Message for the day…

Hold fast to God, for there is nothing quite like Him. Nothing…

Hold fast to the truth, for truth will not betray…

Hold fast, hold fast, and all you imagine may He surpass…

Hold fast, I pray thee, I pray…

Do you hear the voice of God?

Do you? I can’t tell you how difficult it is to discern God from….OTHER.

There are millions of people today that believe they hear from God. Some are in insane asylums. No kidding. Some are just ordinary people on the streets. Some attend church, and feel it their obligation to consistently consult the pastor regarding his sermons. Some minister to the church. Some lead revivals. Some sit at home and preach.

But, who really HEARS the voice of God? Some people practice new age ministry and hear the voice of God as something other than God. Sometimes Satan disguises himself as God. So how the heck are you supposed to know what God IS and what He isn’t?

After all, in the bible it talks of the end of times, when Satan or the antichrist or whatever you want to call him, will disguise himself in such a way as to appear as an angel of light, as Christ himself. He will perform miracles and the like. He will even be able to make fire appear from the heavens. Will he also be able to slay people with the Holy Spirit?

Will he appear as kundalini, or the fire that climbs up the shaft of our spines as a serpentine Shiva? Do you even know what I am talking about?

Some of you may, and some of you may not. There is so much talk of what God is and is not these days, it’s enough to give an honest person an anxiety attack. It’s enough to have them running away from God, not flocking to Him. All the arguing about God has people fleeing the church, or arguing amongst each other.

It has people panicking about devils and the dark side and all sorts of things, rather than paying attention to the one thing God wants you to do most…love one another as God loves you, and love the Lord your God above all else.

(sigh)

Isn’t that what Christ wants you to do? Isn’t that what the bible tells you to do? Isn’t that what the dance of life is all about? Loving one another?

Who cares about the rest?

Seriously people. Do not spend your whole lives condemning one another. Giving hours of lecture on what is and what is not right. Here is what you need to do.

Love the Lord your God above all else, and Love one another as you would yourself. And you better love yourself as God commanded.

Stay away from immorality. Be a godly person. Was Christ godly? Yes, so use His example because that is what the good book tells you to do. How hard is that?

“Blessed is he man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods...”

As for this life, it is meaningless. God tests us, and we see that we are like animals. We see that all things pass, and they are not worth attaching to. We see that the flesh is nothing to be trusted. We see that our salvation awaits us in heaven. We see that there is nothing better than for us to enjoy the gifts God has given us, until the day we retire into His loving care.

Does the bible tell us to seek out supernatural gifts? No, it does not. The same destiny that happens to the supernatural man happens to the plain one. Have you seen a supernatural man ascend into heaven like Jesus Christ? No, you have not.

So do this. Bank on our Savior, because He is the one that will lead you into the arms of God. As for all this other nonsense, ponder where it comes from. Deliberate on it. There are many copy cats out there, but only one true God. You can take a manmade pill or a supernatural one, but they will all get you to the same place…no where. Only God will get you to God.

There was a bell named Jeze,

She thought she was so fine,

She came to church to worship,

She nearly blew my mind.

I set her up a pedestal,

And gave her all my wine,

The next thing that I knew,

My heart and soul became blind.

Christ is simple. Worship is the act of pleasing our Lord through faith. Worship is a means of bringing our salvation to us through Jesus Christ our shepherd.

Unfortunately, for many people, worship has become complicated. Why?

There is a lot of false information available today blinding the hearts and souls of Christians and non-believers everywhere.

Some believe they must commit to works for salvation.

Some believe they must tithe or they will suffer eternal damnation.

Some believe they must recognize the “special gifts” bestowed on their pastors and honor them or they are committing a grave sin or error in judgment.

The only person you need honor and worship is Christ. You need live a simple, holy, Christ like life.

This is not to say you should not participate in your church or religious organization. However, when your organization pushes you to learn or do things that make you feel uncomfortable, beware. There may be forces at work other than holy ones.

In modern society, spirits of power and control lurk everywhere. They will even force you into cult-like practices.

If someone is yelling at you to shout in tongues, and to practice your tongues every day and in your vehicle, proclaiming you to be a warrior, beware.

Jesus would not shout at you and tell you that you must practice your tongues and make you feel uncomfortable. He would not force people to feel an obligation to come up with words of knowledge.

He would not force a congregation to feel pressure to come up with healings week after week.

No. Jesus was a gentle, albeit passionate man. Sure, he showed anger at appropriate times, like when the moneychangers were abusing the temple.

But, to ordinary Christians, that desired nothing more than to serve Him, he offered love and compassion.

He said, God, our Father, would send the Comforter, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is responsible for sending our blessings. God, the Father, through the Spirit, anoints us.

He does not shout at us.

Jesus did not exalt himself, explaining to his congregation what a special gift he was from the Father. Sure, He knew He was the son of God. But He did not proclaim, “I am the Son of God, I am a special gift. I come to you with my box of treasures. I have these great gifts. I went to this place with them, but I did not give them to these people, because they shunned me, so, I waited and waited…when I came here, these people wanted to control me, so I told these people, you are out of your mind, you don’t know what you are doing, but I do. I am anointed by God, so either you let me take over or I leave, because I am the special one, the new controller.”

That sounds like a threat. That sounds like boasting, or at the very least, a power and control issue. “And they were so glad I took over, they were weeping.”

What Jesus did was start preaching. He said preach to the people that accept you, and leave when you are not welcome. Period. He said do not call me good, because God is good. Only God. Yes, he was the Son of God, and when the time was right, this was revealed, but not in a way that was over-controlling, or in a manner that suggested praise go to anyone but God. Jesus was very humble. 

Glorify GOD GOD GOD GOD GOD GOD GOD GOD GOD. Do not boast of your gifts. We are snails. I hate to say it.

If anything prophetic comes out of me, well it certainly isn’t my doing.

I can’t tell you how ignorant I yam.

And, if I make a mistake while speaking, I am truly sorry.

It seems in modern society, there is a tendency toward this spirit of power and control. It is a cult-like spirit. People either follow the spirit, and the spirit gains enormous credibility and power, or they do not. If you do not, you are shunned, banished, exiled.

You lose credibility.

The spirit is a charmer, has magnetic influence and power. It can gather great congregations together in the name of Christ. It can even have the powers of miracles at its disposal. Worse, it can point out the flaws in obvious manifestations of power that are truly not of Christ, new age type religions or non-religion altogether. This makes the spirit appear even more “real.”

But, is it REALLY of God?

I think this spirit can even appear in sincere organizations, wanting to do the will of God, supporting people that are honestly aspiring to help God, true ministries. How easy it is to get carried away in the sickness of power and control.

It will find ways to support money, power and control. It will emphasize the wrong things. It (the spirit) will twist something about doctrine.

The Holy Spirit may make a touchdown; miracles may be performed, but is it really God?

If you truly hear God, and something feels wrong, what do you do if you find yourself among such a ministry? Do you speak out? Do you watch and wait?

You wait on the Lord and see what he does? What do you think?

Have you ever had this experience?

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance…Romans5:3 LNT

Endurance, perseverance, steadfastness…they all mean the same thing…patience!

Indeed, we are a fast food nation, a fast food world. Everything that happens seems to happen in record time. We want a response now! We want to do things…now! We need resolution (you guessed it) now!

We want instant gratification. We learn that instant gratification is the solution to our anxiety and worry (it is not).

Gratification comes in many forms, for example:

1. A haircut.

2. A television or internet program.

3. Food, (although fast food is sometimes slow food).

4. Sex.

5. Violence (which can produce instant terror, instant gratification is not always though of in a + light).

Despite the availability of instant gratification God often asks us to endure.

WHY GOD?

God says this:

WAIT ON THE LORD.

Why is it, that our Lord and Savior requires patience? Why can’t we have it all NOW?

Well for starters, if we had everything we wanted right now, we would have nothing to motivate us to live another day. Really, how boring would life be? Think of a child that gets a new toy, and tires of it within a week or two. What does the child do after that?  They often say, “Mommy, I am bored!”

Think of Adam and Eve. They lived in camp paradise. They had it all, everything they could desire, and yet…there was temptation. There was unrest. Some consider this unrest their unwillingness to submit to the will of God. This is partly true perhaps. A lot of our disagreement and need for instant gratification comes from our unease, or our unrest. Our need to keep busy, our inability to submit to the will of God.

A lot of our need for more, so said Satan, Lord of Darkness, comes from temptation, the need for instant gratification of petty wants and desires. These are needs we have for selfish gain, rather than the desire to glorify God. What did Eve desire? Eve in a moment of weakness wanted more knowledge, or wisdom she perceived as providing  instant gratification. She wanted it all…NOW.

And, what happened? She lost everything. Paradise, eternity, her beloved connection to God. Instant gratification of her essential self fulfilled a moment’s desire, and lost her paradise. A selfish desire, a desire to put the self first, to empower the self before God, lead to destruction.

Let us not forget our purpose in patience is also to learn to glorify God, which in turn allows us to be glorified in God.

In return for Adam and Eve’s im-patience, they received a life of suffering, hardship, hard times, and hard work.

Just as infants require a long time to grow and learn, so too does all of mankind. God loves His people. He created us all in His image. He wants to make us fit for Him, for eternal grace. For eternity.

As you can easily see, Adam and Eve were not ready. They fell. But, there IS good news! God wants us to succeed. Thus, we must endure, with patience.

More good news…Christ is on our side. The only thing we have to do is have faith. All you have to do is become a long distance runner for faith. Believe in your Lord and Savior Christ Jesus. Take up an oath for eternity.

And, you will receive instant gratification, in many ways. You will receive:

(1) The continuing support and adoration of your Lord and Savior.

(2) A promise of salvation.

(3) Forgiveness.

(4) The answers to your prayers.

(5) Unconditional love.

(6) Great joy.

(7) Compassion.

(8) Grace.

(9) Mercy.

(10) Eternity.

What more can you ask for, really?

Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart. Wait, I say on the Lord. – Psalms 27:14

Who is the wisest of all? I’ll give you a hint…it rhymes with pod.

We have zero wisdom. Zero. All wisdom comes from our Lord. In fact, sometimes I laugh that I would even speak, because I know for a fact that I know…no thing. However, it is my great hope that at some point the Holy Spirit will come in and cover me… or help me find a word that will speak to someone.  Surely, my wisdom is lacking.

There are dozens of books written by infamous…famous…well-known people that tell us all about Christ, and God. That further us along on our journey to God. It dismays me terribly however, when people tell me they are bored or tired of hearing, “It’s all in the bible, just read the bible. Read the gospel.” I hear, “The bible is old, I’ve already read that, I know what that means!”

HOW THAT DISMAYS ME! What a dismal thing to feel or say! How blind are our eyes and deaf are our ears. You see, there is no one wiser than our Lord. And, even though the bible was written through the imperfect filters of man’s hands, it still contains golden nuggets of truth, the wisdom of our Lord and Savior…and I will bet you even if you are a minister that is well-versed in the bible, someone that has read it three dozen times, you have not reaped all the bible has to offer. Come on now…

Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosoher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe…1Corinth1:20

I feel as though I have been tongue tied for a couple of days. A lot of false starts. A million starts but nothing to finish. It’s during these times when my tongue is twisted I find the grace of God rains down on my children. They say the wisest things, they are filled with the wisdom of God. My son becomes more eloquent than an educated orator. He sings a sonnet sweet as a spring breeze that stirs up the air…and the living water flows. A spontaneous gesture of reverence for the Kings Dominion.

It never ceases to amaze me, how wise our gracious Lord is, and how unfailing His love is for us. When we are weak and flailing, he delights in us, and rains blessings from His throne above. Praise the Lord, and the glorious splendor of His wise dome.

It’s funny. More often than not, the words that pop out of my children’s mouth end up turning me to scripture…in the bible. And, what happens? Our Lord, in his graciousness, provides me with NEW insight and NEW interpretation of his work. Does that mean that I am some radical genius with special insight to our Lord?

Please. But, here is the thing. Christ wants to have an intimate encounter with YOU. He wants to speak to YOU. And, the best way for Him to reach YOU is through His WORD. So, if you get down on your knees in prayer every day (which I am sure you do right?) and ask for Him to reveal Himself to YOU, He is going to say…read my WORD.

That’s the bible folks. And, in the process of reading the bible, He is going to reveal to you new interpretations of scripture, that will be applicable to your life, and your unique circumstance, and your day. Or, you will understand the universal context in which that scripture applies to the world today. Or, if you’ve never tried it, try getting three or four different versions of your bible, like The Message, The Keyword Bible, and The New International Version, and read the same passages, and see if you don’t catch a new meaning of the Bible.

Here’s a good way to confirm what the Lord has to say to you. If you receive a word from your prayer, and open one bible, and open one or two to the same passage…Your Lord is giving you WISDOM. Pay attention.

Keep praying. READ your bible. Have you read your bible from start to finish? Great. Do it again.

Do you REALLY know what the scripture means?

Are you 100% CONFIDENT you know the hidden truths behind the Lord’s messages to you?

ARE YOU REALLY SURE YOU ARE AS WISE AS GOD AND REALLY KNOW WHAT GOD MEANT WHEN HE SENT THE WORD? Don’t you think it deserves another look?

The scholars and orators have interpreted it, sure. So has your pastor. But when is the last time YOU took a look at it, line by line, and SAT WITH GOD to pray about it, and its application to your life?

Pray with God daily. Read your bible. It has the answers you need, and God does too. He’s the wisest of all…

Bless you!

Today was a banner day, of panic, of worry, of anxiety…and of conquering the lord of darkness.

You would think someone that preaches on the kingdom of darkness would know when Satan was trying to beat you down. Today, he almost deceived me. You know, the only tools that devil dish has are deceipt and lies. He causes us to become confused about who we are in Christ, and to lose hope and faith in the Lord. Christ, our Savior, has the power to overcome any obstacles.

Christ has been encouraging me to get back on my feet for some time, despite the countless people around me that have been telling me otherwise.

I have a busy plate. I am a single parent with three very young children. Just recently, during the last three years or so, I became very ill, so ill I qualified for permanent disability. I have no family in town to help me, no grandparents. In fact, my mother has cancer at the moment.

I decided to go back to school recently to get another Master degree. That is crazy when you are a single parent. I decided to try working again. I am trying to build a charitable organization, and finish up a book I am writing, all for the glory of God.

In the midst of all this, yes, I started to panic. I started to believe the lies. You know, “You can’t do this, you are a loser, you’ve taken on too much.”

The lies sometimes come from other people too…

“Don’t you dare come off disability, what are you crazy?”

“You are doing too many things, just kick it and live freely.”

“Are you sure you know what you are doing?”

“Try doing it later, just coast for a while.”

Let me tell you something. When God gives you a direct order, you OBEY Him, at the time He tells you, not when you feel like it. When Jesus appears to you, and says, “This is the book you will write for me, and this is the time I want you to work” you get up off your butt and do it.

When He says, “Put your faith and trust in me” then you do it.

Now, that doesn’t mean you won’t occassionally suffer a minor stroke or panic attack (kidding!). Seriously folks, all that is however, is unbelief, and that is the king of darkness trying to get you to sin. Remember this. Christ is walking right along beside you. You can even walk in His footsteps if you need to.

If you embrace this kingdom life and don’t doubt God, you’ll not only do minor feats like I did with the fig tree, but also triumph over huge obstacles…Matthew 21:12-23

Christ says, you can tell a mountain to jump in a lake and it will. Well, tell that mountain to get out of the way, and go about accomplishing the tasks God has set before you. There is no mountain too great for the Lord to overcome.

When obstacles confront you, remember, Christ walks beside you, waiting and watching for you to claim the victory. You’ve got nothing to lose as long as you hold on to faith.

The other day I went for a long hike. Yahweh kept telling me to “slow down” throughout the day, and that message became even more clear and urgent as I began my hike. So, as much as I wanted to move I made a deliberate effort to hike very slowly. This made my pilgrimage very long. It took up a large part of my day, because I went several miles.

The good news is on the way down, I got an answer to a question I had been pondering for a long time. It was so simple! Unfortunately I was so excited I began hiking…faster. And faster. I figured, “I don’t need to slow down now, I’m sure that was just so I could get my message.”

And, not a second later, I slipped on some dirt and came crashing down on my hand, the one that has just recovered from some serious carpal tunnel, very hard!

OUCH! SLOW DOWN God said, and then, very funny, I got a “honk honk” from two geese (where did they come from!!). [read post on honk honk]

God is so good. So, I proceeded to walk back, VERY slowly.

I am so thank full our Lord and Savior fills me with His perfect love. Even if He sometimes has to repeat himself time and time again. Sometimes I complain I have to repeat myself over and over again with my children. Then I realize how much Christ probably rolls his eyes when He repeats the same message to us over and over again.

We are all children of God, spoon fed daily. Some of us seem to never graduate however, from baby food to adult food. Make sure as you continue your journey with Christ, that you pay attention. Take it slow, one day at a time, and maybe Christ won’t have to repeat himself too often. God bless!

On that note: Continue reading »

How can a young person keep his life pure?

By living in keeping with your word.

I trust in you with all my heart.

Don’t let me wander away from your commands…” Psalms 118-119

I am currently wrapping up a book I am working on, soon to be published. In it, I talk about the many ways I violated the ten commandments before I came to Christ again. Yes, I am a deplorable person. Many churches have a discourse about whether one should follow the old law, the commandments of Moses; or the new covenant, the New Testament; otherwise known as the law of Christ.

There are those that believe the law (or commandments) of Moses (because there is argument about what is and is not the law of Moses too, don’t you love human beings!) is invalidated by the New Testament. There are those that believe to accept the Word of God you must accept the entire bible.

Here is the thing. If you love God, if you trust in God, and become filled with the Holy Spirit, you automatically become a person that follows the new commandment of Christ, without really “thinking” about it.

It’s kind of funny. It just happens like that. You don’t really need to argue about it.

I do believe that Jesus was right, when he said, the greatest commandment of all, is to love the Lord your God above all else, and to love your neighbor as yourself. This is true. When you do this, all else falls into place. These are the great commandments.

When you do this, you do not lie.

You do not steal.

You do not commit adultery.

You do not worship idols.

You do not take the name of the Lord in vain.

You honor your mother and father.

You keep the Sabbath, you rest.

You won’t murder.

You won’t need to carve out wooden images.

Isn’t that plain to everyone else? Because it certainly is plain to me. When you love the Lord your God above all else, WHY on EARTH would you do any of that? So, by obeying the New Testament, the New Commandments of Christ (love God and love your neighbor), the only two adopted by Jesus, don’t you automatically adopt the commandments of Moses?

Umm, yes, I think so.

By loving your neighbor, which would include your mother and father, your husband or wife, your brother and sister, would you not love them, and not steal, not murder, not commit adultery?

Um, yes, I believe so.

Sow, wouldn’t you sow only good, and reap a loving harvest?

Umm, yes!

Remember this…Teach me to live as you command, because that makes me very happy…NIV Readers Version

Have you ever taken a look at Ecclesiastes 9:11? It popped open the other day after a horn honked at me continuously, and it so happened I realized horns had been honking at me for some time. Initially I thought, are horns a sign to pay attention? Are they are warning? Do I need to avoid something? Ah, the paranoia of life!

On asking what this meant, I got ECC 9:11. Here is what it says:

I  have observed something else under the sun. The fastest runner doesn’t always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn’t always win the battle. The wise sometimes go hungry, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don’t always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being in the right place at the right time.

What does that mean? It means I am happy to be a long distance runner for faith, and not necessarily the fastest in the pack.

Sometimes unpredictable events happen in life. Today, like on many days when I start worrying about this or that, I got the “Honk Honk” from God. This is the universal message He sends to me as a warning when He wants me to pay attenton to something.

A lady that lives in the apartment complex below me seemed to have “disappeared” for a few months now. My neighbor and I inquired about it, and learned she has been in the hospital. Her spleen and several other organs were either removed or shut down. She is in kidney failure. I had no idea her health was that bad. Was it chance? Luck? Bad timing? The will of God? Was she just in the wrong place at the wrong time, snared by the net of Satan, because her soul wasn’t cared for properly?

I remember often she commented on feeling her soul was in torment. What could prevent that? Close communion with God. Communion each and every day. Sitting in the presence of God, and trusting that God will take care of us. For, without that trust, we cannot rest, much like the people of God forced to wander in the desert 40 years. Without trust and faith, there is no rest. 

Mind your souls, because you never know if you will be in the wrong place and the wrong time, or if calamity will hit. If you find yourself standing before your Lord and Savior, you want to be sure you are in good shape. My recommendation? Be a long distance runner for faith. Stand tall and proud, and give God the glory He deserves for all the things going well in your life. Then, you’ll have nothing to worry about! Life is God…

I realized the other day that all the people around me were telling me to eat lamb. Initially I thought I might be iron deficient. What was God saying? Maybe I should get some lamb chops. Easter passed, (typically, I eat lamb for easter). I have been having some trouble lately, and I had been calling out to Christ. Or, sow I thought. We reap what we sow.

All of a sudden it hit me, had I really been listening to the answer? My son made a funny (hilarious!) joke that brought it all together. He’s only three, but very perceptive. He said, “look mom, I can’t see the light, it’s off, no wait, the light is on…oh wait! I’m just blinking really fast!”

Then it hit me, I was blinking too fast to let the lamp stay on, the lamp, the light, the light of Christ! Stay with me here for just a minute.

Christ is the lamb. That’s obvious if you know anything about the gospel. It was John that said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” And it was as if God is shouting to us all, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The LAMB is our salvation. It is the answer to all of our worrying, all of our troubles, all of our sorrows. HE, The CHRIST is our answer.

And no, I had not been eating enough lamb, or at least, perhaps not digesting it. I had not been trusting my lamb. And, as generous and loving as our God is, He was kind enough to point it out in a loving and kind way.

God is so good.

So many of us just pay the lamb lip service. Lord, have mercy on us. If we took ten minutes to actually invite Christ in, to give up our worries and sorrows to Him, and stop saying, “Yes, BUT” then our troubles would truly be reduced to nothing.

SO, stop saying, yes BUT, and truly invite the lamb in. Have some LAMB.

It doesn’t matter where you go, what church you belong to, what denomination you are, whether you go or not even. All you have to do is say YES to the Lamb of God to realize salvation.