Tag: #spiritual

Filth? Evil?

“So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.” – James 1:21 NLT

What is filth? What is evil? Everything is so skewed in our world… From the time of Adam and Eve, we have been hell bent on proving we are as intelligent as the Creator. We listen as the Father of lies fills our hearts and our heads with the promise that we are gods, equal to the Almighty. The liar assures us that there is no greater God than ourselves, and that we are free to do and live any way we choose. Satan is correct on one point: it is our choice to live how we we. What Satan doesn’t want us to know is that our Creator built free will into our DNA, because our LORD will never force us to choose Him. He wants us; He yearns for us to have a relationship with Him, and He will always leave it up to us. Have you ever loved someone so much that you feel a physical pull towards them, an emotional, even spiritual connection, only to have them choose someone else? If you have never experienced that connection, my heart hurts for you. If you have experienced it, and lost it – as I have – then you know the agony it causes. Anyone who has lost a child knows it. God loves us even more, more than we can comprehend, yet we routinely turn our backs oh His pure Love for the glittery fake the enemy dangles in front of us.

The only way to know truth is to fall back on God’s Word. If you have never read the Bible yourself, I suggest going online to http://bible.com and choose either the NIV or NLT version, and start reading in John, chapter one, verse one. It’s so beautiful. Throughput the history of the earth, God has employed poets and writers and other artists to share His Love for us, with us. It makes me so sad when I read comments on social media or in the news, or hear people stating that a Creator God is myth, and the Bible is a collection of stories written by old men – as if it were fairy tales. I cry for those people who have chosen the ultimate lie.

Jesus Christ was not a good man. He was not a prophet. He is either Who He says He is, the Son of the Most High God, or He is an insane man. History supports the Son of God. Archeological evidence points to the Garden, and every day brings forth new physical evidence to support the Scriptures. When I say we believe it, or not, at our own peril, I do not say it to be fear monger. I say with the strength of Scriptures and science. There is a heavenly, there is a hell, and there is ONE God over all. I pray you make peace with Him, before it is too late.

What’s In A Name?

What name do you have? Daughter, son, sister, brother; Mother, Father, aunt, uncle; spouse, friend, enemy, boss, employee… there are many names to choose from, and many – most – of us have multiple names. There’s the name we were born with, and for some, there is the name, or names, we changed to later. I am a daughter and a sister; aunt, friend, partner. I have been a wife and a mother (although I think that any woman who has carried a child, even for a few days, is always thereafter a mother); I have been homeless; I have been an employee; and I have been a business owner and partner.

I have been a thorn in the side to many people, sometimes with deliberation and sometimes inadvertently. I am one of “THOSE” people.

Some of the names we carry will always stick with us. I will always be my parent’s daughter, and I will always be a sister. Being an employee, or even a friend, can change. We can lose the name of wife or husband through death or divorce. We can be disinherited by our earthly My favorite name is one that will never – got that, NEVER – change. I am a child of God, daughter of the Most High LORD. Despite the bad choices I made throughout my life, I made some good ones. The best was when I accepted the salvation of Jesus Christ. At that moment, I became the daughter of The King, and that will never change. Even though I turned my back on my earthly family, and my heavenly Father, I remained a daughter. God did not let go of me, ever. In the depths of my misery, deep in my heart I knew my Savior was there. The darkest nights, the deepest black you can imagine, there was a tiny flicker of hope that came through the darkness. No matter had hard the enemy tried to extinguish it, no matter how suffocating, that tiny flicker remained. It was difficult to see, but I knew it was there. Somewhere.

In recovery, we say you have to be sick and tired of being sick and tired before you will make a change. I like the way Billy Graham says it, too:

“In God’s economy, you must go down into the valley of grief before you can scale the heights of spiritual glory. You must become tired and weary of living alone before you seek and find the fellowship of Christ. You must come to the end of “self” before you can begin to live. The happiest day of my life was when I realized that my own ability, my own goodness, and my own morality were insufficient in the sight of God. I am not exaggerating when I say that my mourning was turned to joy, and my sighing into singing. Happy are they that mourn for the inadequacy of self, for they shall be comforted with the sufficiency of God. Lord Jesus, I know that apart from You I can do nothing of lasting value. Help me to come to the end of self and allow You to control the reins of my life.”

Psalms 34:18 “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; He rescues those whose spirits are crushed.”

All we have to do is ask… Jesus said: “ANYONE who believes in Me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from His Heart.’” John 7:38

Are YOU sick and tired of your situation? There is only ONE answer, and ONE Healer. His Name is JESUS. Choose the Name above all names. Become a daughter or son of God. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Light, and it is only Him Who can dispel that darkness. I pray we’ll see you in the Light!

Nationality, Not Race

Peter, a disciple of Jesus and who was raised a law-abiding Jew, knew Jewish religion made it illegal for him to go into a Gentile’s house, so when Cornelius, who was a Gentile came and kneeled in front of him, said, “Stand up! I’m a human being just like you!” Then they went inside Cornelius’ house, and he told Cornelius and the others who were gathered there,

“I see very clearly that GOD shows no favoritism. In every nation He accepts those who fear Him and do what is right. This is the message of Good News for the people of Israel – that there is Peace with GOD through Jesus Christ, who is LORD of all. And He ordered us to preach everywhere and to testify that Jesus is the One appointed by GOD to be the Judge of ALL – the living and the dead. He is the One all the prophets testified about, saying that everyone who believes in Him will have their sins forgiven through His Name.” – Acts of the Apostles 10:26, 34‭-‬36‭, ‬42‭-‬43 NLT

Are you ready? Are you in the Light? Are you really? I believe that to honestly be in GOD’S Light, we have to let go of the prejudices that drive us. Jew or Gentile, black skin or red or brown or yellow or white or pink; Eastern European or South American or Aboriginal Australian; cowboy, redneck, or genteel southerner, we are all one in GOD’S Light. Peter said it perfectly when he said “I’m a human being just like you!” No one gets to pretend they are better than another person, regardless of color or circumstance.

“The One who is the True Light, who gives Light to everyone, is coming into the world.” John 1:9 NLT

Billy Graham said: “The world is stumbling in darkness from one crisis to another. The crises are getting worse and worse, and are coming closer and closer to home. Inflation, population explosion, hunger, dominate vast areas of the world. Jesus said, “I AM the Light of the world. Follow Me and give your life to Me and I will take you out of the darkness of this world, out of this confusion, out of this mess that you’re in, and I will give you peace and joy. A light will burn in your heart and mind that you never had before. I will command the Light to come on in your life.” ” (November 20, 2013)

“And let the Peace that comes from CHRIST rule in your hearts. For as members of ONE BODY you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.” – Colossians 3:15 NLT

I ask again, are you ready to really live for Christ?

Forget Religion

“When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the [Holy] Spirit, using the [Holy] Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. For, “Who can know the LORD’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach Him?” But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.”

1 Corinthians 2:13‭-‬16 (http://bible.com/116/1co.2.13-16.NLT)

SPIRITUAL truths, not religious; no, the Apostles are spiritual, and they have religious fervor when teaching and preaching the Gospel.

As defined by the Merriam Webster dictionary:

Spiritual –

1: relating to or manifesting faithful devotion to an acknowledged ultimate reality or deity; a religious person, religious attitudes
2: of, relating to, or devoted to religious beliefs or observances; joined a religious order
3a: scrupulously and conscientiously faithful; b: fervent, zealous

Religious –

1: of, relating to, consisting of, or affecting the spirit :incorporeal ;

spiritual needs
2a: of or relating to sacred matters; spiritual songs, b: ecclesiastical rather than lay or temporal; spiritual authority
3: concerned with religious values

4: related or joined in spirit
5a: of or relating to supernatural beings or phenomena; b: of, relating to, or involving spiritualism :spiritualistic
1: the view that spirit is a prime element of reality; 2a: belief that spirits of the dead communicate with the living usually through a medium; b: capitalized: a movement comprising religious organizations emphasizing spiritualism

There, under the definition of religious, are the words I take issue with. To be more ecclesiastical than lay is (to me) to give my Christianity over to be defined by a priest or other ecumenical leader. To participate in spiritualism, as defined above, I am surrendering my very soul to the enemy, satan, the father of lies. In order to understand and love the Christ, I believe we need to take Paul’s words to the Corinthians to heart. There is too much “Religion” in our world, and not enough Spiritual Love shown through us to the world. Not spiritualism, but the love of the LORD; the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.