Lucille's Reflections

Happy New Year

2011-12-25T13:28:00.000-08:00

A new year is upon us and the old year with all of its mistakes, joys, heartbreaks, will soon be gone. What will you do with your life this new year? Make the same mistakes? Have similar heartbreaks? Perhaps there will be new joys and pleasures to enjoy. This life will eventually end. What of your soul that is designed to live forever? Where will it be when the earth no longer exists?

Oh, yes, my friend. Our souls will live forever somewhere. There are only two choices: heaven or hell.

IF there was no heaven or hell, there would be no good or bad in this world. We would not know good or bad. We know bad, and therefore good, because Satan visited Eve in the garden and enticed her to throw away the good. Oh, yes, my friend, Satan recognized the good long before Adam and Eve knew there was good and bad.

BUT, HOLD ON NOW--Adam and Eve knew there was bad and good, didn't they. We are forgetting that Adam knew God and God said, "Don't eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the center of the garden or you will die." Isn't it just like a human to hear a challenge in that statement no matter whether God made it in the garden or our parents say a similar thing to us: Don't do that or you'll be punished. We just have to try and do it without getting caught. And sometimes we don't get caught by our parents, but God sees all things.

So our souls will ultimately live in heaven or hell. What kind of a choice is that? You either choose the good times [heaven] or the bad times [hell]. You choose--no one else can choose for you.

IF I could choose where everyone would spend eternity, I'd definitely say, "Let us all go to heaven." I can't bear to think of what torment waits for one in hell. ETERNITY!!!

We can suffer forever, and ever, and ever, and ever, and ... OR we can live in perfect peace, perfect health, right outside the castle where the Lord God Almighty sits on his throne. Something tells me the Lord probably won't be on his throne long at a time. I can see Him walking amongst the people on the new earth in human form whereas he walked with Adam and Eve in...HOLD ON!...could very well have been human form.

So, about those choices. Only 2. Heaven or Hell? Which will it be? Let's try to visualize the results of making each of these choices. For instance...

Hell
Forever burning but never burning up and out of existence.
Forever knowing all one had to do to miss hell was love the Lord and obey Him.
Forever knowing that one or more of those one used to know on earth is now in heaven while 'one' is suffering in hell.
There are just 3 items, but I think that's enough to chew on, don't you?

Heaven
Forever walking, talking, laughing with the Lord God Almighty.
Forever living without pain, heartaches, disappointments, fear, anger,....
Forever without trouble of any kind whatsoever.

Lord, I pray you find me worthy to go home with you when you come again for your Bride, the church. Even so, come Lord Jesus. AMEN

2011-11-22T22:35:00.001-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving 2011 Everyone

Isn't the Lord the greatest being ever to be? He blesses and blesses and all he asks in return is our love and our praises.

He has supplied all my needs this year as he has always done. He is my all, my father, my family, teacher, brother, mentor, god, savior, benefactor, you name it He fills those shoes for me. I love Him with all my heart. My greatest desire is to be with Him through out eternity.

A final request:
Don't condemn anyone; rather show them the way to Jesus.

The Bible: One Author, Many Writers

2011-10-13T19:57:00.000-07:00

The Man Without Hands

He was born with twisted hands. All through childhood, he wrestled with various activities that healthy men can perform without thought. In school, he used a tape recorder to give answers to tests, or the teacher would sit and mark the answers as he gave them. Sometimes, the teacher assigned a teacher's aide to mark the answers. When the teacher required an essay or poem created by the students, he spoke his into a tape recorder and turned in the tape.

As Joseph grew up, his interest leaned more and more toward writing stories. He wanted to tell stories that uplifted, that inspired, not so much religious stories, but he wanted to bring happiness and encouragement to his readers. But he couldn't write. He couldn't type. His patience was not great enough to put a pencil in his mouth and painstakingly type out a story. So he chose to use the tape recorder.

Day after day he spoke his story to the tape recorder. He refused to think about what he would do after the story was finished. He focused on getting it told. Then one day the story was finished. He sat for many days wondering how he would get the story typed into the computer so it could be submitted to various markets and perhaps be published.

"I will do my best to transcribe the tapes," his mother said. She hugged him. "You have done well."

Joseph gave her the tapes. She took the tapes and player and sat down at her computer. Day after day she would listen for a minute and type what she heard into MSWord. Sometimes, when she had to rewind the tape and listen again, Joseph would cringe. He knew this activity was just another burden on her shoulders. He would bow his head and in a whisper ask God to send him someone to do this for her.

The day came when she could not type any more for Joseph. She got very sick and had to stay in bed for at least a week. Joseph called a friend who had been particularly friendly to him and the friend arrived promptly every afternoon and spent a couple of hours transcribing Joseph's story into the computer. Then one day the friend did not show up. Joseph cried. He cried because his friend did not come back. He cried because his mother was sick. He cried because he could not type out his own story.

The mail carrier knocked on the door while Joseph was crying and he went to the door and used a special tool to unlock the door and open it.

"Oh, Joseph, please tell me why you've been crying." The mail carrier was a middle aged man who had been friends with the family ever since the father had died last year.

Joseph said, "I have a story but no one to write it out for me." He held up his useless hands. "I can not write or type."

"I'll help," the carrier said, patting Joseph on the shoulder. "I'll be back at five this evening and work on it."

So the mail carrier came that evening at 5 p.m. and typed. After the mail carrier, the young woman next door worked a while, then another and another. When Joseph's story was finished and published, there had been a total of ten people who had given their time to putting the story out.

I, as the author of this particular story, would like to ask this question: "Who is the author of this story since there were at least ten people writing it down?"

Guilt isn't always a bad thing...

2011-08-20T21:39:00.000-07:00

Tonight I learned a new lesson. Let me start at the beginning.

When I began going to a Pentecostal church I was overwhelmed with the members gathering around me at the altar and shouting praises to God and encouragement to me by laying their hands on my shoulders or catching my hands. Many times, I grew so aware of being in the spotlight of these people's attention that I could hardly concentrate on praying. I became convinced I should never do that to anyone.

That was one side of the coin. The other side of the coin is this. I have been so afraid that I would do something in church that God would not be happy with that when the Holy Ghost moved on me to speak, clap, sing, whatever, I would wait a long while before making my move. The fact that when these times came upon me and I didn't do what was on my heart, I suffered a heavy load of guilt for not obeying the Lord. So I began to pray, Father you know I'm scared of moving without the anointing of the Holy Ghost. How can I tell whether it is me getting the idea on my own or whether the Holy Ghost is moving on me to perform?

Well, needless to say, the Lord taught me how to tell. Two times already this year alone, I have prayed for others at the altar and placed my hands upon their shoulders and hollered like any good Pentecostal lady, shouting praises and encouragement. The first time, I went because I wanted everyone there to know that I had the Holy Ghost. It seemed to me that until they knew that, I would always feel that they would try their best to get me to the altar to receive it. I didn't feel much guilt at all and when I did, I brushed it off by saying they needed to hear me speaking in another language to know I had received the Holy Ghost. The second time I went to the altar to pray for someone and laid my hand upon his shoulder and shouted praises and encouragement I could hardly wait to get out of church. I left church quickly after I left the altar that night, which was last Wednesday night.

I knew something was wrong, but wasn't sure what. Didn't I move when the Lord told me to? Guilt slammed into me before I reached my car. Then I knew I'd done something wrong, but my mind refused to believe that praying for another at the altar as I had done was wrong. Oh, but it wasn't so easy to get rid of. Guilt kept me up most of that night and rode my back for days. Then late Saturday night around midnight, I received the message from God. As I was asking His forgiveness for whatever I'd done to cause that guilt, He reminded me that I had admitted to not knowing how to tell if it was me or Him directing me in these matters. Then I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that He had taught me how to tell it was me.

You see when it is me telling me to go up and shout over someone, to speak in tongues, or to pray for another without being asked and things like that, the idea will always derive from what I am feeling in that moment. The first time I went contrary to the Lord's will, I was feeling the need to prove to the people I had the Holy Ghost. The second time I went contrary it was because I was impatient with the slow action I saw rather than the fact that God may have wanted everything quieter and low-keyed at that time, so I went up to the altar to stir things up. Another curious thing about both instances is that when I went to pray for the person everyone else dropped back. I couldn't understand this, but the first time I figured they were just giving me room. The second time I actually felt weird and knew I must be doing something wrong, but had no idea what it was.

Now comparing these times with the times when I knew the Lord had moved on me to do something or say something, I knew He had just taught me the way to tell if it was me or Him doing the urging. I say thank you, Lord, for teaching me that lesson. In the future, I won't forget it.

God is so Great

2011-08-03T21:38:00.001-07:00

The Lord is continually showing me how much he cares. Take the following for example:

My daughter has been in a coma for 9 years this past June. A couple of nights ago, I was standing by her bed praying before I went to bed. I prayed again, "Lord, heal her so she can tell people what you've done for her. She's been here so long. I know you're going to perform a miracle in your own good time so I guess I need to stop asking for her healing." I felt depressed. Having lost another daughter on the 6 of June 2011, on the very anniversary of Pamela's car wreck that sent her into a coma 9 years ago.

Tonight, I went to Bible Study at the church and learned my church was in revival and I didn't even know it. Well, the preacher, after a series of statements about the sermon he wanted to preach on discipleship, said this:

The Lord is saying he has already heard your prayer on the subject and you need to start thanking him for the answer. We all do this at times: ask God for something and keep asking him until we get it. Well we need to stop praying the same old prayer and start praising him for the answer."

Now this is something I've been taught often during the last 50 years and still I forget and keep praying for the same old, same old.

So...Thank you, Lord, for answering my prayers asking for Pamela's healing.
Thank you, Lord, for answering my prayers asking for my family's salvation.
Thank you, Lord, for listening as I whined and cried while praying these lengthy prayers over and over again.
Thank you, Lord, for the message tonight that you have heard my prayers and have already answered them.
Thank you, Lord, for being such a loving, caring God.
Thank you, Lord, for saving my soul and filling me with the precious Holy Ghost with evidence of speaking in a language unknown to me.
Thank you, Lord, for providing my every need, even the little ones like this confirmation that you have heard and answered my prayers.
Thank you, Lord, for being there for me, for loving me, for listening to me, for taking care of all my doubts, fears, and needs, and many of my wants.
I love you, Lord, because you are so great, so wonderful, so caring, so patient with me, so forgiving, so merciful, and all the things I can't remember in this moment, I thank you for those as well.
One more thing, Thank you, Lord, for the trials and tribulations I've suffered since I've been born because it is through all my sufferings that I, like Jesus, am learning obedience and have become the woman I am today. Thank you, Lord.

God is Good

2011-05-11T10:15:00.000-07:00

The Bible says [paraphrased] "There is none good, no not one." Not one person on this earth is good.

Only God is good. He has kept me through many good times and bad times. He strengthens me. He fills me with the peace that passes all understanding. There is none other worthy of my adoration, my love, or my life.

Jesus Alive!

2011-04-04T18:19:00.000-07:00

The Bible says that Jesus was tempted in ALL points as we are. So that means not only was he tempted in the ways mentioned in the 4 gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John of the New Testament, he was also tempted to fight, curse, take revenge against his enemies, and every thing else as we are tempted, YET WITHOUT giving in to even one of them.

WHY???

Picture this: A great being who can sit on an oversized throne and use the earth as his footstool, never knew any sin because he was the one who decided what is right and what is wrong. Because he decided these things, he could easily avoid doing what he thought was wrong. He created man and placed him upon the earth with rules and regulations man could not keep. He chose one nation as his child and gave them the rules and regulations they could not keep. So he decided it was time for him to go through the same things that man had to do. So he created the body of Jesus and entered it to dwell from conception to 33 years of age. In this way he learned, by what he experienced, to have more compassion and empathy for the human he had created.

As children and servants of the Most High God, we learn empathy by what we suffer. As a result of this we can offer assistance or encouragement to others who are going through similar trials. We can FEEL for others; understand what they are going through, and avoid judging them harshly. We can understand when one who is troubled screams, lashes out at a family member or friend, and overlook these actions to offer support and forgiveness to help them get back on track.

This is so important to building good relationships.

Is There A Hell?

2011-03-06T05:27:00.000-08:00

Is There A Hell is a new book I just saw advertised on television. Before you go and embrace the author's confusion, you should be reminded that the author cannot prove there is not hell and the church cannot prove there is no hell. It is not the author's job nor the church's job to prove there is a God, a heaven and a hell. The reason there is no proof is because the Lord says we must come to him as a little child.

Without proof a parent will take care of it, the child believes the parent will take care of it. The child goes to the one who has taken care of it before when it has a need. The child cries and someone comes and gives him what he needs. You must go to the Lord in that same vein, otherwise you will learn the sad way that there is a hell.

If you know the Lord on a personal level, then you know there is a hell, a heaven and a God. But don't look for another person to provide proof.

Ask yourself this question: If God is so good he will not send anyone to hell, who created hell?

I ask you this question: Have you read the Bible? What about the Lord who went in spirit before the children of Israel and killed so many people, not just men, before the fighters could even get to them. Who caused the flood in Noah's time and destroyed everything and why?

The answers are the same: The Lord fought Israel's battle and killed women, children, and men. The Lord brought the flood on the earth destroying all living things except Noah and his kids and their wives and 7 of every clean beast and 2 of every unclean beast. WHY? Because those that died did not obey the Lord and serve the Lord.

To learn of God, go to the Bible.
To get to know God, go to the Lord in prayer, believing he will hear you, and don't go just when everything is bad for you and you need help. Go when the going is good for you as well. You have to go believing without the proof, honey.

The Moving of God's Spirit

2011-03-05T06:07:00.000-08:00

People go to church and desire greatly to see the Lord move in their services. By this I mean, people want to see others saved, filled with the Holy Ghost, healed. They want to see miracles. They want to see such a great movement of the Spirit that people will dance in the aisles and shout for joy. Why don't we see more of this? Could it be because the Spirit is not moving?

Ever been to a service where the preacher says Praise the Lord everyone.
Everyone says Praise the Lord.
If the preacher shouts, the people shout. If the preacher just simply says the sentence, the people simply says the sentence.

Ever been to a service where the preacher says Do I hear an Amen.
Again, if the preacher says it, you'll hear a number of people say it.
If the preacher shouts it, you'll hear AMEN shouted all over the room.

Who's leading this service? Man or God? What really happens if God is leading it?

Perhaps worship or prayer begins with man leading it by saying Let's all praise the Lord. People may begin to shout praise the Lord. Then they move on to say why they are praising the Lord. Then warm goosebumps rise inside the chest and spread outward. Then a person begins to be more free with their body movements and words of praise. Then goosebumps rise on the arms. A warm feeling covers the person and they become lost in feeling the Spirit moving on them.

When people worship, say AMEN, and shout or say praises to the Lord without someone telling them to do so--this is the moving of the Holy Spirit. This is the freedom of worship people sought when they sought out this new country and began to build it to what it is today.

How sad that leaders feel they must tell the congregation when and how to praise the Lord. How sad that people just sit waiting to be told.

Giving God the Glory

2011-03-05T05:50:00.000-08:00

Do we really give God the glory or do we give ourselves the glory?

Some things I've heard:
Mam, I'm just being kind and acting the way a Christian should act.

Who is getting the praise here?

In my opinion, anytime a sentence or statement contains the words I, me, my, we must recognize the fact that I, me, my are the ones being praised, not the Lord.

We praise our children thus: Honey, you did great! You made an A on that paper. OR Joey, that was a good thing you did when you washed my car. OR Thank you, honey, for taking out the trash. It sure helped me a lot.

We CAN praise the Lord only in the same way. Simply saying Praise the Lord is not praise. Saying, We give you the honor and glory, Father, is not praise.

This is praise:
Lord, thank you for protecting me today. If you hadn't been there for me, I would have wrecked the car and maybe died.

Lord, you're so good to me. You helped me find this job. I owe it all to you.

Father, there is none other as great as you. You loved me before I ever knew you. You saved my soul. You filled me with the precious Holy Spirit. Thank you.

Listen, honey, go to the Lord with that problem. He's the only one who can help. Let me tell you what he did for me just yesterday. [Then the speaker begins to tell what the Lord did yesterday.] This is praise.

Next time you go into the church, lift your hands and shout Praise the Lord don't forget to add what you're praising him for. Otherwise your words are empty.

Read the Bible...

2011-01-04T05:41:00.000-08:00

for these Scriptures will give you life.

God is love...

2011-01-04T05:39:00.000-08:00

and He loves us as a parent would. Most parents. Normal parents.

Never forget that as a parent, God will punish disobedience, but his main wish in even this activity is that you be saved from an eternity of hell.

Nope, life on this earth is not hell, my friend. Hell is a burning fire of brimstone and torment.

What does man have against the Bible?

2011-01-04T05:21:00.001-08:00

Not so much the man, as the devil. Yep, the devil, the Bible says, is going about in these last days as a roaring lion seeking even harder to turn man away from God.

Have you ever asked yourself why the devil wants to turn you away from God? Contemplate that for a moment.

Man is willingly being persuaded that the Bible is just a man-written book because man realizes if the Bible is accepted, that means he has sinned, he has come short of what God expects of him, and he will have to pay the consequences.

I see God in everything. The Bible shows God in everything, and man, with a desire to rule his own life, is ignoring all of these facts thinking he can't be held responsible for living the way the Bible tells him he has to if he doesn't read the Bible and learn how it tells him to live.

Baloney!

Nothing man can do will negate, or make false, anything about the Bible. The thing that is wrong is that man doesn't understand the Bible and don't want to admit it.

The Bible is a history book. The Old Testament and the New Testament tells what happened to a select nation regarding their service to and for God. It outlines the way God treated that nation, what God expected from that nation, and the punishments God inflicted for disobedience. The whole book was written by various men, but do you know of any other book written by many authors that hold such a tightly produced theme and plot as the Bible does? All these authors had to have inspiration from the same source--God. For God is the only one who cares enough to give man a guide book for conducting his life on this earth. These Testaments mean the same to us as they meant to Israel back then. The Bible tells us who and what God is, what he wants from us and what will happen if we don't obey as children are expected to obey their parents.

The Old Testament is mainly history and informs us how to live. The New Testament, although it is also history, ends in the Book of Revelation. Revelation tells us what is going to happen in the future. Men and women alike pay high prices to a so-called fortune teller to get info on their futures. The only future they need to concern themselves with is the eternal future for the eternal future is the one that will never end once it begins.

So is the Bible 'real' in that it is from God? Yes! I encourage you to read the Bible with the prayer that God will open your mind and your heart to truth and truth only. Tell Him you don't ever want to believe a lie. Then read the Bible looking for truth. You will get a measure of truth that you can handle and God will not give you more than you can handle, so don't go expecting to become a know-it-all overnight. Above all, you WILL have to accept these truths in faith, believing them without proof of the material kind. You will get proof of the spiritual kind only if you truly want it. Everything the Bible says can be proved out in the lives and workings of mankind on this earth. To make it more simple, read Proverbs and Ecclesiastes first. King Solomon wrote these books and he was the one who asked God for wisdom to rule Israel. Think about those things you read. You will soon see how true the Bible really is.

It's a new year, a new beginning...

2011-01-04T04:51:00.001-08:00

Why not make it your best year by beginning with the Lord Jesus as God of your life?

Yep, I'm preaching again and there are those who say if you want to reach someone, you can't preach to them. That is a lie straight from satan. The Bible says that men will be saved through the act of preaching.

The Bible is also man written. Yep, and guess what!?! There are those who say I don't believe the Bible because men wrote it. Well...

When was the last time God wrote for you?

The first and last time God wrote for mankind ended with man destroying what He wrote. Question: if you created something someone needed and that someone destroyed it, will you create that someone anything else? I think not.

God wrote the first set of the Ten Commandments on a stone tablet God cut out of the mountain side when Moses went up the mountain to meet him. Then Moses took the tablet and went down the mountain, found the people making merry and making sex [not love, love doesn't do things this way], running around half naked like they are doing today, and otherwise doing what the Lord God didn't want them to do: worshipping a golden cafe that Aaron fashioned from all their jewelry.

Naturally, when Moses went back up the mountain, he had to do the writing of the Ten Commandments himself on stone tablets he brought with him. What would you have done?

Man destroys everything God makes then has the nerve to expect God to do everything for him.

Man disobeyed God and God punished him by putting him out of a garden that all man had to do was take care of and eat anything that grew there, except for that tree in the center of the garden. As part of the punishment, man has to work and eat the food that he slaves all day to make money to buy. Woman has to give birth by suffering pains unimaginable to man. The serpent was doomed to crawl on his belly.

In comparison, a child disobeys his parent[s] and the parent[s] punish it by either whipping him, taking away something he wants badly, or simply by making him 'sit out' of action until he learns something the parent don't actually sit down to explain to him in the first place. If said child destroys something the parent[s] made or bought him, he is punished. What do you expect the Father of us all to do when we disobey?

The Bible is always being attacked as man-written. Man has taken God out of everything else and wants to take Him out of the Bible. Ridiculous, isn't it? Wonder what Dean Koontz or Stephen King would say about mankind wanting to take them out of the novels they write? Ummm??

I started out to talk about the Bible and the way mankind wants to get rid of it, and ended up drawing comparisons between God and Parent. I shall do another post immediately addressing the Bible.

Living in the Past?

2010-10-27T17:07:00.000-07:00

Paul wrote in one of his epistles that we, as Christians, should 'press toward the mark' the finish line of this spiritual race we are in 'forgetting those things' in the past.

Many counselors, psychologists, and like folks, seem to agree that individuals should not live in the past, but live in today with some planning for a future.

In our country, slavery of Africans was a big part of the new world in the 13 colonies. When the United States elected Abraham Lincoln as president, he abolished slavery. So why is there so much antagonism between the African-Americans and the whites?

The white folks today have never been involved in slavery and the black folks today have never been considered slaves. So both races should drop the hatred and live in today and plan for a good future, shouldn't they?

It is a sad thing when people live with so much hatred for the hatred hurts the one who does the hating more than the one who is hated. People who have unsolved hate inside their hearts get sick, stay angry all the time, and everyone in their environment is miserable.

What a way to live!

Accountability

2010-09-26T18:52:00.000-07:00

Listened to Dr. Charles Stanley this morning on In Touch. Came on at 8-9 CST. Also comes on 7-8 CST on another station (cable tv)

He talked of accountability. This is something none of us likes. We don't want to have to answer to anyone else for our speech and our actions, yet if we avoid this we will be demanding others to stay out of our business. We will also be displaying an attitude that no one has the right to tell us what to do. Yet accountability is not exactly allowing someone else to tell us what to do.

Really! What it really does is help us to consider other people's feelings and needs before we make a decision. This is as it should be in a marriage, between two good friends, or just between parents and their children. No ruler of a country would think of starting war with another without first sitting down with a group of advisers or cabinet members and discussing the nuts and bolts of it. Why do we think we should be able to make decisions without discussing our intentions with someone else?

When a married couple sits down before either spouse makes a decision, this is not saying "Let me tell you what to do." This should be saying "Here's what I want to do and I want to know if it will hurt you in any way." When parents tell children where to go and/or when to come back, they are really saying, "I love you guys and I need to know where you are at all times in case something happens and I need to get in touch with you." or "I set a time for you to come home because I believe it will provide a measure of safety to you and if you don't come home by that time, then I'll know something's wrong and I'll work to find you fast."

Bottom Line? Be considerate of the people in your life and take on an attitude of:
I'm wanting to do this, or go someplace, but I want to know what you think about it before I make my final decision.

Just think of the problems being accountable to someone could save us.

Don't be a fool!

2010-07-16T07:36:00.000-07:00

All preachers everywhere talk about what YOU have to do, how YOU have to act, speak, live, in order to have a happy life. These sermons help us many times by simply clarifying in our own minds what we should do to live for the Lord. The trouble with these sermons is that they seem to leave God out. Oh, sure, they mention Him from time to time, but that is not adequate. Why do I say it is not enough just to mention Jesus once in a while? Because, simply put, it's not exactly what you say and do that gets you to heaven. Remember the Scripture that talks about the White Throne Judgment and Jesus, on the throne, says, "Depart from me into everlasting darkness because I was naked and you clothed me not,..."? Then the people said, "When saw we thee naked and did not clothe you?..." Your works are dead without a relationship with the Lord. A personal relationship.

Charles Stanley, a great teacher/Baptist on TV, says, "Obey the Lord and leave all the consequences up to Him." Just how simply do you need someone to state what you must do to be saved or what you must do to please the Lord?

Scripture says, "Seek ye first the Kingdom of Heaven and all these things [everything else that needs consideration]will be given unto you." [paraphrased][KJV]
What more could anyone want? Every abstract thing and concrete thing you need will be given unto you and many of your personal desires will be granted. Sometimes you don't even have to ask for these wants to be granted.

One day, I no longer remember exactly the circumstances, but something happened. The single thing I remember about that situation is the thought that popped into my head afterward. I thought, "Oh my God, I didn't even realize I'd wanted this and You gave it to me anyway." "Delight thyself in the Lord and he shall give you the desires of your heart." Contrary to what a lot of people say, you don't really have to ask God for everything you want. You can though because he said, "Ask and you shall receive..." but you don't have to. Concentrate on His needs, not yours.

Imagine:
Each day you get out of bed, lift your hands to heaven and say, "Lord, help me this day to glorify you in everything I say and do. I love you, Jesus, because you have given me so much when you died for me, you have done so much for me during my lifetime. Today I want to show the world a life with Christ uppermost in all I say and do and act so that maybe, just maybe, someone will say, I want the Lord to live in my life like He lives in hers. In the name of Jesus, I ask this."

I hardly ever say Amen mostly because I like to think if I don't say Amen my prayer will stay open and I can add to it during the day. But that's another story.

The Bottom Line:
Seek to develop a relationship with God. Remember how you and your very best friend developed your relationship? You spent time with them-as often as you could. You listened to them. They listened to you. You would perhaps see something in a store and say, Oh, my friend would love this gift. It seems everytime you think of something, that friend is involved also. Well, believe it or not, the Lord wants a closer relationship with you than that, but you can certainly begin to develop one with Him using those same tactics.

1--Spend as much time with Him as you can. Don't have to be on your knees though sometimes you'll want to go to your knees to show reverence and honor. As your relationship grows, it will reach a point where just the thought of being with Him is all it takes for you to pause in what you're doing and spend a few minutes listening and enjoying His presence. Oh Yes!

2--Allow Him to live in your every thought. Suppose you see something you want to buy? "Lord, do you think I ought to get this? It's so pretty." You may not hear a voice, but in your spirit you will know if He says yea or nay. "Lord, I'd like to go... What do you think I should do?" You'll know what He says and the closer you get to Him the more clear the communication. "Lord, I need to spend a little time with You now." Immediately, He's there with you. He doesn't have to find the car keys and rush over. He doesn't have to say, "At quitting time, I'll be there." He is there immediately. Oh Yes!!

Why do we fight against this? Put...God...first and be happy! Why do we fight against this? Influence of our base nature, the world and the devil. But you know something sweet? Put God first each and every minute and you'll be surprised to see these three idols fade into the environment. Really!!

Bottom Line

2010-07-01T05:56:00.000-07:00

If you're reading this, you're living.
If you're living, God put you here.
If God put you here, He has a purpose for your life.

Basic purpose=to serve the Lord with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, with all your strength. [Don't believe me? Search the Scriptures for in them you'll find the answers to all your questions.]

People waste so much time whining, "What am I living for?" My answer: for the Lord. No other reason. Face up to it. We're nothing without the Lord. We can do nothing, we cannot live, we cannot have peace, we cannot have love, we cannot exist as we ought to without the Lord. Why??

Did you know we are running on breath given to us when the Lord God breathed into Adam's nostrils? So without God we cannot live. "But," you say, "I don't believe there is a God who made the earth and everything, including man, that is in the earth." No?? Then you are a truly miserable creature. Miserable cause you have no hope. No hope in this life, no hope for a life after death.

I challenge you to simply state right now: "Lord, I don't believe you exist. If you really exist, prove it to me." The Bible says that God said, "Prove me herewith..." so prove him. After you ask God to prove Himself to you, get you a new or secondhand King James Version of the Old and New Testaments. Why the KJV? Because I trust that version more than any other. I read somewhere that King James, eons ago, gathered together a bunch of writers who could translate the Scriptures from Hebrew to English. In the King James Version, these writers put the words that the Lord Jesus spoke in red ink; parenthesis were placed around words they themselves added that wasn't in the original text simply because the Hebrews writing wasn't written in complete sentences like ours; and the words: ye, thou, thine, thy, and others like these, are simply words that take the place of you, yours, ours, and so forth. So...

Begin each day reading one chapter in the Old Testament and end each day reading one chapter in the New Testament. Did you ask, "Why"?

Well, the reason is that the Old Testament is the section that will teach you about God, the Spirit, that existed from beginning to end. In fact, there is no beginning for God and no ending. These books in this section will tell you how much God loves you, what God expects you to do and how He expects you to act, what God will do if you disobey, and everything else one needs to know about a person while developing a friendship with Him. What? Did you say that the Old Testament is no longer needed today? I beg to differ. Reason: for the same things I've just mentioned. How else can you get to know God without reading the Old Testament? You say, "I'll let the preacher tell me about God." Well, that will work only if you're willing to allow someone else to dictate whether you go to heaven or hell.

Doesn't matter if you don't believe in God, in Hell, or in Heaven. They exist. The Scriptures say that the carnal mind cannot understand or accept the spiritual things. Then how can a person expect to understand anything or even reach the point to be saved? Simple.

You must adopt the attitude, "Well, Lord, if you really exist, I want that eternal life in heaven that I've been hearing about so tell me about my 'basic purpose' here." He will tell you, but you'll have to listen and accept what He says. If you're afraid the devil will answer you instead of the Lord, simply say right off, "If you really exist, Lord, block the devil from my mind and tell me yourself about my 'basic purpose' here," then get the Bible, KJV, down.

You say, "There you go again about the King James Version." Well, the reason I stick to this version has already been given, but here is another reason: I've scanned those other versions and have learned some changes have been made to those Scriptures that should not have been made. The Hebrews wrote the original Scriptures. When a person reads the original Scriptures, the person should take the verses literally for they are truth. As the person grows as a Christian, a Christ follower, he/she will see other messages in those same scriptures. At first you're reading through carnal eyes, as you grow in the Lord, you begin reading through Spiritual eyes. That is the mystery of the Scriptures for through these God reveals to each person what he wants them to know and understand. If you read a Scripture and don't understand it, don't worry. You will. When God thinks you can handle the message. For now, Live in the light that God gives you, as He gives it. Your relationship with Him will grow and you will soon have Him as a friend. He'll stick closer than any family member and this includes your mother, who knows everything about you from the beginning.

Depending on the Lord-A personal Testimony

2010-02-22T10:41:00.000-08:00

Monday, February 22, 2010

Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven and all these things shall be added unto you. This is scripture paraphrased by me. You can find it in Matthew, I believe.

When I first heard the Lord, I was approaching my teen years: somewhere between the age of 9 and 12. From then on, I listened for the voice and I like to think I obeyed it immediately. First instructions won’t ever be complex, but easy to understand and obey. As we grow in the Lord the complexity of the instructions, the trials, the blessings, will all increase.

As I was saying: I learned to lean upon the Lord in those early years. I went to church on a regular basis, but heard little in the services that helped me as a child. I went to Sunday School and the memorization activities of the Scriptures did the most good. I learned during these years to read the Bible and not worry about how much I understood because it didn’t take long for me to understand that the Lord wasn’t going to reveal everything to me at once. Instinctively, or through hearing His voice, this understanding helped me not to worry about the scriptures I couldn’t understand but to work on memorizing and implementing in my life the scriptures I didn’t understand. This activity took conscious intention and implementing on my part. As I grew in the Lord, my knowledge and understanding also grew. I leaned on Him for as little as a dollar several times just so I’d have money to go into the church plate when it passed. If I needed a new dress, I leaned on Him for that because I used the money I could get to keep my kids in nice clothes for school. I didn’t need new clothes all the time because I stayed home and seldom dressed up. In all these things I leaned upon the Lord.

In my early married years, I listened closely to everything preachers and laymen in the church said. Testimonies helped me by allowing me to understand that I wasn’t the only one going or having gone through the things, trials, I was facing at any given moment. Then I began to hear preachers and laymen alike say: “You must do all you can then call upon the Lord for help.”

At first my spirit rebelled against this because of all the years I’d lived with the Lord. Then, too, Scripture says, “Lay all your cares upon the Lord for He careth for you.” My spirit knew there weren’t any conditions to this scripture, but everyone said, “You must read the whole Bible and take into consideration other scriptures that talk of the same thing. Trouble was, in my heart all the scriptures were saying the same thing: the Lord wanted to be loved, worshipped, depended on…

Then like everyone else I began to accept that. I understood that we couldn’t sat on our fannies and expect the Lord to do everything for us. And this was good. One thing led to another. Over the following years I became very independent. I learned quickly I couldn’t depend upon the Lord, my husband, my kids, my friends or anyone else and that if I wanted something done right, I had to do it myself. Now this did not say that the Lord couldn’t do it for me. The understanding was that I had to do everything I could first, then fall back on Him to do the things I couldn’t do. I became so independent, I actually went into depression when I couldn’t do something and would spend my entire time trying to find a way to do those things I couldn’t.

The Lord decided, when I turned 57, I think that was when it all began but am not really positive, anyways, this was about the time my world began to collapse and I began facing problems I could not solve. This is not to say I never faced any before. Before when these came my way, I always tried, like I was taught, to solve them, then I’d go to the Lord when I couldn’t. However, during all these years I could feel a certain rebellion against this teaching. I could never make the scripture: lay all your cares…agree with man’s teaching: do first, then call on the Lord…

But in 2002 when Pamela had that accident that put her in a coma, I wrestled with the understanding that the Lord had already healed Pamela and that she would live. The Lord gave me great faith to believe this and I haven’t changed from that as of this February day in 2010. But I could not do anything to help Pam but take care of her bodily needs until the Lord decided to bring her back. From then on, one thing or another came against me, seemingly in hordes. I reached the point that every solution I found which my mind told me would solve the problem, wouldn’t solve any of them. My biggest mistake was to continue to be independent, calling on the Lord only when I’d failed more than once facing each problem.

On February 22, 2010, I sit here reading Charles Stanley’s lesson on how God allows these trials to break us to the point that we rely entirely on Him and not ourselves. I’m forced to return to my initial understanding of what the Lord wants from us: love, obedience, worship, dependence on Him, trust, praise…and forced to wonder why we make our lives so difficult by not doing what He wants.

Imagine, in every decision I must make, if I went to the Lord and discussed it with Him, He would not do everything for me in the sense of doing the work Himself as in the belief of some people that if we do go to the Lord first, we are wanting to sit down and let Him do it all. NO…this is not how it works.

This is how it works, I stand facing a problem. My mind comes up with several solutions, but I try to determine which would be the best to implement. I go to the Lord in a quiet place and discuss this problem and the solutions I see. If the Lord sees one of my solutions as what He wants me to implement, then He will help me choose that solution above the others by showing me how right it is and how wrong the others would be. However, if the Lord looked at my solutions and decided to come up with a better one Himself, then He would tell me about His solution and then I’d still have to choose between His and mine. Suppose I chose mine? I would have a lot more trouble all around than I would have had using His. Why would I even want to choose mine over His? It’s natural for us to go against advice and do things our way. But suppose I lay aside my choices and say, “Ok, Lord, we’ll do it your way because You can see what lies in the future and what the consequences will be for and against this choice of Yours.”

In this last instance, I am showing the Lord that I trust Him to make wise decisions with me in mind and that I depend upon Him because I know He would never tell me anything that wasn’t good for me. Another thing, if I choose to implement His solution then I will not have the trial-and-error type problems that come with using my own ideas. Hence, His solution is chosen, is implemented, and problem is solved. No two ways about it. Choose, implement, problem solved and passes on into the past. I don’t have to wrestle with the problem anymore. The wrestling, I’m convinced, is what causes us so much stress and discouragement.

Depending on the Lord

2010-02-22T10:38:00.000-08:00

Many times I've heard preachers and laymen alike say how we are to do everything we can before we go to the Lord and ask for His help.

When I first heard that, my spirit rebelled. How can the Lord expect that of us when He clearly states in the Scriptures to put all your cares upon Him?

Read my next post.

Pet Peeve - People who use only the scriptures that matter to them

2009-07-19T13:29:00.000-07:00

A certain religious group who takes a simple scripture that tells us our religion should not be the putting on of jewelry

Crutches

2009-05-16T14:10:00.000-07:00

What crutch are you leaning on?

Drugs, sex, liquor, food, the past, someone else?

Everyone already knows how people will use drugs and liquor to escape from their problems. History is full of the problems adhering to these items. Drinking drivers have wrecked and murdered or maimed others without remorse. I say without remorse because if they experienced remorse, they wouldn't drink and drive again. Heavy legal penalties are not as much of a deterrent as we'd all like to think.

For example, one driver was stopped and ticketed for drinking while driving. They had to meet court, pay the fine, and left court with the promise in their hearts they would never drink and drive again. They really don't want to pay the heavy fines. Yet the statistics, which you can look up for yourself, show that this action doesn't stop the person from drinking and driving. A harder penalty, that of going to jail as soon as the person is found to be drinking while driving, doesn't do any good either.

Drugs can do the same things as liquor: cause a person to have accidents and so forth, but the biggest tragedy is when a person already filled with drugs take more or the same or a different kind without really being aware of this. Result: they die. I've had 2 nephews die from overdoses, a niece who got involved with a guy/guys who loaded her with drugs and hung her with a water hose and she died, a nephew's suicide resulting from guilt for being gay (which is another crutch involving sex, not to mention all the acquaintances who have died from drugs and alcohol related accidents and such.

All of this because the person doesn't want to face his/her responsibilities as a human being, a mother/father, a sister/brother, an employee/employer,...One thing I find about this is that I won't do it simply because doing so means I have given control of ME to something else. I want a clear mind.

Sex is another crutch. Many times I've heard or read where a person became involved in an affair because they loved the woman or man so much they couldn't deny what had to be right. Wrong - wrong - wrong. Sex in any way other than husband (male)/wife (female) is so wrong that to indulge in it causes such stress you will eventually ruin your life. This stress is caused by several things that I have witnessed. No, I'm no psychologist or psychiatrist, but you don't need to be one of those to know that guilt rides high on the list. Guilt because there is something inside you that tells you it's wrong, yet you go ahead and indulge. Guilt because you may be leaving a wife at home to tend to the kids while you go out and...or because you know you're supposed to be somewhere else handling your responsibilities instead of skulking away to a secret rendezvous. Stress is as bad to your health as worry is and will cause many things from stomach problems to organ problems to mind problems. Then there's aids and other sexual diseases. Why not just do the right thing and be free? So what if your wife/husband doesn't seem to be able to satisfy you sexually. If they can't, no one can.

Food, yes, food. This is my crutch. I eat when I'm lonely, sad, happy, mad, you name it, it's a reason to eat. I love the taste of food so it's doubly difficult to quit eating so much. Yes, food will cause health problems just like drugs, sex, alcohol. So I need to try harder to get back control of my mind and body where food is concerned.

The past can bound us so hard that everything we try to accomplish in the present seems to fail. The reason is mostly because we like, yep, we like to say I can't cause momma didn't love me and other stupid excuses. Sounds like passing the blame just like Adam did when the Lord went to the garden to talk with him and Eve. Adam immediately said, that woman you gave me made me...Get this---no one can make you do something you don't want to do. Drop the past. Can't change it, can't live in it again, can't correct the mistakes you made there, it's gone for good.

Leaning on another is much like living in the past. You can place all blame on the other's shoulders if you fail to do or say or go where you must. Sometimes, and I have experience with all these things believe it or not, you can actually put all your responsibilities on the other person. The bad thing are: when you outlive that other person, how will you stand alone? Cause, my friend, that other person is having to not only take care of his/her responsibilities but yours too and that makes for more stress, more mind problems, more friction in relationships, and like worrying will do, it will eventually take its toll on the other person and result in bad health.

You don't have to take my word for it, but I always say that if you can learn by others' mistakes, then you don't have to suffer for those particular ones yourself.

This is a continuance from last post...

2008-10-20T21:15:00.000-07:00

Question: What did Jesus say about homosexuality? Since Jesus is God, then the Question should read...What did God say about homosexuality?

Here are some scripture texts to check out.

Matthew 5: 19
Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

[If you want to understand this Scripture you will need to know the laws and to learn the laws you must read the Old Testament where the Lord gave the laws to Moses in Exodus and Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. It is in this section the law states that if a man is found lying with another man or an animal they are both to be killed. Check Leviticus chapters 18 and 20 for adultery. Also look at Leviticus 20:13, 15, 16. These chapters and verses lay out every instance of adultery. Also it says this And the Lord spake unto Moses saying… These laws came to Moses straight from God and Moses wrote them down in a book so that he could teach them to the children of Israel.]

God said, "I AM that I AM" when asked what His name was.

2008-10-19T16:40:00.000-07:00

Some say I put too much stock in the Bible being the word of God yet some of those will say everyone should believe the words of Jesus.

Jesus said many times that he and the Father are one. Jesus is God in the flesh. The God that dealt with the Israelites in the Old Testament was Jesus although they did not have his name at that time. The name Jesus is reserved to mean the human form God chose to live in on this earth. Father is what we call the Spirit form of God. Holy Ghost is what we call the comforter whom Jesus promised the disciples he would send to them.

The Old Testament is the place where we learn all about God: how He really is, what He wants from us, what He don’t want us to do or get involved in, and what will happen if we disobey Him. In the OT, the Holy Ghost did not live in the hearts of saved men/women. Without the power of the HG one can’t live free from sin. One can’t do the work God wants them to do. What you read in the OT concerning God is still true today because the Bible does say God is the same yesterday, today and forever. He never changes.

Jesus came to fulfill the laws God gave at Mt. Sinai. Now we live under grace and not by the letter of the law although He fully expects us to live as free from sin as possible. If we do sin, we have an advocate, who is Jesus. His sacrifice on the cross to bring us salvation is what makes it possible for us to be forgiven by God Almighty when we do sin.

The New Testament deals with Jesus’ life on this earth, his death, burial and resurrection. In the OT once a year the high priest had to go inside the Holiest of Holies to meet with God and if the priest had not sacrificed a blood sacrifice for his own sins before going into the HH he would have died for God cannot be in the presence of sin. However when Jesus came and died, He is the ultimate sacrifice for our sins and there will be no other. Paul explains all of this as he travels as the Missionary to the Gentiles, for that was his calling: to bring the Gospel to the Gentiles. When Jesus got ready to return to Heaven, He told his disciples to go wait in Jerusalem until the promise of the Father was given to them.

The disciples never preached a sermon after Jesus’ ascension until they were filled with the Holy Ghost. Then Peter preached his first sermon. Peter was given the keys to the kingdom of heaven and Peter preached the first sermon to tell people what they had to do to be saved. Peter said, Repent and be baptized every one of you in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the Holy Ghost. This promise is still offered today for anyone who desires to be saved.

In several instances, the Lord said, Be ye holy for I am holy.

In Genesis we have the account of how man and woman came to be created by God. When God presented woman to Adam, Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman because she was taken out of man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother and shall cleave unto his wife and they shall be one flesh.

After the flood when the Ark eventually set upon Mt. Ararat, God told Noah, Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee; of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth that they may breed abundantly in the earth and be fruitful and multiply upon the earth.

One of the first things Noah did after setting foot on dry land was build an altar. After this, God promised Noah He would never again smite every living thing as He did with the flood. And God blessed Noah and his sons and said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth.

Only man with a woman can multiply and replenish the earth.

I suggest you read Romans chapter one. Here is one section that came from there, but you need to read them all. “For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections; for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient.” Because men and women gave in to their lust that burned toward others of the same sex, God turned them loose to have their own way, but as a result, God turned them loose. He doesn’t bless them, He didn’t change His mind and say Ok son I made a mistake with you. You’re suppose to be the woman and I gave you the wrong sex organs. God doesn’t make a mistake.

But true to His Word, God allows each of us to do what we want to do. If we choose to serve Him, He will begin working in our lives to make us into people who will be worthy to live with Him forever and forever. If we do not choose Him, He turns us loose, He lets us go our own way and as a result the devil takes us over. There is no other choice, one serves God or the devil. One cannot serve both. If we serve God, when we do commit a sin we can fall before Him in repentance and be forgiven and He will not remember that sin any more. If we don’t serve Him, when we do commit a sin it will just add to the already great number that is hanging around our neck.

If we serve God we must believe that the entire Bible is the inspired Word of God. Men lived for God, had experiences with God, and wrote that all down for others. If you sat down and wrote everything you ever experienced and the book survived to be read centuries after your death, just because someone from that future said the book was filled with lies doesn’t change the fact that the book is truth. God inspired men to write the Bible in order that we might have a plan to live by in our hands and be able to know that plan. One has only to pray, asking God to reveal the truth in the Bible, then read that Bible believing God will show the truth. This is not an overnight deal. This is for all eternity.

This earth will be destroyed by fire one day. Here is a list of those sins that will keep one out of heaven: Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in times past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. I challenge you to look up those words in the dictionary to see what each means, even though you think you already know.

I have purposely left all Scripture texts out of this paper. You say you believe in the words of Jesus, then you need to believe in the rest of the Bible. If you stop reading at the words of Jesus, then you don’t know God. Jesus is God, but He didn’t deal with man as God is capable of dealing with man. To understand God one must read about His way of dealing with man. The OT, as I’ve said, is the place to learn about God. Jesus came to be the sacrifice for our sins and from then on we live under grace. For by grace are ye saved, not by works lest any man shall boast. But the Bible doesn’t only give us the good, but also tells us the bad.

Read the account of Sodom in the OT. Angels went to Sodom to take Lot and his family out of the city so God could rain fire and brimstone upon that town and He did it in judgment. God knows all things and he knew what was going on there. When the angels reached Lot’s house and were inside, the men of Sodom came to Lot and said give us the men so we may know them. Lot said no, don’t do so wickedly, but let me give you my virgin daughters instead. The sin going on in Sodom was homosexuality and bestiality. The dictionary defines sodomy as copulation with the same sex or with an animal; also, as anal or oral copulation with another of the opposite sex.

If they are male, then they must live as a male for that is what God intended when he made the man. If they are female, then they must live as a female for that is what God intended when he made the female.

David says in the book of Psalms that before he was conceived in his mother’s womb, God knew him. Homosexuality is not natural, not made by God. It is a creation of Satan himself to tear apart the family as the Lord meant the family to be. Satan knows if he tears apart the family structure, then he destroys the backbone of all societies. Satan’s plan is to get as many people as he can to refuse God. Satan doesn’t care if you don’t join a church of Satan. He knows you don’t have to join a church of Satan to be lost and in danger of spending eternity in hell. All Satan has to do is get a person to do what Eve did in the garden and that was to question what God says and put a personal twist on the Lord’s word.

One cannot live by the Bible without living for God. God must be Number One in a person’s list of priorities. God does not lie. God does not make mistakes. God is our ultimate Judge. Yes, He will send anyone who refuses to accept His plan of salvation to hell. He must for He can’t live with sin. He is holy, sin free, and He expects us to be. Anything that goes against natural is going against God.

Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. (Peter tells this to the High Priest.)

Who knows more...

2008-06-16T07:33:00.000-07:00

Who knows more…

1 yr old baby or 6 yr old kindergartener?
8 yr old elementary kid or a 13 yr old teenager?
12 yr old just beginning to date or a 15 yr old who’s been dating a few years?
A teenager who’s just graduating or a college student being handed a degree?
A college student working a first job or a person who’s worked for two years?
A child or a parent?
A teenager or a parent?
A parent or a grandparent?

Easy test, isn’t it? If you picked the second person listed in each question, you got it right.

You see, human nature doesn’t change. Solomon said in Ecclesiastes: what goes around has already been around. If your life has spanned decades even if just 3 decades (30 years) then you can look back and see the changes made to living, technology, transportation, and so forth. But human nature is still the same. Each person is still faced with the temptations that the Israelites were faced with. Each person still has the nature that’s prone to sin and prone to the same sins as those that existed before Jesus’ birth.

I said all that to say this. Whenever I’ve tried to reason with my children when they were growing up, as other parents have tried, the favorite statement is: Aw, momma, you’re old-fashioned. Things aren’t like that today.

THINGS are not exactly like they were even 10 years ago, but we’re not talking about THINGS. We’re talking about life and living. We’re talking about human nature and its tendency to sin. We’re talking about facing troubles like a bully, what to wear to the prom, how can I keep my self-respect, what do I do with a friend who…? Now you’re getting it. Anyone older than you, maybe even a year older, has gone through that same problem. Age, unless health is bad, does not guarantee the person forgets how it used to be when they were young. As long as a person has their right mind, no matter how old they get, the young can benefit by their advice. Why go through heartache and pain, if you can avoid it by simply seeing what others have gone through before you? And when you reach the ripe old level of ‘Grandparent’, then you can look back and remember…

Know Jesus Know God

2008-06-12T04:28:00.000-07:00

You don't know God, unless you know Jesus.

John 14:6-11

There is Power, Power...

2008-05-15T09:53:00.000-07:00

Since time began, man has wanted power. He looks for power everywhere. All men have a certain amount of power already. Through their tongues or their actions, they can bring good or bad to others, they can destroy others or support them. So really what man is looking for is the magic involved. This is what man considers power. There are only two (2) places where you can get power you think is available, but understand this: It'll never be on your terms.

Place 1:
Many people head for Satan when they think of having power. Television, books, and websites on the Internet assure these people that he can give them all the power they want. Understand this: He will only give you what he wants you to have. AND, if you're already serving him, he doesn't need to give you anything.

Place 2:
The Lord God Almighty...got that? Almighty. The Lord has also promised men power. Here again, you won't get it on your own terms. Here again, the Lord will give you only what He wants you to have. There is one difference you need to take into consideration. The Lord's power is stronger than Satan's. He has already defeated Satan numerous times and He defeats Satan every time a person is saved.

Qualifications/Conditions:

Man must meet the qualifications and/or conditions of either Satan or the Lord God Almighty in order to obtain this power.

Place 1: Satan uses the promise of power to hook one into doing his will. He only needs to tempt them until they give in. He uses the person's weakest area. Where dishing out power is concerned, there may be many more things he takes into consideration. Such as: is this person easy to manipulate? Does this person have the courage to do the acts of violence I have in mind? Can this person sacrifice another human being by killing them, degrading them, or in any way causing them to bow to me? Will this person be able to break up the family unit as created by God? Mostly, Satan is only interested in keeping the person from serving God Almighty and he'll use anything that accomplishes this purpose. However, if he can get you on one small temptation, he probably won't be giving you any power over others.

Condition in this regard is simple: Simply to obey him, but remember this, Satan can do nothing to anyone without the Lord's permission. He can tempt, he can throw obstacles in a person's path, he can use voodoo, black magic, occults, sex, murder, passion, and any other thing he wants to, but he can't touch the body without the Lord's permission and he can't touch the soul without your permission.

Place 2: The Lord also has qualifications and/or conditions one must follow in order to get power.

Numerous Scriptures in the Old Testament confirms the notion that the Lord will do nothing for those who are not His children except to hear the prayer of repentance. So the first step toward getting 'power' from God is to repent and become a child of God.

Acts 1:8 Jesus told his disciples: But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you...

What must we do to reach this point? Acts 2:38 tells us:
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.

Baptized: being buried in Jesus's name in water that completely covers you.
How do you know when you have received the Holy Ghost? when you and others have heard you speak in another language; another known language. Known meaning a language known to mankind.

So now, to get the power from the Lord one must receive the Holy Ghost. To receive the Holy Ghost one must become 'saved' or born again through repentance and baptism.

You can do many things through power.

Place 1: In a nutshell, you can destroy people and yourself. Imagine the many different ways a person can hurt and be destroyed and you will be able to see the power you have over others. As for magic, voodoo and the likes, you may experience some of this and you may not. Once Satan has you in his clutches, he doesn't have to give you any power at all.

Place 2: Power of the Holy Ghost first brings you the ability to overcome any sin or temptation put before you by Satan and/or his servants. Obeying the directives of the Holy Ghost can see your hands being laid on the sick and seeing them recover just as the Apostles did. Obeying the Lord can bring you riches and wealth many times. Some people may get only the riches and wealth of Spiritual knowledge, strength, ability to work miracles and these kinds of things. Others may receive these things plus the material gains men seek after. All will receive their 'needs' met. Pay attention here: I said needs, not wants, although the Lord has supplied many wants of his children many times. As a child of God, you only have to ask and you shall receive. If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you can move mountains. Jesus said you can move the sycamine tree by its roots from one place to another. But without dependence upon the Lord, you have no power. You must abide in the Lord, His words abide in you and you in Him for this to be perfect. You cannot use this power as a magic wand to accomplish whatsoever you want. You must use this power under the direction of the Holy Ghost and for whatsoever the Lord wants.

There are results to having or using each kind of power, but I'm only going to mention one of each.

Place 1: The result of using Satan's power is death for eternity. You will be lost forever. You will suffer in a lake of fire and brimstone. Search the Scriptures.

Place 2: The result of using the power that the Holy Ghost gives you is life everlasting. Living with the Lord God Almighty, seeing Him on a daily basis, having no bad thing to bother you: no sickness, death, hell, heartache, tears, pain, or anything else that hurts.

Above all: The Lord gives you a choice. It's your time to choose. Joshua told the people when they had conquered the Promised Land, Choose you this day whom you will serve.

Who am I?

2008-04-05T20:17:00.000-07:00

I am what God made me. He created me: spirit, soul and body. Though I can change my hair color, wear different colored contacts to change my eye color, shave my head or let my hair grow to my feet, diet till I'm pencil thin, eat till I'm as big as I can possibly get, none of these changes can actually be more than appearance deep. Underneath the changes, I am still me. I still have the intelligence, appearance, skills, gifts, talents that God gave me when He created me.

I can have a sex change operation, but underneath I am still what God created me to be.

No matter how I change myself or reject what God has chosen for me, I am still what God made me to be.

If I give my life to Him freely and completely, I will have the peace that passes all understanding. I will have peace in my innermost parts no matter what the situation I'm forced to live through. I will be happier. I will be more satisfied. I will be more productive. I will be at peace with myself and others.

If I fight against what God created me to be and do, I will never be satisfied no matter what happens in my favor. I will never feel the peace of God that passes all understanding. I will not have peace in any situation even though the situation itself is not all that stressful. I will never be happy. I will not be as productive as I could be. I will never be at peace with myself and others.

I want the peace of God in my heart and life. I want to be happy. I want to be productive. I want to feel satisfied with myself. I want to live in peace with myself and others. Therefore I give my life to the Lord to use as He sees fit. I am no longer mine for I belong to Jesus, who bought me with the price of His life on the cross. Through Christ, I am complete. Through Christ, I am.

God Takes Care of Everything

2008-03-10T06:51:00.000-07:00

Here's a thought:

Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. (Psalm 46:10; KJV)

When troubles come, God's there, too. (Lucille's Reflection)

God's on His throne, all's right with the world. (Emilie Loring--a theme for one of her novels.)

Obey God, leave the consequences to Him. (Pastor Charles Stanley)

Ripping the Veil

2008-01-16T09:19:00.000-08:00

When Christ died on the cross, the Veil in the temple that separated the Holy of Holies from the Holiest of Holies was ripped in half exposing the Holiest of Holies.

What this means--

Back in the Old Testament days, the Priest made intercession for the people by offering their offerings as burnt sacrifices and then one day a year he would go behind the veil into the chamber called Holiest of Holies wearing a rope or cord tied around him. He would stand facing the Ark of the Covenant where two Cherabim sat. Only the Priest could do this service and if God wasn't happy with the Priest, then the Priest died inside and the people on the outside of the temple had to use the rope or cord to pull the body out for no one could go inside and get it.

If a person sinned, he/she was judged by the Priest.

Thank God, this is no longer the way it is done. When the veil split in two, this was God's way of saying that the death of Christ opened the way for every believer to approach the throne of God and talk to Him personally.

You see, the sins you commit are not against the church or the priest, they are against the Lord and He is the only one who can forgive you. There is no one else whereby we can escape damnation except through Jesus for he is the one who died on that cross, he is the one who took our sins to the grave with him, he is the one who rose from the dead having conquered death, hell and the grave.

Scripture says--There is no other name given under heaven whereby men can be saved. (paraphrased) But don't take my word for it. Look it up in the KJV of the Bible.

Troubles & Trials

2008-01-05T09:53:00.001-08:00

We always ask, "Why does the Lord, if he is such a good God, allow such tragedies to hit us?"

At least 3 good reasons--

1--If we never suffered we'd never be able to help those who do
2--God wants us to be more like Jesus -- depend upon Him when we do face a trial
3--helps our faith to grow stronger if we depend upon the Lord to help us get through the trouble.

Look at this angle--
Most of this trouble comes upon us through our own choices.
Some are given to us by Satan to tear us down.
A few are actually sent to us by God.

Intimate Relationship 2

2007-12-31T10:52:00.000-08:00

This is a continuance of the last topic--

Insecurity--this one doesn't sound like a sin, but when it stops you from believing in God, his love and his forgiveness, how else can one view it?

Insecurity will keep one from having fulfilled relationships with anyone on this earth as well as a relationship with God, so yes, it is sin. Sin because sin separates us from God. Insecurity keeps one from giving their love freely. They fear, yes this type fear is also sin, that if they give all they will be hurt, or worse, rejected. We are told to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and our neighbor as we love ourselves. Yet we can't do that if we are insecure.

Insecure keeps us from enjoying life and what God has blessed us with. Fear, again, I suspect. I keep thinking as soon as I began to enjoy life, I'll die or the one I love will die. On the other hand, if I refrain from giving all my heart to any one person, I'll live without the pain. These are lies fed to me from the evil one. To have a more fulfilled life one must give all. A similar idea is portrayed by the Scripture that says, If you want friends, you must be friendly. If you want love, you must be loving. If you want blessings, you must bless. If you want caring for, you must care for others.

A warning here: Those whom you love, bless, care for won't necessarily be the ones who love, bless, care for you.

Take the risks. As a man thinks himself to be in his heart, so is he. But don't delude yourself. You can think you're a successful, loving, understanding, glowing, wonderful, marvelous personality all you want, but if you don't make the effort to be one, you won't be.

I'm looking forward to a better year in 2008. Better in every way and will do whatsoever in my power by the Grace of God to make it better in my portion of the world.

Intimate Relationships

2007-12-31T09:32:00.000-08:00

Over the last year or so, I've been moaning and struggling to deepen my relationship to Go and I've learned today that I do have a nice deep one already.

The proof?

Charles Stanley says that in an intimate relationship, God will comfort, encuorage, and convict us.

Just since last Sunday, a week ago, I've been filled with peace of God and on last Saturday and yesterday I've undergone conviction of hiddne sins.

Praise God, that He is faithful to love us so much He shows us sin we must confess and ask forgiveness for; then He'll fill us with peac when we face another of the fiery trials.

Without conviction, we would harbor:

Pride--which reveals itself in a variety of ways. With me, pride made me feel I needed no one but myself. I can still remember the times I've told everyone that hurts me that I don't need them so if they want to leave, go. But in truth, humans need human contact. There's no question of that. Our Father created us to be group people. We can't exist alone. Sure there are hermits, but just how happy are they?

Unforgiveness--sure I've forgiven everyone who ever hurt me. At least that's what I've always believed, but have I really? When events from decades ago are still popping up in memory and causing me new hurt all over again--have I really forgiven? We're happy to say we can forgive, but just can't forget. I'm beginning to question that remark. If we truly forgive, would we really remember? God doesn't.

Jealousy--I've always been one to admire my best friend who was really an outgoing, friendly type woman. I've desired to be outgoing more from her effect upon me than anything else. I've found myself wishing for just such a reaction from people I befriend. Is this jealousy of her ability to be outgoing? Or is this covetousness--a desire to be like her? The only one we need to desire to be like is Jesus, the Son of the Living God. Anything less is questionable.

Compromise--This is saying that I will either lay aside my Christian convictions for something the world has to offer or else I'll make room for one aspect or two of the temptation and justify myself in doing it. This requires deep thought for I'd always believed I never compromised my principles. Now I realize that this very conviction has been nudging at my consciousness for many years. It is now up to me to turn to Jesus and allow Him to help me find the way to rid myself of it.

I shall write more on this topic later.

Thanks for reading.

Thank you, Father

2007-12-26T07:46:00.000-08:00

Thank you, Father, for sending Jesus Christ as a baby and allowing him to grow up as a human being. As Jesus grew up and walked upon this earth, spreading the good news that You loved us, He learned what man had to live through. As a result, He became even more acquainted with us as He allowed us to become even more acquainted with Him. I know it was difficult for You to see your sinless Son hanging on that cross, suffering the agonies each of us should have suffered for our sins, but thank you, Lord, for allowing Him to go all the way through death, grave and resurrection. It was this love, Father, that provided our Savior and we appreciate your divine intervention in our lives.

Thank you, Jesus, for being willing to face and suffer such cruelties for me. I don't deserve your love, your presence in my life, yet you died for me, suffered for me, so I could live eternally with you. I appreciate all you've been through on my behalf and pray I will never let your sacrifice be in vain. Your death has made it possible for Father to forgive me and remove my sins from me as far as the east is from the west. And Father forgets those sins he's forgiven.

My life has been bought with the blood of Jesus and now it shall be a testimony to Father's love for me.

Open my eyes, Father, to nothing but the truth and do not let untruth find root in my heart, for I am a simple woman, not wise enough to discern truth from untruth without your precious guidance.

May Jesus live in me and produce a testimony of his love to an undeserving world.

Amen.

God's Promises

2007-12-17T22:12:00.000-08:00

I am amazed at the many people I've heard say that if God was such a loving God he wouldn't have let my brother, sister, mother, father die. Or if God was such a loving God he wouldn't allow so much horror in the world. Because they made this comment or one similar to it, I understood they have not bothered to read the one book that tells who and what God really is.

Bible is that book. It is filled with many promises God has made to the human race he created. There is one condition to receiving any of his promises--you must be a child of God.

How does one become a child of God? Repent which means go to God in prayer and confess your sins, ask his forgiveness (since a person who sins is sinning against God, he is the only one that can forgive you of your sins), then don't do or say or think those things again. Be baptized by immersion, meaning let the pastor dunk you under the water in the name of Jesus. Some say be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, but why not just say in the name of Jesus? We've already decided the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit is Jesus. Ask God for the Holy Ghost which is the spirit of God imparted to his children to help them live a sinless life. Yeah, we continue to sin, but we strive not to. When we do commit a sin, we can go ask his forgivenss and he will forgive again.

Now that your a child of God, you can claim his promises. Well, not all of them. Some of his promises were given to the Israelites from Abraham onward during a time when they needed them. These are not for us today. There are some promises given to all of us, his children, but we have to meet the conditions he has set. Then there are promises he has given that have no conditions. One thing for sure he never promised anything to anyone who refuses to live for him except forgiveness of sins and salvation if that person rejects their sinful life and turn to him as their savior. In other words make him your God, rejecting all others.

During the Old Testament days the only good he did to other nations outside of Israel was the good he did to any nation who blessed Israel. It's still the same way today. One reason why America is so blessed is because of their acceptance of Israel and their blessings to them. The only way another nation could become a child of God in those days was to live with Israel and abandon their own country, accepting God as their God and accepting the Israelites way of worship.

God promised eternal life to all those who would serve him. These people will live with him for all eternity. He also promised eternal life to all those who refuse to serve him. These people will live forever in hell's fire and brimstone with Satan. God and Satan. Good and Evil. Heaven and Hell. Choose you this day whom you will serve.

Our Father in Heaven

2007-12-03T10:08:00.000-08:00

Do you want to know what God really wants? Here it is:

To be our best friend.

Do you know what best friends do?

They spend as much time together as possible. They confide in one another. They stand beside one another. They love each other despite the imperfections. (This is not saying that God has imperfections, but we do.)

Friendship between man and God--
A good example of this is found in Genesis, but don't think I'm talking about how Adam hid from the Lord. I'm talking about the Lord walking in the garden so as to 'hang out' with Adam and Eve. Can you imagine what Adam and Eve really missed? They had instant ability to commune with the Lord, to walk through the garden with him. How many of you would really like that?

You can have it. Simply go to the Lord in prayer and ask Him to be your Friend. Then go to Him often and just talk. But don't forget to wait for His reply after you say something, just like you wait for your earthly friends' responses to your statements. Will He speak to you in an audible voice? Some say no, some say yes, I say this: While Jesus walked on this earth and in many instances when He healed someone or delivered someone from demons, He would state, Be it according to your faith.

So what if you don't hear His audible voice or His still small voice? You may feel His presence instead. Then wait for Him to speak. Let your spirit commune with His. The best way to do this is simply to be still, to stay quiet.

Respect Him more than you do your earthly friends, love Him, listen to Him. He will guide you into all truth. Yes, there is a truth in this world, but few really seek it.

The King James Version of the Bible

2007-12-02T19:13:00.001-08:00

While attending the University of Louisiana in Lafayette, I took an English class dealing with composition. One day our professor decided to discuss the Bible. He said at one point that the King James Version was too difficult to understand.

I'm here to dispute that.

I personally know a young man who happened to be about 9 years old when he felt the calling of the Lord and went to church to dedicate his life to serving God. He understood enough of the KJV to get that message.

In my own life, I started reading the Bible seriously at the age of 12. I wanted to memorize the scriptures for my Sunday School teacher. She was a nice lady and I wanted to please her. I used the KJV, and still do. Before long, I was reading the Bible every night using the daily Bible readings I found in my Sunday School lesson book to give me guidance on what to read. I learned several truths before I left my 12-year-old-marker behind.

1)Always ask God before you begin to read to help you understand the Bible. Afterall, it's His Word. If you take a class at school and fail to understand what the teacher says, don't you ask the teacher what message he/she wants you to understand?

2)Remember, you will not understand everything you read at any point in your life. Why? If you knew anything about the Bible you wouldn't have to ask that question. There are so many revelations God has given to us within the Bible's pages that no one can possibly obtain all that knowledge at once. Neither can you expect to learn it all within X number of years. What you can expect is this: God will open your understanding to the Scriptures you need at any given time in your life. Those Scriptures you come to understand will stay with you. There is, however, one condition to this activity and that is: you must put into action what you learn. As you apply what you learn to your life, God will give you more. As you conquer one thing, He will present to you another. As you enter and endure and learn from one trial, He will allow another one to come at you. Not because He wants to punish you, but because He wants you to develop into the kind of person Jesus is.

3)When you read the KJV, you may find the words--thee, ye, thine, thy, etc.--difficult to read and understand. What can you do? Replace these words with you, yours, mine, ours, etc. You remember, don't you, the writings of the Pilgrims that first came to America? They used these words. These words, afterall, are the words used in that culture. That's the way the first Israelites talked. That's why they are used in the Bible, because Israelites wrote the Bible under the inspiration of God. In other words, God told them what to write, but they wrote it in the language of their times. Just like authors today write in their own language--French write French, English write English, Americans write American, Cubans write Cuban. You get the picture. Try this. It's easy.

I chose the KJV at the beginning of my own journey with the Lord simply because that was the version given to me. As of today I'm 62 and I can safely say many of the new versions were written since I became a Christian back in the early 1960s. You won't catch me using those versions. You may ask why. Simply because these newer versions were written by men with the purpose of making the scriptures easier to understand by anyone (something they really didn't need to do) and as a result, these newer versions give us what the creator of that particular version understands the scriptures to say. I'm not saying the KJV is the oldest version in the world. Research the KJV and learn how it came to be in existence, but, hey, read the oldest explanations not the new-fangled ones. lol

The Bible is the Word of God

2007-12-02T18:45:00.000-08:00

The Bible is the Word of God revealed to us. To understand it, one needs to read it with a prayer in their hearts that God will help them see the truth. Once they see the truth, they must accept it and stand upon it, no doubting.

The Old Testament is filled with writing by men inspired by God. How do we know this is true? Because the OT was written over many hundreds of years, yet a simple truth ties all the books of the OT together. That truth is Behold, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. Other truths written in this section of the Bible show us who and what God is, how he deals with mankind (mankind means--man, woman, child), and the laws he expects his children to obey. The Old Testament also shows God judging mankind from time to time--the flood wherein only 8 souls were saved, Israel brought into bondage because they turned away from God, etc. The Old Testament is also history of the Israelites.

The New Testament begins with the birth of Jesus Christ, Son of God, Immanuel, The Everlasting Father (in the flesh).

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John--4 men who knew Jesus and have told His story from their point of view. Some events are listed in all of the 4 books, a few events told only in 2 or 3 of the books. Here, we need to remember that the Scriptures say in the mouths of 2 or 3 witnesses let every word be established. Compare the 4 books and you will find no less than 2 and no more than 4 witnesses amongst these 4 books. Jesus's life is told for several reasons. (1)He is our example. We are to emulate his character and his works. (2)These books tell us who and what Jesus was, describes his character, and tells why he took on flesh and came to earth to die on the cross.

Acts--the book that answers the question: What must we do to be saved? Many people are asking this question, yet fail to open the Bible to read the answer for themselves. Why? It could be because they don't want to take the trouble. Maybe it's because they believe everyone is heading for the same place and that God won't send anyone to hell. Perhaps they don't believe in hell. They need to read the Bible.

Romans to Jude--These books were written by the apostles. Paul wrote many of the books because he was called of God to be a missionary to the Gentiles. All of Paul's books show the nations to which he went to preach the word. The other apostles give what God has put upon their hearts to give, but all of these books tell us how to live the Christian life and what God expects of us. They also describe the blessings God is ready to pour out upon those who believe in him and serve him.

Revelations--John wrote this book while on the Isle of Patmos after he had been thrown in a cauldron of boiling oil because of his witness of Jesus. He tells us what to expect in the future and how God is going to put his followers on a new earth with new heavens; for this one will have passed away. Verse 20 in the last chapter of the book says: Even so come Lord Jesus.

A Soldier's Life vs. A Spiritual Soldier's Life

2007-11-20T14:36:00.000-08:00

Two different lives--yet similar in many respects.

I read Dr. Charles Standley's November 20, 2007 issue of Daily Devotionals. You can find Dr. Standley at http://www.intouch.org/site/c.dhKHIXPKIuE/b.2264355/k.BE55/Home.htm

You can find today's and prior issues of his wonderful Daily Devotions at this site.

Today, Dr. Standley talks about a Christian being prepared for battle and I wondered at the similarity between what a Christian has to know and what a soldier in today's military services need to know.

Compare:
As a Christian, Dr. Standley says one must---
1--acknowledge the war. We have to believe that a war is being fought. The first thing America does before sending out the military is to acknowledge a war has started.

2--know the enemy. What king or president is going to send their military out to fight a battle without knowing what the enemy is capable of? It would be foolish because the enemy could trick or fool the military causing them to make wrong moves that would set them up for wiping out.

3--undergo training. All military personnel are required to undergo training in boot camp or something similar before they are sent to war.

4--know how to use your weapons. Can you picture an Army footman running toward the enemy with a machine gun he doesn't know how to use?

5--resist propaganda. The enemy can also fool the military by sending out rumors on various topics such as: where the enemy might be headed, where they're camped out, maybe even that the war is over or they have retreated causing our military to relax their surveillance.

Preparing for war is handled differently between the Christian and the Soldier in today's army.
As a Christian, one prepares for battle by first accepting Christ as his/her Savior and becoming 'born again'. Then through fastings and prayers, the person gains a deeper relationship with Christ which gives him/her the power to overcome the enemy.

During this time of building the relationship with God, the Christian is studying the Scriptures, the Bible, learning who and what God is and what he's capable of doing. This knowledge is one of the weapons a Christian will need to defeat the evil enemy. Jesus quoted Scripture when the devil took him into a high mountain and tempted him. This is told in Matthew.

As we study the Bible, our faith grows and as faith grows our good works grows, and around and around until we become strong in the Lord. We learn how and gain power to lay aside every weight, sin, that doth so easily beset us and run this race patiently, fight this battle patiently.

(Armor of God, Ephesians 6:14-18, KJV)

Stand therefore having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness. And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace: Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.

Christians, armor up!

Negativity

2007-11-18T03:08:00.000-08:00

Everybody says live positively, talk positively, envison good things, be happy and if you don't you're a negative person.

Is a negative person just a pessimist, a term psychologists and psychiatrists have coined, or is a negative person one who sees both sides of the coin?

This is what I see and I'm considered negative. But read and think and see what conclusion you come to.

When a person is born into this world, he/she faces death--every moment, every day, every night, never knowing when it's going to happen. If you serve God, you have hope of one day being in heaven, if you don't serve God, you're going to hell. What part of this is positive? The hope.

The first years of your life you have to cry to get help, to get your needs met, but that doesn't mean you'll get the needs because you may be unlucky enough to have parents that don't care enough for you? What part of this is positive? How is being positive going to save this child under poor parents?

As you get older, you begin to play with other children who take your toys away from you and won't give them back, unless made to do it. What part of this is positive?

Walking into teen hood, you find, if you're a girl, that boys only want sex and if you're a boy, that your blood is boiling and the only way to satisfy it is to have sex. What part of this is positive?

Young adulthood sometimes mean you're put into oneof the services and may have to go to war. Is this a positive outlook?

If you don't go to service at this time, you still have battles to fight. Get a job, struggle through each day with coworkers who seem to take advantage of you, with bosses who care only about what you do for them, about creditors who stay on your back because you're not making enough money to pay your monthly bills. What's positive about this?

Sickness, heartache, worry, losing a loved one, bills. You get married because you're thinking if two work together, then it'll be a little easier and you just might get a little enjoyment out of life. It sets well for a few years, then, lo, he doesn't want you anymore, he wants another woman. Perhaps he's tired of supporting his wife and family and wants to go home to mother who will serve him as though he's a god. Positive?

Age means more sicknesses that last longer with a greater chance of dying sooner. Positive thinking right?

Oh. You say despite all these things, one must think of the good things, strive for the good things, push the negative things out of the way and live life to the fullest. I say yes because that's what the Lord says to do.

Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Phil. 4:8 KJV

But the Lord didn't mean for you to forget about the fact that if you don't serve God, one verse is not going to get you into heaven. This scripture allows us rest from the problems that seem to hang onto us each and every day. Without thinking of those things that can go wrong, you will be unable to plan for emergencies, be unable to plan for retirement, unable to plan for life after death. And one other thought along these lines. All plans made without the Lord will come to naught.

In other words, serve the Lord and you can be victorious in all these negative areas for these things happen to both the good and the bad. How much better to serve the Lord and have him help you through, rather than try to work you own way through simply by envisoning happy times.

A myth I talked about once already...

2007-11-18T02:43:00.000-08:00

Can't get it out of my mind. There are those who believe they can live the way they want to because God is too loving to send anyone to hell.

This belief is so out of context with the Scriptures that one can tell right off the bat that the believer of this myth hasn't read the Bible at all.

The Old Testament tells the story of how God created man and dealt with man until he, God, finally turned his back on them. God loved Adam and Eve, yet he ran them out of the Garden of Eden when they disobeyed his command not to eat of the tree in the midst of the Garden.

Down through the following years, God sent prophets to his people. Some people listened to the prophets; some didn't. Sin became so bad that once God looked down and found onnly Noah a righteous man. Out of perhaps millions of people, only one man pleased the Lord God enough to save himself, his wife, his three sons and their wives. 8 souls were saved from the flood. Everyone else perished. This was world wide judgment of the Lord God Almighty. With a word, he destroyed all except 8 souls simply because those other people quit loving him and sought pleasures and gods elsewhere.

After the flood, God once again sent prophets and teachers to the world. He so badly wanted his creation to love and worship him that he tried again. All went well for perhaps a few years before sin got another hold on mankind and man started his downward spiral from blessed by God to forgotten by God.

Then God decided to call one person Abraham. Abraham did indeed have descendents that outnumbered the stars of the sky and the sand of the shore, but here again some serve the Lord and some didn't. By the time the great famine came and Joseph, who'd already been sent to Egypt, had set up his famous plan for saving the people through the years of famine, there was only one family that still hung onto God. That family was still led by Jacob. It included Jacob, whom the Angel of the Lord had renamed Israel, and Jacobs 12 sons and all their families. Many hundreds of years went by and the people became enslaved. They cried out God. God sent Moses and delivered them, bringing the huge company, probably a million souls or more, into the wilderness to Mt. Sinai where he gave them laws. Oh, yes, laws. Laws that if they were broken most ended in death for the ones who broke them. Still think that God is too loving to send you to hell?

God is loving. He has great mercy and tolerance. But he will only take so much.
Humans can be so loving. Humans can have great mercy and tolerance. But humans do have what some call a fuse that eventually becomes so short that there is no more mercy and no more tolerance. Same with God.

God worked with Israel, his own children he called them, and destroyed many people for their sake. Read the Old Testament. Our loving God destroyed many people--people who's ancestors had turned away from him and therefore the descendents didn't recognize him either. He ran off many people in Canaan to give Israel the promised land. Land that was owned by others until the Lord God, who owns everything, decided his children would have the best. Then it started.

One year Israel served God and was happy. Next generation, Israel was doing so good they began to feel they'd done it all and started looking at the gods worshiped by their neighbors. God would bring judgment in the form of Israel losing wars and becoming slaves to their conquerors. They'd cry out to God. God would save them. And the whole thing would begin again.

Eventually, God scattered Israel amongst the entire world and they lost the lands God had given them. Does all this mean that God never loved his creation--mankind? No, double no. He still loves every body that's living, even if you're not serving him, but he can do no less than let you make your choices and if you choose not to serve him, he has no choice but to send you to hell.

Read the Bible because in them you think you have eternal life and they are those that will judge you. In other words, the Scriptures, God's word to mankind that he never changes, will be used to judge everyone upon this earth---whether alive or dead. For the dead shall rise again and after that the judgment.

Increased Faith

2007-11-12T21:47:00.000-08:00

Just as a human grows from babyhood to adulthood, a Christian grows from one spiritual level to a higher spiritual level.

The first step in a human’s life is newborn baby. The first step in a Christian’s life is newborn baby. As the human grows, it learns to crawl, situp, walk, run, climb, talk, then it reaches school age where it learns more about life and how to perform skills that will provide their needs later. Upon reaching adulthood, the human’s skills in all areas should strengthen, but we usually find some areas growing stronger while others are delayed in growth until perhaps later in life.

As a baby Christian, we learn Jesus is there to help us through our trials and we can hardly think of anything else. We desire to see miracles, angels, Christ himself. Although we may not experience these things right away, we can still believe the bible and what God says will always come true. Perhaps, as we grow as Christians, we can actually look back and see several levels of faith that we have managed to attain.

Some characteristics of increased faith that Brother Charles Stanley has outlined for us are:
1—becoming students of God’s word, develop a compelling desire to experience God’s presence, a closer relationship with Christ and be conformed to Christlikeness.
2—a heavy reliance on the Holy Spirit. At this point we begin to rely upon the Holy Spirit to reveal more truths to us. I say more and greater because the Holy Spirit has already been revealing truths to us as we develop as Christians. We also begin to rely upon the Holy Spirit’s guidance in our lives, showing us what we need to do and such.
3—and we experience a willingness to wait on God and take Him at His word. We find ourselves saying on a daily basis, “Okay, Lord, you said it in the Scriptures and I believe it. Now show me.”

These characteristics are with us from our spiritual birth to our death. They simply grow stronger as we grow deeper in a relationship to God. By looking at these few points we can look back and say a definite YES, my faith has increased.

But there is a higher level of faith we must seek now. A perfect faith which is the level where unbelief is cast out and faith in God remains supreme. It is on this level that we can truly experience a closer relationship with Christ, a deeper trust, the workings of the gifts of the Spirit in our midst, instant miracles as the prophets of old experienced.

I’m saying, friends, don’t despair when it feels like you have no faith. I truly believe that when we begin to feel we have no faith that is the time when the Lord is about to increase it. Remember, our Loving Father gives us what we need when we need it and not a minute sooner or a minute later than that.

I am a Christian

2007-10-21T08:44:00.000-07:00

If you are a follower of Christ, you are a Christian.
To follow Christ, you need to know Him.
To know Him, you need to read the Bible.

Jesus said, “If you love me, you’ll keep my commandments.”
If you’re not reading the Bible, you don’t know what His commandments are.
If you don’t know what His commandments are, you can’t obey them.
If you don’t obey His commandments, you don’t love Jesus.
If you don’t love Jesus, you’re not a Christian.
So-o-o, how can you be a Christian if you don’t read the Bible at all?
How can you be a Christian if you don’t know what Jesus’ commandments are?
How can you be a Christian if you don’t obey Him?
How can you be a Christian if you don’t love Him?
If you’re not a Christian, you’re going to hell.

God is too good to send someone to hell.

2007-10-21T08:42:00.000-07:00

The choice is ours.
God gave man free will. You choose every day, every situation, whom you will serve.
God won’t push himself on people. He won’t force anyone.
People must accept salvation. This is an active participation, not passive.
You must serve either: God, Satan or self.
God says Sin no more.
Satan says A little won’t hurt you.
Self says Whatever I want, I get. You serve self, you serve Satan.

Ecclesiastes

2007-10-08T19:16:00.000-07:00

The Book of Ecclesiastes is a marvelously enlightening book. Some people think it's boring because it continually compares the righteous with the wicked. But taken in small pieces, one can concentrate on what the Scriptures in this book are saying. Such as:

Good things and bad things happen to both the righteous and the wicked. In other words, you can claim to be either good or bad, but it's not going to protect you.

The rain falls on the just and on the unjust.

But the biggest message in this book, it seems to me, is this:

There is no new thing under the sun. What's gone before will come around again. And again. And again.

At 62 years this past October 4th, I've lived long enough to see this concept in action. Remember the black and white shoes men and women wore in the 50s and 60s? Well, I've seen them for sale in catalogs, online, and in the stores here in my home town.

Remember what we girls used to call pedal pushers? Today they're called Capri pants.

Remember the hats and long dresses? I've seen them make a come back, too.

Kinda does something to the age old problem of those who want to be fashion conscious, doesn't it? lol

Live and learn!

We can't make it alone

2007-10-08T19:12:00.000-07:00

We can do all things through Christ Jesus.

Sometimes I start out to do something only to watch as it becomes so complicated that I'm in a worse state at the end than when I started. It's just the Lord's way of reminding me that I failed to include Him in my plans. I stop, back up and pray. The job goes much better after that to a satisfying end.

The Law of Moses vs The Mercy of Jesus

2007-10-03T07:32:00.000-07:00

Remember the story about the woman caught in the very act of adultery?

This was my devotional from Charles Stanley this morning and I saw a new-to-me truth.

The story goes that this group of men brought the woman to Jesus and accused her of adultery saying she was caught in the very act. This tells me one or more of the men knew her well.

The men go on to say that Moses' Law, given by God to Moses to teach to Israel, says such a one has to be stoned to death. The men thought they could trip up Jesus, but here's the truth I saw.

Moses' Law was still in effect when the woman was brought before Jesus because Jesus had not yet died. His answer had to be within that law and yet He made it merciful. The Law showed no mercy. Sinners were immediately judged and punished. Jesus' death postponed judgment and punishment and, through His death, God can now show mercy.

God is a Holy God and can't be near sin, can't tolerate it. But through Jesus, God can show mercy.

My Spiritual Journey

2007-10-03T07:11:00.000-07:00

While doing my early morning devotional from Charles Stanley, I sometimes get that 'a-ha' sense and see a Scripture in another way than what I've seen previously. Today, however, I'd like to tell a little about my Spiritual journey with the Lord.

When I was 12 years old, I sat in Sunday Worship Service with the Pastor's daughter, she was one of my best friends at that time. When the preaching got started, the men snoozed in their corner, the women stared at the preacher and sometimes I felt their minds were not on what he was saying, and Denise (not her real name) and I would whisper.

This particular Sunday morning the pastor called us down. My lips clamped tight because I was so-o-o embarrassed! But not Denise. She was quieter--but she whispered anyway. After the Pastor called us down the third time, she stopped whispering and I thought, "Okay, let's see how many times he mentions God." My way of concentrating.

That was only the beginning. Since then, I've read my daily Bible readings and if I didn't have someone else's list, I just started at Genesis 1:1 KJV and read until the beginning of the New Year in which I started over. Even then, I used other lists of Daily Readings throughout the year.

One day, one moment in time, I thought, "How can I ever understand this Bible?" And right away, in my mind, the thought, "Live by what you do understand." O-o-kay, that'll work.

What did I understand?

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Owe no man anything except to love one another.

Of course, I read and enjoyed all the Bible 'stories' such as David and Goliath, Ruth in the King's Court, Jonah and the Whale, and others. However, the two Scriptures above were the only things I could really understand. One might say my Spiritual Journey began with those two verses.

As I grew older and read more, I understood more. After reaching adulthood, I understood why understanding Scriptures came so gradually--because my tiny, human mind could not handle it all at once.

Sometimes, it's like those I've talked to expect to understand everything at once, but one doesn't. It's like being a spiritual baby when you first begin to serve the Lord. A human baby knows only to cry when it has a need. A spiritual baby is the same way. We cry out to the Lord as spiritual babies when we have a need. Soon, the human baby goes from just crying to crawling, then on to walking, climbing, running, talking, playing, riding the bicycle--I'm sure you're following me on this. Spiritual babies, also, has a lot of growing and learning to do.

Do Spiritual Babies ever become Adults, standing on their own two feet? Mature, yes, standing on their own two feet, no. It's a walk by faith. One gets up every morning and has to make a conscious decision that what he/she does today, will be done as unto the Lord, serving God by obeying the Bible.

See you next time.

Lucille