Tag: #spiritual

Know God?

“Yes, they knew GOD, but they wouldn’t worship Him as GOD or even give Him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what GOD was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools.” – Romans 1:21‭-‬22 NLT

What does your god look like? Is He Majestic and Holy, clothed in His Creation? Is your god clothed in Sooner cream and red, Dallas blue and silver, OSU orange? Perhaps your god is dressed in the latest fashions, or corporate goals. Maybe your god is wrapped up in busyness or children or a spouse. Loyalty, addiction, obsession to something in this world can so easily supplant THE God, Creator and Saviour. Too many times, in our quest to fill that God-shaped hole inside us, we get caught up in the external and the glittery temptations that God’s enemy, Satan, places in front of us. It’s so easy to get sidetracked into his lair, and it can be incredibly difficult to extract ourselves from the webs of deceit he weaves to trap us.

Reflecting on my past, I see clearly many instances where I was hung up in those webs. I was so busy having fun, I could ignore how miserable I was. That’s on way the enemy keeps us trapped. Busy, busy, busy. Career, kids, school, football and other sports, cars, shopping….. rather than dwelling on “What’s in your wallet?”, can we switch focus to “What’s in your heart?” Do you know the Almighty GOD? Is HE in your heart, filling it with love and compassion for His people, or are you cramming tnat hole full of earthly pursuits? It’s lke the sign says,

“Know God, Know Peace. NO God, NO Peace.”

Which part are you? Do you KNOW Peace, or do you have NO Peace in your heart? Be like the author of this psalm: Praise Him, be Thankful for Him, and Pray for God’s help and protection.

“I praise GOD for what he has promised. I trust in GOD, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me?” – Psalms 56:4 NLT

Be Still!

How many times did you hear that while growing up? I heard it quite often….. and at times, I still hear my Mother’s voice in my head, telling me to be still. Before ADD or ADHD or any of the Autism spectrum were recognized, my siblings and I squirmed and whispered and doodled our way through childhood; I was a ‘wiggle worm.’ ( …. laughter …. ) Today, many of my nieces and nephews have been diagnosed with some variation of the above, not to tne extreme, but still? It’s good to have validation that we weren’t doing those things simply to be irritating. It is still a frustration with me. We learn different coping mechanisms as we mature, but it never truly goes away. I want to “be still!” Can you make my mind obey?

“Be still, and know that I AM GOD! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.” – Psalms 46:10 NLT

Perhaps something similar to these were what Paul was dealing with when he begged God to take away his affliction. I don’t know, but I think I’d like to ask him when we meet in eternity. For people who haven’t experienced these things it is very difficult to understand why I can’t just decide to sit still, or concentrate on a single issue. They don’t understand that it isn’t a conscious choice to want – no, need, to get to the point. I know the struggle of trying to give my full attention to a rambling (to my mind) story, or sales pitch, or meeting. Get to the point, people! (Says me, as I ramble on…..) The important thing, the most important thing, is to listen for God. His voice is in the scriptures I read, it is in the Christian music I have playing on the radio, and it is in the interaction I have with fellow believers.

“Though the LORD gave you adversity for food and suffering for drink, He will still be with you to teach you. You will see your Teacher with your own eyes. Your own ears will hear Him. Right behind you a Voice will say, “This is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left.” – Isaiah 30:20‭-‬21 NLT

His assurance to us is that He does speak to us. The voice can be GOD, or it can be the enemy, Satan. Use discernment and know GOD’S Words and Voice to keep from being distracted and deceived. Read the scriptures, study them, and keep your mind open to the LORD. Father God, my prayer today is for my own discernment; to hear YOUR Voice, and drown out the voices of the world. My prayer is that You will still my heart and my mind. I praise You for Your Son and for the Forgiveness and Grace You show me every day. Let me show others Your Love and Supremacy through my life. Amen.

Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth

Down the road from my house is a business with this painted on the side of their business, only it looks like this:

Basic

Instructions

Before

Leaving

Earth

B-I-B-L-E. God knew that we would need something to guide us. Because of Adam and Eve’s choice to eat of the Tree of Life, we became more like God – but since we aren’t God, with His knowlege of the past and the future, we need help living life. I like going by the sign because I am reminded that I am not in this alone. There are other followers of God nearby; people who believe that the Bible is our instruction manual for living the life God wants us to live. It stands as a reminder that God is with me, too. No matter how down I feel, or depressed or frustrated or fearful, my God stands with me. With Him in my life, I am never alone. That leads me to ask myself, am I going through life reflecting that knowledge? Am I even using the instruction manual? Is He the God (big G) of my every day, or is He just the god (little g) I use to ask for things? Moses was an amazing man, one who God used to perform miracles, and to lead His – God’s – people out of slavery and into freedom, but even Moses needed guidance.

God spoke to Joshua after Moses died, and Joshua became the leader of the Jewish people. God told Joshua to follow His instructions, even though he was a great general of the army and the recognized leader of his people. We are never to good or too great to need God’s instructions and guidance!

“Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. This is My Command—be Strong and Courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your GOD is with you wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:8‭-‬9 NLT

Those of us living since Jesus’s time have a distinct advantage over the people in Moses’ and Joshua’s time. We are no longer required to go to the temple and bring sacrificial animals in order to cover ours sins. We are exceedingly blessed that Jesus came to earth and became the ultimate sacrifice. His blood covers all of our sins (when we ask Him). All we need is Jesus. He gave us the ultimate instructions, too. No more animal sacrifices, and no more strict adherence to the old rules and regulations and laws. A Pharisee asked Jesus which commandment was the most important, and this is what He said:

“‘You must love the LORD your GOD with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” – Matthew 22:37‭-‬40 NLT

Through Jesus, we have the Salvation we crave. We have Freedom and Peace such as the world can’t imagine. Think! Because of Jesus, we are FREE. Pray for me, as I pray for you, that we will avail ourselves of the JOY we can find through reading and practicing God’s Words in His Book, the Bible. Amen!

Trust and Believe

Trust and believe. These two words are different, but I find them used interchangeably in the English language. To trust someone, we must believe that person, and to believe in that person, we must trust them. I found this quote while researching these words and their meanings at http://www.englishstackexchange.com:

“If someone gives you an [sic] information and [you] find out that the information is true, then you will believe. Belief is to accept something as being TRUE …”

On http://www.dictionary.com, Trust is defined as a “firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something,” while Belief is defined as “an acceptance that a statement is true or that something exists.” Interesting how they overlap. Can trust exist without belief? Can you believe without trust? In scriptures, especially in the Gospels of the New Testament, we are admonished alternately to trust in God and to believe in God. Example: Jesus is speaking with His disciples at their last Passover meal together, and He answers Peter with these words:

“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in GOD, and trust also in Me.” – John 14:1 NLT

Trust. But in the ESV, NIV, and the KJV, the word believe is used in place of trust. “Believe in GOD, and Believe in Me.” I don’t see how it is possible to have the one without the other. You have to trust God to believe Him, and you must believe in Him to trust in Him. Maybe, it is easier to unstand it this way:

“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Believe and Trust in GOD, trust and believe also in Me.”

I believe that GOD is Real. I mean, look around you. Do you seriously believe this world and the stars and planets evolved from nothing? (If you say “space dust,” I reply, “And where did the space dust come from?” I could go on all day! 😎 ) Like l said, REAL. See, easy to believe. I trust God; I trust in GOD. Sometimes my trust waivers, because of all the ugliness and hopelessness I see and experience in the world….. but my belief holds firm. Maybe, just maybe, the scholars who worked so hard to translate the scriptures in English under King James had it right when they used believe, rather than trust. With GOD, belief for me comes easy. Trust, on the other hand, is difficult at times because man (men) has broken trust with me so many, many, times.

“Trust in the LORD always, for the LORD GOD is the Eternal Rock.” – Isaiah 26:4 NLT

“It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in people. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes.” – Psalms 118:8‭-‬9 NLT

The LORD is the Rock. Man will always fail us and hurt us and disappoint us. The LORD will not abuse your trust, but you must believe Him, believe in His Son, and believe His Words in order to gain that trust. Sometimes, like the father whose son was desperately ill, we just have to say, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” – Mark 9:24 NLT

It is our choice to stay in our state of not trusting anyone, or we can open our hearts and arms to the only One Who will NEVER hurt us or stab us in the back….. don’t blame me for my trust issues, just show me the One to Trust.

Word

“In the beginning was the WORD, and the WORD was with GOD, and the WORD was GOD.” – John 1:1 KJV, ESV, NIV, YLT1898, DRC1752

Beautiful. I love that in a number of different versions of the Bible, the words of this verse remain translated exactly the same. Of the versions I looked at, only the NLT was slightly changed: “In the beginning the WORD already existed. The WORD was with GOD, and the WORD was GOD.” – John 1:1 NLT

There is NO ONE like our GOD. Three years ago, I wrote that I was reading Isaiah, and I find that I need those words again today. I love reading this book. It’s part thanksgiving, and part prophecy. I think God gave the outline of the prophecy of the end of the earth as we know it to Isaiah, then hundreds of years later gave the details to John to complete writing the prophecy. (See The Revelations of John….) Prophesy or not, the book of Isaiah is full of beautiful passages about trusting God and praising Him.

“LORD, You will keep me in perfect peace when I commit myself to be faithful to You; when my thoughts are fixed on YOU. That’s because I trust in You. I will put my Trust in the LORD forever. The LORD GOD is my Eternal ROCK. The LORD will keep me safe forever. LORD, you give me Peace. The One who has done everything I have accomplished is really You.” – Paraphrased from Isaiah 26:3-4,12 NLT

Thank You, God, for giving us the scriptures to guide us and to remind us of Your true nature. Thank You for the daily reminders to put my Hope and my Trust in You. Thank You for the promise of the Faith I seem to have so little – but You said all I need is Faith the size of a mustard seed. Thank You for the Gift of Your Son Jesus, and the washing away of my sins. Finally, thank You, LORD, for the trials and tribulations that give me the opportunity to really put my Trust in You and You alone. Thank You for the storms….. Amen.

Spirit Guide – The REAL Thing

“For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ …. So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.” – Galatians 5:14‭, ‬16 NLT

In New Age teaching, you have a spirit guide to help you through life. How ironic that they have pulled it straight out of the scriptures they despise. For a time in my life when I was very troubled and looking for help, I became involved in that thinking, thanks to a ‘counselor’ I went to who encouraged me to it. She encouraged me in looking at ‘past lives’ – I apparently was a black woman, a slave, during the Civil War – and through this counselor I was introduced to my ‘spirit guide.’ This is what I can tell you about that time: the New Age movement is not about bringing truth and light into your life. Oh, it starts out that way. My ‘spirit guide’ came to me (in my mind) as a beautiful, shining woman, eager to help me on my way. It took a very short time, because I didn’t follow her unquestioning and meekly, before this beauty resorted to her her true form – and it was far from pretty. It (not a ‘she’, as I had thought) morphed into a twisted, ugly imp with ragged teeth and claws instead of fingers and toes. It was unquestionably one of Satan’s followers, whose job was to drag me far enough down that I couldn’t find my way back to my LORD.

Oh, people, I pray you can hear me! If these things can happen to a CHRISTIAN, how much easier is it for unbelievers to be dragged into the pits of hell?? I have experienced hell on earth, and my heart breaks for the millions of people who are sucked into these things every day. The only Spirit Guide we need is the Holy Spirit! GOD Almighty, Creator, as our Father, JESUS CHRIST as our Advocate and our Brother, and the HOLY SPIRIT as our Spirit Guide – this is all we need to truly live, both here on earth and for eternity. It took a miracle to break me out of that life, and I praise GOD for my deliverance. Leaving it, just walking away, isn’t humanly possible. It requires divine intervention, and I am forever grateful for my freedom. Once Satan lures you into his lifestyle, it is so easy to get sucked back into it. This experience was second time becoming involved in it – up front, on the surface, it seems like such a good thing. The enemy wants us trapped in the quicksand of his lies and deception, and he absolutely hates it when someone gets free. He pursues the escapees with all of the vengeance he has, and sends his legions to harass and create difficulties and harm from those people. He throws up roadblocks and puts every enticement in front of us.

Even now, years after, he is out to destroy our lives; my life. I put my Hope and my Trust in my LORD Jesus Christ. He put His Angel Army around me to protect me, and He gave me His Holy Spirit to guide me through the darkness and despair.

“O LORD, You have examined my heart and know everything about me. ….. I can never escape from Your Spirit! I can never get away from Your Presence! ….. but even in darkness I cannot hide from You. To You the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you. ….. Search me, O GOD, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends You, and lead me along the path of Everlasting LIFE.” – Psalms 139:1‭,7‭,12‭, ‬23‭-‬24 NLT

HALLELUJAH! My chains are gone! Will you allow Him to release you, today?

Thank GOD My Yesterday Is Gone

“All my Hope is in Jesus, Thank God, my yesterday’s gone, I’ve been washed by the Blood…. ”

Crowder, in his new song, talks about a man who has been released from prison and is greeted by his friends and family. This man knows what it means to be released from physical bondage. Not just the bars and shackles of a prison, but the spiritual bonds of his sins. These bonds of the spirit are every bit as real as the steel bars and chains of prison; in fact, in many ways the bonds of sins are incredibly stronger than anything man can put on you. Spirit bonds can dominate your life, and the enemy of life wants us to stay in these bonds. I know, because I have spent most of my life caught up in those chains. We commiserate with the people who are in physical slavery today, and we hurt for the way many of our ancestors were treated, but what about all of the spiritually imprisoned? We can wear a ribbon showing our support for those caught up in human trafficking, and we donate to causes to save the baby whales/seals/etc. We get angry at the inequalities and inequities around the world. We fight to save puppies and kittens, while killing our own human babies. We argue for the rights of “dreamers” while using pornography and prostitutes to satisfy the lusts of our bodies.

What a messed up world. Just writing that paragraph made me a little sick to my stomach. Satan, aka Lucifer, the god of darkness and pain and despair, is dancing with happiness at the state of humanity.

What can a single person do to fight the darkness? Call on JESUS! He is the Light, our Saviour; King of kings, LORD of Lords, Son of the LORD GOD Almighty, Creator. He will stand with us as Advocate when we stand in front of Judge and Jury of the Great White Throne on Judgement Day. He stands with us, with me, today and every day I allow Him to be there. He rescues us from the sin and darkness; all we have to do is ask, and He will remove the shackles and chains we have bound ourselves in. Come to Jesus for Redemption and Forgiveness at the foot of the cross. He is waiting patiently, with NO judgement or condemnation. So remember this, if you don’t remember anything else: “All my Hope is in Jesus, Thank God, my yesterday’s gone, I’ve been washed by the Blood…. ”

“And so, LORD, where do I put my hope? My only Hope is in You.” – Psalms 39:7 NLT

I’m Not Religious

“That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what GOD has prepared for those who love Him.” …. 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.” – 1 Corinthians 2:9‭, ‬14 NLT

I don’t really care for people calling me “religious.” To me, religion is something people do to show to the rest of the world how “good” they are. I’m not “good”, and there is no way that anything I can do is going to get me to heaven. There aren’t enough Hail Mary’s, and there aren’t enough sacrifices or prayers to wash me clean enough. No, I have enough sin in my past to keep me as far away from God as there is distance. Blessed be His Holy Name, this is exactly where Jesus Messiah meets us! I can’t do enough, but He can do EVERYTHING. My mind can’t comprehend any love that big, and that’s exactly what verse 9 is telling us. “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what GOD has prepared for those who love Him.” I can’t see it, I can’t hear it, I can’t even imagine what God has for me. It’s difficult to even think that He loves me; that Jesus LOVED me, enough to leave heaven and come here to cover me with His saving Grace.

Think about this. If Christians have a hard time understanding how deep and how wide our Saviour’s Love goes; how all-encompassing His Love is, how can the unbeliever, the spiritually parched, believe it? LORD, don’t let me be perceived as religious by the world. I pray that the unbeliever will see a difference in me, and that they will want to know how to achieve that peace for themselves. Especially through this time of trial, help me to remain faithful to You and Your commandment. Help me to maintain my faith in You, and my belief in Your faithfulness to me. As I stumble through this time, I know I am not alone and I pray that I recognize Your Strength as You carry me. Show me how to be spiritual, and not religious. Help me remember this: “He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.” – Psalms 103:12 NLT AMEN.

Curses On You

Ever had anyone curse you? I don’t just mean foul language, but for someone to say (and mean) for you to go to hell? There are curses when the individual is truly cursing you, like in voodoo, and there are instances where it is done in jest…. although I don’t understand how you can jokingly refer someone to being cursed. I have been cursed at and had curses directed at me, but never have I had someone for years profess to love me, and then to do a 180 and curse me to hell. Disconcerting, at the least. Alarming, to think that someone close to me, to you, would hold that much hate. Instead of focusing on the injury, we need to focus on Jesus’ words:

“But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back. Do to others as you would like them to do to you. ….Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.” – Luke 6:27‭-‬31‭, ‬35‭-‬36 NLT

As many of you know, I have harbored grudges and anger and thoughts of revenge against those who have hurt me. All that negative in my life only served as a wedge between me and my God, and it also kept me away from people who genuinely cared for me. Letting the anger fester can kill us, spiritually and physically. The enemy rejoices when we hold on to all that. In my past, I became embroiled in a life of satanic influence, and I tell you the truth, I was within days of dying when I was rescued from it. The curses from that time trailed after me for years, and it is only the intervention of my Lord JESUS that I am alive today. I will forever bear the emotional and physical scars of that time, so that they can be a reminder that Jesus alone will sustain me. Even now, as I have been told to go to hell, I know that Jesus has determined that I need to bless and forgive that person. I cannot do it alone; my compassion fails me. Oh God, how I need you to guide my thoughts and words and actions! My one defense, my righteousness, depends on You, LORD. Blessings on each and everyone who despise me….