There another great line from the 1st episode of "Christy" that is spoken by "Alice" in chapter/scene 7 of the 1st episode. It's this:
"Thank God and Seek Faith".
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Here I Am
Last night, I watched the 1st episode of my favorite show "Christy" on dvd. That's such a Godly show. IN the 3rd chapter of the show, there a prayer Christy prays to God that always speak to my heart each time:
"Dear God,
When I came here, maybe I was partly running off from home for fun and adventure. But I think You've had something else in mind. What I am trying to say is: If you can use me in this cove, well here I am".
I have been here in Minnesota almost 10 years now (Sept 2012 will mark my 10th anniversary of moving here). This prayer of Christy's still remains my prayer to this day. "God if you can use me in Minnesota, well here I am".
"Dear God,
When I came here, maybe I was partly running off from home for fun and adventure. But I think You've had something else in mind. What I am trying to say is: If you can use me in this cove, well here I am".
I have been here in Minnesota almost 10 years now (Sept 2012 will mark my 10th anniversary of moving here). This prayer of Christy's still remains my prayer to this day. "God if you can use me in Minnesota, well here I am".
Monday, July 30, 2012
Are You Ready For The Rapture?
That is the question! Are you ready to meet Jesus when that trumpet blows? Jesus can come back at any time! There are no signs that have to be fulfilled for Jesus to rapture the church! That's why the rapture is called "imminent"! Luke 12:40 (God's Word) says: "Be ready, because the Son of Man will return when you least expect him". Even though there are no signs that have to be fulfilled for the rapture to occur, you can view everything that is happening in End Times Bible Prophecy and know that the time is closer than ever! Have you accepted Christ as your personal Lord and Savior? Have you accepted His free gift of salvation? The answer to that question will determine if you will be taken in the rapture.
Some people may say: "Look at all I do for God! Look at all the good things I do! Of course, I will be taken in the rapture!". There will be a lot of people who think they will be taken in the rapture because of all the "good" and/or "religious" things that they do, but when the rapture takes place, they will be sorely disappointed. Why?
Look at Luke 13:24-28 (God's Word):
Some people may say: "Look at all I do for God! Look at all the good things I do! Of course, I will be taken in the rapture!". There will be a lot of people who think they will be taken in the rapture because of all the "good" and/or "religious" things that they do, but when the rapture takes place, they will be sorely disappointed. Why?
Look at Luke 13:24-28 (God's Word):
24 “Try hard to enter through the narrow door. I can guarantee that many will try to enter, but they won’t succeed. 25 After the homeowner gets up and closes the door, it’s too late. You can stand outside, knock at the door, and say, ‘Sir, open the door for us!’ But he will answer you, ‘I don’t know who you are.’ 26 Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will tell you, ‘I don’t know who you are. Get away from me, all you evil people.’ 28 Then you will cry and be in extreme pain. That’s what you’ll do when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets. They’ll be in the kingdom of God, but you’ll be thrown out.
Look at Matthew 7:21-23 (God's Word):
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the person who does what my Father in heaven wants. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name? Didn’t we force out demons and do many miracles by the power and authority of your name?’ 23 Then I will tell them publicly, ‘I’ve never known you. Get away from me, you evil people.’
What these passages are saying is that many people will try to enter Heaven by their good works, but won't succeed! Why? Because they neglected to do the most important thing: know Christ as personal Lord and Savior by having a relationship with Him. Instead of confessing, repenting and asking Christ to be their Lord and Savior and getting to know Him on a one-on-one personal relationship, they have decided to try to earn their salvation by the good works and religious things they do!
When the rapture happens, and they miss out, they will try to argue with God about it. They'll say to paraphrase: "We ate and drank with you. We prophesied in your name. We kicked out demons and performed miracles by the power of your name." But Jesus will reply: "I never knew you." When you first read that reply, it might be surprising! And you m ay have to ask yourself, what about these people that would cause Jesus to say "I never knew you." What are your ideas? It is because these people again never accepted and knew Christ as Lord and Savior. They never made that free transaction for eternal life! If only they had confess and repented to Christ and asked Him sincerely to be their Savior, these people would have been taken in the rapture! Jesus would have known them!
So to all of you who do great "works" for God, especially those of you in the work-based religions, such as Catholicism, have you repented and asked Christ to be your Lord and Savior? Have you made the free transaction for salvation? If so, Praise Jesus for you! I look forward to seeing you in Heaven one day after the rapture or after death whichever comes first! If you haven't, PLEASE consider falling on your knees right now and asking Jesus to be your Lord and Savior. It's easy. Here is a sample prayer (feel free to put it in your own words):
"Jesus, I realize and confess to You that I am a sinner. I confess that even though I have done a lot of good works, I have never taken the time to get to know You as my Lord and Savior. Jesus, I cannot earn my way to Heaven. It's only through You that I can make it to Heaven. Jesus I believe You were born of the virgin, that You bled and died for my sins and on the 3rd day rose from the dead. Jesus please forgive me of all my sins: past, present, and future. Please come into my heart and save me. Please fill my heart with Your Holy Spirit and enpower me to live for you each day. From this day forward, by Your grace, I will live for You and strive to know You more and more each day! Thank You Jesus for saving me! In Jesus' name I pray Amen!"
If you have made that decision, please let me know so I can pray for you! You can e-mail me at:
bibleprophecy77@yahoo.com .
Look at Matthew 7:21-23 (God's Word):
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the person who does what my Father in heaven wants. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name? Didn’t we force out demons and do many miracles by the power and authority of your name?’ 23 Then I will tell them publicly, ‘I’ve never known you. Get away from me, you evil people.’
What these passages are saying is that many people will try to enter Heaven by their good works, but won't succeed! Why? Because they neglected to do the most important thing: know Christ as personal Lord and Savior by having a relationship with Him. Instead of confessing, repenting and asking Christ to be their Lord and Savior and getting to know Him on a one-on-one personal relationship, they have decided to try to earn their salvation by the good works and religious things they do!
When the rapture happens, and they miss out, they will try to argue with God about it. They'll say to paraphrase: "We ate and drank with you. We prophesied in your name. We kicked out demons and performed miracles by the power of your name." But Jesus will reply: "I never knew you." When you first read that reply, it might be surprising! And you m ay have to ask yourself, what about these people that would cause Jesus to say "I never knew you." What are your ideas? It is because these people again never accepted and knew Christ as Lord and Savior. They never made that free transaction for eternal life! If only they had confess and repented to Christ and asked Him sincerely to be their Savior, these people would have been taken in the rapture! Jesus would have known them!
So to all of you who do great "works" for God, especially those of you in the work-based religions, such as Catholicism, have you repented and asked Christ to be your Lord and Savior? Have you made the free transaction for salvation? If so, Praise Jesus for you! I look forward to seeing you in Heaven one day after the rapture or after death whichever comes first! If you haven't, PLEASE consider falling on your knees right now and asking Jesus to be your Lord and Savior. It's easy. Here is a sample prayer (feel free to put it in your own words):
"Jesus, I realize and confess to You that I am a sinner. I confess that even though I have done a lot of good works, I have never taken the time to get to know You as my Lord and Savior. Jesus, I cannot earn my way to Heaven. It's only through You that I can make it to Heaven. Jesus I believe You were born of the virgin, that You bled and died for my sins and on the 3rd day rose from the dead. Jesus please forgive me of all my sins: past, present, and future. Please come into my heart and save me. Please fill my heart with Your Holy Spirit and enpower me to live for you each day. From this day forward, by Your grace, I will live for You and strive to know You more and more each day! Thank You Jesus for saving me! In Jesus' name I pray Amen!"
If you have made that decision, please let me know so I can pray for you! You can e-mail me at:
bibleprophecy77@yahoo.com .
Was the murders in Colorado part of God's wrath?
I have heard it said by some when things of this nature happens, such as the murders in Colorado et al, that it is part of God's wrath. But is it really?
Here is a passage in the Bible that brings light to the subject:
Luke 13:1-5 (God's Word):
Here is a passage in the Bible that brings light to the subject:
Luke 13:1-5 (God's Word):
13 At that time some people reported to Jesus about some Galileans whom Pilate had executed while they were sacrificing animals. 2 Jesus replied to them, “Do you think that this happened to them because they were more sinful than other people from Galilee? 3 No! I can guarantee that they weren’t. But if you don’t turn to God and change the way you think and act, then you, too, will all die. 4 What about those 18 people who died when the tower at Siloam fell on them? Do you think that they were more sinful than other people living in Jerusalem? 5 No! I can guarantee that they weren’t. But if you don’t turn to God and change the way you think and act, then you, too, will all die.”
This passage is saying that this isn't part of God's wrath and that the people involved aren't more sinful than other people. But that we all who refuse to repent and accept Christ as personal Lord and Savior will all physically and spiritually die.
This passage is saying that this isn't part of God's wrath and that the people involved aren't more sinful than other people. But that we all who refuse to repent and accept Christ as personal Lord and Savior will all physically and spiritually die.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Friday, July 27, 2012
70000 Christians Locked In Concentration Camps
Let's pray for all these Christians that has been and are being persecuted in North Korea:
70000 Christians Locked In Concentration Camps
70000 Christians Locked In Concentration Camps
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Baptism--Is It Required?
There is some false teaching going on about baptism on the internet. For example, on http://steve-finnell.blogspot.com/, he teaches that you have to be baptized to be saved! So I wanted to post a Question and Answer session from Jack Kelley to clear things up. This comes from website: http://steve-finnell.blogspot.com/ Enjoy!
Is Baptism Required?
Q. I recently attended a church that is part of the Restoration Movement. This is the first I’d heard of it, but what puzzled me is that they believe baptism is necessary for salvation. They quote Acts 2:38 and Mark 16:16 in their literature. Could you please give your take on these verses?
A. Baptism is the evidence of salvation, not a requirement for it. It’s the public confirmation of a decision made in the heart. Mark 16:16 encourages baptism as evidence of salvation but does not say that the failure to be baptized will result in condemnation. Only the failure to believe can cause that. The same is true of Acts 2:38. In both cases baptism is shown to be an important step in the salvation experience. But nowhere is it described as an essential prerequisite. If it is then the thief on the cross could not have been saved.
A. Baptism is the evidence of salvation, not a requirement for it. It’s the public confirmation of a decision made in the heart. Mark 16:16 encourages baptism as evidence of salvation but does not say that the failure to be baptized will result in condemnation. Only the failure to believe can cause that. The same is true of Acts 2:38. In both cases baptism is shown to be an important step in the salvation experience. But nowhere is it described as an essential prerequisite. If it is then the thief on the cross could not have been saved.
Noteworthy Blog Posts
Hey guys!
I wanted to share some noteworthy blogs I have read that I thought you may enjoy reading!
The Word of God by my good friend and brother in Christ---Zach
Nevertheless Lord by Laurie
Enjoy!
I wanted to share some noteworthy blogs I have read that I thought you may enjoy reading!
The Word of God by my good friend and brother in Christ---Zach
Nevertheless Lord by Laurie
Enjoy!
Can God Use Anti-Social/Introverts?
I have a confession to make....
I am an introvert. Introversion is defined as: "the state of or tendency toward being wholly or predominantly concerned with and interested in one's own mental life". Our energy levels expand during reflection and deplete during interaction. An introvert is likely to enjoy time spent alone and find less reward in time spent with large groups of people, though he or she may enjoy interactions with close friends. Trust is usually an issue of significance: a virtue of utmost importance to an introvert choosing a worthy companion. Introverts are easily overwhelmed by too much stimulation from social gatherings and engagement(Wikipedia).
I am also somewhat anti-social. That doesn't mean I dislike people. It's just that I really don't have a great desire to make face-to-face friendships. However, online, I enjoy making friends. I express myself best when I write letters instead of having voice conversations. My basic social life is online, and when it comes to face-to-face, it's with my wife and kids and at times my inlaws. (Even at work, I tend to keep to myself.) I am sortof like Dolly Parton's husband Carl. He is a little bit of a recluse and only wants to be around Dolly no one else. As long as I am around Becky and my kids then I am perfectly content.
I have been a born-again Christian for 25 years---since the age of 10. There have been times since then that the devil will have a field day with my mind about my introversion and anti-social ways..especially when I look at how other people (who are extroverts) are serving God and doing big things for God. Sometimes I have thought "Can God use someone like me?". Has any of you felt that way?
It wasn't until this year when I took a class called S.H.A.P.E. that I finally became at peace with who I am as a person and as a Christian. I no longer feel the pressure of having to be like someone else. I no longer have to compare myself to what other people are doing. I can simply be me and allow God to use me any way He likes.
So can God use anti-social/introverted people? Yes! God has used introverted and anti-social people in the past. I have found one example from the Old Testament in the book of Exodus. His name is Moses. I find comfort in the character of Moses, because I feel like me and him are somewhat a like. Exodus 3:1 states that Moses was a shepherd. A shepherd was a solitary job where a man would lead sheep whereever they needed to go. This job sortof lends itself to being anti-social. I think I would have enjoyed that job!
Moses also wasn't a great speaker--- like myself! (Another reason I think he was anti-social and an introvert). Exodus 4:10 (God's Word) states: "Moses said to the Lord,'Please, Lord, I'm not a good speaker. I've never been a good speaker, and I'm not now, even though you've spoken to me. I speak slowly, and I become tongue-tied easily".
Even though I don't stutter, like Moses, I can totally relate to what he says. For I am not a good conversationalist. I am quiet and reserved.
Moses objected to God using him because of his weaknesses. Despite the objections from Moses, even though God got a little angry with Moses for being so down on himself and doubting God, God still was patient with Moses and was able to use Moses to free the Hebrew slaves from Egypt.
Haven't we all been like Moses and objected at some point to God using us in some way because of our weaknesses? Like Moses, God can still use us depsite our weaknesses. God can use us introverts and anti-social people for His glory! It may not be in a way that we imagine, but it will be in God's perfect will and on God's perfect timing.
So you may be asking: How can God use someone like me? I'm an introvert and anti-social! I'm shy! I battle social anxiety!
First, you have to have faith! Believe God when He says He can use you!
Second, depend on His strength and grace! We cannot do anything of ourselves, since we are only dust! Dust has no strength whatsoever. We can't even take our next breath without God giving us the strength to breathe it in!
Third, ask God to reveal to you what He wants you to do! Even though you may not be able to give speeches in front of people, or go out to parties or crowds and make conversation with people, God can still use you in a mighty way! Perhaps, He will bless you as an author of books of different varieties such as poetry, Christian fiction, Christian living, etc.... Or God may bless you with a penpal ministry through the internet. Perhaps God will make you an online missionary or an online pastor. You don't have to go physically to a missions trip to do a missions trip. You can minister to people all over the world through the internet.
There is no limit to what God can call you to be! There is a place for every one of God's children to serve! You just have to ask God to reveal it to you and to not hesitate to use your imagination! And sometimes we have to change our preceptions. A lot of us (even me) can get caught up in the false perception that we all have to accomplish "big" things for God. We often think that the only way to accomplish "big" things for God is by going on a mission trip or to be a church staff member like a pastor or to be a major evangelist, like Billy Graham.
However, what our definition of "big" is totally different of what God's definition of "big" is. We might think something like spending quality time with our children by taking them to a park or concert is no big deal. But if you are doing in obedience to God, then it is a big deal to God! Even cleaning the house, helping out your kids with a science project, cooking, visiting a sick loved one, giving a ride to a family member or stranger, etc...though they may seem small to you, but they are "big" things in the eyes of God because you are obeying Him and doing it for the right motives!
In conclusion, God can use anti-social and introverted people such as me and you! Don't compare yourself to others! Be at peace with who you are as a human being and who you are in Christ! Ask God to reveal to you what He wants you to do for Him! Once you find that out, go for it! Knowing that no matter what you do for God, it will be seen as "big" to Him since you will be obeying Him and doing it out of pure motives! Now, close your eyes, and picture God saying: "Be at peace and go for it!"
I am an introvert. Introversion is defined as: "the state of or tendency toward being wholly or predominantly concerned with and interested in one's own mental life". Our energy levels expand during reflection and deplete during interaction. An introvert is likely to enjoy time spent alone and find less reward in time spent with large groups of people, though he or she may enjoy interactions with close friends. Trust is usually an issue of significance: a virtue of utmost importance to an introvert choosing a worthy companion. Introverts are easily overwhelmed by too much stimulation from social gatherings and engagement(Wikipedia).
I am also somewhat anti-social. That doesn't mean I dislike people. It's just that I really don't have a great desire to make face-to-face friendships. However, online, I enjoy making friends. I express myself best when I write letters instead of having voice conversations. My basic social life is online, and when it comes to face-to-face, it's with my wife and kids and at times my inlaws. (Even at work, I tend to keep to myself.) I am sortof like Dolly Parton's husband Carl. He is a little bit of a recluse and only wants to be around Dolly no one else. As long as I am around Becky and my kids then I am perfectly content.
I have been a born-again Christian for 25 years---since the age of 10. There have been times since then that the devil will have a field day with my mind about my introversion and anti-social ways..especially when I look at how other people (who are extroverts) are serving God and doing big things for God. Sometimes I have thought "Can God use someone like me?". Has any of you felt that way?
It wasn't until this year when I took a class called S.H.A.P.E. that I finally became at peace with who I am as a person and as a Christian. I no longer feel the pressure of having to be like someone else. I no longer have to compare myself to what other people are doing. I can simply be me and allow God to use me any way He likes.
So can God use anti-social/introverted people? Yes! God has used introverted and anti-social people in the past. I have found one example from the Old Testament in the book of Exodus. His name is Moses. I find comfort in the character of Moses, because I feel like me and him are somewhat a like. Exodus 3:1 states that Moses was a shepherd. A shepherd was a solitary job where a man would lead sheep whereever they needed to go. This job sortof lends itself to being anti-social. I think I would have enjoyed that job!
Moses also wasn't a great speaker--- like myself! (Another reason I think he was anti-social and an introvert). Exodus 4:10 (God's Word) states: "Moses said to the Lord,'Please, Lord, I'm not a good speaker. I've never been a good speaker, and I'm not now, even though you've spoken to me. I speak slowly, and I become tongue-tied easily".
Even though I don't stutter, like Moses, I can totally relate to what he says. For I am not a good conversationalist. I am quiet and reserved.
Moses objected to God using him because of his weaknesses. Despite the objections from Moses, even though God got a little angry with Moses for being so down on himself and doubting God, God still was patient with Moses and was able to use Moses to free the Hebrew slaves from Egypt.
Haven't we all been like Moses and objected at some point to God using us in some way because of our weaknesses? Like Moses, God can still use us depsite our weaknesses. God can use us introverts and anti-social people for His glory! It may not be in a way that we imagine, but it will be in God's perfect will and on God's perfect timing.
So you may be asking: How can God use someone like me? I'm an introvert and anti-social! I'm shy! I battle social anxiety!
First, you have to have faith! Believe God when He says He can use you!
Second, depend on His strength and grace! We cannot do anything of ourselves, since we are only dust! Dust has no strength whatsoever. We can't even take our next breath without God giving us the strength to breathe it in!
Third, ask God to reveal to you what He wants you to do! Even though you may not be able to give speeches in front of people, or go out to parties or crowds and make conversation with people, God can still use you in a mighty way! Perhaps, He will bless you as an author of books of different varieties such as poetry, Christian fiction, Christian living, etc.... Or God may bless you with a penpal ministry through the internet. Perhaps God will make you an online missionary or an online pastor. You don't have to go physically to a missions trip to do a missions trip. You can minister to people all over the world through the internet.
There is no limit to what God can call you to be! There is a place for every one of God's children to serve! You just have to ask God to reveal it to you and to not hesitate to use your imagination! And sometimes we have to change our preceptions. A lot of us (even me) can get caught up in the false perception that we all have to accomplish "big" things for God. We often think that the only way to accomplish "big" things for God is by going on a mission trip or to be a church staff member like a pastor or to be a major evangelist, like Billy Graham.
However, what our definition of "big" is totally different of what God's definition of "big" is. We might think something like spending quality time with our children by taking them to a park or concert is no big deal. But if you are doing in obedience to God, then it is a big deal to God! Even cleaning the house, helping out your kids with a science project, cooking, visiting a sick loved one, giving a ride to a family member or stranger, etc...though they may seem small to you, but they are "big" things in the eyes of God because you are obeying Him and doing it for the right motives!
In conclusion, God can use anti-social and introverted people such as me and you! Don't compare yourself to others! Be at peace with who you are as a human being and who you are in Christ! Ask God to reveal to you what He wants you to do for Him! Once you find that out, go for it! Knowing that no matter what you do for God, it will be seen as "big" to Him since you will be obeying Him and doing it out of pure motives! Now, close your eyes, and picture God saying: "Be at peace and go for it!"
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Revelation Bible Study
Here is a Bible Study by Jack Kelley on the book of Revelation. So far he has it completed up to Ch. 14. For some reason, chapter 1 is missing. I suspect it was on Page 2 but it doesn't display properly! Oh well..atleast Chapter 2 -14 is on there. Feel free to check it out!
http://gracethrufaith.com/category/revelation-times/
http://gracethrufaith.com/category/revelation-times/
Once Saved Always Saved Study
The following link is to a site run by Jack Kelley where he posts commentaries and answers different Biblical questions. He has a page where he answers questions about once saved and always saved. Check it out!:
http://gracethrufaith.com/tag/once-saved-always-saved/
http://gracethrufaith.com/tag/once-saved-always-saved/
Draper Concert To Continue
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/54512569-78/concert-draper-walker-money.html.csp
Here is a link to a story where a Christian concert by Michael W. Smith in Draper is put on despite lawsuit threat.
I have to say I am thankful that the city of Draper has decided to allow the concert to go on...on July 24th. Even though I don't live there, I think it's great that the city government has taken a stand for what is right! Kudos to Draper!
I also have to say that I am getting sick and tired of athiests and non-believers complaining about a religious event taking place! I seriously cannot stand athiests and their behavior! They need to quit belly-aching when we Christians practice our right of praciticing our religion! If they do not like us practicing our faith, those non-believing athiests need to move to another country like Cuba or China or North Korea which are athiest countries!
I know I sound harsh. But goodness! I am getting sick and tired of non-believers spewing out their venom! Ugh!
As a Christian, I know I should love ALL people! And I really do try to. But I am tired of us Christians being persecuted for our beliefs. I am tired of everyone else: gays, athiests, etc...having the right to say things and do things and then us Christians being denied such rights!
Thanks for listening! I just had to get this off of my chest! :)
Here is a link to a story where a Christian concert by Michael W. Smith in Draper is put on despite lawsuit threat.
I have to say I am thankful that the city of Draper has decided to allow the concert to go on...on July 24th. Even though I don't live there, I think it's great that the city government has taken a stand for what is right! Kudos to Draper!
I also have to say that I am getting sick and tired of athiests and non-believers complaining about a religious event taking place! I seriously cannot stand athiests and their behavior! They need to quit belly-aching when we Christians practice our right of praciticing our religion! If they do not like us practicing our faith, those non-believing athiests need to move to another country like Cuba or China or North Korea which are athiest countries!
I know I sound harsh. But goodness! I am getting sick and tired of non-believers spewing out their venom! Ugh!
As a Christian, I know I should love ALL people! And I really do try to. But I am tired of us Christians being persecuted for our beliefs. I am tired of everyone else: gays, athiests, etc...having the right to say things and do things and then us Christians being denied such rights!
Thanks for listening! I just had to get this off of my chest! :)
Friday, July 20, 2012
Mark 12:28-30
Mark 12:28-30 (God's Word): 28 One of the scribes went to Jesus during the argument with the Sadducees. He saw how well Jesus answered them, so he asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of them all?”
29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Listen, Israel, the Lord our God is the only Lord. 30 So love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.
This passage of scripture really touched me the other day as I was reading it. With all the End Times prophecies coming true, I want to make it my goal to love Jesus with all my heart, soul, mind and strength! What does it take to love Jesus this way? What does that look like?
29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Listen, Israel, the Lord our God is the only Lord. 30 So love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.
This passage of scripture really touched me the other day as I was reading it. With all the End Times prophecies coming true, I want to make it my goal to love Jesus with all my heart, soul, mind and strength! What does it take to love Jesus this way? What does that look like?
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Eternity Without Christ
I am currently writing a poem about a fictional guy who has lost a friend who didn't know Christ as Lord and Savior.
Which makes me wonder...
Have you ever had a friend or family member die that you knew was lost...that you knew never accepted Christ as Lord and Savior? How did you deal or cope with that???
Which makes me wonder...
Have you ever had a friend or family member die that you knew was lost...that you knew never accepted Christ as Lord and Savior? How did you deal or cope with that???
Are you a photo expert?
Hey guys!
Are you a photo expert? Is there anyone that can help me redo this picture' s DPI setting (picture is above)? I am trying to submit this as a cover for the physical book on http://www.createspace.com/ , but when I do it says this:
Are you a photo expert? Is there anyone that can help me redo this picture' s DPI setting (picture is above)? I am trying to submit this as a cover for the physical book on http://www.createspace.com/ , but when I do it says this:
"For best print quality, we recommend using images with at least 300 dots per inch (DPI). The current image has 105 DPI. Optimal print quality would be achieved with an image of 6.25 inches wide by 9.5 inches high that has at least 300 DPI".
If any of you can help me with this, I would greatly appreciate it! :)
IF you can, please send the finished product to: bibleprophecy77@yahoo.com
If any of you can help me with this, I would greatly appreciate it! :)
IF you can, please send the finished product to: bibleprophecy77@yahoo.com
Thanks a millon!
Friday, July 13, 2012
Pursue Holiness
Thought for the day:
If you seek other people's approval, you will always get disappointed.
If you pursue holiness (and God's approval), disappointment will never find you!
Think on these things...
If you seek other people's approval, you will always get disappointed.
If you pursue holiness (and God's approval), disappointment will never find you!
Think on these things...
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Surrender
Here is another song lyric by Margaret Becker from her cd Air. It is such a great reminder that we need to surrender to God! The song lyric comes from: New Release Tuesday
Surrender
You and I have spoken all these words
Far as words go, there's no consolation
Forces come and press until it hurts
You just dig in and man your station
So why not try something old and new like
Surrender, surrender
Let it all fall where it must and just
Trust, trust
Surrender
You and I still believe because
We have seen our own transformation
We're old enough, we understand the crush
Is not for death but for destination
So why not try something old and new like
Surrender, surrender
Let it all fall where it must and just
Trust, trust
Surrender, be ground, be crumbled
Nothing grows on rock and steel
So let's just yield to surrender
Why not do something tried and true like
Surrender, surrender
Let it all fall where it must and just
Trust, trust
Surrender, be ground, be crumbled
Nothing grows on rock and steel
So let's just yield to surrender
Written by Margaret Becker
Produced by Stephen Leiweke
Surrender
You and I have spoken all these words
Far as words go, there's no consolation
Forces come and press until it hurts
You just dig in and man your station
So why not try something old and new like
Surrender, surrender
Let it all fall where it must and just
Trust, trust
Surrender
You and I still believe because
We have seen our own transformation
We're old enough, we understand the crush
Is not for death but for destination
So why not try something old and new like
Surrender, surrender
Let it all fall where it must and just
Trust, trust
Surrender, be ground, be crumbled
Nothing grows on rock and steel
So let's just yield to surrender
Why not do something tried and true like
Surrender, surrender
Let it all fall where it must and just
Trust, trust
Surrender, be ground, be crumbled
Nothing grows on rock and steel
So let's just yield to surrender
Written by Margaret Becker
Produced by Stephen Leiweke
All I Need Is Love
Hey guys! I want to share this song lyric by Margaret Becker called "All I Need Is Love". The lyric comes from website: New Release Tuesday .
All I Need Is Love
I feel the pulse beneath my skin
Waking up to what's been missing
I complicate, I discipline
I make it hard, You keep insisting that
All I need is love, love, love, love
Love is all I really need
All I need is love, love, love, love
And You are love to me
I must be crazy, a pompous fool
Got nothing good enough for You
No shiny trinkets, no precious jewels
Nothing but the simple truth, that
All I need is love, love, love, love
Love is all I really need
All I need is love, love, love, love
And You are love to me
All I need is love, love, love, love
Love is all I really need
All I need is love, love, love, love
And You are love complete
Written by Margaret Becker and Kelly Minter
Produced by Stephen Leiweke
All I Need Is Love
I feel the pulse beneath my skin
Waking up to what's been missing
I complicate, I discipline
I make it hard, You keep insisting that
All I need is love, love, love, love
Love is all I really need
All I need is love, love, love, love
And You are love to me
I must be crazy, a pompous fool
Got nothing good enough for You
No shiny trinkets, no precious jewels
Nothing but the simple truth, that
All I need is love, love, love, love
Love is all I really need
All I need is love, love, love, love
And You are love to me
All I need is love, love, love, love
Love is all I really need
All I need is love, love, love, love
And You are love complete
Written by Margaret Becker and Kelly Minter
Produced by Stephen Leiweke
Parody Challenge
Hey poetry peeps!
I would like to challenge you to do something fun!
Consider writing a parody. What is a parody? A parody is writing that makes fun of a song or story, etc.....Example, Weird Al Yankovic (sp?).
For this challenge, write a parody based on a song that is out there. For example, Britney Spears "Ooops...I Did It Again" could be turned into "Oops..I Farted Again".
E-mail me what you come up with at:
bibleprophecy77@yahoo.com
And I will post them on here!
Have fun doing your parody!
I would like to challenge you to do something fun!
Consider writing a parody. What is a parody? A parody is writing that makes fun of a song or story, etc.....Example, Weird Al Yankovic (sp?).
For this challenge, write a parody based on a song that is out there. For example, Britney Spears "Ooops...I Did It Again" could be turned into "Oops..I Farted Again".
E-mail me what you come up with at:
bibleprophecy77@yahoo.com
And I will post them on here!
Have fun doing your parody!
Free Creative Writing Course
I found a free creative writing course on the web that I like. I am considering possibly sometime in the future trying my hand at possibly writing short stories. Ultimately that is up to God. Feel free to take a look at the site and click on the link below:
Free Creative Writiing Course
Free Creative Writiing Course
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Free Michael Salman
From a forum post in raptureready.com:
Christian Sentenced to Jail for Home Worship .. no, not in China, but in USA!
Christian Sentenced to Jail for Home Worship .. no, not in China, but in USA!
This family are in trouble with the law for holding home church on their property!
Would you mind signing the petition, too and passing it on to others? Thank you and God bless!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVXvgwILcds&feature=share
"My wife and I have had worship with family and friends at our home since 2005. We live on 4.6 acres of land and have never open our home to the public, parked in street, violated any traffic or noise ordinances. The City of Phoenix violated me in 2009 because they said that we were not allowed to have such gatherings on our property even though they are private. According to the City only "Churches" that have commercial and public use codes are allowed to have religious gatherings. Since our property does not meet commercial guidelines we can not have religious gatherings at our home. We argue that this type of enforcement is discriminatory and unconstitutional, they pretty much said, Oh well and sentenced me to 60 days in Jail to report on July 9th. Please Call and Sign our Petition. We not only fight for us but for all those who gather under their rights. http://www.change.org/petitions/free-michael-salman Thank you all for your prayers and support."
Friday, July 6, 2012
Matthew 15:1-10 (NKJV)
Matthew 15:1-10 (NKJV):
15 Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, 2 “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.”
3 He answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; [a] and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’[b] 5 But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God”— 6 then he need not honor his father or mother.’[c] Thus you have made the commandment[d] of God of no effect by your tradition. 7 Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:
10 When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear and understand: 11 Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.”
I started reading the book of Matthew this past evening during my slow times at work and just came across this passage! (In this passage, Jesus was addressing the scribes and Pharisees.) And God caused it to strike me how the scribes and Pharisees of that time really resemble the Catholic church of today. I can easily see the Catholic church saying these exact words to Jesus. The Catholic church considers tradition just as authoritive as the word of God. The verse that struck me the most was Matthew 15:8-9: 8 ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And[e] honor Me with their lips,But their heart is far from Me.9 And in vain they worship Me,Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' ".
So what do you think? In what ways are the Catholics similar to the Jews?
So what do you think? In what ways are the Catholics similar to the Jews?
Monday, July 2, 2012
Book News
Hey poetry peeps!
As you know, a week or so ago, I published my e-book of poetry Pieces of Heaven...Pieces of Earth. And thanks to Zach and Jon who have gotten the copies of my book so far! :) Y'all are best pals a man could ask for! Thanks!
Here's some news..
I am currently working on publishing an actual physical copy of my book Pieces of Heaven...Pieces of Earth. I have the book itself loaded with the original formatting I wanted to go with---that I couldn't with the e-book. Now, I am trying to design the cover. I plan on going with the original cover that is on my e-book. However, the pictures formatting needs to be changed. Right now, I have e-mailed the original people that has done my original cover to see if they can change the specifications. Once I hear back from them, I should be able to publish the book. More news to come...
As you know, a week or so ago, I published my e-book of poetry Pieces of Heaven...Pieces of Earth. And thanks to Zach and Jon who have gotten the copies of my book so far! :) Y'all are best pals a man could ask for! Thanks!
Here's some news..
I am currently working on publishing an actual physical copy of my book Pieces of Heaven...Pieces of Earth. I have the book itself loaded with the original formatting I wanted to go with---that I couldn't with the e-book. Now, I am trying to design the cover. I plan on going with the original cover that is on my e-book. However, the pictures formatting needs to be changed. Right now, I have e-mailed the original people that has done my original cover to see if they can change the specifications. Once I hear back from them, I should be able to publish the book. More news to come...
Fall Into Grace
Happy July 1st! Can you believe that we are all ready starting the 7th month of the year?! Time sure is going by so fast! It seems like someone should shout out "Happy July Fools Day! It''s really February! ". But it is July, and today is Sunday. My church today had a "Freedom Celebration" during its church service.
Last month--June--marked my 25th anniversary of me being a Christian! I can hardly believe it has been so many years! Thank you Jesus for looking down at such a young pitiful boy and showing mercy to me!!! This journey has been awesome! Jesus has definitely been my best friend who was and is definitely closer than any brother I could ever have!
Looking back, God has brought me through a lot of stuff and has taught me some valuable lessons!
What do you think is the hardest lesson for a Christian to learn? I can't speak for other people, but for me, the hardest lesson for me to learn is: Accepting God's Grace!
Why has it been so hard for me to learn how to accept God's grace? Why is it hard for people in general to accept God's grace? In my opinion, I and humanity have been trained by society (and sometimes by some churches) that we have to earn everything. We are told that we have to go get a job and work so we can eat and pay our bills. If we want to buy clothes or buy cds or a house, we have to earn money for those things. Because of all this training, we naturally assume that God works the same way. To get to Heaven, we are told by some people that all our good deeds have to outweigh our bad deeds. So we start to work hard to make sure to have more good deeds under the belt. So instead of accepting Christ's sacrifice for our sins, some people will refuse to take the first step to salvation, because they would much rather get to Heaven by their own effort.
Even for those of us who have accepted Christ as Lord and Savior, even we fall into the same trap. Once we have accepted Jesus' free gift of salvation, satan begins to make us doubt that it is a free gift. satan will say "Did God really say..it is a free gift?". If we start to doubt what God has plainly said, then satan will eventually have us believing that we have to somehow pay God back for our salvation. It's like that we purchased our salvation with a credit card and every month we have to make monthly installments to God for our salvation.
So how does that play out in a Christian's life? Some Christians will go to church regularly, fast, witness to people, say "Hail Marys", go to confession, volunteer at soup kitchens, go on mission trips, etc...And when we sin, some of us will become scared of death of God and worry that we will go to hell for that one sin. We'll repent of our sin (as we should) and then rush to perform some good deed or penance (as Catholics call it) in addition to the repentance. So this type of Christian tends to never really be at peace with their lives. They always have some type of doubt whether they will go to Heaven when they die.
For example, when I lived in Alabama, I attended a church where the pastor once said that you could be a faithful Christian for 30 years, but if you left one sin that wasn't covered by the blood, you would go to hell. That never sat right with me. And I didn't know why. Now that pastor was a Godly man and generally preached the truth, but of course, being human, he wasn't perfect. Because of that and perhaps a lack of knowledge of theology, I believe I subconsciously was scared of God. This showed itself more clearly during lightning storms. During my time in Alabama, i worked at 2 grocery stores---Schambeau's Foodland and Greer's Food Tiger. During some of my time at Schambeau's, I would have to carry out customer's groceries to their car and load them in their car. At Greer's, one of my jobs was to bring in the grocery carts from the outside. I would have to do both of these things even in the lightning. During those times, I was so scared of lightning, I would pray frantically to God promising Him different things if He would spare my life. Most of those promises have been broken by now. Looking back, this occured because subconsciously I had an improper view of God, a lack of Biblical knowledge, and an improper interpretation on what I did know from the Bible.
Now, that I have been living in Minnesota for almost a decade and have been under 2 Biblically sound churches and have been through some trials, I have a better understanding on how God and on how His salvation works. God has also taught me more about grace.
So how does one get saved anyway? Ephesians 2:8a says: "For by grace you have been saved..." What is grace? Grace is: undeserved favor/mercy/blessing from God. How does one receive this? Ephesians 2:8a also states: "...you have been saved through faith". So we receive this gracious salvation by believing what God has said about His son without demanding any proof. Then we admit that we are a sinner, confess our sins and ask God to forgive us. Then we are born again.
But it isn't by what we do that gets us saved nor keeps us saved. For Ephesians 2:8b-9 says: "..and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast". So we are saved not because of what we have done, it is because of what God has done. He has decided by His grace and mercy to give us this gift of salvation for free. IF we could obtain this salvation by our works, then we could pridefully boast that we saved ourselves and have no reason to worship or praise God for getting into Heaven.
So with that in mind, if we cannot get saved by our works, then we cannot keep our salvation by our works neither. It is God who keeps us saved! Ephesians 1:13b-14 states: "...having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possssion..." Ephesians 4:30 also states : "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption" So when we as believers first get saved, God grants us the Holy Spirit as a seal to preserve us and our salvation until the day we die or get raptured whichever comes first. The Holy Spirit keeps us saved. And whosoever God has sealed with the Holy Spirit, nothing and no one (including ourselves) can break that seal! Revelation 3:7 states: "...He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and noe one opens". Whatever doors God shuts no one can open, and whatever door God opens, no one can shut. What great news this is! There's nothing that we can do nor not do and there's no forces of evil that will cause us to lose the seal of the Holy Spirit; henceforth, that will cause us to lose our salvation. Talk about a wonderful beautiful picture of God's grace and of His undeserved favor!
Here's another picture of God's grace...Several years ago, I was driving home from my job at Northwestern Bookstore. On the way home, I was rocking out to some Christian music not paying attention to how fast I was driving. Halfway home, I see behind me flashing red and blue lights! So I pull off to the side of the road, and the cop walks up to me and asks for my drivers license. He said; "Do you know that you were going 55 in a 35mph zone?". Of course, I didn't know. So he went back to his car to run my license. While he was doing that, I was preparing myself to get my first ticket. I just knew I was going to get a ticket for speeding. When the cop came back, he said that I had a clean driving record and that I needed to keep it that way. He let me go with a warning! Talk about being relieved! But this is how God is. We may expect to get punishment from God for the negative things we have done since being saved. However, what God does, He says: "You have a clean record". And doesn't give us punishment even though we deserve. It is because of Jesus we have the clean record. Now that's grace!
Given all this, why do we as believers still struggle with receiving God's grace? It is because that we struggle with our weaknesses. Often, when we fall into sin or make a mistake, we will beat ourselves up and sometimes will believe the lies that satan tries to sell such as "God doesn't love you anymore...you've lost your salvation...can God really love someone like you who always messes up...etc..etc..etc.. But we have to keep in mind that without weakness, we would have no reason to depend on God. Paul asked God 3 separate times to get rid of a thorn in Paul's flesh. But God said in 2 Corinthians 12:9a: "And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." So when we struggle with weakness, we have to remember to ask God for His strength and for His grace to help us deal with our weakness. Whenever we encounter our weakness, we should allow our weakness to teach us to depend on God. These times are an excellent opportunity to learn how to receive God's grace.
Struggling with weaknesses can cause us to have a low view of ourselves--a poor self-image. Again, satan will bring all kinds of condemnation to our minds of how bad a Christian we are and how we really don't deserve God's love. We might even think we have lost God's love and His grace. But we can't believe those lies. We cannot lose God's love nor grace. With God's help, we need to improve our self-image and see ourselves as God sees us. 1 Corinthians 15:10a states: "But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in van;" What an encouraging verse! Remember, you are who you are because of God's grace! God has wired you to be a unique person---different from all others! Who you are is no accident! And you do not surprise God by being who you are or by the things you struggle with. God did not waste His grace on you! You are a child worth saving! You are a masterpiece in the making. So take a hold of God's grace and run with it! And don't be ashamed of the man of God that He has created you to be! Accept God's love and grace for you! After that, love and forgive yourself! Once you do that, satan won't be able to beat up on you and he won't get you to listen to his lies anymore.
So to summarize...the reason people have a hard time accepting God's grace is: We have been taught by society that we need to earn everything. Nonbelievers want to work their way to Heaven instead of accepting the gift. Believers believe the lie that they have to do good works to earn or keep their salvation. The solution is by simply accepting God's grace and love for us and then loving and forgiving ourselves we can put ourselves in aposition where we dont believe satan's lies anymore and live a more fulfilling Christian life in the midst of God's grace and love.
.
Last month--June--marked my 25th anniversary of me being a Christian! I can hardly believe it has been so many years! Thank you Jesus for looking down at such a young pitiful boy and showing mercy to me!!! This journey has been awesome! Jesus has definitely been my best friend who was and is definitely closer than any brother I could ever have!
Looking back, God has brought me through a lot of stuff and has taught me some valuable lessons!
What do you think is the hardest lesson for a Christian to learn? I can't speak for other people, but for me, the hardest lesson for me to learn is: Accepting God's Grace!
Why has it been so hard for me to learn how to accept God's grace? Why is it hard for people in general to accept God's grace? In my opinion, I and humanity have been trained by society (and sometimes by some churches) that we have to earn everything. We are told that we have to go get a job and work so we can eat and pay our bills. If we want to buy clothes or buy cds or a house, we have to earn money for those things. Because of all this training, we naturally assume that God works the same way. To get to Heaven, we are told by some people that all our good deeds have to outweigh our bad deeds. So we start to work hard to make sure to have more good deeds under the belt. So instead of accepting Christ's sacrifice for our sins, some people will refuse to take the first step to salvation, because they would much rather get to Heaven by their own effort.
Even for those of us who have accepted Christ as Lord and Savior, even we fall into the same trap. Once we have accepted Jesus' free gift of salvation, satan begins to make us doubt that it is a free gift. satan will say "Did God really say..it is a free gift?". If we start to doubt what God has plainly said, then satan will eventually have us believing that we have to somehow pay God back for our salvation. It's like that we purchased our salvation with a credit card and every month we have to make monthly installments to God for our salvation.
So how does that play out in a Christian's life? Some Christians will go to church regularly, fast, witness to people, say "Hail Marys", go to confession, volunteer at soup kitchens, go on mission trips, etc...And when we sin, some of us will become scared of death of God and worry that we will go to hell for that one sin. We'll repent of our sin (as we should) and then rush to perform some good deed or penance (as Catholics call it) in addition to the repentance. So this type of Christian tends to never really be at peace with their lives. They always have some type of doubt whether they will go to Heaven when they die.
For example, when I lived in Alabama, I attended a church where the pastor once said that you could be a faithful Christian for 30 years, but if you left one sin that wasn't covered by the blood, you would go to hell. That never sat right with me. And I didn't know why. Now that pastor was a Godly man and generally preached the truth, but of course, being human, he wasn't perfect. Because of that and perhaps a lack of knowledge of theology, I believe I subconsciously was scared of God. This showed itself more clearly during lightning storms. During my time in Alabama, i worked at 2 grocery stores---Schambeau's Foodland and Greer's Food Tiger. During some of my time at Schambeau's, I would have to carry out customer's groceries to their car and load them in their car. At Greer's, one of my jobs was to bring in the grocery carts from the outside. I would have to do both of these things even in the lightning. During those times, I was so scared of lightning, I would pray frantically to God promising Him different things if He would spare my life. Most of those promises have been broken by now. Looking back, this occured because subconsciously I had an improper view of God, a lack of Biblical knowledge, and an improper interpretation on what I did know from the Bible.
Now, that I have been living in Minnesota for almost a decade and have been under 2 Biblically sound churches and have been through some trials, I have a better understanding on how God and on how His salvation works. God has also taught me more about grace.
So how does one get saved anyway? Ephesians 2:8a says: "For by grace you have been saved..." What is grace? Grace is: undeserved favor/mercy/blessing from God. How does one receive this? Ephesians 2:8a also states: "...you have been saved through faith". So we receive this gracious salvation by believing what God has said about His son without demanding any proof. Then we admit that we are a sinner, confess our sins and ask God to forgive us. Then we are born again.
But it isn't by what we do that gets us saved nor keeps us saved. For Ephesians 2:8b-9 says: "..and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast". So we are saved not because of what we have done, it is because of what God has done. He has decided by His grace and mercy to give us this gift of salvation for free. IF we could obtain this salvation by our works, then we could pridefully boast that we saved ourselves and have no reason to worship or praise God for getting into Heaven.
So with that in mind, if we cannot get saved by our works, then we cannot keep our salvation by our works neither. It is God who keeps us saved! Ephesians 1:13b-14 states: "...having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possssion..." Ephesians 4:30 also states : "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption" So when we as believers first get saved, God grants us the Holy Spirit as a seal to preserve us and our salvation until the day we die or get raptured whichever comes first. The Holy Spirit keeps us saved. And whosoever God has sealed with the Holy Spirit, nothing and no one (including ourselves) can break that seal! Revelation 3:7 states: "...He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and noe one opens". Whatever doors God shuts no one can open, and whatever door God opens, no one can shut. What great news this is! There's nothing that we can do nor not do and there's no forces of evil that will cause us to lose the seal of the Holy Spirit; henceforth, that will cause us to lose our salvation. Talk about a wonderful beautiful picture of God's grace and of His undeserved favor!
Here's another picture of God's grace...Several years ago, I was driving home from my job at Northwestern Bookstore. On the way home, I was rocking out to some Christian music not paying attention to how fast I was driving. Halfway home, I see behind me flashing red and blue lights! So I pull off to the side of the road, and the cop walks up to me and asks for my drivers license. He said; "Do you know that you were going 55 in a 35mph zone?". Of course, I didn't know. So he went back to his car to run my license. While he was doing that, I was preparing myself to get my first ticket. I just knew I was going to get a ticket for speeding. When the cop came back, he said that I had a clean driving record and that I needed to keep it that way. He let me go with a warning! Talk about being relieved! But this is how God is. We may expect to get punishment from God for the negative things we have done since being saved. However, what God does, He says: "You have a clean record". And doesn't give us punishment even though we deserve. It is because of Jesus we have the clean record. Now that's grace!
Given all this, why do we as believers still struggle with receiving God's grace? It is because that we struggle with our weaknesses. Often, when we fall into sin or make a mistake, we will beat ourselves up and sometimes will believe the lies that satan tries to sell such as "God doesn't love you anymore...you've lost your salvation...can God really love someone like you who always messes up...etc..etc..etc.. But we have to keep in mind that without weakness, we would have no reason to depend on God. Paul asked God 3 separate times to get rid of a thorn in Paul's flesh. But God said in 2 Corinthians 12:9a: "And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." So when we struggle with weakness, we have to remember to ask God for His strength and for His grace to help us deal with our weakness. Whenever we encounter our weakness, we should allow our weakness to teach us to depend on God. These times are an excellent opportunity to learn how to receive God's grace.
Struggling with weaknesses can cause us to have a low view of ourselves--a poor self-image. Again, satan will bring all kinds of condemnation to our minds of how bad a Christian we are and how we really don't deserve God's love. We might even think we have lost God's love and His grace. But we can't believe those lies. We cannot lose God's love nor grace. With God's help, we need to improve our self-image and see ourselves as God sees us. 1 Corinthians 15:10a states: "But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in van;" What an encouraging verse! Remember, you are who you are because of God's grace! God has wired you to be a unique person---different from all others! Who you are is no accident! And you do not surprise God by being who you are or by the things you struggle with. God did not waste His grace on you! You are a child worth saving! You are a masterpiece in the making. So take a hold of God's grace and run with it! And don't be ashamed of the man of God that He has created you to be! Accept God's love and grace for you! After that, love and forgive yourself! Once you do that, satan won't be able to beat up on you and he won't get you to listen to his lies anymore.
So to summarize...the reason people have a hard time accepting God's grace is: We have been taught by society that we need to earn everything. Nonbelievers want to work their way to Heaven instead of accepting the gift. Believers believe the lie that they have to do good works to earn or keep their salvation. The solution is by simply accepting God's grace and love for us and then loving and forgiving ourselves we can put ourselves in aposition where we dont believe satan's lies anymore and live a more fulfilling Christian life in the midst of God's grace and love.
.
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Happy Sunday!
Just a short note to say I hope all of you are having a Happy Sunday! I am working on a blog post about "Grace". God willing, I will finish it during my tonight's shift at work during the slow times. It's going to be a long one! God used my best friend Jon to inspire me to write this!
Have a great day! Time for me to go home!!!!!! Woo hoo!
Have a great day! Time for me to go home!!!!!! Woo hoo!
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