sure enough, the next day I was presented with a choice to either willfully disobey or not. Or, perhaps it was that my senses were now keenly aware of this ‘willful disobedient’ thing and I was sensitive to every new occurance of it.
What happened? What were these opportunities I faced that caused me to consider willful disobedience? Two things, two times when I really wanted something and was denied the thing in obedience to God.
The first time was the next day. My favorite author had just released a new novel, one I anxiously awaited. This author was my favorite because I had held him in high regard for some time specifically because he was a Christian fiction author who chose NOT to use profanity in his work.
You see, I am allergic to profanity. If I allow myself to hear or read it, that same profanity will break out in my conversations like a poison oak reaction.
I was getting into this novel, great story, great writing – then, I read profanity. At first, I looked over it and thought, it is not so bad, not a big deal. When I read the profanity the second time, I realized that if I continued reading this novel, I would be in willful disobedience.
And then, of course, I got mad.
Who was I mad at? The author, nope – if he was a believer, God knows how to deal with his children. My behavior, nope – I had stopped reading the book, I was being obedient. God, yep – I was mad because I really, really wanted to read this novel, but God wouldn’t let me.
The next trial came at home that evening. I was home from my day job, all my household chores were done, and was looking forward to working on the computer (perhaps even blogging this great revelation), and my husband wanted to talk.
Strange, huh? But not just talk. He wanted to talk God – my favorite subject.
I found myself distracted because I didn’t want to engage in the conversation. I wanted to empty my mind and blast away at the author, but something inside me said ’submit to your husband and listen’. Again, it was my own prideful willful disobedience rearing its ugly head.
If I can take any solace in this recent revelation and the exams that followed, it is this – that I am not alone in encountering these new things about God. I am not his only child. And suddenly, my mind goes back to the Psalms 119:71 “It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes”.
About the Author: Gina Hendrix is a Freelance Writer and Book Reviewer. She reviews for several Christian Publishers as well as Christian Authors. To learn more about The Vessel Project, please visit vesselproject.wordpress.com.
@ July 13, 2010; Source: Narrow is the Path
Our Flesh Is Weak!
By Joanne Lowe
“For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” 2 Corinthians 12:8-9, King James Version
One of my favorite songs is “Just a Closer Walk with Thee”. The author of the song is unknown. These words are so precious to my heart. “I am weak, but Thou art strong; Jesus, keep me from all wrong; I’ll be satisfied as long as I walk, let me walk close to Thee”. It should be the heart’s cry of every Christian to walk close to Jesus.
The pain from the arthritis in my arms, legs, feet and back is getting worse and my flesh is getting weak. How thankful I am to know that when I am weak, Jesus is strong. Without Jesus, I could do nothing. He is the reason I get out of bed and He is every breath that I take. He is my all in all and the Sonshine of my heart.
Eva Mae and Mylon LeFevre wrote a beautiful song that describes how I feel “Without Him I Could Do Nothing”. O how I love this song! “Without Him, I could do nothing. Without Him, I’d surely fail. (Think about it.) Without Him, I would be drifting like a ship without a sail”. Thank God that Jesus is my lifeboat in the midst of turmoil, weakness and heartaches.
If your flesh is weak and you don’t think you can take another step or give another smile, allow Jesus to pick you up and carry you. He will be faithful to carry you through all the valleys of your life. Aren’t you glad we have a Saviour who really loves us and cares about us!
@ July 7, 2010
The Christian Attempt To Hide The Gospel
By Hanna Henderson
It's becoming increasingly popular for Christians who share their faith with others to attempt to make the gospel more appealing by "repackaging" it with something else. That something else may range from the display of magic tricks to tributes to the late Elvis Presley. The mainstream message of America's churches advertised on billboards emphasize to viewers the promise of visiting a church who's worship service is definitely not the usual.
Many people who are not anti-Christian refuse to visit their local churches for various reasons. Some of them are very good ones. Among those reasons is a total lack of spiritual fulfillment as the church continues to fail to effectively address the real problems people are facing. Instead of examining oneself to discover why the church is without answers and spiritual power, Christian leaders persist in altering the gospel to make it more appealing.
What does such behavior say about the God of Israel? Is he so boring that he must be "dressed up" before being presented to others? Is the gospel of Jesus so unpopular that no one will listen to it unless it's first "spiced up" with something else?
Finally, one may ask if such a method is effective in drawing the people to the gospel? The answer to such question would be positive if one only considers the increased number of parishioners that some churches reap from their campaigns. However, the answer is negative if one considers the increasing violence and ungodliness that now plague America. While some churches may be filling up with members, most of those members are not being filled up with the Spirit of Christ who came to destroy the works of the devil (KJV, 1 John 3:8). Consequently, such works are allowed to flourish.
Nicky Cruz, the author of "Run Baby, Run", a best-selling autobiography, shares his testimony of how God saved him from life on the streets as a member of a most ruthless gang. He recounts how the gospel was presented to him. It wasn't "sugar-coated", it wasn't "fixed", nor was it disguised. It was the gospel of Jesus in full power which rescued him from a wretched life. It was the gospel that was presented according to biblical instruction which tells the Christian to simply present the full gospel message of Jesus and let him do the rest.
The scripture of St. John 12:32 records Jesus saying, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." Why do so many Christian leaders continue to hide the one that is to be lifted up?
About the Author: For more about Hanna Henderson log on to view her bible studies at: Heavenly Manna
@ June 15, 2010; Source: Narrow is the Path
Hell is a Real Place
By Joanne Lowe
“I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” Revelation 1:18, King James Version
We don’t like to talk about people going to hell. However, unless the blood of Jesus is applied to our hearts for the forgiveness of our sins we are going to go there. Hell is a real place just as Heaven is a real place. Knowing that our loved ones are going there if they are not saved should cause us to cry out to God and ask Him to bring them to Jesus.
Many years ago before I was saved, when I lost my temper and was very angry at someone I would say to the person “Go to hell”. When I think about saying that to people, I am ashamed and embarrassed. However, I was not saved and did not realize that hell is a real place. I have asked God to forgive me for saying that terrible thing.
God was very gracious and forgave me but the words that I said can never be unsaid. We need to be very careful what we say to people because the cruel words that we say are like a sharp arrow that lodges deep in their hearts. May God have mercy on us and forgive us if we are saying cruel words that discourage and hurt one another.
How thankful I am that because of the blood that Jesus shed on the cross of Calvary when He died for my sins that I have the assurance that I will spend eternity in Heaven with Jesus. Do you have the assurance that you will spend eternity in Heaven with Jesus? You will either go to Heaven or to hell. Where are you going?
About the Author: To read more from Joanne Lowe, please visit her website at www.joanne-ourprecioussaviour.blogspot.com or to be included on her daily inspirational email list you can contact her joannelowe8@cox.net
@June 8, 2010
A Word of Encouragement
By Amma Syncletica
Sometimes, in the midst of our suffering, we don’t need to read another long article on how we can get “our healing today” or even have yet another Godly man or woman lay hands on us and pray as we go away still sick and even more frustrated. We think to ourselves, does God really care? Is He listening at all? Here is a word of encouragement to all of us who are suffering from illness and pain….
“Many are the wiles of the evil one. If he is not able to disturb the soul by means of poverty, he suggests riches as an attraction. If he has not won the victory by insults and disgrace, he suggests praise and glory. Overcome by health, he makes the body ill. Not having been able to seduce it through pleasures, he tries to overthrow it by involuntary suffering. He joins to this, very severe illness, to disturb the faint-hearted in their love of God. But he also destroys the body by very violent fevers and weighs it down with intolerable thirst. If being a sinner you undergo all these things, remind yourself of the punishment to come, the everlasting fire and sufferings inflicted by justice, and do not be discouraged here and now. Rejoice that God visits you and keep this blessed saying on your lips. ‘The Holy One chastened me sorely but has not given me over unto death’ (Ps 118:18) You were iron but fire has burnt the rust off you. If you are righteous and fall ill, you will go from strength to strength. Are you gold? You will pass through the fire purged. Have you been given a thorn in your flesh? (2 Cor 12:1) Exult, and see who else was treated like that; it is an honor to have the same sufferings as Paul. Are you be tried by fever? Are you being taught by cold? Indeed Scritprue says ‘We went through fire and water, yet god has brough us fort to a spacious place’ (Ps 69:29) this share of the wretchedness will makd you perfect. For it is said: ‘The Holy One heasrs when I call’ (Ps 4:3) So open your mouth wider to be touahg by these exercises fo the sould, seeing that we are under the eyes of our enemy.” – Amma Syncletica, Egypt,.
From The Life and Regimen of the Blessed and Holy Teacher Syncletica by 5th Century Athanasius. (An Amma is someone who is dedicated to the ascetic life, she is wise, mature and a teacher of Gods Word. It means Mother in Aramaic.)
@June 2, 2010
The Five Levels of Bible Learning
By Mel Constance
Level 1:
Salvation sounds like a good thing. People can go along with that. They like the songs and the feel-good fellowship with others they meet in their church. They might read little books or pamphlets on different subjects concerning religion. But the person doesn’t read the bible.
Level 2:
People learn baptism and how to be saved concepts. They learn to accept Christ and work towards being baptized. People attend church and only learn the parts of the bible the pastor reads them or tells them to read.
Level 3:
People read the whole bible, page by page; chapter by chapter; and book by book. We learn the whys, wherefores and how’s by learning the heart of God and Christ. We begin to understand why God is so upset and brokenhearted with his people. We come to know God on a more intimate level and we realize God has the same feelings in his heart that we have in ours. Feelings of betrayal when our spouse or children betray us. Feelings of insecurity because someone you love says they love you too, but they show you the opposite. Feelings of longing for people to want to get to know you, of why you are the way you are, and then accept you and love you because of the way you are.
We begin to see things from God’s and Christ’s perspective instead of our own short sightedness. We realize that all he wants for us is good things and never bad. We learn how to put into practice the trust and faith Christ speaks of and learn how to pray so that our prayers are answered. We become brave enough to overcome obstacles and change things we don’t like about ourselves or in our lives that have kept us from the goals and dreams we hold for ourselves. We learn that all things really are possible through Christ because we are obtaining our dreams even against all odds.
Level 4:
We get out our Strong’s Concordance and all the dictionaries and encyclopedias we have and then do studies subject by subject, word by word. We discover that some things we learned in level 2 didn’t go as deep into the bible as it could have. We realize that in level 3 our knowledge doubled from level 2 and that many of the main scriptures that should have been used to come to a better understanding of the topic were never read or mentioned. We realize that many of the scriptures that weren’t used are the ones that gave the most understanding and clarity of the subject. In level 4 we see things so much clearer that wasn’t explained in level 2. In some cases we discover we are offended and feel betrayed at this new insight because it is the opposite of what the pastor taught us and the opposite of what the world wants us to do. But eventually we realize that our salvation comes from our obedience to God and Christ and not the world or man. We decide to change our ways and put all our faith and trust in God and Christ and are pleasantly surprised when we realize how truly blessed we are with the Holy Spirit in our hearts and abundant blessings in our lives from doing what God says is right. We find we are healed of many diseases and health problems when we ask in faith of Christ to heal us of our infirmities. And all this is because we choose to put God first and believe him more than man. Many of the pastors and ministers that go through seminary don’t even learn the things in level 4 that they should. The research on schools and their curriculums that I have done has shown a lack of the basics that the bible is about. I find it amazing that 1000’s of our church leaders could go through years of training in the bible schools and not learn the whys, wherefores and how’s of the 10 commandments and the main points God and Christ taught.
These are the main points that the bible is about:
- The 10 commandments
- The Holy Days - God taught and Christ kept
- Salvation - Who gives it, why and how to have it
- Attaining the Holy Spirit and proper baptism, faith and righteousness
concepts
- Repentance of all of mankind
- Satan, his tempting of man and how to defeat him.
- Physical and spiritual miraculous healings from Christ
- Obedience and the consequences of wrong doings
- Israel – God’s chosen people, (Gentiles too) – and still are.
- The sin – disease connection
- Life in general
I have learned that learning the things on God’s list gives a much better understanding of the bible and the concepts that God and Christ want us to learn. Learning the bible on a subject by subject basis and doing word studies has given me a much higher level biblical education and clearer perspective that shows the bigger picture that God wants us to see.
Level 5:
People in level 5 want to teach the rest of the world how to have a bountiful life full of blessings straight from God and to try to protect them from the wrong teachings that can do them so much harm. They don’t want to see people suffer from calamities, problems, disease and death, so they do all they can to try to teach others.
About the Author: Mel Constance is a 25 year bible (factual scripture) scholar and the author of The Incomplete Person and The Missing “Life” Information That Gives Us Bad Lives. Her website www.NewIsraelAssembly.org and book explains religion from God’s perspective and shows the things that human perspectives have missed that causes so much damage and disease in a person’s life. They are excellent resources for pastors or individuals.
@ May 18, 2010; Narrow Is the Path
When We Have Done All We Can Do
By Joanne Lowe
“If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.” Romans 12:18, King James Version
The Bible instructs us to live peaceably with all men. However, there are times when it is very difficult, and some times it is impossible, to be at peace with people. The Bible tells us what to do in this situation “Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand” (Ephesians 6:18).
Before we get out of bed in the morning, we need to commit our day to Jesus and ask Him to help us. Don’t get out of bed before you pray because it only takes a minute for satan to launch a vicious poisonous attack at us. We must be careful that we don’t allow satan to discourage us.
It would make satan very happy if he discouraged us so much that we stop serving Jesus. When we have done all we can do, we need to be quiet and let Jesus take care of the situation. We are powerless to defeat satan in our own strength. Jesus defeated satan when He hung on the cross for us.
The war was won on the cross when Jesus shed His precious blood for the forgiveness of our sins. However, we are still in a battle and we must be alert for the attacks of satan. As soon as you realize that satan is attacking you, ask Jesus to protect you.
Heavenly Father, thank You for Jesus. Thank You that we have the privilege of being saved because Jesus died for our sins. Please help us to be peace makers and not trouble makers. Jesus, thank You for dying for us. I love You, Jesus, with all of my heart. Amen.
About the Author: To read more from Joanne Lowe, please visit her website at www.joanne-ourprecioussaviour.blogspot.com or to be included on her daily inspirational email list you can contact her joannelowe8@cox.net
@May 4, 2010
Who Are You Following?
By Joanne Lowe
“And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.” 1 Kings 18:21, KJV
S. Sundar Singh wrote the song “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus”. I wonder if we can honestly sing the words of this song from our hearts. “I have decided to follow Jesus; I have decided to follow Jesus; I have decided to follow Jesus; No turning back, No turning back.”
Every one of us has to make this decision. No one else can do it for us. Just as salvation is a personal issue between us and Jesus, so the decision to follow Jesus or satan is also a personal issue. We have to decide who we are going to follow. We only have two choices. We are either following Jesus or we are following satan.
There are many people who are straddling the fence. They won’t make the decision because they might have to give up the friends they have now and make new friends. They know that they should follow Jesus but they are reluctant to stop going to places and doing things that they know they shouldn’t go to or do.
Who are you following? Are you following Jesus or are you following satan? Can you honestly say to Jesus “I will follow You and I will not turn back”? If you aren’t following Jesus, not only will you have an unhappy life, you are also hurting Him and breaking His heart. Will you decide to follow Jesus today?
About the Author: To read more from Joanne Lowe, please visit her website at www.joanne-ourprecioussaviour.blogspot.com or to be included on her daily inspirational email list you can contact her joannelowe8@cox.net
@April 20, 2010
Dream Of The Sad Preacher - Unusual!
By 'Bubsie' from South Africa
[Bubsie] dreamt or had an open vision that she was in her bedroom when she heard the voice of God call her and ask her to wake up. ... He asked her to go to a church as there was a man there that needed her help. No directions were given but as she drove in her car she seemed to know where to go and she arrived at a very large church building: it was magnificently constructed and was a dome-shaped hexagonal building that stretched for a great distance: there were smaller dome-shaped buildings that were in the back-ground: she approached the gates without hesitation and entered a massive parking lot: there were a few cars but very little movement and no people.
As she entered the building she saw the church and many corridors with many offices leading off them and a few people walking around who appeared busy with administration work: they didn't talk or acknowledge her or each other and appeared emotionless with very little movement as they walked as well.
She continued to walk a distance before she saw the door to the administrative block : it was closed. She opened it and entered and saw an office, the door was open and as she entered she saw a man behind a huge desk made of cherry wood: he appeared to be the minister: he was very well groomed, not Indian, White or Black, more Middle Eastern looking: he was very well attired in a smart suit and he had expensive rings on each finger including the thumbs and a watch and chain on each hand respectively: on the right hand wall of the office she saw a display of knives: they were Eastern, looked Chinese/Japanese. On the desk itself she saw on the right hand side stacks of playing cards: they were jumbo-sized, next to them were credit cards also jumbo-sized and different brands of credit cards, some known to her like Mastercard and Visa, and some unknown: there was more than one pile of playing cards and credit cards and they were piled on the table. To the left on the table she saw comic books: like Superman, Batman and Spiderman: they were also in stacks and piled : In the middle of the desk she saw a huge appointment book: To the right of the desk on the floor she saw crates filled with bottled mineral water.
The minister indicated to her to be seated and proceeded to tell her about how busy he was, showing her his appointment book with filled calender booking him for speaking engagements and explaining to her how much he had acquired in terms of book and tape ministry: he spoke with an arrogant, boastful tone, and used his hands to gesticulate to indicate how much wealth was in his possession: his right hand kept touching the credit cards and playing cards as he spoke and his left hand kept touching the comics as he spoke. He then asked her what she was doing there and she told him, God sent me because you need my help: He then began to boastfully say how no help was needed : she then looked to the left of the office and in the corner stood a statue of Christ: almost like how a painting of Christ is depicted but in statue form: she felt rather than stone or marble this resembled more a life-like statue like you get in Madame Tussard's. As she continued to look at the statue while the man continued to expound on why no help was needed, she had a sense that there was life in the statue - especially in the eyes looking at her.
At this point she got up and walked out of the office and began walking to her car: as she reached the outside of the building, she heard the voice of God again, talking to her in a tongue, saying to her, I asked you to come here because this man needs your help. As she protested that the man had stated that he didn’t need her help, she heard again the voice of God speaking to her in a tongue telling her to go back and help the man. She made her way back to the office and as she entered to sit down, the man said to her, What are you doing here, I told you I don't need your help: as he spoke to her he was lifting his right hand and sweeping it across as if to say, see what I have: this was when she noticed that his left arm was missing: it had been cleanly severed at the shoulder joint between the bone and the sleeve of the jacket and shirt had been neatly severed as well: she noticed that it has been surgically removed because of the cleanness of the cut and that the scar was completely healed: she then looked at the statue and at the feet, she saw the man's left arm: it was still covered in the suit and shirt and in the hand of the severed left arm was clutched a knife.
The man then started to ask her what she was doing there and as she said, God told me that you need my help, he stopped her and said, I don't need your help: I can use my right hand to do whatever I want and a few people entered the room and one of them handed him a bottle of mineral water which he lifted with his right hand to his mouth to drink, demonstrating to her that her help was not needed. He then said, I have 2300 (not sure of the exact number he mentioned but it was around this number) of people who work for me who can get me what I want: I don't need your help.
At this point, Bubsie got up and left the room and the building: as she was driving away in her car, again the voice of God remonstrated with her in a tongue that He had told her to come here to help the man and asked her to turn the car back, which she did. This time when she reached the office, she saw immediately that the right hand was missing and as she looked at the feet of the statue, there was the right hand clutching the cards in the hand. The man began to say confidently that she was not needed as he still had his legs and he could walk to get to what he needed.
She left the office again and this time she reached the carpark when the voice of God again in a tongue told her to go back to help the man. When she got to the office, she immediately looked at the statue and at the feet lay the left leg of the man, with the shoe and sock taken off: again the neat severing, the surgical healed scar: no jagged edges, no blood: she was not shocked or even upset, merely observant, and each time she entered the office she sat in the chair opposite the man and looked at him and said, God told me to come here as there is a man here that needs my help: The man said to her I don't need your help, see, I can still stand on one leg. He was not as confident and arrogant and she sensed an uncertainty and anxiety in him but she got up and left.
She made it to the door of the building before the voice of God spoke again telling her, I told you to come here : this man needs your help. She turned back and when she got to the office, she didn't see him and she thought, oh good, he's gone. And then as she looked at the statue, the eyes of the statue were looking down to where the man's chair was, directing her attention to the chair: she went around the desk and saw the man slumped in the chair: the right leg had been neatly severed. At this point the people that had offered him water from before came into the room and lifted the man in the chair and strapped him into the chair with what looked like a seat-belt: the man asked her, What are you doing here? and she said, God told me to come here, you need my help.
The man looked at her without arms and without legs and he said, I still have my intellect and my connections and I can be carried around by my people to where I need to go so I don't need your help. She noticed though that there was no longer confidence and some degree of fear in him as he spoke. She got up and left the office and reached the end of the administration building when the voice of God spoke to her again and said, Come now, I told you to come here because the man needs your help.
As she turned around to make her way back to the office, she realized for the very first time she actually wanted to go in to help the man. Until now she was more obedient than willing. She also noticed that every time she had come back the daylight slowly faded indicating the passing of time and now it was almost dusk.
As she neared the door, the voice of God told her, I want you to be prepared for what you are going to see before you go in. As she entered the office, again she did not see the man and she immediately walked around the large desk to the chair: the man had been decapitated: again a neat surgical scar which had healed: she did not feel any horror as she looked at this scene:
She then saw the statue come alive and Jesus walked to her and said, I want you to carry him and revive his heart:... She swept with one hand all the stuff off the table and laid the torso on the table, wondering how it was she was supposed to revive the man's heart: She opened the shirt and then looked towards the knives on the wall as if to see whether she should use a knife to get to the heart and Jesus said to her, No, just touch him. As she touched the chest, the entire sternum split in half: this time it was a fresh cut and she saw the blood line at the point of severing and the two parts of the chest lifted up: both her and Jesus peered in at the same time into the chest cavity: as Bubsie looked where the heart should be, she saw *a stone*:
Jesus did not look surprised by what He saw, but Babsie was: it was not in the shape of a heart, rather it was just a stone that you see at the side of the road: and as she thought, Now what am supposed to do, am I supposed to revive the stone? She felt the hand of Jesus touch her outstretched hand moving it away: and He said, *No, don't touch it, It's too late.* And she woke up.
When she woke up she asked the Father what she saw: She felt that *the knives* represented the church's dependence on its own weaponry and other sources instead of the the Sword of truth, *the comics* with fantasy superheroes its powerless ineffective ego-founded demonstration of signs and wonders that have no real power, *the playing cards* and *credit cards* it's gambling in the world of mammon with the prosperity gospel. The statue was the Spirit of Christ, paralyzed and confined to an image for identity's sake, more than anything, only allowed to come to life when the head was severed; the bottled mineral water, being its reliance on its own water supply, not the fresh living water that comes from the Father. The absence of genitalia she saw as its inability to be carriers of seed, or reproduce the life of God or bear fruit. The arrogance and refusal to acknowledge its plight until it was too late, despite the many times the Father had sent His prophets in to offer help, had both of us weeping.
The most chilling aspect was that Jesus as Advocate and Redeemer and Bridegroom was the one who said to the prophet 'don't touch it, it's too late' when the true heart of this system was revealed to be stone.
She had one question - Why did you send me there to help, when you knew it was too late? And she felt that the Father had sent His prophets time and time again - and with each Sword of Truth had exposed and severed first, the false sword doctrine/deception) in the church system (the knife in the cut-off left hand), next to be exposed by the Sword of Truth was the prosperity gospel (cards in the cut-off right hand), next the lie of the false gospel being preached was exposed (the cut-off leg with the foot exposed), then the false leadership structure exposed (the head): all of these were done and sealed (healed scars) the fresh cut to expose the true heart required the prophetic witness and is the final aspect.
@April 13, 2010
All I Can Do Is Pray
By Paula Marolewski
I've heard it a thousand times. I've probably said it a thousand times myself. Someone bares their soul to me, and the situation is terrible, painful, difficult ... far beyond the reach of anything I can do – or anyone can do – to help. And then those six words slip from my lips:
"All I can do is pray."
Even as I write the words, I can hear the defeat resonating from them. Properly translated, what I far too often mean when I say those six words is, "I'm sorry I can't do anything to help. I don't have the resources you need. I wish I did. I'll pray about it, but I know that's just a drop in the bucket to what you really need. I don't expect anything to really happen as a result of my prayers."
Then one day as I said it, God rocked me back on my heels. I realized how much I was cheapening God by the attitude behind my words. Think about it:
"All I can do is pray. I'm sorry – all I can do is call upon the sovereign Lord of the Universe, the One who holds all resources, all grace, all power, all hope in his hands. All I can do is ask the loving God who sent his Son to die for us and then raised him from the dead to help you out. All I can do is ask God to demonstrate his divine character in your life through his unending providence, generosity, love, miracles, presence, and care. Sorry I can't do more."
It comes down to a question of attitude and a recognition of adequacy. As Paul writes in II Corinthians 3:5 "Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming form ourselves, but our adequacy is from God." Our attitude should be one of humility, recognizing that our adequacy to meet any need or act in any situation is from God alone.
Once we assume that attitude and understand that our adequacy comes from God, we will no longer despair when we are faced with situations that are beyond our control or help. We simply turn in the same humility to the God who is more than adequate to meet every need – and call upon him for deliverance.
With the right attitude and an understanding of where our resources always and only ever come from, we can truly reach out and say with confidence and trust, "I can't help you. I wish I could, but I simply don't have the resources you need. Fortunately, I know the One who does. All I can do is pray – but I know that God will take care of everything else."
About the Author: Paula J. Marolewski provides challenging and interactive adult Bible studies for individuals, Bible studies, small groups, and adult Sunday School classes at Sink Your Roots (www.SinkYourRoots.com). Studies include such topics as Debunking the Myths about Knowing God's Will. The site also offers free weekly Seedlings - “Little thoughts that grow big results.”
@ April 6, 2010; Source: Narrow Is the Path
The Burden Is Gone
By Joanne Lowe
“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1, 2 - King James Version
Yesterday was one of the happiest days of my life. It shouldn’t have been a good day because I received a very disturbing email from someone who I thought was a good friend. This person attacked me viciously and said some very cruel things to me. However, instead of what that person said to me making me angry and upsetting me, it did just the opposite.
When I read that email, I started laughing because I felt like a heavy burden had been lifted from my heart. I was so happy, that instead of crying, I started singing. God is so good to us. He takes away the hurt from the cruel words that people say to us with His soothing ointment of love.
The Bible tells us to “lay aside every weight”. The burden you are carrying may be someone you think is a good friend, but this person is weighing you down. If this person doesn’t make you think of Jesus, you need to end the friendship immediately!
Thank You, Heavenly Father, for removing that heavy burden from my heart. Please help every person who reads this devotion to lay aside every weight that keeps them from serving Jesus as He wants them to serve Him. Thank You for Jesus, our precious Saviour, who not only saves us from our sins but also saves us from ourselves. Amen.
About the Author: To read more from Joanne Lowe, please visit her website at www.joanne-ourprecioussaviour.blogspot.com or to be included on her daily inspirational email list you can contact her joannelowe8@cox.net
@ March 30, 2010
The Most Extreme Man Or Woman In The Church
By Joyce Perdue
The most extreme man in the church today is the man, the one who stands on God’s Word alone.
He is the “voice crying in the wilderness” of modern churchanity.
It is he who dares to ask not, ”Is this okay? Can we “get away with it”?”, but “Is this honoring to God Almighty?”
Here is one who refuses to engage in frivolity while the world slides to hell.
Here is the man who isn’t afraid to stand before men and be laughed at; he is afraid only of standing before God and being condemned.
He stands for truth in a time of compromise.
He constantly searches out the Word of God and demands a “thus saith the Lord” in a time of me-centered, watered-down, cotton candy teachings.
He believes that there is one way, God’s Way, and he is willing to give up home, income, reputation…indeed, he is willing to give up all that he has, all that he is…in order that it may be taught.
Here is the one who knows “doing for God” must grow out of “being with God” and not the other way around.
Here is the preacher who isn’t afraid to “step on toes” or make someone uncomfortable when the need arises.
He is one who will preach boldly against sin in all of its manifestations.
He is a man who constantly invites his Lord to “search me…try me…see if there is any wicked way in me”.
He is one who knows Jesus wasn’t just “meek and mild” but also the Lion of Judah Who was zealous for God’s house and he tirelessly seeks to follow his Master’s example.
He is the husband, the father, who leads his family to go against the world–no matter how unpopular, how uncomfortable the position–rather than ride the flow that leads to hell.
Here is the young man who seeks out a woman of true loveliness, one who loves God and shows much growth in godliness, rather than one whose beauty is only skin deep.
The most extreme man in the church is the one who unfailingly takes God at His Word and then, believing, acts on it.
He teaches truth even when persecuted for it.
He sees the times and, understanding the dangers ahead, beseeches God on behalf of the people who are failing Him.
Here is one who will lose sleep to “stand in the gap” for his family, the church, the nation.
He is not afraid of censure, of unpopularity, of ridicule but only of displeasing his Lord.
He is one who has obviously ”been with Jesus”.
He knows intimately the throne of grace and lives at the foot of it.
He knows the Cross of Christ for he makes his home in its shadow.
He loves God and thus loves the unlovely–even those who would cause him harm for his “extreme” positions.
Here is one to whom praying is as natural as breathing.
He is known in hell and hated for his prayers. His aren’t prayers for personal comfort but for God’s will to be done–and then, when the prayers are momentarily complete, he gets up and makes himself available to be the instrument through which God’s will can be accomplished.
One who knows sleepless nights spent crying out to God that He may be known and honored among men.
A man who has absolute faith in God that His Lord is able to do all that He has promised.
Here is a man to whom the thought has never occurred to not “accept” Jesus as His Lord.
One whom, knowing his own sinfulness, is humbled by the grace-filled opportunity to serve His Lord in any and every fashion that God bestows upon him.
A man to whom God Himself is more important than any other gift that God could bestow.
@ March 16, 2010
Emotional Martyrs
Joanne Lowe
“Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad.” Proverbs 12:25, King James Version
One of the definitions for the word “martyr” in Webster’s Dictionary is “a person who voluntarily suffers death as a penalty of witnessing to and refusing to renounce a religion”. I have listened to my Pastor preach the same sermon twenty one times because the sermon is all about Jesus and the precious people who are being killed because they refuse to renounce their faith in Jesus.
This inspirational and heart touching sermon brings tears to my eyes and to my heart every time I hear it. In my opinion, it is the greatest sermon that has ever been preached. While I was listening to the sermon for the twenty first time, God spoke to my heart and told me to write a devotion about emotional martyrs.
I have lost track of the emails I have received over the last five years from people who have been attacked emotionally because they have taken a stand for Jesus. They told me that because they have surrendered their lives to serve Jesus in full time ministry that they are being ridiculed and rejected by their families and friends.
One person told me that he and his dad had been close all of his life. They used to do things together every week but when this precious man surrendered his life to serve Jesus full time, his dad not only stopped going places with him, his dad also stopped speaking to him and won’t have anything to do with him. This dear man who has surrendered his life to serve Jesus is heartbroken.
Joyce Landorf Heatherley, a Christian speaker and author, while talking about men and women who have surrendered their lives to serve Jesus full time says on one of her teaching tapes “Men and women are leaving full time ministry in droves because we have not encouraged them. We have impressed them with our “spirituality” and just knocked a hole in their relationship with God and with others”. What a sad commentary it is on those of us who claim to be Christians that instead of encouraging people to serve Jesus, we discourage them.
I can give you a perfect example of how people who love Jesus and have surrendered their lives to serve Him are being discouraged from serving Him. I felt God calling me to be a missionary and I surrendered to the mission field on October 4, 1998. However, He did not tell me what He wanted me to do until January 24, 2005. He entrusted me with and gave me the ministries of encouraging pastors and writing devotions with Jesus helping me.
Two years ago, I asked a pastor this question and his response not only discouraged me, it also broke my heart. “If I was a member of your church, would you pray about presenting me to the deacons to be commissioned as a missionary?” The pastor did not hesitate. He said “I wouldn’t even consider it. You’re not doing anything”. I asked him what he was talking about. He said “You haven’t planted a church”.
How sad, dear people that we are more interested in erecting buildings than we are in planting the unconditional love of Jesus in people’s hearts. Buildings will not last. Eventually, they will crumble but the unconditional love that is planted in the hearts of people will last forever. These precious people who are being ridiculed and rejected by their families and friends for the stand they have taken for Jesus are emotional martyrs.
Of all the emotional martyrs, the greatest one is Jesus. He was ridiculed and rejected constantly but He refused to renounce His Father. He remained faithful to His Father. I have heard many sermons about the physical pain that Jesus suffered for us but I have never heard an entire sermon focused on the emotional pain that He endured. I believe with all of my heart that Jesus did not die from the physical pain that was inflicted upon Him. I believe that He died of a broken heart. I also believe that every time a nail was pounded into His hands, that same nail was pounded into His heart.
You may be willing to die physically for Jesus but are you willing to die emotionally for Him? When your family and friends say cruel and sarcastic things to you because you have taken a stand for Jesus, do you keep your mouth shut or do you say hateful, cruel and sarcastic things back to them?
We not only need physical martyrs for Jesus, we also need people who are willing to be emotional martyrs for Him. Are you an emotional martyr for Jesus? Remember, Jesus gave His life’s blood for you on the cross and died of a broken heart for you. How can we do less than die for Him, not only physically but also emotionally?
About the Author: To read more from Joanne Lowe, please visit her website at www.joanne-ourprecioussaviour.blogspot.com or to be included on her daily inspirational email list you can contact her joannelowe8@cox.net
@ March 09, 2010
32 Things Religion And The Bible Teach Us About Life
By Mel Constance
If life has left you feeling confused, cold, empty and doubtful about life,
then it’s time to learn the real purpose of religion.
32 Things Religion And The Bible Teach Us About Life.
These all pertain to “LIFE” - not a religious sector, belief or denomination.
The 32 things on this list should be everyone’s personal objective of things to obtain in their own lives. Many of these goals can be achieved within about 12 to 24 months depending on how quickly a person wants to learn and apply the knowledge in their lives. If your religion has not taught you how to attain most of these things on this list, then it has failed you. The bible and religion are about LIFE.
1. How to have long life.
2. How to have salvation.
3. How to know what your purpose in life is.
4. How to love and be loved.
5. How to forgive and be forgiven.
6. How to eat to be healthy.
7. How to believe and worship God, with no doubts about his existence.
8. How to receive healing through prayer.
9. How to know and treat God. Commands 1 – 4.
10. How to treat others. Commands 5 – 10.
11. How to be leaders.
12. How to be financially stable and prosperous.
13. How to change our behaviors.
14. How to have faithful, supportive spouses.
15. How to give and receive.
16. How to help those less fortunate.
17. How to attain the Holy Spirit, so we feel good and our hearts aren’t empty.
18. How to have joy and peace of heart and mind.
19. How to have good children.
20. How to overcome addictions and negative feelings.
21. How to be wise and intelligent.
22. How to treat ourselves – respect for body, mind and spirit.
23. How to correct crimes and harmful behaviors.
24. How to rest and be refreshed.
25. How to plan and predict your life and future.
26. How to plan and predict your children’s life and future.
27. How to have a clear conscious.
28. How to win wars.
29. How to understand human nature.
30. How to protect yourself from enemies and disasters.
31. How to recognize false / erroneous / pagan practices and beliefs.
32. How to treat the earth, land, plants and animals for maximum production.
These 32 things should give people an eye opening insight to know that God, religion and the bible are not against us and are not bad things. They are there for our complete “LIFE” needs to give us the knowledge we need to survive anything that may happen in our lives. That wisdom includes how to find our perfect life mates, how to be prosperous, how to win wars and defeat our enemies, and how to be healthy, happy and have a long life. But most of all is how to be and feel loved all the time within ourselves with a love that comes from the Holy Spirit. I have found many of these things are easy to learn and obtain when we live by the standards outlined in the commandments and scriptures. Going against the scriptures will stop our wisdom and blessings. I pray God gives you the guidance and wisdom to bless you in your lives too.
Our book “The Incomplete Person” teaches how to obtain most of the things on this list. I highly recommend it to those who would like to increase their knowledge and wisdom for a life that is truly blessed.
About the Author: Mel Constance is a 25 year bible (factual scripture) scholar and the author of The Incomplete Person and The Missing “Life” Information That Gives Us Bad Lives. Her website www.NewIsraelAssembly.org and book explains religion from God’s perspective and shows the things that human perspectives have missed that causes so much damage and disease in a person’s life. They are excellent resources for pastors or individuals.
@ March 2, 2010; Source: Narrow is the Path
Give What You Have
By Joanne Lowe
“Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.” - Acts 3:6, King James Version
The last two days I have been listening to a series of sermons that a pastor friend sent me. I stayed up all night Sunday listening to them because my heart was so touched by what the pastor said in the sermons. One of the sermons touched my hungry heart so much that I cried through the entire sermon.
In one of the sermons, the pastor challenged the congregation to take their shoes off so they could be given to people who need shoes. The pastor said “It’s warm today. You can walk without your shoes to your car.” The people in the congregation that day might not have been able to give any money but they could have given their shoes had they chosen to do so.
To some of us that may sound crazy and not very practical but if I had been there that day when the sermon was preached, I would have gladly taken my shoes off and given them away. It is very important and also urgent that we get out of our comfort zones and reach out to people in need.
We do need to give our money to people who don’t have enough money to buy groceries or pay their rent or their utility bills. However, there is another kind of need that is far more urgent and that is the need to comfort and encourage people who are hurting emotionally.
In one of those sermons, the pastor told about going to a leper colony and hugging the lepers. For those of you who have been on my mailing list for any length of time, you know that I spent over thirty years confined to mental hospitals off and on and in that time not one person hugged me. I had been told so many times as a teenager at school that I was fat, ugly, and stupid, and didn’t have a right to live that I really believed it.
O that we would love Jesus so much, that like that precious pastor who hugged the lepers, we would hug people who are hurting for Jesus. Remember, Jesus hasn’t been here for over two thousand years. He has left us to hug for Him.
When is the last time you hugged someone for Jesus? When is the last time you hugged your spouse or children and told them that the hug wasn’t from you, it was from Jesus? Are you willing to shut off the television, get out of your comfort zone and love others to Jesus?
Remember, the level of our service to Jesus depends on our level of love for Him. How much do you love Him and how much are you willing to do for Him? Only you can answer that question. We are either serving Jesus or we are serving satan. The choice is yours. Will you commit today to serve Jesus for the rest of your life?
About the Author: To read more from Joanne Lowe, please visit her website at www.joanne-ourprecioussaviour.blogspot.com or to be included on her daily inspirational email list you can contact her joannelowe8@cox.net
@ February 16, 2010
Do You Know What's In You?
By Ann Stewart
There is a treasure hidden deep within you that's waiting to be revealed. (2 Cor. 4: 7) If you know Jesus Christ as your Saviour than you have His anointing in you. Christ means Anointing. It is the Holy Spirit, who took up residence in you when you became born again. That is why it is called the second birth.
Adam and Eve were covered with the anointing, or glory of God. They did not need any other kind of covering. Unlike all other animals, who are covered with feathers, fur, wool or scales and the like, they did not need any kind of outward covering. That is, until they disobeyed God. That's when the anointing left them and they realized they were naked!
That anointing was lost forever and cannot be bought, wished, or won back by any religious actions or pious living. In the Old Testament it was powerfully displayed after the Lord showed His Glory to Moses on Mt. Sinai. When he got back down, his face radiated so much that the people were afraid to come near him and he had to cover it with a veil! (Ex. 34: 29 - 35) Alas, that glory did not last. It was a reflection of an outward glory.
God bestowed his anointing on many Hebrew people, mainly the prophets. But again, that anointing would come on them for a time and a purpose. But now you can receive the anointing by acknowledging the only One who could restore it. Do you know Him? If you do, are you aware of the awesome anointing that is in you?
Moses did not realize his face was so radiant until he saw the fear of the people and was told about it. Is your light shining brightly?
"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Cor. 3: 18)
The closer you walk with God and observe His Commandments and come to know Him through His Word, the more you will be like him, and it will show outwardly. People will be drawn to you and want what they see in you!
Are you still not sure whether or not you have, or even deserve, such anointing? Then meditate on this:
"we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead; who delivered us from so great a death… Who hath also sealed us, and given the [witness] of the Spirit in our hearts." (2 Cor. 1: 9; 10; 22)
Yes, the same Holy Spirit that raised Christ from the dead now dwells in you! (Rom. 8: 11) That's awesome! You've got what it takes! You are more than a conqueror through Him who loves you! (Rom. 8: 37) Your part, especially in these end times, is to show the world what you've got! Let your light shine brightly in the darkness.
"Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of His knowledge by us in every place. For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish." (2 Cor. 2: 14 - 15)
About the Author - Ann is the author of “With Wings as Eagles,” an inspirational and encouraging testimonial of how we can overcome terrible circumstances in our lives. Get it here: with-wings-as-eagles.com Get her inspirational newsletter here: www.lifealteringwords.com
@ February 9, 2010; Source: Narrow is the Path
A Love-A-Thon For Jesus
By Joanne Lowe
“The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” Jeremiah 31:3, King James Version
I believe that we would make the heart of Jesus very happy and have the greatest harvest of souls for Jesus the world has ever seen if we would have a love-a-thon for Him. If every Christian would join the love-a-thon for Him and tell everyone they see that Jesus loves him or her, hearts would be touched and lives would be changed.
We preach to people. We tell them that they are on their way to hell unless they invite Jesus into their hearts to be their personal Saviour. However, so often we neglect to tell them that Jesus loves them. I have had several people come to my home through the years and ask me if I was saved but not one of those people told me that Jesus loves me.
Let’s start telling everyone we see that Jesus loves them unconditionally. If they don’t know that Jesus loves them, why would they want to go to Heaven to be with Him? Are you willing to join the love-a-thon for Jesus? It will mean getting out of your comfort zone and spreading the love of Jesus to people who desperately need to know they are loved.
Heavenly Father, we ask You to please forgive us for watching television hour after hour instead of using that time to spread the unconditional love of Jesus to our families, our friends and to those who are hurting. Help us to love others unconditionally just as Jesus loves us unconditionally. Amen.
About the Author: To read more from Joanne Lowe, please visit her website at www.joanne-ourprecioussaviour.blogspot.com or to be included on her daily inspirational email list you can contact her joannelowe8@cox.net
@ January 5, 2010
The Value of a Biblical Education
By: Mel Constance
An article appeared in our Arizona Republic newspaper, titled, “Education pays off in hard cash” about the value of a college education and the ways it pays off over a lifetime. Here is a portion of the article:
By one measure, the short answer is that college graduates can expect somewhere around $450,000 in additional lifetime earnings compared to their friends with only high-school diplomas. In many respects, the value of a college degree is much higher, especially when you factor in less-obvious aspects such as health, civic involvement, workplace benefits and even attitudes on life.
In today’s society disease seems to be just a part of life that people are expected to accept as normal. I've heard people with many problems calling radio shows with psychic hosts to ask for help and guidance on their lives because they don't know where their lives are headed. In Deuteronomy 28 we find a blessing and a curse for keeping the commandments of God. It tells us that disease, problems and calamities are sent as a punishment for breaking God’s commands that he gave man to follow, and plenty of blessings for keeping them too.
Our United States government has adopted the commandments into our laws and are the very laws we are judged by in our court system. They are also the same laws God will use to judge us at the end of our lives to determine where we will spend our eternity. With that said, it stands to reason that we would do much better in life if we were to educate ourselves by learning the commands and follow them to benefit ourselves throughout our whole lives. The younger we are when we learn them, then the more we can benefit by them by avoiding diseases, curses and the calamities listed in Deut 28, along with staying out of jail in our own states. 1 John 5:3 tells us, For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments; and his commandments are not grievous. If they are not grievous and God and Christ both say to keep them, then we should keep them, for they are the standards for a just and fair society.
We make “life” plans for careers, marriage, retirement, children, and even death arrangements, but we don’t take the time to find out how to have a good long, healthy and prosperous life while we're young. People would find that there would be even more pay-offs in our society in other ways with less marital and family problems, less poverty or public assistance, higher pay, better job benefits, less disease and health crisis’s and over-all easier lives.
All it would take is a few months of commandment study, and 2-4 years more of other biblical studies to get a proper education of the best book about “life.” The sooner a person starts their training the more they will benefit from it, and in turn help others like family and society so they benefit too.
Now that’s an educational investment too good to pass up; creating a just and fair society; learning how to stop curses on our lives, how stay out of jail, and making "life" plans for a lifetime of prosperity, good health, and happiness. That’s far better than just hard cash!
Colleges aren’t the only place we can get an education. The value of God's knowledge and lessons far exceeds what we learn in limited or incomplete classes at college. You can start your "life" training class with the book "The Incomplete Person" and the Missing "Life" Information That Gives Us Bad Lives." It is now time to learn how to have good lives by learning the "missing LIFE information" that has been neglected to be taught in all academic schools.
About the Author: Mel Constance is a 25 year bible (factual scripture) scholar and the author of The Incomplete Person and The Missing “Life” Information That Gives Us Bad Lives. Her website www.NewIsraelAssembly.org and book explains religion from God’s perspective and shows the things that human perspectives have missed that causes so much damage and disease in a person’s life. They are excellent resources for pastors or individuals.
@ January 19, 2010; Source: Narrow is the Path
Paid In Full
By Joanne Lowe
“After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.” John 19: 28 – 30, King James Version
One of the things that makes satan happy is when he can put a guilt trip on us. For two years after I was saved, satan tried to convince me that Jesus didn’t love me and that I was still a sinner because my sins hadn’t been forgiven. I submit to you on the authority of the Word of God that when God forgives you for your sins, you are forgiven!
Don’t let satan lie to you. Stand firm on the Word of God. When Jesus died on the cross for you and for me and said “It is finished” the debt for our sins was paid in full. There is nothing that we can do to earn our salvation. All the money in the world and all the good deeds in the world are not good enough to merit our salvation.
If we could buy our salvation or work for it, Jesus would not have had to suffer such excruciating pain for us on the cross. Thank God that He loves us enough to send His beloved Son into the world to pay the debt that we could never pay. Thank You, Jesus, for loving us so much that You willingly walked that long and lonely road to Calvary so that we can be saved.
Have you invited the Christ of Calvary into your heart? If not, I urge you; I plead with you to say “yes” to Jesus today. You might not have tomorrow or even another hour to live. Give your heart and life to Jesus right now before it is too late.
About the Author: To read more from Joanne Lowe, please visit her website at www.joanne-freedominjesus.blogspot.com or to be included on her daily inspirational email list you can contact her joannelowe8@cox.net
@ January 5, 2010
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