Days of the Week

Check this email forward I got from my sis:

Without GOD, our week would be: Sinday, Mournday, Tearsday, Wasteday, Thirstday, Fightday & Shatterday.

Amos 7 - People of God Tremble

I don't want to be a stubborn mule in any area of my life or in anything that I am doing for the LORD. Of course whether I am at work or in my house, I do EVERYTHING for the LORD. So, Verses like these make me tremble and remember that while the LORD is loving and prefers mercy over punishment, He sometimes goes with punishment when His children just don't learn.

In Amos 7:7-8 the Word of God says this:

The LORD has sworn by the Pride of Jacob: "I will never forget anything they (ISRAEL) have done.

8 "Will not the land tremble for this,
and all who live in it mourn?
The whole land will rise like the Nile;
it will be stirred up and then sink
like the river of Egypt.

Then, a few verses later in verses 11-12, Amos writes the following:

11 "The days are coming," declares the Sovereign LORD,
"when I will send a famine through the land—
not a famine of food or a thirst for water,
but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD.

12 Men will stagger from sea to sea
and wander from north to east,
searching for the word of the LORD,
but they will not find it.

I DO NOT EVER WANT TO HAVE THE LORD RESTRAIN HIS WORD, HIS VOICE, FROM ME BECAUSE OF MY ACTIONS OF DISOBEDIENCE OR STRAYING. He has done that before for a time and while it was what I needed to come back to Him in full force, I don't ever want to experience that thirst in that way again. That desert that I crossed was NOT fun.

Also, this is a warning to the Church. The LORD always speaks to His Church, but He will restrain His Voice and Word when His people are not doing His Will. And this goes to the Church, local churches, and to individuals all alike. Because in every level people can be disobedient to the LORD and not be taking care of the LORD's purposes...

My prayer:

LORD make me a servant and follower of your will. I don't want to stray even just a little bit. I don't ever want to stagger from sea to sea searching for your Word. I want to have it hidden within my heart; engraved into my being to beat down my flesh into submission.

Thank you LORD that you remind us about the past to keep us with You in the present.

Youths increasingly shunning Christianity, poll finds

This is an article that I stumbled on today and I think that it's important enough to spread and for Christians and non-Christians alike to read and TAKE NOTICE!!

The article was originally written by:
By Tom Jacobs, Correspondent, Saturday, November 3, 2007...

The original can be found here but it's below for your convenience :)

Young Americans are increasingly turning away from Christianity and expressing negative views of the faith, according to a startling new survey by Ventura-based Barna Group.

Only 60 percent of 16- to 29-year-olds describe themselves as Christians, according to Barna Group President David Kinnaman. He believes that figure represents "a momentous shift," noting that 77 percent of Americans over age 60 consider themselves Christians.

"Each generation is becoming increasingly secular," said Kinnaman, who details the findings in his new book "unChristian" (Baker Books).

What's more, young people — Christians and non-Christians alike — feel increasingly disillusioned with the church, according to the results of Kinnaman's three-year research project involving 305 churchgoers and 440 outsiders.

Among young non-Christians, nine out of the top 12 perceptions of Christianity were negative. Large majorities called the church judgmental (87 percent), hypocritical (85 percent) and too involved with politics (75 percent).

Seventy-six percent said Christianity is based on "good values and principles," but many expressed the view that the church has turned away from the teachings of Jesus. Only 16 percent said they have a "good impression" of Christianity.

Even more strikingly, half of young churchgoers agreed with those negative perceptions.

"One of the defense mechanisms Christians use is believing this (unfavorable attitude toward the church) is the result of a negative, or at least skeptical, media," Kinnaman said. "There is certainly some truth to that.

"But what people have told us in this research is they're basing their feelings on their own experiences. Frequently they said, I realize not every Christian is judgmental or hypocritical, but for me, that has been a common experience.'"

Kinnaman and his collaborator on the study, Atlanta-based Gabe Lyons, are both committed Christians, and their book is aimed largely at an audience of church leaders. It is likely to make many of its readers distinctly uncomfortable.

"One of the defining characteristics of youth development in America is going through a Christian church," Kinnaman said. "More than four out of five teenagers will spend at least six months in a Christian church. They tried it, but it was a bad experience. It left a flat taste."

As he was finishing his book, Kinnaman encountered a woman who went through precisely that experience. Checking into a Carpinteria hotel he hoped would provide a distraction-free environment for writing, he struck up a conversation with a woman at the front desk.

"She told me, I was in a church for a while, but I have a son, and every time people tried to help me, they would tell me that being a single mom is not a good way to parent.' "

Not surprisingly, she did not stay in the congregation very long.

"Judgmentalism is a sticky substance that puts distance between our hearts and other human beings," Kinnaman said. "It says that we are somehow better. It marginalizes the other person. That doesn't mean we don't recognize and affirm people's fundamental brokenness, but we also recognize and affirm their fundamental goodness."

Chris Hall, pastor of the recently founded Catalyst Ventura ministry, was not surprised by Kinnaman's findings. "Unfortunately, there is a loud minority within the Christian church that has said some really stupid things," he said. "We need to stop looking at ourselves as people who have arrived at the answers."

One key issue that is alienating young Americans from most Christian denominations is homosexuality. According to the survey, 91 percent of young non-Christians and 80 percent of young Christians describe the church as "anti-homosexual."

Numerous surveys have shown a growing majority of young Americans have a relaxed, tolerant attitude toward homosexuality. A 2001 Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that 60 percent of Americans ages 17 to 29 support same-sex marriage.

"In some ways, homosexuality is the defining issue that has contributed to the negative perceptions (of Christianity), and our response to it will determine how things take shape in the next decade or so," Kinnaman said.

The issue is a tricky one for those who believe the Bible condemns homosexuality (an interpretation not universally shared among Christians, and currently the subject of heated debate among Episcopalians). In Hall's view, part of the answer is to stop the loud and vociferous condemnation of what he sees as simply one sexual transgression among many.

"How did homosexuality become such a huge issue for us?" he asked. "As I see it, it's no different than any other sexual sin."

"One pastor I know says, We shouldn't speak about this issue unless we have close friends who are gay,'" Kinnaman added.

Overall, Kinnaman was impressed with the thoughtful and nuanced nature of the responses he received.

"Faith is much more complex than we like to admit sometimes," he said "Some self-described atheists or agnostics will meditate or do yoga as a spiritual exercise. Among Christians, you will also find people who meditate, as well as some who believe in reincarnation.

"So it's very much a smorgasbord of picking and choosing. It's very hard to put your finger on a person and say, Now I've got you figured out.' Labels create distance between us."

Sermon - Simple Obedience - March 30, 2008

This power point presentation about Simple Obedience is in Spanish, so if you know Spanish then you are all set! Just click on the icon and it will take you to a page where you can download it :)

If you want a translated copy of this, just place a comment on this post...

God Bless,
Pablo

A Good Word About Being in a Spiritual Desert

The LORD cares more about building your character
than he cares about your discomfort!

This is such a good word! When we are in a place where we can't "feel" God, we feel so distant from Him. So lonely. But we must realize that when God allows us to go through a dessert, a sad time, a time when we yell for God and hear an echo.... there is a purpose. And that purpose is always an opportunity that the LORD is taking to build our character.

We don't build character through the times when we are on that spiritual mountaintop. We build character when we are grinding it out, yelling for God, and really seeking Him out. So next time that you (and this goes for me too) are in a place like that desert, take the time to praise God because He finds you worthy enough to walk through that desert with you and to build your character.

Genesis 28:15 - The LORD speaks to His children
15 I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.

Nudity in Art by Christians

I had a thought this morning and I called my best friend Tristan to help me think through it and discuss. I hope that this is the beginning of an online discussion with people that have something to add.

So the thought was this: Is nudity in Christian Art something that honors God, His will, and His desires?

So here's what Tristan and I came up with:

NO. An all around No. I tried to play devil's advocate, but came to a conclusion that I could find no reason why having nudity in Christian art is fully okay with God.

I will state my reason as to why my final answer is "no" and then go over why I disagreed and threw out any of my attempts to say that having nudity in Christian art is okay with God.

I do not think that nudity in Christian art is okay because it takes something that is sacred and that is supposed to be found only within a marriage and exposes it to the world and, therefore, distorting something sacred and holy into something that is less than holy and sacred.

I think that the biggest reason that we could come up with in order to back up our claim is seen in Adam and Eve. We believe that they were arguably and possibly the most physically beautiful human beings in the history of humanity. At first, Adam and Eve, "were both naked, and they felt no shame" Genesis 2:25. However, when they sinned, they covered themselves up because they did feel shame (Genesis 3:7). Who were they covering themselves from? There were no other human beings on the planet and they were also married. And, they weren't covering themselves up from God because God had not yet entered the picture. So, within their marriage, they felt shame for their nakedness.

Another reason to back my claim is that while the body is a beautiful thing, that beauty is supposed to stay and be seen within a marriage only. There is an inner sanctity that the LORD makes within marriage and nakedness that is supposed to be in that marriage only. In the whole Bible I cannot find a passage that talks about nakedness being okay unless it is in the context of being in Heaven or between a wife and spouse or between the LORD and His church/people.

Another reason that I think that naked art is that Paul says that he will not do anything that causes another to stumble even if what he is doing is okay. I am referring to 1 Corinthinas 8 and I feel that I need to place the following verses of chapter 8 here because they are so important to see:

9 Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol's temple, won't he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols? 11So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. 12 When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.

Verse 9 states that we must be careful that our freedom does not cause anyone to sin. So, even if was okay to have naked human being in art, which I think is not, we must be careful that it does not cause a weaker brother to sin. And Paul goes on to say in verse 13 that he will never eat meat if it causes other people to sin. So I would apply his reasoning to art and say that Paul would not paint naked people in art if it caused other people to sin. I think that it is a very reasonable assumption to assume that if anyone has art, whether photography or a painting or anything, that has human nakedness, that it would cause a brother or sister that is weaker than us at some level to sin in their minds. This, I think, applies specifically to men that are watching a naked female in a painting or a photograph or other like forms of art that depict a human being naked in a realistic manner.

This brings me to my another: pornography. There is a line that divides "naked pictures that are regarded to as art" from "pornography." I need to try to define it in context of everything that I have previously written above. If any art that has humans being naked is not okay according to God and any of this art that has naked humans can cause another fellow sister or brother to sin mentally, physically, emotionally or in any other way, then I would say that any and all piece of art that shows nakedness can be regarded to as pornography. I think that there are pictures out there that contain naked people and are placed in an art book and most people would regard that as art. But if that same picture is placed on a web site that is for pornography, then it becomes pornography. Then that leads me to ask: where is that line? Is this picture called pornography because it's on the pornography web site or because the picture is pornography.

I went to dictionary.com and this is their definition of pornography:

Sexually explicit pictures, writing, or other material whose primary purpose is to cause sexual arousal.

Then I think of what SEXUALLY EXPLICIT mean and "sexually"is pertaining to sex, while explicit means "clear." So sexually explicit means that "it's pretty clear that it's about sex." So, another way of writing the dictionary.com definition is to write it like this:

Pictures, writing, or other material that are clearly sexual in nature whose primary purpose is to cause sexual arousal.

So I guess maybe art in which the artist did not mean to have it be sexually arousing cannot be called pornography. But, if that same piece or art is placed on a web site that is for pornography, then the piece of art does indeed become pornography since it is being used to sexually arouse someone. This, I feel, confirms my previous statement that any art that has a naked human being can be a tripping rock that causes a fellow Christian to fall.

My last point is this: culture. I think that everything that I have stated is subject to culture. There are very few cultures, mainly in Africa, that walk around without any clothing; let us call this culture 'Culture A.' So, if that same culture was to draw a portrait of their own, then I think that it is okay since they are used to seeing each other like that and none of them are caused to sin. I think that this point does not come into conflict with my first point that states that nakedness is supposed to remain only within the marriage only if Culture A has a culture that has an understanding that nakedness is wrong. But, as I stated previously in this paragraph, there are cultures like Culture A that see nakedness and do not see sin or commit sin.

Well, I've talked a lot. And I would REALLY appreciate the comments of my friends, colleagues, and others in this subject. Above all, I want to honor God and that is why I am writing this.

Ezekiel 40-42: Building A Ministry According to Jesus' Plans

So I was reading these chapters in Ezekiel and I was bored. This passage talks about how a "bronze" man took Ezekiel to where the Temple was supposed to be rebuilt and it was describing the specific details of how all the rooms and walls were supposed to be; i.e. all the measurements. And those were in cubits nonetheless, which made me have to try harder to understand how truly big the place was.

I was trying to search and seek the LORD out in what He wanted me to learn in this part of His word, but I couldn't get anything! It was SO frustrating. I kept asking the LORD but there was no answer. I enjoyed understanding the experience that Ezekiel must have had with the "bronze" man since that bronze man could have actually been Jesus.... and I think it was. And that made me want to seek out the LORD that much more since I am always seeking to get closer and closer to Him and to experience Him in all the ways that people in the Bible have experienced Him. But I was still perplexed as to what His specific revelation was to me... I didn't just want His general revelation of how the temple was built. Then, after reading these chapters in a two day span, I got it.


I got a very quick and passing thought in my head about how Dennis Leon from Pura Vida Church, the pastor that is going to be marrying us, asked Anna and I to write down our dream ministry. At that specific moment, it hit me. The LORD has VERY specific plans as to how His ministry is supposed to be run and built up. It is not our ministry. It is not our dream. It's the LORD that puts the desire to dream His dream according to His heart. The LORD delighted in David's heart not because David had nice thoughts or emotions, but because David's heart sought fervently after the LORD's heart. In the same way, Anna and I, as well as all Christian, must die to ourselves like Galatians 2:20 says, and try to find out God's plan and desire and dream for us instead of wondering how the ministry that LORD is preparing for us looks like. I also think that the LORD has been revealing this plan to both of us separately and for this plan to come together Anna and I must become one in marriage. Otherwise, I believe that only one of us being in ministry is futile.

Anyways, I am WAY excited about starting to dream with her again. We both believe that this year is going to be an amazing year where the LORD will be finishing the preparations for how our life and our ministry is going to be for the next few years. I am WAY excited!

Isaiah 55:8-12 - My God is an Awesome God

Isaiah 55:8-9
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,"
declares the LORD.

9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

This is so cool because it always reminds me that whatever I’m thinking, dreaming, planning, the LORD’s has higher purposes than I can possibly imagine and dream up. So, this part always inspires me to think and dream bigger as I seek Him for HIS plans instead of my measly human-centered plans 

10 As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

This was the second thing that impacted me in this Isaiah chapter. I LOOOOVED the descriptive metaphor that the LORD uses because it also shows that the Bible could NOT have been inspired by people, but from God Himself! Verses 10-11 specifically show an understanding of how the cycle of rain works. First it rains, then the water touches the ground and nourishes the earth, and then that same water goes through a process where it becomes a gas and returns to the sky having done its job! I love the LORD and how His understanding really IS above ours as verse 8-9 say. In the same way that the LORD nourishes the earth with water, He nourishes our souls and spirits with His Word… either directly to us, through His written Word, or through the ministry that He has done through His people. His Word always achieves His purpose… ALWAYS!! How crazy is that! Talk about sovereignty!!

12 You will go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
will clap their hands.

Verse 12 also touched me because it’s so true!! I have gone out with joy and have been led forth in peace in SO many occasions that I shouldn’t have had that peace and joy. But, when I did, I felt as if the mountains and hills before me and everything in them burst out in a song of praise along with me!! It’s so nice when I have an experience with the LORD that I later find written in His Word. It makes my relationship with Him SO much better!!

Blessed is my King, my Husband, my Protector, and Redeemer!!

Isaiah 54 and His promises to me

The Future Glory of Zion

1 "Sing, O barren woman,
you who never bore a child;
burst into song, shout for joy,
you who were never in labor;
because more are the children of the desolate woman
than of her who has a husband,"
says the LORD.

2 "Enlarge the place of your tent,
stretch your tent curtains wide,
do not hold back;
lengthen your cords,
strengthen your stakes.

3 For you will spread out to the right and to the left;
your descendants will dispossess nations
and settle in their desolate cities.

4 "Do not be afraid; you will not suffer shame.
Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated.
You will forget the shame of your youth
and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.

5 For your Maker is your husband—
the LORD Almighty is his name—
the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer;
he is called the God of all the earth.

6 The LORD will call you back
as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit—
a wife who married young,
only to be rejected," says your God.

7 "For a brief moment I abandoned you,
but with deep compassion I will bring you back.

8 In a surge of anger
I hid my face from you for a moment,
but with everlasting kindness
I will have compassion on you,"
says the LORD your Redeemer.

9 "To me this is like the days of Noah,
when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth.
So now I have sworn not to be angry with you,
never to rebuke you again.

10 Though the mountains be shaken
and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken
nor my covenant of peace be removed,"
says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

11 "O afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted,
I will build you with stones of turquoise, ^[a]
your foundations with sapphires. ^[b]

12 I will make your battlements of rubies,
your gates of sparkling jewels,
and all your walls of precious stones.

13 All your sons will be taught by the LORD,
and great will be your children's peace.

14 In righteousness you will be established:
Tyranny will be far from you;
you will have nothing to fear.
Terror will be far removed;
it will not come near you.

15 If anyone does attack you, it will not be my doing;
whoever attacks you will surrender to you.

16 "See, it is I who created the blacksmith
who fans the coals into flame
and forges a weapon fit for its work.
And it is I who have created the destroyer to work havoc;

17 no weapon forged against you will prevail,
and you will refute every tongue that accuses you.
This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,
and this is their vindication from me,"
declares the LORD.

Do I NEED to say more? I love it how the LORD uses things that He has said before-hand to others in the Bible to directly tell us basically the same thing! I will serve Him forever and ever and NO weapon forged against me will succeed!! My GOD is so good to his lowly servant. I do not deserve to be spoken to by Him but praise JESUS that He gave His previous untainted life so that the Father could see me clothed in white!! I am speechless!! I cannot describe the emotions and feelings that I deeply experience in my quiet times with the LORD... Especially when He speaks to me directly. However, I also love those times when He places thoughts in my head that He wants me to meditate on so that I can know Him deeper! HE is SO perfect!!!! Praise God!! And even if he never spoke to me and I was always in trouble, praise Him in the midst of all that as well because my strength literally... LITERALLY... is in the joy (not happiness) in the LORD!!! Praise HIM forever!!

Are Your Eyes & Your Computer Holy and Safe?

Many guys out there, here, everywhere struggle with keepn their eyes clean. Others might not struggle but the temptation is always there with all the spam and everything that they receive in their email.

Most have fallen.

If you have, or even if you haven't and would like to check what crap has gotten into your comp, please check out this web site :)\

WWW.CONTENTPURITY.COM

Also, if you would like some accountability, please check out XXX Church. It's an amazing program that WILL keep you accountable :)

Christian Hip Hop - Trailblazin' Ministries

Wants some hot Chrisitan Hip Hop songs and mixed tapes?

go HERE!

Bible Map Web Tool

This is an amazing tool that pastors can use DURING their sermons! You can actually take the people in your congregation into virtually any place that you are preaching on throug this web site! Praise God for the many gifts and talents that He has given people to come up with things like this.

Bible Map

You have GOT to try it out!

Characteristics of Spiritual Gifts

These are not ALL the characteristics, but these are some of the most over-arching ones. I like these as I have come to see them as pretty accurate.

Characteristics of Motivational Gifts

The Characteristics of the Gift of Prophecy:

1. A strong need to express themselves verbally.
2. A strong ability to discern the character and motives of other people.
3. A wholehearted involvement in whatever they are doing.
4. Very open to correction.
5. Extremely loyal.
6. Willing to suffer for what is right.
7. Very persuasive in defining truth.

The Characteristics of the Gift of Service:

1. Sees and meets practical needs.
2. Frees others to achieve.
3. Disregard for weariness.
4. Difficulty in saying "No!"
5. Alert to likes and dislikes.
6. Strong desire to be with others.
7. Need for approval and appreciation
8. Likes short-range projects.
9. Meets needs quickly.
10. Tendency to feel inadequate and unqualified for spiritual leadership.

The Characteristics of The Gift of Teaching:

1. Strong desire to present truth systematically.
2. Requires thoroughness.
3. Needs to validate information.
4. Checks out the teacher.
5. Great delight in researching.
6. Tendency to avoid illustrations from non-biblical sources.
7. Needs to clarify misunderstandings.

The Characteristics of the Gift of Exhortation:

1. A motivation to urge peoples to their full spiritual maturity in Christ.
2. An ability to see root problems in a person.
3. Prescribes steps of action.
4. Turn problems into benefits.
5. A desire for face to face discussion in order to determine and insure a positive response.
6. Desire to gain spiritual insights through personal experience.
7. Desires to bring harmony between diverse groups.
8. An enjoyment with those eager to follow steps of action.

The Characteristics of the Gift of Giving:

1. Able to see resources
2. Desire to feel a part of the work.
3. Desire to give high quality.
4. Hope the gift is an answer to prayer.
5. Desires to give secretly.
6. Prefers to give without pressure of appeals.
7. Concern that giving will corrupt.
8. Exercises personal thriftiness.
9. Gives to motivate others to give.
10. Ability to see financial needs that others overlook.
11. Confirms amount with counsel.

The Characteristics of the Gift of Organization:

1. Ability to see the big picture and visualize final results.
2. The ability to break down the major goals into smaller, achievable tasks.
3. Motivated to organize that for which they are responsible.
4. The ability to know what resources are available and needed to reach a goal.
5. The ability to know what can and what cannot be delegated.
6. Tendency to remove self from detracting details and focus on ultimate goals.
7. The willingness to endure reaction.
8. A need for loyalty and confidence from those who are being directed and served.
9. A tendency to assume responsibility if no structured leadership exists.
10. A desire to complete the task as soon as possible.
11. A joy and fulfillment in seeing all the parts come together and others enjoying the finished product.
12. A desire to move on to a new challenge when the previous task is fully completed.

The Characteristics of the Gift of Mercy:

1. Ability to feel an atmosphere of joy or distress in an individual or group.
2. Attracted to and understand people who are having mental and emotional distress.
3. Desire to remove hurts and bring healing to others rather than to look for the benefits of the hurts.
4. A greater concern for mental distress than physical distress of others.
5. A sensitivity to words and action which will hurt others.
6. A tendency to react harshly when intimate friends are rejected.
7. An ability to sense genuine love and a greater vulnerability to deeper and more frequent hurts from the lack of love.
8. A need for deep friendships in which there is mutual commitment.
9. A need to measure acceptance by physical closeness and quality time together.
10. An enjoyment and unity with those who are sensitive to the needs and feelings of others.
11. A tendency to avoid firmness unless he sees how it will bring benefit and eliminate greater hurt.
12. A closing of the spirit to those who are insincere or insensitive.

Getting in God's Way - Study Notes

Matthew 16 - Jesus Christ (JC) tells his disciples that they're going to have to suffer and they didn't like that. In verse 21 and following Peter was getting in the way and Jeses told Peter to get behind him Satan.

Getting in God's way

1. Is not necessarily talking about getting in God's will, rather as a hindarence as to what God's up to

2. this doesn't mean that we're not supposed to help peopel that are in need

3. of all the gifts of a believer, the people that are going to have the most difficulty not getting in God's way are the people with the gift of Mercy because they see someone and they immediately want to go help them out.

Questions:

1. When do we get in God's way?

2. How do we get in God's way?

Answers:

1. When we begin to interfere when w what G is doing in someone else's life

2. When we get in the way of what G is doing in our own life

primarily deal with with #1

16:13 - who the people say that I am?

Naturally Peter said the rigth answer and JC commended him becuase Peter realized who He was.

2 deal with His mission. this sets the stage and the environment of getting in God's way. That's why Peter was wrong in teling Him not to die.

- must suffer many things for God's will

- they just told Him that He was the Messiah but they failed to recognize how these things must come about even though He said it

- He didn't give them details, he did use the word used the word that means "to be murdered, without justice"

- He gave them just enough to know bc He knew taht they couldn't handle that

v22 - Peter instantly pulled Him aside and began to rebuke Him

-P assumed responsibilty for christ. P was responding probably like most of us

-The only thing he heard taht JC was going to be killed and He was like" no WAY that's gonna happen"

- Peter makes a declaration "It WILL NOT HAPPEN THIS WAY"
- P is responding as a human being and as a man

- He didn't think of the OT as a sacrifice

- Then JC responds just as quickly and instantly dealt with Peter

- = A real conflict between them

- He grieved in His Spirit

- Out of the same mouth is the voice of Satan

- Greek = same phrase in Matthew 4 - JC in the wilderness v8 = Be gone Satan... Jesus uses the same Greek phrase

- Your name means rock but you just fell out of your place

- Before you were a beautiful rock but now you are a stumbling block

- JC was horrified and not angry

- He responded the way He did bc in the wilderness that is EXACTLY the way Satan talked to Him

- JC's ears did not forget the voice of Satan

- A child of God cannot be possesed by the Devil, but the Devil can use ANY child of God who is not discerning and mindful of Satan that can be used to get in the way of God's will

- Demonic Spirits are in this world free to some sense to get in God's way by using Christians

- JC identifies that voice for what it is

- Our first response is to try to alleviate people's pain but not if it gets in the way of God. Only as the spirit of God leads us to.

- God knows that they're going to have to suffer and blow it and fail painfully in order to prevent them from failing in the future to a degree taht they'll NEVER be able to recover

- The reason that JC responded so uickly is that Peter was attempting to affect the plan of God

- He didn't realize that what he was trying to stop had eternal concequences

- If we get in the way we fall along with the person that we're tryign to help

- A parent towards their children can do the same thing

- A friend who is engaged and is being mistreated

- At work there's something that needs to be corrected

what do we do?

- we forget that we might not know the whole story and what God is up to

- We don't know all that's going on in all of someone's life

Racial Reconciliation Definition

I haven't written in a while. So here's a book that I am reading:

Being White: Finding Our Place in a Multiethnic World
By Paula Harris and Doung Schaupp

It' spretty good. I like what I have read so far. I especially like the definition that htey have of racial reconciliation because it has Christ in the center. They said that Racial Reconciliation is:

Jesus' power through the cross restoring relationships between the races - replacing relationships characterized by divisions, partiality and the unjust use of human power with a new community based on God's love, justice, healing, and shalom.

I really like that. I will try to keep up with my posts as I read more and more of this book. I actually wished that I could have written some more up here on my earlier blogs, but oh well...

Praise God for leading me to read this book and thank you Ms. Abbey Sheet for letting me borrow it.

My Deliverer - rhoumai

The LORD is my rhoumai!!!!



I just read read half of Psalm 119 and it is absolutely great! No matter where you are and in what season you are in, this psalm reminds of you of who He is, what He can do, and what He WILL do if you are surrendering your heart to HIM!!!

PRAISE GOD...

I'M FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Psalm 118

1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.

2 Let Israel say:
"His love endures forever."

3 Let the house of Aaron say:
"His love endures forever."

4 Let those who fear the LORD say:
"His love endures forever."

5 In my anguish I cried to the LORD,
and he answered by setting me free.

6 The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?

7 The LORD is with me; he is my helper.
I will look in triumph on my enemies.

8 It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in man.

9 It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in princes.

10 All the nations surrounded me,
but in the name of the LORD I cut them off.

11 They surrounded me on every side,
but in the name of the LORD I cut them off.

12 They swarmed around me like bees,
but they died out as quickly as burning thorns;
in the name of the LORD I cut them off.

13 I was pushed back and about to fall,
but the LORD helped me.

14 The LORD is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.

15 Shouts of joy and victory
resound in the tents of the righteous:
"The LORD's right hand has done mighty things!

16 The LORD's right hand is lifted high;
the LORD's right hand has done mighty things!"

17 I will not die but live,
and will proclaim what the LORD has done.

18 The LORD has chastened me severely,
but he has not given me over to death.

19 Open for me the gates of righteousness;
I will enter and give thanks to the LORD.

20 This is the gate of the LORD
through which the righteous may enter.

21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me;
you have become my salvation.

22 The stone the builders rejected
has become the capstone;

23 the LORD has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.

24 This is the day the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.

25 O LORD, save us;
O LORD, grant us success.

26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD.
From the house of the LORD we bless you. ^[a]

27 The LORD is God,
and he has made his light shine upon us.
With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession
up ^[b] to the horns of the altar.

28 You are my God, and I will give you thanks;
you are my God, and I will exalt you.

29 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.

THE LORD HAS DONE THIS AND IT IS A MARVELOUS THING!!! I KNEW IT! I KNEW THAT HE WOULD NOT LET THE TRUTH BE TRAMPLED BY THE ENEMY'S LIE!!!!

HE IS SOOOOO GOOD!!! THE TRUTH DID COME TO LIGHT!!! THANK YOU JESUS!!

PRAISE THE LORD ALL MY SOUL AND ALL THAT IS WITHIN ME PRAISE HIS HOLY NAME!!!!

I COULD GO ON WRITING FOREVER UNTIL ALL THE INK IN THE WORLD IS DRIED UP AND I WOULD STILL NEED TO SAY MORE!! I AM SO GLAD THAT I HAVE ETERNITY TO PRAISE HIM!!!

HE IS AMAZING, WONDERFUL, GREAT, POWERFUL, MERCIFUL!!! THANK YOU DADDY!!!

I HAVE LEARNED AND GIVEN MY HEART TO HIM MORE THAN I HAVE EVER HAD AND HE ANSWERED ME AS HE ANSWERED DAVID WHEN DAVID WAS IN NEED OF HIS ABBA!!!

NOTHING NOTHING NOTHING CAN GET IN THE WAY OF THE PLANS OF THE LORD WHEN HIS SERVANT HAS A WILLING HEART!!!

I WANT TO JUMP AND DANCE AND YELL AND SING WITH PRAISES RIGHT HERE IN THE HALLWAYS OF MY JOB!!! I AM WALKING AROUND WITH THE BIGGEST GRIN AND I AM SURE THAT I AM GLOWING WITH HIS GLORY SINCE I CANNOT STOP PRAISING HIM!!!!

PRAISE HIM!!!
PRAISE HIM!!!
PRAISE HIM!!!
PRAISE HIM!!!
PRAISE HIM!!!
PRAISE HIM!!!
PRAISE HIM!!!
PRAISE HIM!!!
PRAISE HIM!!!

PRAISE YOU LORD ALMIGHTY!!! LET ALL THAT HAS BREATH AND ALL THAT IS PRAISE HIM WITH EVERY CELL WITHIN THEM!!!! ALL THE BIRDS AND PEOPLE AND ANIMALS AND EVERYTHING THAT HE HAS CREATED PRAISE HIM!!!

Pilgrimage...

The Psalmist has some of the best ways to describe our faith journey. In happy times, troubled times, and at all times, the psalmist has some great Holy-Spirit-inspired words...

Psalm 84:5
Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.

It's just like Paul was saying when he said that he had fought the good fight and ended the race well :)

I gotta give it up to ma Man G-dawg uptairs... He got our back all da time... Praise Him!

Psalm 54

The passage is a amaskil of David that he writes when the Ziphites had gone to Saul and told him that David was hiding amongst them.

David pleads to the LORD for help as men are attacking him and seeking to end his life, "men without regard for God." But David says, "surely God is my help" and he knows that God, "in His faithfulness, " will, "destroy them."

The thing that gets me about this passage is that the last verse says:

7 For he has delivered me from all my troubles,
and my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes.

"He HAS deliver me?" Earlier in the psalm David was pleading for the LORD's help and in the last verse he says that He HAS delivered him? This can be taken different ways:

Some people say that individual Psalms were written over a period of time and that is why there is such difference in the mood over 1 Psalm. However, I want to think that David recognizes the omnipresence and sovereignty of God. I like to look at this and think that David was downtrodden and is pleading to God and then, within the same prayer, in the middle of one of his tears falling off his tear duct and sliding down his cheek, David realizes that in God, we already have the victory! So immediately David turns to praise and sees his enemies defeated because he KNOWS that he is a man after God's heart, that he has found favor with God, and that God will never leave him! I feel like this is faith in action. We plead with God for Him to work in things... and He does. But a lot of times we don't think of listening to what He is saying in the midst of the problem. In my life, He has usually told me what He was going to do, so I started to praise Him for it. There is so much more joy in times of trouble when He has told us that He will give us deliverance and the rest of the time we just need to be faithful in putting our faith into action NOW, before we are out of the desert.

*singing* Go GOD, Go GOD, Go GOD!!!

You are always my deliverer and I LOVE to live in the uncertainty that humans see at the same time as in the certainty that humans see only when they are looking at everything through your eyes! People will ridicule me and think of me as an extremist, but that is SUCH a compliment because I WILL NOT COMPROMISE THE THINGS THAT YOU HAVE TOLD ME AND THE LIFE THAT YOU HAVE TOLD ME TO LIVE!! IT IS SO MUCH EASIER TO DOUBT THAN TO HAVE FAITH IN WHAT WE CANNOT SEE. IT IS SO MUCH EASIER TO BE A RATIONAL PHARISEE THAN TO BE AN IRRATIONAL JESUS!! HAHAHAHA, THE JOY THAT I GET WHEN I KNOW THAT I AM ALIGNED WITH YOUR SPIRIT!! THE WORLD CAN THROW A MOUNTAIN MY WAY AND MY MUSTARD-SEED FAITH WILL MOVE THAT MOUNTAIN IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE!!!!!!!!!!!! Satan, you might have the world and even some Christians fooled, but in the name of JESUS you are beaten and I will tell and tell and tell of HIS Victory over you then and now and forever and continue to point people to reality: Jesus IS LORD over everything that is logical!!

Brothers... sisters... Don't just STUDY the Word, LIVE the word... Don't just depend on the material and logical limitations to do ministry... LIVE the miracles of then by having the LORD do them through you NOW!!! If someone is sick... don't just pray for them to get better, have the faith to pray that they be healed NOW in the name of Jesus JUST like the disciples did!!Paul writes of "gifts of healing." Do you have it? DON'T ANSWER ME IF YOU NEVER EVEN TRIED TO USE IT!!! How would you know!?!?!? If your friend has a headache, pray for healing that comes as fast as when Jesus healed people!! LIVE YOUR FAITH!!! STRETCH YOUR FAITH!!! BLESS PEOPLE!!!

Where are my prophets and speakers of heavenly and worldly tongues? Where are my workers of miracles? Where are my Christians living IN the Spirit instead of just WITH the Spirit <-- that be sum TRUTH right thea!!! Leap out in faith and allow the LORD to lift you on eagle's wings to a new level of experiencing Him!!

LEAP
LEAP
LEAP into the abyss of uncertainty, because THERE you will be a leader fro Christ. THERE you will know a new God! THERE you will see His kingdom come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. How the HECK do we think that His will will be done on earth if we are trying to accomplish it within the box of rationality and human limitations that we place God in? IMPOSSIBLE. I feel that people read that verse that I just referred to and translate it in their heads to, "His Kingdom come, His will be done on earth, but not like in Heaven because that's impossible!"

HUH?!?!!?

IMPOSSIBLE?!?!

The word impossible doesn't exist to God, only to us! We made that word up and it hinders the ministry of the Holy Spirit! LORD LIVE IN THEM, LIVE IN ME!!! There are people right now SEEING Jesus!!! SEEEEEEEIIIIIINNNNGGG!!!

Impossible - - - LOL - - - DOUBT - - - LOL - - -

The Devil is TRICKING and WINNING in holding our faith back CHRISTIANS!!!

YOU are supposed to be Jesus NOW... SO DANG IT!!! DO IT!! BE IT!!! (I sound like a Nike commercial haha)... You Children of God have all of God's power on your lips-touched-by-hot-coal-from-Heaven and you never put those lips to practice according to Mark 16:17-20!!!

I end with two words:

HAVE FAITH...

Psalm 51: 16-19

I love my God... and I love David's writings...

Here is what this passage says:

16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.

17 The sacrifices of God are [c] a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart,
O God, you will not despise.

18 In your good pleasure make Zion prosper;
build up the walls of Jerusalem.

19 Then there will be righteous sacrifices,
whole burnt offerings to delight you;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.



Sometimes we mess up and think, "I will do this, I will do that, I will stop this, I will stop that," all to prevent us from sinning. In the 'olden days' David and the Israelites sacrificed bulls and rams and goats and pigeons to YHWH in order to appease Him and be blessed and be forgiven. However, David notices VERY wisely through something that MUST be a revelation fro the LORD that the true sacrifice the LORD delights in is a broken and contrite heart! No wonder David was a man after God's own heart!!

This psalm was written by David right after he killed Uriah to try to cover up his sin of fornication with Bathsheba. A murderer and a sexual immoral man at this point. However, David KNOWS that his heart is away from his Daddy's heart! He feels it! He detests it and cries out. David truly is a man after God's own heart not because he is perfect, because he isn't, but because he knows and recognizes that HOLINESS IS LIVING A LIFE OF REPENTANCE.

And I love the end of this psalm. I believe that the key word in the last verse is the first word: THEN. God doesn't want us to focus on sacrifice and outward actions that show our faith if we have not gone to him to show him that we are truly repentant! Any outward sacrifice that has not started with a humble, broken spirit, and a contrite heart is not a sacrifice that the LORD desires or honors.

Selah