Rhapsody Of Realities

These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full (John 15:11).

In life, people naturally seek to be joyfully fulfilled. Some try to find it in their job, family, possessions or friends. Some others live in servitude to the judgments or opinion of others about them. When others say or do nice things to them or for them, they’re happy; but at the slightest feeling of rejection they become bitter, resentful and frustrated. Never live your life that way. Your joy should be independent of circumstances and the opinions of others about you.

James 1:2 says, ‘’…count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations.’’ The Apostles, and even the Lord Jesus endured serious persecution and rejection, yet they remained undaunted in their resolve to fulfill God’s dream. Even after the Apostles were openly ridiculed and beaten for preaching the Gospel, the Bible says they were filled with joy to be counted worthy to suffer shame for His Name (Acts 5:40-41). That wasn’t ordinary joy; it was the joy of the Lord in their spirits. If you ever feel discouraged, downcast, or rejected, all you have to do is to consciously activate the joy of the Lord from within and you’ll be strengthened. You don’t have to wait for anything or anyone to make you joyful; evoke joy from within.

Never be dissatisfied or unhappy because of the challenging circumstances you might be facing or the ill treatment you get from others! You’re more than a conqueror; therefore no adversity can overwhelm you. When trouble comes, laugh; and then say like Paul, ‘’None of these things move me…’’ (Acts 20:24), because you know you’re a victor. God has given you joy that isn’t dependent on the situations around you; joy that flows from your spirit as gushers of living water. So live joyfully every day and be exuberant about life.

Prayer

The joy of the Lord is my strength, and I rejoice in Him today, for He has filled my life with His goodness. I refuse to be perturbed about anything because I’ve cast all my cares upon the Lord, who is my caretaker and provider! Amen.

Further Study

Psalm 16:11; John 14:27

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1 John 3:1

Behold what manner of love the Father has given unto us,  that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knows us not, because it knew him not.

We are called sons and daughters of the living God.  What and honor that was bestow on us by Jesus  Christ when he laid his life bare on a cross of wood. Condemn to die not  because He did anything but what we did. Can you picture Him on the cross and the pain He endured so we can live a life like no other? His cry of pain and  loneliness when He said, “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?” His Father  couldn’t look upon His Son because of the sin that He carried for us His sons  and daughters of the living God.

We who call Abba Father have a responsibility to our Father  Jesus Christ. We need to run the race and do not think that you can’t. What do I have to share or give? You have nothing to give. But, Jesus Christ has everything to give and he calls us to live in  the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. (Galatians 5:25) The Holy Spirit is  here to teach, train, comfort, and live through us to the dying world that  Jesus came to save.

The Lord has called us to deny ourselves and pick up the cross and follow him. (Matthew  16:24) I know this is hard because I struggle with it myself. I cry out to the  Lord on bended knee in the whys of me. I can’t write. But, that is what’s great  about our relationship because I need him desperately to help me. If I had a  mission that was easy I probably wouldn’t depend on Him so much.  Probably think I know what I need to do and  do it on my own. Thinking that I was doing what God wanted and all the time  doing it in myself. That is what King Saul did and God left him. King David  needed God and David cried out to God. “The God of my rock; in him will I trust:he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my  refuge, my savior; you save me from violence.” (2 Samuel 22:3)

We can learn so much from the men and women in the Bible who  walk with God. The Lord was with them and working through them. Jesus Christ  the same yesterday, and today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8) The Holy Spirit is  alive in you and Jesus Christ sent Him to you. He wants to be part of your life  if you will let go of your life you can have His life.

The issue here is control. Let’s let go of the control  button and let’s let the Holy Spirit reign in our life. I do not know about you  but I do not have a learner’s permit to drive the Holy Spirit vehicle. I think  some of you think you do know everything there is to know about the Holy  Spirit. I like a good mystery and I like surprises that happen when you walk  the walk with Jesus Christ at the head. It’s an exciting adventure for all ages  from running a marathon in the rain forests to hang gliding through the  mountains. My ways are scary and costly they take me through the darkest jungles  of the Amazons to the lion pits in Africa and that does not interest me  anymore.

We are called sons of God and that means we can travel first  class with Jesus Christ as our pilot. We think because we did this horrible  thing that Jesus won’t forgive you. He said to the woman at the well. Does  anyone condemn you? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus  said unto her, Neither do I condemn you: go, and sin no more. (John 8:11)

Don’t make the reason for not entering in to what the Lord  has for you be ‘sin’. We all struggle with sin and cry out to God to help us.  With God’s help you can overcome any obstacle in your life. Read the heroes in  the Bible and you will find many sinners there. King David was and adultery and  murderer. Moses was a murderer, too. Some of our great preachers of this day have battle with addictions and sins. ‘Almighty LORD, you made heaven and earth  by your great strength and powerful arm. Nothing  is too hard for you. (Jeremiah 32:17)

Promises

Romans 8:37  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

1John 4:4  You are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because  greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

Romans 8:31  What shall we then say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Romans 8:1  There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ  Jesus.

Thank you, Lord for reminding me of answer prayer.  That you are the great I AM who takes care of  me and provides for my everyday needs. Who calls me his daughter and disciplines me in love.

I pray for the my brothers and sisters in the Lord that you awaken the  Holy Spirit in each one of them that they will seek your face and relinquish  their hold on their life to you Lord, Jesus Christ. That they will become more  than conquerors in you and take that step of faith to walk in the light as you  are in the light. So that they will shine like diamonds in the darkest of  nights to a world that does not know you Lord. In Jesus Christ name, I pray.  Amen.

For those who are in union with Christ, temptation and addictions are unable to touch us. Tobacco addiction is an addictive poison clearly harmful to our health and that itself makes a sin, hurts our testimony because it controls us which brings death and destruction. The Bible says, Sin when it is finished, brings forth death. Proverbs 5:22 says the evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him; the cords of his sin hold him fast. Jesus said that the Devil is a liar, thief, and murderer who only comes to kill, steal, and destroy .Scripture warns us that “If any man defiles the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” -1Corinthians 3:17.

Another big problem is when Parents , families, relatives and friends who get addicted to tobacco are controlled by their evil desires by setting bad examples for their children to follow and there are some other parents who will hide their addiction from their family members and pretend to be Godly and follow the hypocrite carnal path of lying, defending themselves living still a spiritually defeated Christian life and there are some who sit with their children and enjoy tobacco together as a family instead of sitting together for praying and enjoying quality time with family members. As parents we must teach our children not to be controlled by evil desires but to learn to resist and control them. James 4:7 says “Submit yourself therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you”.

Conclusion:God is waiting for you to come to Him .If you are using tobacco in any form, please be strong determined to stop NOW! You owe it to your loved ones, yourself and God to stop. I want to remind you Matthew 5:29-30 says if your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

Prayer:

Father, I come to you, confessing my sin ,repenting for my sins and asking for your forgiveness.

In the Mighty name of our Lord Jesus Christ, I surrender myself completely and I now renounce, break and loose myself and my family from all hereditary curses, and from all demonic bondage placed upon me as the result of sins, transgressions or iniquities through myself, my parents or any of my ancestors. I confess all the sins of my forefathers.

Father, I ask you to forgive me and my ancestors for any sin that has exposed me for this addiction and to live in bondage of sins. I command all evil spirits associated with any addictions to leave me in Jesus name.

In Jesus name I circumcise all my addiction thoughts and remove every pattern of tobacco addiction controlling me.

I now claim by faith that I am under divine protection and I cover myself with the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ to protect me from all addictions and evil desires.

I now confess that my body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, redeemed, cleansed and sanctified by the blood of Jesus. Therefore, Satan and any addictions has no place in me, and no power over me, through the blood of Jesus Christ. Lord I thank you for the provision of deliverance through the blood of Jesus Christ and the Gift of Life and I glorify your Name, all the days of my life. I thank you Jesus that you are the same God yesterday today and forever .Amen

About An Author:

Shaila D Touchton was born and raised in a well educated family in India and she has completed her Bachelor of Electrical & Electronics Engineering Degree from NMAMIT, India and other various Certifications Courses in Computers & Networking. She had worked for I.T and Engineering companies in the past and now she is a stay Home Mother and Christian writer contributing articles. She has self published three books using print-on-demand called “Christian Living”, “Seek God’s Truth” and “Living a Godly Life”. She has passion for writing Christian articles and has contributed many articles and blogs online. She has an incredible heart to serve the Lord and spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ through her writings. To contact Shaila, please email her at sdtouchton@gmail.com

Parents should never stop loving children and showing affection no matter how old the children’s are. Parents should never turn their back on them when the childrens are facing any issues. As a Parent it’s our responsibility to train our children and lead them to Christ by Obeying God’s Will. We Parents need to be a good example in our homes before our children.

In Jesus name, I confess that my children are taught by the Lord and are established in holy and righteousness.

Father, I plead the blood of Jesus upon my children and I bind all the spirits of rebellion, stubbornness around all my children in Jesus name.

Please protect my children wherever they are and wherever they go. Protect them from all sickness and diseases , from all harm ,from accidents and breakdowns, from the power of witchcraft and darkness, from all evil spirits and evil men , all strongholds ,from all sins and temptations, from all the attacks of Satan ,from all types of curses that have been spoken over my children, from every demonic spirit, and spiritual wickedness , from the spirit of fear, anxiety, depression, oppression, weariness, doubt, stress, bitterness, jealousy, unforgiveness, failure and poverty and from all calamities and natural disasters.

In Jesus name, I confess that no generational curses, hereditary sickness and diseases shall have any effect upon my children .My children are anointed with the blood of Jesus and are blessed abundantly and they shall bring glory to God and to family in Jesus name.

I confess that No evil will befall on my children nor any plague or terror will come near their dwelling for they are covered with the blood of Jesus.

I place the full armour of God on my children and surrender them to you . I call forth, the Name of Jesus, all of God’s plans and purposes for my children’s life. All this I ask in the mighty name of Jesus Christ Amen.

In Jesus name, I cover myself, my husband and my daughter and my cat and anything that belongs to us with the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ and I ask for giant warrior angels to protect me and my family members. I bind up  and block every demon, , every curses , Every stronghold of death and tragedy in my family, Every pattern of household witchcraft, Every evil pattern of poverty, every evil pattern, house shifting ,Every pattern of failure, every  evil spirits of landlord, every evil influential people, every  destructive anger and  revenge,  Every lying tongue against me and my family members ,Every bitterness that are planning to  destroy my family and my life, Every ancestral spirit and every fear and terror of the Every kind, every  satanic influence  be utterly destroyed and  broken in the name of Jesus, through his precious blood.

I bind, renounce and resist any troubles, quarrels, confusions satanic discipline, wickedness of landlord in the name of Jesus, through his precious blood.

I plead the blood of Jesus Christ against the evil landlords who is robbing us of our hard earned money and peace in any form.

I break free and lose myself and my family members from the grip and control of all evil family members, all evil landlords who wants to deceive and con us in the name of Jesus Christ. I come against anything, or anyone or any form that would move me and my family members from the place of our dwelling in Jesus name. I silence every accusing finger pointed at me and my family members in this house in the name of Jesus.

Every pattern of sorrow in this house, every pattern of failure in this house, every pattern of sickness in this house, every pattern of fighting in this house, every pattern of disaster in this house, every curse ever issued on this house and on our family members by anyone, every witchcraft in this house, every strongman of this house, every evil landlords break and release me and my family members, in the name of Jesus through his Blood.

Any hidden curses, any evil spirits, any demonic spirits, Any tongue of evil speaking ,failure and backwardness and Any evil manipulations sanctioned by the power of evil people against my life and  my family members life be scattered and   destroy in the name of Jesus and through his blood. Satan and evil spirits will not cross the Blood line of Jesus for now and all eternity.

In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I command a hedge of protection to be around our home where we dwell and speak blessings of restful sleep, pleasant dreams and recover financial blessings, peace, harmony and prosperity. Thank you God for all your mercies and for the answers of our prayers in Jesus name.

I ask this prayer in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ AMEN.

We all face failure in our lives at times; whether they are recurring fears, lost opportunities, possibly even moral failures.  One of mine is that I get nervous when speaking to groups when I feel like I’m being evaluated.  Then my breath gets short and my voice starts cracking.  I’m just not myself when that happens and I feel terrible afterwards.  It’s not like it happens all the time either.  In those situations I feel like Peter, when he walked on water and then began to sink when he got his eyes off Jesus.  I can hear Jesus saying…”Oh you of little faith”.

At those times…some of us start believing the enemy (satan).  He tells us that we’re worthless failures or that God does not care about us or even love us.  We tend to feel defeated and ready to give up and let the enemy win.  Though giving up and giving in to the lies of the enemy seems like the easy thing to do sometimes, is that what God wants us to do?

It’s hard to get up…especially when we try to do it on our own strength.  The good news is that we don’t have to do it on our own strength…we have a helper and that is Jesus and the Holy Spirit.  God does not want us to do anything on our might.  He does want us to take the initial step of faith, repent and then get up, however, He does not want us to do it on our own strength.  He wants us to give him our failures, fears and burdens and move forward.  Also, He does not want us to live in the past.  Many of us relive our failure a thousand times over and over in our thoughts.  We need to stop that.  The Bible says that we should take every thought captive into the obedience of Jesus Christ.  That means that He wants us to consciously cast away thoughts that do not come from Him.  We can’t prevent every thought from entering our minds, however, we have to make a decision on what to do with those thoughts.  Do we meditate on that bad thought or do we take that thought captive…do we bind it to a scripture and dismiss it?  Which route we chose is up to us.  Let’s choose right.

God wants us to get up when we experience failure or defeat.  Never ever is God saying to give in to defeat.  He is our biggest advocate who encourages us to get up because He is an overcomer and has already overcome this world. 

The Bible says…

 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet He did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.  Hebrews 4:14-16

 “Though a righteous man falls seven times, He rises again.” Proverbs 24:16.   

“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

 ‘Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ Isaiah 41:10

Cast your burden on the Lord [releasing the weight of it] and He will sustain you; He will never allow the [consistently] righteous to be moved (made to slip, fall, or fail). Psalm 55:22

God wants us to get up.  The key to success is not the act of falling down but that act of getting back up.

“But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.” 2 Chronicles 15:7

I wish that I could overcome some of my struggles in an instant, however, it’s more of a slow process most of the time.  Nevertheless, God wants us to be overcomers and He gave us all the tools to do that.  You might think that you will never overcome this illness, addition, fear, etc. in this life, but that is not what God says.  The Grace that saved us from sins consequences also provides us with the power to be overcomers and to live holy, righteous, successful lives.  It’s the lack of faith that is truly holding us back.  Jesus talked to his disciples many times about their lack of faith.  If we had the faith of just a mustard seed we could move mountains.  We could pray for the sick and they would be healed.

How do we get more faith?  We get it by spending more time in the word, in prayer and in thought with Jesus.  We get it by trusting Him when these situations come up and by surrendering our fears, our doubts, our past, our failure continually to him and giving him thanks for the victories.  We get it by little victories along the way when we step out in faith and trust God.  We get it by getting up one more time.  Let’s write down all that God blessed us with and read those blessings once a day for the next 30 days.  We need to train our minds toward God and rebuke the enemy who want us to live defeated lives.  Let’s start living a victorious life starting NOW!

Don’t give up on God because He has not given up on you.  THIS IS IMPORTANT!!!  You might feel that your sin is too big for God ever be able to forgive you.  That is a lie of the enemy.  God is not proud of our sins, however, He is always ready to receive us back if we repent and ask Him into our hearts.  You might say…I have sinned 500 times…I have done really bad things.  Repent, ask God to forgive you, and ask Jesus into your life…He is waiting.

Father, increase our faith so we may live the life you meant for us to live.  Amen!

Am I in Denial?  Signs you may be in Denial, the Deception and the Truth

We admitted that we were powerless over our addictions and compulsive behaviors and that our lives had become unmanageable.

“I can stop any time I want to.”  “I have it under control”  “I’m not hurting anyone.”  “I’m stronger than other people.”  “It really isn’t that bad.” “I don’t need to change”.

In recovery we call this denial.  For me that was always one of the laughable insults.

Denial is far from laughable. It is by far one of  the biggest weapon the enemy uses weaken us.  Because as long as we keep silent about our doubts, fears,  hurts, and hang-ups and limitations, the harder it is for us be in a position to say yes to the life God has for us.   It is hard to accept that people of faith can be in denial,  but I find it easier to accept the phrase self-deception.  Even the Bible hall of Famers were deceived, and suffered the effects of denial.  For this lesson we will take a look at the life of one such Bible hero,  review some of the signs of denial, its toll on our lives, and how the bible addresses the deceptions. 

The Bible tells the story about one of Israel’s judges, Sampson.   He literally had superhuman strength, and being a believer of God his worked to free his people from their enemy the Philistines.  He believed he was indestructible, and often abused the strength that God had given him for his own satisfaction.   His downfall came at the hands of a woman who was paid by his enemies to find out his weakness.  Delilah would coax Samson into telling her the secret of his strength and he would lie to her.   It should have been obvious to Sampson that this woman he desired so much was dangerous.  His denial kept him from seeing the truth. He finally gave in to Delilah manipulations and gave what she was after.  She then turned him over to his enemies blinded him and took him captive.

Romans 7:18 says, “ I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, my sinful nature.  For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.”    Which is step one:

One of Celebrate Recovery®’s acrostics for this step  is DENIAL will help us to recognize the signs that we are being in self deception.

Disables our feelings

Energy Lost

Negates Growth

Isolates us from God

Alienates us from relationships

Lengthens pain

Disables our feelings:

You may be in denial if your primary feelings are anger and rage.

Denial provides an escape from feeling.

Yet the feelings we are trying to escaping are what we need to examine to be free.

“They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of destructive habits – for a man is a slave of anything that has conquered him” (2 Peter 2:19 GNB).

Energy Lost:

You may be in denial if you  feel physically or emotionally tired most of the time.

Denial has a side effect of anxiety which physiologically takes a toll on our bodies.  We may find ourselves trying to run from our past, dreading the future, or fighting against change.   

Yet, it is only in the present, today that we can make positive change, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

“He frees the prisoners…: he lifts the burdens from those bent down beneath their loads.” (Psalm 146: 7-7)

Negates growth:

You may be in denial if you feel as if things are not getting any better.

Denial keeps us sick.  We are as “sick as our secrets”.  Yet we cannot grow in recovery until we are ready to step out of denial  and into truth.

“They cried to the Lord in their troubles, and he rescued them!  He lead them from their darkness and shadow of death and snapped their chains.”  (Psalm 107: 13-14 TBL).

Isolates us from God:

You might be in denial if you feel as though you are in the dark.

Yet God’s light shines on the truth and it is in truth that we are set free.

“God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.  If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in darkness, we live and od not live by the truth. But I we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his sun, purifies us from all sin.” (1 John 1:5-7)

Alienates us from our relationships:

You might be in denial you tell yourself, “If they really knew me they would not accept me”.

We may use defensiveness, deception, blaming, and secrets to be accepted.   Yet it is being truthful and open that we learn to accept one another in relationships.

“Stop Lying to each other; tell the truth, for we are parts of each other and when we lie to each other we are hurting ourselves.” (Ephesians 4:25 TBL).

Lengthens the pain:

You might be in denial if  you are sick of being in pain.

We think that denial protects us from pain but really allows it to eventually turn to shame and guilt.  Yet God desires break us free from the shame and guilt.

“God’s promise:  “I will give you back your health and heal your wounds.” (Jeremiah 30:17 TBL).

The bible tells us that “You can’t heal a wound by saying it’s not there!”  Jeremiah 6:14 (TBL).

You may want to consider addressing denial by asking yourself the following questions:

Again we say welcome to Celebrate recovery.  Today by being here you have taken another step forward in your recovery.  Keep coming back!

If you like this blog or post please remember to share it with someone.  We encourage your feedback, comments will treated as confidential.

   Am I in Denial 2012 by

RAMONA TAYLOR is licensed under a

Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Based on a work at “Breaking Free“.

The Lonely Artist an Endadangered Speices

Maybe you can relate: People didn’t always “get” me, and I often didn’t “get” people. When I broke down the walls and embraced the idea that God had created me to be an artist I found such freedom. At first I enjoyed the feeling of being invisible. Observing life as it unraveled around me as I sketched on my pad, or worked with paint in the quiet of my studio. After sending so much time in the “noise of living” it was a guilty pleasure to enjoy the privilege of solitude that I could enjoy as an artist. People didn’t require conversation if they saw me with a sketch pad. I had license now to close the door of and spend time in my studio. If I could remain faithful, and trust the mystery of the process, rather than get caught up in trying to validate my productivity, it felt RIGHT!

But was not the whole picture!

As I grew into my identity as an artist , my curiosity and attention to what God was showing me took off. I found myself in unlikely places meeting fascinating people. My artistic interests became inclusive as I rediscovered color, writing and music. Once I started talking about my creative ideas, I found that there were a lot of un-proclaimed artist who lit up when we talked. I enjoyed finding storytellers, artists and others who had a unique way of bringing to light that which begged to be revealed. When I was in the company of these people there was a familiarity. It didn’t matter what season of creativity these artists were in, I experienced the connection. The one that whispered to my soul that we were part of the same “tribe”.

If you don’t relate right now , that is OK. See I think ours is a tribe made up of people that are called to step out into unknown places, to recognize mystery, and to uncover the truth as we open ourselves to listen to God. It is a powerful gift. It is precisely because of this that the enemy opposes us at every turn, telling half truths and lies to us, using success to side track us, drawing us into isolation and away from relationship, casting doubt, feeding jealousy, telling us we are not so special, telling us that no one gets us…

So.. with that in mind, I am excited to find out a little more about you. drop me a comment to let me know a little bit about your journey so far

Blessing to you

What do you think? If this post got you thinking please remember to share it.

2011 by

The climb at first sight seems unattainable and risky but when you include a team of experts with your calculations than you see the end in sight. This is true with anything you do from scaling that rock wall to chartering a plane to Haiti’s; you plan using others input to make your plan come together. So, you would also need others to guide you on your journey to your heart.

My experts consist of counselors, pastors, Holy Spirit, Bible, authors, and church family they know me best. Trying to make this journey on my own would take me nowhere really fast. I tried that once and it was a disastrous to think I could accomplish what others do in a day, month, a year. Silly really…

Why did I think I could do this on my own? Let me give an example that the Holy Spirit gave me:
Looking across Lake Bountiful (my name for lake) I saw Jesus Christ on the opposite shore. I thought gazing at the water it would be a short distance I can swim this. So, I set out at an easy pace and found that there was a under current and looking up at the shore I wasn’t any closer. Getting tired I turned back and found myself back at my side of the lake. Scanning the shore I notice a boat and pulled it over and got in and set the oars to start my journey again. Again, my focus was not on Jesus Christ but my ability to pull on the oars to glide across the water. Looking behind me I wasn’t going across but going down stream. “AWWW!” Turning the boat around and focusing on the horizon and rowing at the same time was hard and tiring. I was caught in whirl pool spinning me out of control and was back on my side of the shore. “Aw!” Dropping to my knees I cried “Lord, help! I can’t do this on my own. It looked so simple. I thought I could do this. I was wrong. Please, Lord Help.” Standing up I gazed across the water and I found myself staring into my Father’s eyes the bluest of blues and I reach out and I was in His arms and He held me tight.

When you experience the arms of Christ and His forgiveness it transforms you to another place and person. All of sudden you are not alone in your plans for your future you are asking for others input. You are praying for God’s will be done in your life. The Holy Spirit pricks your heart and you begin to change and forgive. Why? The Lord forgave me of my sins for He gave up His life for me. So, I can have a life with Him. A relationship that brings tears to my eyes… When I think of all He has done for me and is still doing for me; my heart wells with love.

My Jesus is real and there is nothing I can do that will send Him away. He says in his word that He will never leave me or forsake me. (Hebrews 13:5) The Lord has a plan for me for hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11) The Lord fights for me. (Deuteronomy 3:21) There is hope for a tree if it be cut down it will sprout again.(Job 14:7)

Do you know that the door is always open (John 10:9) for you. When you approach this door do it with boldness (Hebrews 4:16). Focus your eyes on the prize which is Jesus Christ. God raised us up with Jesus Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms. (Ephesians 2:6) We who are sealed with Christ have everlasting life. But, you who do not know Jesus Christ and is still playing at the gate will have fire and damnation. We do not know when are time is up on this earth we can die tonight in a car crash. Do you want to take that chance?

The Lord is waiting for you to come out of this world. I lived in this world through some horrific times do I want to repeat that time? No!!! My time now is hard with unemployment but the Lord keeps blessing me with His presence and His provisions. Life is good. My hope is in the Lord. I trust Him with my life and future. I can’t imagine life without Him. He is the hand that guides my walk I do nothing without Him. Jesus is light to my darkness.

Come to the waters of Lake Bountiful and give your life to the one whom will turn your tears into hope. In His arms you will find rest from your burdens. In His arms you will find peace that passes all understanding. In His arms you find refuge and strength in times of trouble. In His arms your heart will flourish and grow in the likeness of your Father. In His arms you will have eternal life in Jesus Christ.

Thank you, Lord that I do not have to do this life alone. You have given me eyes to see and ears to hear. You have given me a church family that prays for me and we have life together.

I pray Lord, that you draw your people to yourself and impart your Holy Spirit to live in their lives. Give them wisdom and strength to walk this path. Put your angels around about them keeping them safe. Bless them, extend their boundaries, and keep them from evil in Jesus Christ name. Amen.

Birthday of Jesus is the time to remember that In Bethlehem a savior is born who is a Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Birthday of Jesus means Love came down and was born at Christmas.

Birthday of Jesus is the time of ringing bells, cakes and candles.

Birthday of Jesus is the month of snow & Songs, Carols & Joys.
Birthday of Jesus showed us to live with charity, forgiveness, faith, humility, sacrifice, truth, peace, happiness and service.

Birthday of Jesus reminds us that Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

Birthday of Jesus reminds us that Jesus Christ is the resurrection and the life, the way and the truth.

Birthday of Jesus reminds us that we have fellowship with God

Birthday of Jesus reminds us that we are the ambassador for Christ Jesus.

Birthday of Jesus reminds us that we can live holy and blameless in God’s sight.

Birth day of Jesus means God is with us through Holy Spirit.

Birthday of Jesus reminds us that in Jesus Christ; we are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. 

Birthday of Jesus reminds us that in Jesus Christ we have eternal life, redemption and forgiveness.

Birthday of Jesus means a savior came to the world to save us from sins and to seek the lost.

Jesus is the greatest gift at Christmas!

 Dear brothers and sisters let us Invite Jesus Christ into our home and heart and experience Christmas with families and friends with heavenly blessings. I wish a delightful Christmas and a happy New Year!

Psalm 139 is a wonderful song of praise to God. Verse 14 says, “I will praise thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” The Psalmist notes that he is imperfect, but that God’s thoughts toward him are wonderful (v. 17), because he will guide anyone through anything, from the usual difficulties – such as when Paul learned God’s strength was made perfect in His weakness – to those not so usual.

Each of us is a miracle, created by God for a specific purpose. He doesn’t want there to be imperfections; He created this world perfect, but then sin entered intot he world through mankind’s free will. So, now, there are people who experience all sorts of difficulties in their lives because of the curse of sin which caused this world to become broken down. It’s not any one person’s sin that causes it – it’s the imperfection which came when this perfect world had imperfection brought into it.

So, because of that imperfection, there are people like me born with low vision (in my case, from Dandy-Walker Syndrome) or hearing (in my case, bad enough to need a hearing aid.) There are those with other things physical or mental. And, there are even those whose creation is really unique – those born with a mix of anatomical traits considered both male and female, or which are atypical for each. Such people are known as intersex.

Intersex has nothing to do with sexual orientation, by the way; that has no relevance to this. In fact, it has nothing to do with homosexuality or the transgender movement. These are among numerous major fallacies. about it. The Bible says nothing specific about the issue, except that obvioulsy we must show the same love Jesus showed everyone. Numerous websites devoted to the issue merely seek to raise awareness of the issue and of difficulties encountered in society which are related to it.

We can’t always figure out why God chose what He did for us. I have a few ideas, based on what I’ve accomplished, of why He gave me low vision, low hearing, a bit of cerebral palsy (enough my feet point out a touch & I couldn’t do little things like open cans or jars as early as some kids), and possible even a touch of mild Asperger’s Syndrome. But the important thing is that He is the God of all comfort who provides a peace which passes understanding when we trust Him to. I’ve been able to do things I never would have, and help people I wouldn’t have, without these – some of which nobody else would have. Even though my body isn’t perfect, like anyone else, I’m a miracle.

God’s most amazing miracles surely include those connected with His birth, death, and resurrection. He came to die for each of us, to take the punishment for our sins, mine as well as others. Then, He rose from the dead, having the victory over everything.

For Him to do this, of course, He had to do as John 1:14 says He did – He “became flesh and dwelt among us.” He was fully God and fully man. While here, He showed great care for the hurting people of this world. While the Pharisees, the religious crowd, cared only for the usual and tried to impress others, Jesus cared for those who were unusual in some way. He performed many healings, not only of physical things but also of broken hearts.

Some of those hearts were broken by the treatment which the Pharisees gave, I’m sure. But, these people recognized that Jesus was special. He was different. He and god the Father are one. (John 10:30) God had ordained the Law in the commandments to teach the people that they couldn’t follow even those laws all the time, because of the nature of their hearts. So, they had to trust Him by faith in order to be saved. Salvation has always had a faith component. However, the Pharisees, as people often do, turned it into a totally works-based system and condemned those who went against it.

They even thought they had answers for why God created people such as the blind man in John chapter 9. They asked a strange question of Jesus – whether the man or his parents had sinned that he was born blind. Jesus told them that neither one had; the man was born blind that the works of God might be made manifest in him. Then, Jesus healed the blind man. The Pharisees were so upset that they threw him out of the synagogue; this man then wound up becoming a follower of Jesus.

We don’t know much about this man as a follower, but his testimony must have been amazing. He had the same testimony as anyone can who has experienced something other than the usual from their physical body. That testimony is that Jesus can and will overcome anything if they trust Him, and help them through anything.

This doesn’t mean that Jesus will heal everyone of physical problems while living. For some, healing won’t come until He calls them home to His perfect Heaven, at which time I will have perfect sight and hearing, those confined to whellchairs will be able to run, and so on. I know of one young man, in fact, who must wear braves on his legs. When he reaches Heaven, the first thing he plans to do is leap 100 feet in the air.

It does, however, mean that Jesus will give anyone the ability to get through anything with His help. It also means that – while not everything is good in this world – all those things we face will work together for good to them that love God. (Romans 8:28) God has a way of taking anything and using it for good. Even the bad things which people do because they have not learned of His love. God lives in each believer through the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 113-14, 4;30; John 14-16, etc.) So, it is up to each believer to let Him guide them in the truth, being control by His Spirit. Thankfully, He will always love and cleanse us from sin when we turn to Him by faith. (1 John 1:9-2:1)

What He can’t take are peoples’ sins. No sin can enter Heaven. Heaven is a perfect place which God established so there would be no suffering, no tears, no pain, no parting, no sorrow. No bad stuff can enter there. So, He had to find a way for people like me and you and everyone to get there. Because, while our imperfections aren’t because of our own sin, we do all sin and come short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23) that means each of us comes short of God’s perfect Heaven.

God gave us each a wonderful gift, though. The wages of sin – what we earn because of our sin – is death, separation from God forever in a place called Hell. But, the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)

That is the awesome gift which we must remember to celebrate, whether or not we celebrate Jesus’ birthday on December 25 or not. That gift of life forever in that perfect Heaven is free; all a person has to do is to receive it.

People have been mistreated throughout history because of differences. That mistreatment comes through actions of various sorts; words play a part, too, but focusing only on surface things like names can make one as bad as the Pharisees, who refused to do as God commands and look at the heart. The important thing is that God loves each of us because of who we are on the inside, not because of what name we go by.

The way to have that personal relationship with God – so you can get His help here and also go to His perfect Heaven someday – is to simply “believe on the Lord Jesus Christm, and thou shalt be saved.” (Acts 16:31) Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Romans 10:13) That whosoever means anyone – any person can put their name in there because God is talking about them.

We may each have different physical characteristics. But, we each have one thing in common – a need for God’s love and forgiveness. Our differences are not because of sin – they are because God created each of us in a unique way so that we can glorify Him in who we are and what we do. However, we all do hve sin – myself included. We fall short of God’s perfect glory.

God doesn’t demand works like the Pharisees, though. That would be unfair anyway because some people could work more than others; some can’t do any. God made sure it was all by grace through faith in Him. It is not of works, lest any man should boast. (Ephesians. 2:8-9)

Because it is by faith alone in Christ alone, each of us is only a single, sincere prayer of repentence to Jesus away from eternal life. The words don’t matter – but it can go something like this. “Dear Lord Jesus, I know I’m a sinner. I can’t reach your perfect Heaven myself. But, I know you died for my sins and rose from the dead. You took my punishment so I could get to heaven and also have life with you now, so you can guide me and help me on earth. Lrod Jesus, today I choose to turn from my sins and trust you to save me. I call on your name, asking you to save me from my sins and come into my heart to live. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

That’s all there is to it. We don’t know what God has planned – I heard about a condition from an online friend and I considered a number of ways to do it. Suddenly, this blog came out of my thoughts and prayers. I know that whatever happens, though, the Christian life is a great adventure in trusting the Lord to see you through everything. He has always been faithful to me, and He wants everyone to not only call on Him but also to let Him guide them in showing His love to others and telling of His great gift to them.

We see everyday that millions of people are dying around the world every second. Within the Christian faith, there is a lot of confusion regarding what happens after death. Some people claim death is final some claim life begins after death, some claim everyone is in sleep until the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, some others believe that when some one dies instantly they are judged according to their fruits ,few others believe that they go to be with Christ immediately after death. Death is really a mysterious topic to be discussed.

Types of death: God says the wages of sin is DEATH not immortal life (Romans 6:23) but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23). The scripture says that there are three types of death. When each person dies on this earth it’s called physical death, a separation of the spirit from the body is called second type of death which is called spiritual death (Isaiah 59:1-2)and the third type of death is called eternal death which is permanent separation of humanity from God (2 Thessalonians 1:9).

God told Adam and Eve they would die if they ate of the forbidden fruit. (Genesis 2:17). When Adam disobeyed God, he experienced immediate spiritual death, which caused him to hide from Lord God among the trees of the garden (Genesis 3:8). Later, Adam experienced physical death (Genesis 5:5). The physical death has entered into the world with Adam’s sin (Romans 5:12) affected all living things.

When a righteous man dies: Deaths of saints are precious in Gods eyes (Psalms 116:15). When a righteous man dies he enter into peace (Isaiah 57:2) and into eternal life(Matthew 25:46)and will fear no evil(Psalms 23:4), he has a hope in his death(Proverbs 14:32).

Few righteous man in bible are Abraham( Genesis 25:8 Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age , an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people. Isaac(Genesis 35:29 And Isaac gave up the ghost, and died, and was gathered unto his people, being old and full of days: and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him) Moses(Deuteronomy 34:5 So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD) Jacob(Genesis 49:33 And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people).

When unrighteous man dies: God has no pleasure in the death of a wicked person but desires them to turn from their wicked ways so that they can live (Ezekiel 33:11). (Ezekiel 18:32).The wicked and unrighteous man dies in their sins (John 8:21)without hope(Proverbs 11:7).Their death will be sudden and unexpected(Proverbs 29:1) and their remembrance shall perish from the earth(Job 18:17, Proverbs 10:7).

Eg. Of few unrighteous men in the bible are Herod, Judas Iscariot, and Jezebel

Types of heaven: The FIRST heaven is the atmosphere or sky that surrounds the earth.

The SECOND heaven is the physical universe that has stars, planets and so on.

The THIRD heaven is where God and his throne resides. Scriptures say that Jesus Christ went to the Third Heaven (2 Corinthians 12:2-4) to prepare paradise for His Elect.

Elijah and Enoch are in heaven: scriptures say that the believer in Christ is escorted by angels at death to a place of peace .By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him. (Hebrews 11:5)

And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him (Gen 5:24).

And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a

Chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. (2 Kings 2:11)

John 3:13 says that no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

Soul sleep is unbiblical: Death is described as sleep. There are many scriptures to say that people who die are conscious in Heaven. Jesus Christ said to his disciples that Lazarus had fallen asleep (John 11:11, 14). Stephen’s death is described as falling asleep (Acts 7:59). Paul describes Christians who had died in Thessalonica as “asleep” (1 Th 4:13). In the Old Testament, we are told that David “slept with his fathers” (1 Kings 2:10).

Ephesians 3:14-15: For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named. There are many scriptures that Challenge the Concept of Soul Sleep such as Genesis 35:18 Luke 16:19-31,Luke 23:43,John 11:25-26 ,1 Peter 3:18-19 ,Revelation 6:9-10.

The soul leaves the body at death: The souls of the unrighteous go to a place of eternal torment until the Last Day and The souls of the righteous go to be with the Lord in Paradise (Phil 1:22, 2 Cor 5:6-8)

Jesus tells us in Mathew 10:28 that the soul survives death, even though someone may kill the body. Jesus soul did not remain in his dead body. The Gospels tell us that at the moment of his death, Jesus prayed, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” and then he yielded up his spirit (Luke 23:46; Mt 27:50) .Acts 7:59-60 describes Stephens death: “And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep. Luke 16:19-31

Bible says souls can die:

Ezekiel 18:4: Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.

Acts 2:27: Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

Acts 3:23: And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.

Psalm 55:18: He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me, For there were many against me.

James 5:20: Let him know, that he who converts the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

Psalm 16:10 For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.

Matthew 10:28, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul .But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Soul sleep is biblical: People who are dead lie in the grave and know nothing, think no thoughts, have no emotions, possess no consciousness and are waiting for the resurrection. When we die we don’t immediately go to heaven or hell for we sleep in the grave until the awaiting of the resurrection of the dead. There are many Scriptures say about soul sleep: some of them are Job 14:10 ,Job 14:14 ,Psalm 6:5 ,Psalm 49:15 ,Daniel 12:2 ,John 5:28-29 ,John 3:13 ,Acts 2:29-34 ,2 Peter 3:4

The Scripture says the dead will sleep in the dust of the earth (Psalm 13:3) and sleep the sleep of death (Deut 12:1-2) and they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep(Job 14:12)”unto the coming of the Lord” (1 Thess 4:13-15). Further John 5:28-29 says, “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” Ecclesiastes 9:5 makes clear that for the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.

Few will be able to enter to heaven: Scriptures say that many are called but few are chosen. (Mathew 22:14).Heaven is meant for those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. (Revelation 21:27) and the names of saints are written in heaven(Luke 10:20) .In order to go to heaven .we must believe Jesus Christ ( John 11:26) shed His precious blood, died, was buried, and rose again 3 days later. We need to be born of water and of the Spirit and get baptized into Christ for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38) and strive to enter the straight gate(Luke 13:23-24) by being obedient to the will of God(John 14:15) and living holy and blameless before him(Ephesians 1:4).

Matthew 7:21-23 :“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.”

Conclusion: Repent, Believe & Live for JESUS.

Does My Work Give Credit to God?

“Knowing someone” has taken on a new dimension. Facebook and the internet make it possible for a person to spread themselves in many directions. I have to confess that I get a thrill seeing all my stuff pop up when I Google “Ramona Taylor artist”. But at the same time it bugs me when I meet someone who knows who I am and I am confident that I have never met them. I recently read an interview of Dakota Fanning she said often she would meet people who would say on introduction, “I know who you are.” Dakota exhorted that she would still like the opportunity to introduce herself. I think the ability to put so much of ourselves out on the social network, makes it possible to relate to what Dakota is talking about. While those who know Dakota may only know her by her public profile, it can be the same for all of us. And in a sense it can feel like a double life. (A real life and a media life).

I have to ask myself if I live a double life. Am I using the gifts God has given me for personal gain or for Him? It is when I am in this dilemma that I wonder if I am even being used by God.

So I put myself in check. Of course I am a sinner, to say otherwise would be lying, and I am reminded each time I sit in an award reception hoping for a prize, that my heart (motives) are often impure. I am unstable when I am seeking recognition from the world and the desire to Glorify God. Not that fame is bad.. (more…)