Tuesday, April 23, 2013
My First Year With Jesus
This past year I have really gotten to know the Lord and He has radically changed me from the inside out. I used to get so annoyed with my husband when he would tell me that I needed to change bc I was too proud to admit that even "perfect Melissa" needed improvement. I was too proud to admit that my "relationship" with God was nothing more of me making and idol God of my own imagination; a nothing, a nonexistent entity that had no purpose in my life except for me to be politically correct. Thank You Father for seeking my husband and through him seeking me. I praise you Jesus, I love youuuuuuuuuuuu so so so much! More than ANYTHING! God bless you everyone! There is power in the name of Jesus to break EVERY chain my friends! If you think there's no hope, PICK UP A BIBLE! I picked up that bible thinking I was good! I wasn't going to change...God opened my eyes and lifted the blinds that were on me for my entire life! I'm free! Call me crazy, that's not you talking my friends. You won't find peace and happiness in the things of this world...they will always leave you wanting MORE. I am FULL! Full to capacity with Jesus! My cup is OVER filling, renewing every day! Hallelujah
Friday, April 19, 2013
Our Job As Christians
"Look here's my job, and yours (as Christians) for that matter; it is to get the gospel out to as many people as possible. I'm not in the job of "converting" people. I'm not in the job of "saving" people, that's not what I do; that's what God does. But my job description is to proclaim the gospel and pray in hopes that seed will land on receptive soil..
Having said that, if a person does put their faith in Jesus Christ, I do think we can assure them of their salvation. Why? Because the bible does!
In 1 John 10 it says;
'Anyone who believes in the Son of God has his testimony in their heart'
In Romans 8:16 it says;
'God's spirit bear's witness with our spirit that we our the children of God'
In John 5:24 it says;
'I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.'
And my favorite
In 1 John 5:13 it says;
'I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life'
It is a beautiful thing where God will give us the assurance of our salvation" ~Pastor Greg Laurie
Having said that, if a person does put their faith in Jesus Christ, I do think we can assure them of their salvation. Why? Because the bible does!
In 1 John 10 it says;
'Anyone who believes in the Son of God has his testimony in their heart'
In Romans 8:16 it says;
'God's spirit bear's witness with our spirit that we our the children of God'
In John 5:24 it says;
'I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.'
And my favorite
In 1 John 5:13 it says;
'I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life'
It is a beautiful thing where God will give us the assurance of our salvation" ~Pastor Greg Laurie
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
No Hope for the World?
Do you watch the news? Does it bring you down? I know it brings me down...
If we spend our lives constantly looking to the news for "hope" we come to the conclusion that this world we live in is hopeless.
You won't find hope in television, no hope in newspapers, no hope in whatever source you use to read the media.
This world we live in is constantly seeking to let us feel hope-less.
But friends!!!!!! Don't believe the devil's lies...there is hope! You just are looking to the wrong source.
All hope lies within Jesus Christ! Jesus is our Lord and Savior!
Romans 12:12
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
Romans 15:13
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope
Isaiah 40:31
But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint
Romans 5:2-5
Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Deuteronomy 31:6
Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.
Psalm 39:7
And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you.
Mark 9:23
And Jesus said to him, "If you can! All things are possible for one who believes."
If we spend our lives constantly looking to the news for "hope" we come to the conclusion that this world we live in is hopeless.
You won't find hope in television, no hope in newspapers, no hope in whatever source you use to read the media.
This world we live in is constantly seeking to let us feel hope-less.
But friends!!!!!! Don't believe the devil's lies...there is hope! You just are looking to the wrong source.
All hope lies within Jesus Christ! Jesus is our Lord and Savior!
Romans 12:12
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
Romans 15:13
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope
Isaiah 40:31
But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint
Romans 5:2-5
Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Deuteronomy 31:6
Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.
Psalm 39:7
And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you.
Mark 9:23
And Jesus said to him, "If you can! All things are possible for one who believes."
Seek God's word daily! Our hope, our ONLY hope lies within Jesus Christ! Don't pay attention to the world....GIVE UP THE WORLD AND FIND HEAVEN!!!! THIS IS GOD'S PROMISE TO US! GOD BLESS YOU FRIENDS
God Speaks!
Today is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!
Thank You Father for this day! We praise you! Hallelujah!
Hey friends! God bless you all...
So I sometimes tell folks, "God spoke to me and this is what he said..." and often they ask, "what do you mean He spoke to you?"
So this morning I had a perfect example of how the Lord speaks to us.
I try my very best to get into God's word first thing but being a working mother with kids in school its very hard to get time with our Father. I'm beginning to realize its time I started waking up extra early so that I can have more peace and alone time with Him before I get my day started. Discipline will have to occur for that because I have a hard time getting out of bed. Having a 1 yr old at home who wakes up at night, tends to leave me clinging to the bed in the morning...but that's besides the point.
Any how, during my morning rush this morning I began speaking to God and saying the usual, "Good morning Father, Good morning Jesus, I bless you, I pray for you, I worship you..." but then I stopped myself and said, no I need to get down on my knees and slow down for the Lord.
So I did, I pressed pause on the "mom" button and got on my knees and prayed for the day. I always have this super over whelming sense that I need to do more for the Lord so I asked in my prayer for God to show me what more I can do for Him. I want to be all that I can be for Him and I feel like I'm not doing enough.
So on the way to work I was listening to the local christian radio station and Ron Hutchcraft was speaking. I was so grateful to God for using Ron to speak to me. Ron's message was a little something like this:
Have you ever felt obligated to do GREAT things for the Lord? Have you felt that what you do is not enough? Do you feel there is so much MORE you can do?
Listen folks the bible does not say we are to do GREAT works...it says "good works"
Ephesians 2:10
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which god prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Matthew 5:16
In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
...God knows our circumstances and we have to trust that we are where He wants us to be in our lives. We give up the course of our own lives and trust in Jesus to guide us on His right path. Whatever God put in our way throughout our days, we have to be a reflection of Jesus and show our good works. God's works may be raising the spirits of a friend who feels down or complimenting our children on their school work, or perhaps calling an old friend who we haven't spoken to in a while. It could be giving a friendly smile to a stranger, it can be helping a neighbor with yard work...whatever good we can do in our daily lives let it all be to the glory of God!
I mean WOW! God spoke right to me, to answer the prayer I said to him just MINUTES before listening to Ron speak on the radio on my way to work! Remember whatever your life circumstance in life, once you give up your life to Christ Jesus, you our on God's path! He will guide your life right and bring people or circumstances to you, for you to do good in His name. This isn't about US folks...its about Jesus! Its about our Father! Bring Him in ALL you do! Then you are doing the will of our Father...you are on Jesus' path. AMEN AMEN AMEN!!!! All Glory be to God in the Highest! Hallelujah!
This is how God speaks friends! We have to pay attention. Let go and let God! We have to realize we are not in control...I am not in control. I will make sure in all that I do, I do for the good and for the glory of God. AMEN!
He hears your prayers...He speaks friends! Listen....
Thank You Father for this day! We praise you! Hallelujah!
Hey friends! God bless you all...
So I sometimes tell folks, "God spoke to me and this is what he said..." and often they ask, "what do you mean He spoke to you?"
So this morning I had a perfect example of how the Lord speaks to us.
I try my very best to get into God's word first thing but being a working mother with kids in school its very hard to get time with our Father. I'm beginning to realize its time I started waking up extra early so that I can have more peace and alone time with Him before I get my day started. Discipline will have to occur for that because I have a hard time getting out of bed. Having a 1 yr old at home who wakes up at night, tends to leave me clinging to the bed in the morning...but that's besides the point.
Any how, during my morning rush this morning I began speaking to God and saying the usual, "Good morning Father, Good morning Jesus, I bless you, I pray for you, I worship you..." but then I stopped myself and said, no I need to get down on my knees and slow down for the Lord.
So I did, I pressed pause on the "mom" button and got on my knees and prayed for the day. I always have this super over whelming sense that I need to do more for the Lord so I asked in my prayer for God to show me what more I can do for Him. I want to be all that I can be for Him and I feel like I'm not doing enough.
So on the way to work I was listening to the local christian radio station and Ron Hutchcraft was speaking. I was so grateful to God for using Ron to speak to me. Ron's message was a little something like this:
Have you ever felt obligated to do GREAT things for the Lord? Have you felt that what you do is not enough? Do you feel there is so much MORE you can do?
Listen folks the bible does not say we are to do GREAT works...it says "good works"
Ephesians 2:10
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which god prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
...God knows our circumstances and we have to trust that we are where He wants us to be in our lives. We give up the course of our own lives and trust in Jesus to guide us on His right path. Whatever God put in our way throughout our days, we have to be a reflection of Jesus and show our good works. God's works may be raising the spirits of a friend who feels down or complimenting our children on their school work, or perhaps calling an old friend who we haven't spoken to in a while. It could be giving a friendly smile to a stranger, it can be helping a neighbor with yard work...whatever good we can do in our daily lives let it all be to the glory of God!
I mean WOW! God spoke right to me, to answer the prayer I said to him just MINUTES before listening to Ron speak on the radio on my way to work! Remember whatever your life circumstance in life, once you give up your life to Christ Jesus, you our on God's path! He will guide your life right and bring people or circumstances to you, for you to do good in His name. This isn't about US folks...its about Jesus! Its about our Father! Bring Him in ALL you do! Then you are doing the will of our Father...you are on Jesus' path. AMEN AMEN AMEN!!!! All Glory be to God in the Highest! Hallelujah!
This is how God speaks friends! We have to pay attention. Let go and let God! We have to realize we are not in control...I am not in control. I will make sure in all that I do, I do for the good and for the glory of God. AMEN!
He hears your prayers...He speaks friends! Listen....
Thursday, April 4, 2013
♫ Flippin' Your Fins You Don't Get Too Far ♫
“If only I can make him
understand. I just don’t see things the way he does.
I don't see how a world that makes such wonderful things… could be bad”
~Ariel
I don't see how a world that makes such wonderful things… could be bad”
~Ariel
This song has been stuck in
my head for days so I figured God was trying to tell me something because I haven't seen this movie in a long time for me to even think of this song…
Particularly the part that
says “I don’t know when, I don’t know how, but I know something’s starting
right now” has been stuck in my head. This part resonates with me
because I can feel Jesus’ return drawing near. I can feel something really
destructive in the midst for this world. Evil is alive and the time is drawing
near.
I’m a mom people settle down…Disney
songs get trapped in my mind sometimes.
But I really started to
think about this song and realize…wow. Incredible symbolism.
Here is a girl whose part of
a different world (Christians, Heaven) who is seriously attracted to this other
world (humanity, earth). She longs for the human world just as we as humans
hold onto life on earth. She was attracted to all the wonderful thing the human
world had to offer and couldn't understand how a world that made such great
stuff, could be so bad.
Non-believers are conflicted
in the same way because they are blinded by the ruler of this world, Satan. He
tricks them with technology, hollywood, media, politics, promises of "peace" etc. They see the earth for all its “gadgets
and gizmos” and they refuse to see the truth of God’s word.
Now Ariel’s father knew
better and knew that he didn’t want that world for her. What he had in store
for her under the sea was more than she could ever imagine and hope for… She
didn’t belong with the humans, because she wasn’t part of that world. We all know how the story ends but for my blog sake I'm just talking about the song...
Remember what Jesus said in John
18:36
“My kingdom is not of this
world”
We as Christians are part of
that kingdom in Heaven…that glorious kingdom and we have to remember that. Yes
we may long for humanity but we have to put all that aside and live our lives
according to our true home, our true King, to the true kingdom of which we are
born from!
Like Ariel’s father, our
Father in Heaven knows better and shows us in His might word, The Holy Bible,
that we are to seek Him and Jesus and find Heaven; our true home; where we will have true peace, happiness, and
unimaginable bliss.
Stay seeking Heaven my
brothers and sisters…keep your eyes watchful on Jesus and stay replenished in
God’s word daily; it will keep your heart,
mind, body, and soul guided right towards home with Jesus and our
Father. It’s our defense against the enemy! We need to put on God’s word and be
a reflection of His son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Let go of the
temptation of the world! Give up the world and find Heaven!!!! God bless you
all!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)