Building a Relationship With God

The Truth of Alissa Lynne

by Alissa Lynne - Purple Butterfly of Christ

Chapter 8 - Building a Relationship With God

Thankful – Just Me

God is in charge of all of our lives. He holds all power in His hands. We as Christians have a tendency to "beat down" other Christians or non-believers. What happen to loving God and spreading His love? Calling others out of their name with "colorful" adjectives or plain simple cruel words such as dumb or stupid, either way where is the love? Giving the word of God to an unsaved or saved person is NOT enough – when you give the word of God – use love.

When Jesus gave His words, they were not full of anger or hate for the person but for the sin, we are so hard on others, remember to be careful of judging. Jesus is an example of love – pure unconditional love and we need to show the same thing for our fellow human beings. There are people in need of our help and we walk right past them. We automatically assume that we can not make a difference, but if we would all try to make a difference, that is where the difference comes from. We have neighbors that we can not stand because of our experiences, when was the last time we said hello to them in pleasant voice and just being pleasant. My mom used to teach me to get people with my kindness. Most people expect people to just ignore us or to be just plain mean, but a little kindness goes a long way. So if you say good morning or a warm comment every time you see them, eventually they will start to warm up to you. The world is a cold place and it is up to us as Christians to warm it up with the love of the Lord. Do you only say "Have a blessed day" to those that you know are saved – or do you say it to everyone. Just because someone is not a believer does not mean that they are not entitled to a blessed day. We have to remember that we are to shine for Christ all the time and though some people do try our patience, just look at it this way – we are getting more patience as we deal with them. We are blessed and highly favored – why are we afraid to speak up and let the world know that we are not taking it lying down any more – we all need to STAND for Christ. Too many times because people do not see our way, we give up on them entirely – it is not our job to convict it is just our job to inform in a loving and Christian way. It appears to me that the Christian way is changing and I am wondering where it is going and why!!! Our God is still the same as yesterday, today and tomorrow – so why are Christians changing so much. Think about it my sisters and brothers – LET US STAND for the Lord and what is right in His eyes and love one another. I guess that is why I try to encourage and love my sisters and a brother for God is just the same with me. Please take the time to show love to all human beings. We need to show love and let God convict those who we minister to. Some of our job is to give His word, Praise Him, Trust Him, and Love All!

We go through life and prepare for the worse and pray for the best. I believe that we should prepare for the best and pray for the worst. When bad things happen or come at us, we need to pray for strength, for it rains on the just as it does the unjust and we are not above trials and tribulations. We have to remember that as we go through things in life that those things make us stronger in God and to rely on Him to get us through the situation. Whether it is the pain of the past, or the pain of the present, whether it is people we have to deal with or people we feel we can not deal with, no matter what the trials/tribulation/storm that we are going through it will strengthen us while we are going through it. We are being prepared for the best instead of praying for the best. We are being prepared to come out of the storm with no scars and praising God during and after the storm.

For every situation I am in – there is someone worse off than I am – struggling more than I am – the saved and unsaved. We have to be content in our lives and not be concerned for what we have and do not have for we are here in the land of the living and God is with us always. We are to be thankful for all things that we are blessed to have. God provides for us and we need to be thankful for what He provides us. I am so thankful for God reminding me not to look at others and want what they have for I do not know what they have been through to get that and God may have something better for me in store. We have to remember that no matter what is going on in our lives – God wants the best for us and from us. We have to give Jesus our best for God always gives us His best. I smile because the God I serve even though I fall short many times – God is always there.

I have read several things in the past about people and pain – we have to remember that God removes all pain and that if we hold onto the pain it will eat us alive. I have seen writings from being raped, neglect, and anger to just down right hurting pain in the heart. God is with us and we have to remember to stand with the Lord in all things that we go through and do. He will never leave nor forsake us so as we take steps that we are afraid to take remember that through it all God is with us and He is always with us. When it seems like the darkest times – God is there doing things that we do not always see but He will reveal in the end.

So many times people say to me why does this happen to me and why do that happen to me? It rains on the just as well as the unjust and I believe that because we are children of God – the enemy wants us more and will throw things on us. We as human beings – saved and the unsaved – are given a choice – life situations hit us and the outcome depends on us – if we decide to be defeated by it than that is what happens – if we allow the things that happen to us to defeat us then we are going to always feel as if life does not matter – but if we fight against it and rage against the storm and Praise God during the storm and come through the storm – then we are going to always be VICTORIOUS!!! We have to decide how we are going to handle life – it is given to us but where it goes is up to us for God has given each of us free will and it is our choice on how we handle our life. We can fight the storms with Jesus doing it for us, or we can choose to lose the fight and curl up in the corner with our heads down – what kind of life is that!!!

I praise God for the shelter from the storm and the peace in my heart during the storm. God is good all the time and all the time God is good. I thank God every day of my life!!! Praise God from whom all blessings flow!!!!

Asking God

I John 5:14-15 "Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him."

So many times we go to God and ask for things that we know He is not going to do. You should stop asking to hit the lottery – gambling is that of God? People thank God when they hit the numbers, I do not believe that is of God. God does not condone gambling. We have churches doing bingos and things like that; God does not need that money raised by gambling. Gambling is gambling – duh – bingo is gambling!! Anyhow, when we go to God in prayer for things, we need to make sure what we are requesting is in line with what He wants for us. We have a tendency to ask God for things before we are ready for them. For example, we pray to God for a man or woman that He has for you, which are fine, do not put a time frame on it; ask Him to send that person when He wants too. God will answer us but you might not be ready for that man/woman and mess it up. Or you pray for a new house, not one you can afford to live in on a daily basis. I used to believe we need to be specific in prayer and watch what you ask for as you might get it.

Well I have changed that train of thought, I ask God to give me what He feels I need. I ask Him not for "wants" anymore, for as long as God gives me what He feels I need all my wants are taken care of - God loves us and just as we do our children He does for us. We take care of our children and sometimes our children are so well behaved, we surprise them with something we know they would like, they did not ask for it but we know our children, (if we love them, we know them), we knew they would love it. God is the same with us, He knows us better than we know ourselves, and so it we ask for our needs forget our wants, be good children. He will take care of all our needs and all our wants! As we get closer to Him, our needs and wants will be in accordance with His will for us anyhow!

Your Vow to Jesus

Matthew 5:33-37 "Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.' But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.' For whatever is more than these is from the evil one."

Here is another aspect of this scripture. How about "promises/vows" that we make to God? We will promise God that we will do whatever He wants if He brings us out of the mess we are in, usually it is a huge mess we created because we did not listen to Him in the first place. God loves us and has our best interest in His heart and hands. He wants us to lean on Him, to trust Him, to love Him as He loves us. So why do we say things to Him that we do not mean, see if you make a promise or vow to God, you will keep it – you will in the end of it all keep it. I have a family member who years ago promised God that if God would allow everything to be okay at the doctor's that he would give his life over to Christ. Well God made sure it was all fine, this person has yet to turn his life over to God. Nothing has been right for this person since, the 'funny' thing is he knows it; wonderful thing is he is starting to Let Go and Let God!! We can not make promises to Jesus and not expect to keep them, as in the end, every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. I am thankful that God is not like us in keeping our word to others and to Him. I am glad that He is way above us and keeps His word to us each and every day!!!!

Keeping Your Word

Matthew 5:33-37 "Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.' But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.' For whatever is more than these is from the evil one."

God keeps His word to us; we do not have to doubt His word as He always comes through with His word/promises. We should do the same, we should mean what we say and keep our words, and we should not have to say "we promise or we swear". Our word should be enough for people to trust what we say. We have a tendency to not trust people and what they say – is it because of them or because of us. Do we not trust others or ourselves, I have to believe that it is a little from column A and a little from column B. We need to take a look inside ourselves and let it go – whatever it is and learn to trust. We hold onto our hurt too much, we need to trust Jesus and move forward. We need to trust Jesus and give 100% of our heart to Jesus and those around us. It is time for us to truly love our neighbors and trust God to speak to our hearts to tell us of those who are untrustworthy. We are to be Christ-like at all times – as hard as it is – we still need to strive to be Christ like. Love our neighbors and keep our word to all especially to Christ.

What Do You Do to Draw Others to Jesus?

It really bothered me that those that choose not to worship Jesus as their personal Savior really do not see the church as the church used to be viewed. So many churches are conforming to the world and not the world conforming to the church. Why do we have to have the secular music songs in the church? Why do we have to reach out to the world with their music? So we draw them to church with the music of hip hop and then we get them in church and provide hip hop and pray that they hear the word of God. But once the minister starts to preach the true word of God, they are not listening or they have left because "the show" is over. So what do the ministers do now to keep the young people, they sink and yes I mean to say sink to their level, and start using street language in their sermons.

Okay, look the church has always been looking to reach the young people and how did they get the young people into the church – the parents. The parents brought their children; we are thinking to reach the adults that we need to reach the children – NOT!!! We need to reach the adults they are the head of the house and the ones in charge of things. So how do we reach the adults, not by music, but the word of God. The true word of God. We sing songs in church to evoke the spirit of the Lord into the service; the Holy Spirit draws them in. I have heard from people, well it is just music; it does not do anything...WHAT IS THAT MESS?? Okay so if that is true, the worship songs we sing at church means nothing for it is just music and it does not do anything. Ridiculous – do you see where I am going with that? The music we play in the church is to usher in God's spirit, not the happiness of those in the seat because they are be bopping to the music for that used to be their song back in the day??!!!

We need the old school ministers back who were afraid of Jesus not the collection plate being empty. We need those ministers, who are not afraid to say that Jesus loves you and accepts you, but you need to change, you need to commit and have a relationship with the Lord. Where are the ministers that will speak the word of God because they cared about your very soul?

Matthew 25:34-46

³⁴ Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
³⁵ For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
³⁶ Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
³⁷ Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
³⁸ When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
³⁹ Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
⁴⁰ And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
⁴¹ Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
⁴² For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
⁴³ I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
⁴⁴ Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
⁴⁵ Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
⁴⁶ And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

We are to draw men unto Jesus by our actions. How are we to reach the unsaved when they are walking around worried about their bills, and how they are going to provide for their family? We have to reach the need of the unsaved and draw them in. For if you are hungry, you are not listening to what people are saying, if your electric is going to be shut off, you are not listening to what people are saying to you about the Lord and trusting Jesus. If your son is out there on the streets selling drugs and providing the money for the home, you are not listening to the church for you are worried if you son is going to come home that night. We have to reach out to people and help them.

So many churches are concerned about building bigger churches but what about meeting the needs of the congregation. There are churches that are not reaching out to their congregation unless they are paying a huge tithe each week. We have to reach those that need us; there are tons of homeless people here in the USA – who need a hand up not a handout. We have tons of children waiting for families that just need love and a safe place to live. We have tons of people strung out on drugs or some kind of addiction that just need someone to pray with them and believe in them. We have tons of people who feel that they are useless or worthless wanting to end their lives that just need to hear a kind word. Where are we to give that to them? When was the last time that you saw a homeless person and helped them? Some of them are just down because of things in their life that could be you. They made some choices that have landed them in that situation, what happen to loving them?

I remember back in the day that there were tons of churches giving back to the community, you knew that this church gave food on certain days and other churches had clothes and other churches would let you sleep there at night. I am sad to say that Pittsburgh is not like it used to be and it is discouraging. I remember back in the day, in the heart of the black neighborhood, a big tent went up and there was a revival right there in the middle of the neighborhood. There were people changing their lives right there. Those revivals are no longer held outside but inside of the church and not as many are being saved. The very same pastor who used to conduct those is now sitting high in his own church that is huge and untouchable. I feel for those ministers who forget where God brought them from. We need to remember that if it was not for the grace of God – we would be so lost. We need to reach out to our sisters and brothers.

We are expected to be Holy for that is what He requires us to do, He would not say we could if we could not; we are our biggest hold up on that. I have to encourage you to surround yourself with things of holiness, and get into His word!! God is too good not to be in His word and get to know Him better. The enemy will try to deter you but get into the word anyhow; the benefits are too great not too.

Do Not Judge

1 John 2:24-27 "Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father. And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life. These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him."

Many times we have heard from ministers, pastors, and Christians – "Come as you are" But do you really mean it? Do you accept anyone into your church with open arms; do you minister or help anyone with open arms? We should accept anyone seeking God, who cares where their life is currently. None of us are perfect, God works on us daily! He does for all of us!!

If someone comes to the church in inappropriate attire, do not turn them away by rude remarks or comments, or by beating them up with how they should be. Show them the love of Christ and encourage them to continue to come to church, God will change them. Plus you never know their life circumstances, for example I was staying with my aunt after the fire in my house, I did not have many dresses before the fire and since my main clothing closet was on the 2^nd floor – those clothes where gone, and the clothes in my bedroom on the first floor were all smoke damaged. So I had no dresses, I barely had clothes, but I wanted to go to church, I wore jeans until I could afford a dress. I grew up with the belief that a woman is a woman – hence the dress to church. So when someone comes to church in pants, shirt too revealing, skirt too short, fill their heart with the love of Christ in you and God will do the rest.

Jesus came to save all of us regardless of our career choices, our lifestyles, our hearts and our minds. If someone is open enough to accept Jesus into their heart, and allows himself to be filled with the Holy Spirit, God will change them if they allow Him to do so. They have to be willing and we have to be available to help those in need of our assistance – always with love, never with malice or self reasoning behind our actions. We can not judge people by their lifestyle, we as Christians must testify of God's goodness to us and we must open our hearts to help those in need without judging, we also need to remember that God will send any of His people to do His will – saved and the unsaved. We as Christians need to have not only an open heart but an open mind!!! God will make the changes in a person's life as they are convicted by His Holy Spirit and His words – just as He did for us.

God convicted my heart with quitting smoking as I started to see my body as a temple to God.

So many times we judge people before God has started working on the person – we should save the judging for Jesus not for us – we should love and love all!!! We judge too much and we jump to conclusions when we should just be there for someone.

My life has not always been pretty – God has brought me through so much – and it took my ex-husband leaving me to truly 100% bring me to Christ. Why – because I thought I had it all – I thought I had the best of the best: a husband, a son, a pet, a house, two cars, good jobs – not the best marriage but we were still together. Well then he left – I lost my mind, temporary lost my house (due to the fire), lost my mom, almost lost my son (he was having difficult times since his dad left), and God stepped in and saved me. He held me in His arms, and let me cry all night long about my life, and ever since that day, I have been committed to living my life the way Jesus wants me to do. He loved me when I did not love myself and I am eternally grateful. I thought I had it all but guess what – I had no life – as I did not have Jesus. Now that I have Jesus in my life, I am so much more at peace and I am so much happier. I am not the only one who is happy either – my son is happy – he has a much calmer life and we are working on our relationship together.

NEVER JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER – GOD CAN CHANGE ANYONE – INCLUDING ME - SAVE THE JUDGING FOR JESUS – LOVE – LOVE – LOVE – LOVE – OPEN HEARTS AND OPEN MINDS!!!!!!!!!

Love - Love - Love

John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

We have to love one another. I know that God does not like sin but we have to remember that we are to love another that is including the unsaved, those that do not know the Lord. We have to even love those that are full of so much righteousness that they forget where the Lord has brought them. We have to be careful to not prevent someone to coming to know the Lord. We know what is right and wrong and we can say to someone that they are wrong but remember God is going to do the same to you. I was out there sleeping with whomever I wanted to sleep with, drinking and smoking like I thought I was grown enough to do. The love of God and the Word of God convicted me and nope I do not sleep around, I do not drink, I stopped smoking, swearing and a bunch of other stuff. I am far from perfect but God's love is perfect and I am learning more and more each day. I believe that we are to as fishermen of men, draw people to the Lord and allow the word of God to minister to them to change their ways. Now do not get me wrong - should a minister be in the pulpit not preaching the word of God or watering down the word of God - NOPE!! I know that we are to talk to each other and minister each other but beating people up about how they are is not going to turn them to Jesus. All it is going to do is make them feel guilty and run faster into the world to hide. Let us remember that Jesus is love and He is the one that is so full of love for us each and every day! We need to remember to love one another and to remember the golden rule!!!

Contentment in Life

Hebrews 13:5-6 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

Are you happy in your life? Do you look around and smile at your life?

We are blessed just to be alive. So many times we see what others have and want it for ourselves. We are to look at what we have and be happy with it – to be content with our lives and not want someone else's life or things. People used to see my ex do stuff for me and tell me how much they want a man like him – little did they know how cruel he was at home. We never know what someone else is going through.

God gives us only what we can handle in all aspects of our lives, mentally, emotionally, and financially. God has in His wondrous way given us the opportunities and placed the path in front of us for a happy, content, fulfilling life all we have to do is trust in God, place our faith in His will for our lives and do not stray from it.

If we want to be happy for the rest of our life, put Jesus first in all things. Trusting God to take care of it all and have faith that he will despite what comes our way. We will still be content, happy and rejoicing in Jesus.

I Corinthians 13:6-7 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Praise

Psalm 106:1 Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

Psalm 111:1 Praise ye the LORD. I will praise the LORD with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation.

We should just worship Him for all that He does for us...He loves us despite our actions and the way that we are, He loves us – ALL OF US. He loves the unsaved just as much as the saved – it is the sin of the saved and unsaved that God does not like. I praise God for showing us such compassion and mercy, where we have a huge tendency not to show compassion or mercy to our fellow human beings – we are quick to judge and think things of untruth about each other instead of loving one another. I am thankful to God that He is slow to anger for if He was not – I would be lost forever!!! I praise God for His encouragement to me and for His unconditional love for me.

Romans 5:2-7 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.

While we are going through what we are going through, God is walking with us, never leaving nor forsaking us. He has the whole world in His hands!!! God knows all and sees all – Praises to God who will answer my prayers and your prayers at the same time, if it is His will!

No Weapon - Pray

Isaiah 54:17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.

No matter what comes against us, it will not prosper or succeed. God will see us through. You know you are on the right track when things start coming at you real hard and heavy.

I have to fight to follow Jesus...I am verbal about it...I know that for me I have to keep my mind on Him at all times...which means I do not listen to anything but gospel music...I study and I praise Him at all times. I keep my mind on God.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

So many times people underestimate what Satan is capable of doing. When Satan left heaven, he took ⅓ of heaven with him. So let's say there was 1,000 angels, 333 angels went with him. These are angels who know God...were in the presence of God and they still left. Satan is a liar and there is no good in him, but he is a convincing liar. We have to remember that and arm ourselves with the armor of God.

Ephesians 6:10-12 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

2 Corinthians 6:6-8 By pureness, by knowledge, by long suffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers ...

We can not allow Satan to take control of our minds. Our minds must remain on God at all times. We should surround ourselves with things that are holy and keep in the word of God at all times. We have to keep our minds on the Lord at all times or do our best for He will strengthen us to get through every day!!

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Remember my brothers and sisters....God is with us always...He will never leave nor forsake us...we just need to STAND!!!

God Bless and remember that we are blessed and highly favored!!

We have to get a spirit of Praise! We have to understand that God is going to keep us going! We have to praise the Lord while we have the breath to do so. God is moving everyone – come on, get with Jesus, and feel the power of the Lord in your life.

I have to say that it is sad what I have seen in the Christian community. We need to pray for the unsaved and for Christians. There are people out there with so much hate in their hearts and will go to the Christian message boards just to cause confusion, now we know that confusion is nothing but the enemy running wild. Instead of giving the word of God back to these people, Christians or so-called Christians are slinging mud back at them. I was so hurt to see this. I know that we are living in the last and evil days, but it still touches my heart to know that some are so against the word of God and some of "us" are just as bad.

I am praying much for those that are attending churches are spiritually dead. Churches that are giving "Cotton Candy" sermons, ministers not living right or teaching right, so called Christians that are so far into the world, that you only know they are a Christian when you say Thank you Jesus and they say Praise the Lord - well they whisper it. We are coming to a point where there is no way to tell True Christians from not so true Christians except for the discerning Holy Ghost whom dwells in us.

It is time for those of us with a voice to speak up. We are saying we need a revival and asking God to bring us to that, but God helps those that step out on faith. We need to stop talking about it and do it. We need to pray for our sisters and brothers who are lost. I have read so many things in the past that makes my stomach sick.

We are letting our children act grown before their time, because we want to "get our grove on". What is that? We are to be what GOD has called us to be and not what we THINK He wants us to be. One of the reasons I have opened up my web site to others, why I am doing the radio blog, why we are doing the bible study is to reach out to others. We are so busy thinking about where God might take us instead of moving forward in what He has told us to do. We are so busy worried about how much we can make instead of letting God handle our finances. I have been getting so much "push back" from some family members because of where God is taking me and I am not listening to it any more, I am moving forward in Jesus and I am glad to see that I have some sisters and brothers moving in Jesus too.

I wanted to say to those sisters that are out there struggling with their marriage, their singleness, their jobs, their kids; or whatever their issue is you best believe there is a sister somewhere who can relate. We are Christian women not of the world we are special! We need to reach out to our sisters and bring them closer into the fold of Jesus with the love of the Lord. This life is not about what we can have but about Jesus.

I am reaching out to all my sisters and encouraging them to share their story, it will bring you closer to Jesus and it will touch someone's heart. I know that God has blessed me with a life full of mess and guess what; I am going to share it with the entire world so that if nothing else ONE sister will be able to stand a little taller knowing that God did it for me and He will do it for them.

My sisters I sit here singing the praises of God - why? HE IS MY PROVIDER! I have nothing to worry about and nothing to fear! I know that God will take care of it. Though people are always saying God is their provider when was the last time they let it go and concentrate on Jesus! God has called us to walk by faith and I am going to walk by faith! I am singing and I am praising God. I could be sitting here worried but God has blessed me many times over. I am standing and I pray that my sisters stand.

My sisters we need to praise the Lord more than we do. Even at work I scream inside and write it out on paper...PRAISE THE LORD, PRAISE THE LORD, PRAISE THE LORD – HALLEJUAH GOD IS ABLE TO TAKE CARE OF ALL MY NEEDS – NOT SOME OF THEM BUT ALL OF MY NEEDS! I AM A CHILD OF THE MOST HIGH GOD AND THERE IS NOTHING THAT HE WILL NOT DO FOR ME! My sisters no matter where we are in life, we need to praise the Lord at all times – I love the Lord and I am not going to shut up!

The enemy is attacking big time but guess what – he is not getting my mind with his dumb thoughts – my mind and heart are here to serve the Lord – I shall always praise the Lord – no more depression, no more sickness, no more financial issues for me – my God is there for me and He will keep me! I am singing the praises of God for all eternity.

We are going to praise until God shows this world that He is in charge. I know that God is going to move THIS DAY! I trust the Lord in all things and I know that NO MATTER WHAT GOES ON IN THIS LIFE – GOD HAS MY BACK – GOD HAS MY FRONT – GOD HAS MY ENTIRE LIFE SURROUNDED! PRAISE GOD MY SISTERS!

Miracles are coming and blessing of peace, love, and joy will show up when you praise the Lord with all your heart!

We have to give God praise at all time - pray and praise go hand in hand. We have to be in the word of God, we have to talk to Him (prayer) and we have to worship Him - there is no other way to make it through this life without it.

I just have to say that we need to praise God instead of crying about the things in our lives - sure, we can cry but we need to praise Him - He is calling for His people to praise Him. I know that when the praises go up - the blessings come down. Not always money either - even though that is nice, but blessings of peace, love, and joy to name a few is so much better than money! He is moving His people to another level and we need to praise Him and get where He wants His people to be. We are children of the Most High God - what do we have to fear - NOTHING AT ALL!

It is a shame what some do or say, in the name of Jesus, who have tons of people following them and even show that they are not doing as God intended and yet people are blinded by the "cotton candy" sermons and services. I pray for all our sisters and brothers to see the Light of Jesus in some one and stop following these false prophets! I think we are so quick to fall for the "fix it quick" ways to get to God instead of working/building/cultivating a relationship with the Lord and listening to His Spirit that dwells in us. We are to take heed to the times and those that are false prophets, call them on the carpet when they are preaching or living outside of God. As Paul did, he called those out that were doing things in public against God and supposed to be walking in Christ.

I have been reading so much from people who just do not listen to Christians because of the mess they see on TV with those that are begging for money or taking the word of God out of context for their gain. I have been trying to reach out to people whom just HATE Christians because some of the things that Christians have said to them have hurt them. I am just praying much that the True Christians ask to be blessed with more Holy Boldness and stand up for the Lord in ALL SITUATIONS!

How can we sit quietly waiting for something to happen? I cannot be quiet anymore and I speak to whomever I see. I am not an evangelist, preacher, minister, or any of those other titles; I am a woman of God who loves the Lord, who just wants to see all that she meets to know the Lord! God is good and we should shout it out! No more just being a Christian on Sundays or the privacy of your home, it is time to scream it from the top of our lungs wherever we go and say how much God has changed our very lives and how His love can change others! We need to stop judging those that are not in Christ and love them. We need to start calling those in the ministry on the things that they are doing outside of the Lord because the world looks to them as our leaders/spokesperson and let me tell you - NONE of them is my spokesperson for I have my own mouthpiece and know the word of God.

It is time to speak the truth and know God's word as we know our name. We should not guess at things but know that we know that we know. I have heard people say that something is coming and God is going to do some thing wonderful. I believe that some thing is coming - it is SALVATION for the lost - some of those that are acting lukewarm are going to come to the Lord with a fire inside that is burning for the Lord. The fire is gone from many Christians and it is time for those that are losing or lost the fire to be re-fresh and renewed in Jesus. God is just too good to sit down on.

I have seen Him move for others and for me in the past, He is still the same, and He is not going to leave me. God is showing me that He is with me regardless of what comes at me. The peace I feel comes only from Him and praising Him. I love it, it is my testimony - sure, I am short in cash BUT MY GOD IS BIGGER THAN THAT! Praise the Lord!

We are going to praise God until HE CHANGES THINGS! He is in control - He will do what I need and give me a testimony out of this world. See God is so good - He has prepared me for a bumpy ride this month but - God is with me and it will not be that bumpy and I am going to have a testimony out of this world - God will get the glory in ALL OF MY LIFE! I have been too quiet for too long - I am decreasing and asking God to increase!

There is a Praise Party going on and it is never going to stop! We need to stand for the Lord regardless of what is going on in our lives. Watch the miracles come, watch the joy come, watch the peace come, watch the moving of the Lord - God is about to do some serious work. I do not know about anyone else but I can feel it and I know that it will work to glorify Him and in turn I shall be blessed even more than I am now! Hallelujah praises to God, my sisters!

I know if He is moving here - He is moving everywhere - if you are down today - praise the Lord and let Him bring you out – if find that you cannot get out of it and need encouragement - email this sister - I will call you tonight and we will praise the Lord until a change in mood comes!!

We need to be there for each other! I am serious too - I will sing, pray, shout, whatever it takes to get my sisters to praise the Lord and feel good in life and know that God is with us! Praise the Lord! I am so excited - Praise the Lord!

So many times Christians go to church to be entertained. I am not into being entertained when I go to church. The pastor/minister/elder or whoever is giving the message does not have to pump me up to praise Jesus. I have attended churches and services where people have to "pump" up the crowd. As Christians we should be on fire for Jesus all the time, we should have praise for Him at all time. No one should have to "fire" you up for Jesus.

I believe that "seasoned" Christians should know to bring Him with you and get the service started...one thing is for sure the Holy Spirit is "catchy".

I have seen some churches entertain so much to the point that the "word" given by whomever is delivering the message that day is so "watered down". Why are they afraid to make the congregation angry with the word of God? If you give me a message from God and it happens to cut me because I am guilty of it...good...I am looking to please God not man. So many times our pastors and church leaders do not want to offend because they do not want to offend the "paying" members. It reminds me of the scene in a movie, where the one Bishop is telling the Bishop of the church that their membership was low and if they did not increase their membership, no funds would come their way. Hummm, now how does that really make sense, if you church membership is down is not that when you need the money the most. Are we not in this to help each other, are we not in this to worship God and be Christ-like? So many times so many politics come into the church and the business of God is lost. It is no secret that I am not a fan of "mega-churches". I will give them this, they are big, they make a joyful noise, and some of them even do the work of God. I said some of them...there are a lot more who are out there for the money and the money only, they make a joyful noise unto the people not the Lord. It is a shame that they are like that but I pray for those churches for they have reached so many people and have a chance to make a huge difference in the community and to lead so many to Christ. I pray for big churches with huge congregations that God will bless them to do the true will of God.

I pray for churches all over the world, for Satan is always attacking the church and the people of God. I pray for each of you and that God will lead and direct your every step.

The World and Christians – Be in it Not of It!

John 15:18-19 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.

John 17:13-16 And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

Romans 12:1-3 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

I Corinthians 2:11-16 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? but we have the mind of Christ.

James 4:3-7 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

I John 2:14-16 I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

I John 4:3-6 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

I Peter 1:15-16 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy

I have been reading things and seeing how people think that we can still do things of the world that we used to do. I have seen where it is acceptable to have sex with someone because you are eventually going to be married. I have seen where it is acceptable to continue to listen to the worldly music, watch worldly television. I am not talking about those of the world who are not walking with Jesus; I am talking about Christians who say that they love the Lord. I am talking about Christians who are still sleeping with someone who is not their spouse, who still goes to the clubs, who are still dressing inappropriately with short skirts and revealing tops. I am talking about those that are mean and nasty all the time, never having a kind word to say to anyone. I am talking to those that are still just in the world, doing all kinds of worldly things finding and trying to justify what they are doing. I am not perfect either. We have to remember that we are accountable for all that we do. We have to remember that we are being watched – not just by man but by God. I know that sometimes we forget but everything we do even if someone does not see it, God sees it. I know that there are people sneaking around doing things that they are hiding and praying no one finds out, but God sees you and knows that you are doing it. We are required to walk Holy and be Holy and live the life that God has called us to do. It may seem at times that it is hard but if we have the faith of a grain of a mustard seed – not a mustard seed but the grain of a mustard seed – we can move those mountains out the way! (Matthew 17:19-21)

We are so quick to say that God is working on me – well God has been trying to work on us but we have been ignoring what He is telling us to do.

We have to stop and listen and then change what He tells us to change. I was guilty of waiting for some miracle to happen for God to change me. He will if I shut my mouth and do as He says, He will if I just open up and change what needs to change.

God is here for us but we have to know that we are to give up the things that are not pertaining to Him and not of Him. We have to leave the things of the world behind for they can hinder us in our future. "Remember that it is for your future that your present must line up with God."

We must get rid of all those things that we are holding so tight so that God can move in our lives as He sees fit. If we want a financial blessing, we need to stop spending as if we are running out of time. We need to cut the cards up and depend on Jesus to take care of us. We need to seek His face and live right and watch the blessings come. If we want a spouse, we need to stop searching on our own. Place Jesus in the forefront of our lives and get out the bars, clubs and what not, let the Lord direct your life and here comes your spouse. You want peace and joy; seek the face of Jesus not the face of those around you or the joys of this world. God is the only way; Jesus is the truth and the light! We must seek ye first the kingdom of God, our heart's desire should be to please Him and watch the blessings flow. We will walk in the favor of the Lord always!

Why I Am Always Talking Against "Meism" and "Prosperity" Sermons

So many times people come at me about this minister or that minister and tell me how wonderful they are. I listen to why they love that minister and why they believe it is the truth. I just smile and give them the reason of what I believe. See the ministers who preach these kinds of sermons are misleading to the people who listen to these sermons. They are not telling them that this life is full of trouble; they are not telling them that God says we shall suffering in the name of Jesus. When these kinds of speeches are going up, it is coming back voided, there is nothing to hold onto, no foundation in this kind of empty message. It is okay to preach about prosperity but take it from the direction of God. We shall have things on this earth that are beauty and we can have prosperity, many men who loved God FIRST did have this in the bible. God blesses His people with monetary blessings as well as spiritual blessings. We have to understand that God is to come first, not ourselves, it is not about us. It is about God! God is to be the head of our lives, nothing else. We are to worship God in truth; we are to love God with our whole heart. We are to praise Him at all times; we are to love Him with all we have. We are to take joy in praising God and serving God, not think it is a chore. We are to understand that the riches of this world are NOTHING compared to what we will have in Heaven with God.When we get into the meism of sermons; we forget that this is not about us, that it is about the Lord. Many of those professing Christianity do not want to hear the Truth!

Therefore, what is wrong with this kind of preaching, the issue with the focus is that it is not on Jesus, it is not on the glory of God but the glorification of self, the glorification of man. It is no longer about the Lord but about those that serve Him. We should be about our Father's business not our business. There are men and women in the ministry in the ministry for all the wrong reasons. Sure every now and then in their sermon they say something on point, but if the reason why they are giving the message is because of keeping up the giving of the people and not for saving souls, their agenda is not God's agenda, it is their own agenda.

It is simple how to NOT fall into this trap. These verses are three of many. I picked these verses because they are the ones that we all know but so rarely follow and if we would follow these verses, we would save ourselves so much.

Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

I Peter 1:15-16

¹⁵ But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
¹⁶ Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy

Proverbs 3:5-6

⁵ Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
⁶ In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

But here is another one that will help understand why we need to know these verses and why we need to read the word of God...

Galatians 5:16-26

¹⁶ This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
¹⁷ For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
¹⁸ But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
¹⁹ Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
²⁰ Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
²¹ Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
²³ Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
²⁴ And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
²⁵ If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
²⁶ Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

James 4:2-4

² Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
³ Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
⁴ Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

We are doing things that are not of God, we are doing things that God will punish us for, but how can we live as He calls us to do if we do not study His word, how do we fight all the evil presented to us if we do not read and live His word.

We can attend bible studies, we can listen to the reading of the bible every day on line, we can read all kinds of versions of the word, all kinds of handouts on the word. HOWEVER, if we do not apply what we read to our lives, we are just as lost as those that do not even read the word of God. I have heard so many people give so many excuses as to why they do not read the word and even why they do not apply it to their life. If you do not read the word, if you keep not following what it says to do, you are going to hear some words that you are not going to want to hear from the Lord, you are going to fall and be lost from God for all eternity.

Ephesians 5:4-6

⁴ Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.
⁵ For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
⁶ Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.

I Corinthians 6:8-10

⁸ Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren.
⁹ Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
¹⁰ Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

It is so important to all to read the word of God, to know it in your heart, to be able to rely on it in your time of need or in someone else's time of need. It is not just for our good but for all those around us. I have been talking to friends and stuff about the word of God and just trusting in Jesus. We are to witness to each other; we are to bring new sheep to the flock, by witnessing to others. How can we do this, if we do not know God's word, if we do not follow His word?

We need to separate ourselves from the world and be in it but not of it. We can hang out with the unsaved to witness to them, but they are not to be our best friends, at some point if you are associating with an unsaved person, hanging out with them all the time, someone is going to be converted, because birds of a feather flock together. If you are not changing them, they are changing you. I want to see my Jesus face and the love in His eyes for me, not the Wrath of Jesus. I bet the Wrath of Jesus is worse than the Wrath of Linda Jean (My mom).

I pray that each of you come to have a personal relationship with the Lord and if you do not have one, that you draw closer to the Lord for ALL THINGS in your life.

I Peter 1:14-16

¹⁴ As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:
¹⁵ But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
¹⁶ Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

Matthew 6:32-34

³² (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
³³ But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
³⁴ Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

God is with us and we can resist temptation. The enemy, satan, is out to take us to hell with him. Some people forget satan is not in charge of hell, God is. Satan will be one of the persons in torture in hell; he is not to be in charge of it as some try to make us think. He (satan) has the power of the air for now, and we need to know our enemy and know that he is real. We have to realize that he has no power over us, that we have all power for we are in Christ. Jesus arose from the dead with all power in his hands. We are more than conquers because of Christ; we have the victory in all things. People should not take pride in saying or using the excuse, "the devil made me do it" as he may put the thought in your mind but it is you who did it. God will give us a way out if we seek Him and we can resist the devil. We are to not give into the plans of the enemy for the human race.

This reminds me of a conversation with a female I know. She explained to me that she cannot go without sex for more than two weeks and she is a Christian. I told her that yes she can for the Lord is strong and will give her the power to resist, but she said that she could not. I cry for our sisters who believe this and think that God will not strengthen you to get past those stages. It may not be an easy resistance for you, but it can be done. I think so many times we give into our flesh desires and say that the enemy got to us, but sometimes I believe that it is us that get to us. As the scripture says – I can do all things through Christ, which strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13 – King James version) The scripture does not say some things or some times – it says I can do ALL things – which include resisting temptation. I believe that sometimes we give WAY TOO much credit to the enemy that we do many things on our own, we are to live a holy life, and though we fall short on many occasions, we are still to live holy.

There is no question in my mind that we can resist temptation, for God said that if we abide in His word, then He is with us. We as Christians need to build a relationship with the Lord and to trust His word and Him to do what His word says. We are blessed beyond our understanding of our blessings.

We are special and loved by God. We are too quick sometimes to give things that are precious to us. We will give a man our love that does not deserve it and if he is sent from God, he will wait for it. Just because you are engaged does not make it right either, as he is still not your husband and you will have to answer to God for that sin. We are quick to say I know I am going to marry this man, and give him a piece of ourselves and when the relationship falls through, the first thing you think back to is how it fell apart and you should have never given him "some". My sisters let us learn from other's mistakes, do not think it will not happen to you because you are different. We are different in some manners but human nature is human nature to all. Please pay attention to those sisters who have been where you have been, seek their counsel and direction. Talk to them and take it to the Lord in prayer. God is with you always and He will direct your path. There is so many scriptures to back me up on this but I am going to leave you with one of my favorites that keeps me in line all the time.

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Matthew 6:24 No man can serve two masters for either he will hate the one, and love the other or else he will hold to the one; and despise the other. Ye can not serve God and mam-mon.

We have to remember that we are either serving God or the enemy. There is no serving God and self, for it is written...

Revelation 3:15-16 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot; I would thou were cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth.

It is plain and clear, we cannot be ½ way or as my mom used to say, ride the fence with God. Of course you are better when serving God for He is the one who keeps all things well. God loves us so much and He does it all for us. What is amazing to me is that He makes it so that we all wake up in the morning and go about our day regardless of whom we serve for the enemy has no power – God has all power. The thing for me is that God keeps me in peace and joy when all else around me is bad, no one but Jesus keeps me in my perfect peace. I look at the things God does for me and He does so much, for I feel so unworthy but I praise God for His favor. So many times we look at God's favor/blessings in material ways, we need to remember that God's favor/blessings can be material things but the best favor/blessings come to us in spiritual blessings/favor, I will take peace and joy over money, new cars, and new things. We have to stop thinking about blessings and favor in the material ways. So many are preaching "prosperity" sermons and though that is nice that is not what God is all about, the message of "serve God & get rich" needs to die. So many people are not hearing the true word of God and I pray for them daily, there are so many are not being led by the Holy Spirit, whom is God. I came across a website that has classified ads for church leaders and positions in the church. I kind of got past the aspect of placing an ad for a pastor or to get church help, but the part that bothered me was the fact that one ad was asking for a music director, the ad said they wanted songs picked prior to service so the words are displayed on the monitor. So what happens if/when the Holy Spirit places another song on the director's heart, will they be fired because the words were not on the monitor? I guess for me to attend a church that is so full of order so that man is in charge of the service and not God, is just not for me. I truly believe being led by the Spirit in all things and pray that more Christians are led that way!

My sisters and brothers let me encourage you to know the word of God, know the voice of God and to FOLLOW IT!!!

1 Peter 1:13-16 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

How do we live holy, we live holy by surrounding ourselves with things that are Holy. We are to have our thoughts on Jesus, have our minds on Jesus.

Psalm 19:14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.

We are trying to live a life of holiness and wonder why our lives are in turmoil, we are holding onto old things, we are doing old things and not letting go. We are still living in the world and not letting go. God has said that we are not to be of this world. We are not to hold onto those things of this world. We are to surround ourselves of things that improve our relationship with the Lord. I know that a lot of us do not think changing our dress or what we listen to in music or what we watch on television makes a difference, but it does. We surround ourselves of things that are of the world, such as the television shows we watch, the music we listen to, and the places that we go. We are saying to ourselves that I am a Christian and it does not matter because "I know who I am", but does the world know who you are?

We as Christians need to take a stand and speak loud. We should not bite our tongues at work when things come up and Christian views are needed, I said needed, does not mean it is wanted but needed. Why should we sit and talk to our friends at work about God and whisper what we are saying. They do not whisper about their night out of drinking with their friends, we should not whisper about how wonderful and Holy Spirit filled church was on Sunday. I am so tired of biting my tongue and sitting back saying the politically correct thing – THOSE DAYS ARE OVER – We should speak the truth – the truth about God.

We are allowing ministers and pastors to fill our heads up with prosperity this and wealth that, not that we can not have these things, but what happened to the sermons telling us that if we do not live right we are going to hell. Those sermons are gone because we are now in a place where Christians want to "feel good". They do not want to hear that having sex and not being married is wrong, they do not want to know that yelling and cussing at people is wrong, they do not want to know that going on the internet and sneaking around on their wife/husband is wrong, they do not want to know that lying is wrong. They do not want to know the truth. What do some pastors do, they give them what they want to hear to keep the money rolling in.

Matthew 16:24-28 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.

Why is it okay to allow pastors to live double lives, to stand before us giving us the word of God and not even remotely trying to live it. We are held accountable for each other; it is our responsibility to help each other. Why are we not holding those that say they are Christians accountable for their actions? If a pastor is gay, or sleeping with tons of women in the church, forgive him, love him but sit him down until things are worked out. What is so wrong with that, some churches – not all – still do that – if a young man appeared to be gay – the mothers of the church stepped in to talk to his parents and to him in love.

We are required to love one another but that does not mean we accept the behavior – we love the person and rebuke the behavior.

So many times I have heard, well I am not an "in the face Christian" or "I am not one to say anything" – well who should? We have to stand up for Jesus as He stood up for us. We have to stop the madness that is going on in churches. We have to remember that the street is for the street – we did not use to rely on the music to get people to come to church – going to church was not going to see a show. The music that we hear at church is to usher in the spirit of the Lord, not the multitude of people. We are conforming to the world and inviting the enemy into service. One minister preach about how some ministers are using the language/slang of today to reach the young people. Why it that we are conforming to the world, the world should be conforming to us! We should be setting the example for the world, the world should respect the church and its members but it is not doing so. Why? If our lives reflected a light in the dark world and not being dark as the world or if our talk reflected one of love and Jesus, and if our dress reflected that of someone holy, and if we were a shining example of Jesus in all manners in our lives, we would draw men unto Jesus, as He said we would. We are the light of this world and we are to live the life so that those that see us will want to know more about Jesus. We will encourage them to attend a church that is preaching the word of God. When they attend the church, the preached word will pierce their hearts and change their ways. We have become too laid back in our ways of reaching out to those in need, but why is that? It is because of us!!!

So many times we allow those things in our past to have a hold on us, once you have come to Jesus and repented of your past and committed your life to Jesus – let it go move on past it. Do not allow it to occupy your mind. You are allowing the enemy to work on you and move you in ways that you should not move. I had a conversation with a friend of mine; we have to stop "fitting" Jesus into our lives and make Him the head of our lives. We have to stop reciting the word of God and live the word of God. Is it easy, nope – it is hard, but God is with us and He shall never leave nor forsake us.

So many times I heard or read that people are seeking God and can not hear Him. If you are seeking God and not hearing God, turn off the world around you. Turn off the music, put the kids to bed, turn off the television, and turn off the cell phone. Get down on the floor and turn over your heart – block out the world and let Jesus come in and DO NOT MOVE UNTIL HE DOES. You need to have the desire in your heart to hear His voice speaking to you. We have to be still to hear Jesus speaking to us. We have to listen when He is speaking. We have to really stop fitting God into our lives and give complete control to Him. It is much easier than it sounds and you know you are on the right path when all kinds of things come up against you when you go to spend time alone with the Lord. Rebuke the enemy when that happens and call on Jesus. All the pain, all the hurt, all the fear and all the misery will leave you, we are our biggest problem. If we can commit to going to work every day, why can't we commit to going to the Lord all the time? If we can commit to going to the gym, why can't we commit to going to the Lord all the time? If we can commit going to get our hair/nails done, why can't we commit to spending time with the Lord every day? We can acknowledge God is who takes care of us, but we cannot acknowledge Him in our every day life. You want a better life, you want things to stop bothering you, you want the things of this world to just roll off your back, you want the pain of the past to be gone, you want to forgive yourself and be a better person, you want to live the scriptures and not just recite them, then commit your life to the Lord completely – HAVE A RELATIONSHIP with the Lord, the kind of relationship that you do not do a thing without Him. We think God is not going to hear us – God hears us but sometimes we need to hear ourselves first!! There are tons of scriptures that I can give but let me challenge you on this...

Want a better relationship with the Lord...want to know Jesus' voice when you hear it...want a better life...do this...

Spend at least an hour when your wake up in the morning and at least an hour before going to bed praying, reading the word and just worshiping the Lord. Humm an hour, well look rearrange things, give up the television, or the extra hour of sleep – manage your day. You will feel so much better in your life. Mind you, the enemy is going to hate this and start to come at you – IGNORE IT!! Keep praising God and keep doing the hour. God will bless you with His presence and His peace!! I know that He will because He did it for me.

There is going to come a time when Jesus comes back and takes some of us up – I pray that you are in that number. I am praying that I am in that number. God is good and the things that He provides for us is just so awesome so I know that being with Him for all eternity has to be beyond my wildest hopes and dreams.

Why is it so hard to do what God says to do? Why do we fight so much against the will of God? Hummm...it is plain and simple in the Bible...

Ephesians 6:11-13

¹¹ Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
¹² For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
¹³ Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Remember when we are coming up against things – we have to remember that we are not coming up against the person, we are not coming against the issue, we are not coming up against world but we are coming up against the enemy. So that person in our face making us angry, hurting us, or just being mean is not the person, it is the person being used by the enemy. The enemy that is coming at us. So how do we fight the enemy? We fight the enemy with the word of God, with the love of Jesus, with the power of the Lord.

What does that all mean, it means we have to be in the word – we have to know God for ourselves. We cannot rely on what others say to us. I remember someone saying to me, Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." I used to listen to people say that and think okay fine, but once I started having a relationship with the Lord by following...

Proverbs 3:5-6

⁵ Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. ⁶ In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Matthew 6:33-34

³³ But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. ³⁴ Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

I have found that I stopped attending church and playing church and have begun to worshiping the Lord and fellowshipping with my sisters and brothers in church. I love my church family for it is encouraging to attend church service and praise God with people who love the Lord with their whole heart. I thank God for my church home and kind of sad about having to leave it one day, but I am getting a solid foundation in the word by attending my home church and I know that God will bless.

We have to be mindful of what we are taught by our pastors, ministers, speakers, and teachers. We have to listen to the words that are coming out of people and then grab the bible to read it for ourselves. When the pastor/minister/speaker is speaking and giving scripture write it down, write down what they are talking about. When you go back later and read the entire chapter that the verses are located in, you can see for yourself if they were using the scripture in the right context, that my dear friends is called studying the word. We are to study for ourselves to know God. Jesus said that His people would know His voice, well remember this...

John 10:25-30

²⁵ Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me.
²⁶ But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.
²⁷ My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
²⁸ And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
²⁹ My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
³⁰ I and my Father are one.

We are to know His voice so that we do not follow those that are not in line with the Lord. We have to study His word. He tells us over and over again of false prophets, people who are not sent by Him. We have to have a relationship with God.

1 John 4

¹ Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
² Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
³ And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
⁴ Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
⁵ They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.
⁶ We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

To know the voice of God means we have to have a relationship with God. We have to know Him for ourselves, not by what others tell us, but for ourselves.

We have to stop "playing saved" and live saved. We have to stop with the excuses for ourselves and others but hold each other accountable. We have to remember that we are to live holy as He lived holy. He would not ask this of us if we could not do it. We have to surround ourselves with things that are holy without surrounding ourselves with things of the flesh. Turn off that music and radio and talk to the Lord instead, turn off the television and open the bible. Turn off the lights and fall on your face and humble yourself – commit to Jesus with all your heart!

2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

It is very important to remember that He is talking to His people, we are His people, we are called by His name – we are to humble ourselves and pray, seek Him, and turn from our wicked ways. The order of this is very important. When we are approaching God we need to be humble, we must pray, and seek Him, AND turn from our wicked ways. We have to turn from our wicked ways but we cannot do that without Him. We need the strength of the Lord to turn from our wicked ways. What are our wicked ways...?

Ephesians 5:3-8

³ But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;
⁴ Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.
⁵ For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
⁶ Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.
⁷ Be not ye therefore partakers with them.
⁸ For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:

1 Corinthians 6:8-10

⁸ Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren.
⁹ Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
¹⁰ Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

Galatians 5:20-21

²⁰ Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
²¹ Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Well that covers them all and it is plain that if you are a partaker in any of that – you shall not inherit the kingdom of God. So many are following the new thing that God will forgive you – yes God is a forgiving God but once you know the truth you are expected to abide by it not excuse your living with it. We have to understand that it does not say if you do some of this or all of this, if you do any of those things, you will not inherit the kingdom of God. You can go to church every single day but if you are committing adultery, you are not going to inherit the kingdom. That means you are to live a Holy life – a holy life in Jesus! We need to stop making excuses for ourselves.

I know that I want to see Jesus' face so that means that I have to live as He wants me to live – which is holy, so that means I need to have a relationship with Him to do so. I want to encourage you to look at your relationship with the Lord and look at how you react to things, are you always becoming extremely angry, easily to angry, no patience, no understanding, fussing at those around you, and filled with worry, stressed out? If you are – you need to get closer to the Lord. Jesus will take it all for us, as the song says Jesus Paid It All, He did not just pay some of it, part of it or just a little bit – He paid it all!!! Praise God for we are healed and we are blessed! God is with us but are we with God!!! If we are – stand! I am not ashamed of the Jesus for if I am ashamed now, He will be ashamed of me on judgment day!!!

Holiness is Not an Option for the Growing Christian

It is so amazing how many Christians will excuse away their current lifestyles, saying that God will understand. My heart goes out to all those that are not even attempting to flee temptation and walk as God called us to walk, Holy! There are so many that say that we cannot do that, so why try, or that God did not call us to do it. These are the same Christians that I see who are struggling every day with the simple things of life. If you allow yourself to be in the world and of the world, then you are going to struggle with things that you should not struggle.

We have come to the point of taking the scriptures and turning them to suit what is going on in a person's life. It is a shame how we excuse our lifestyles to fit what WE want to do into what we BELIEVE God wants us to do.

God is a wonderful, AWESOME, and loving God, but He is a just God. If we continue to walk as we see fit and not as God sees fit, we are going to go to that ugly pit of Hell along with the enemy for all eternity.

Some people believe that the enemy is not real, or that we will not go to Hell if we just believe in Jesus. It says in God's word that if you do not follow His commandments, if you do not live holy, if you are of the world and not of Him, headed to Hell.

Now let us say that I am wrong and misinterpreting the word of God, if it was as easy as saying I believe and half way trying live right, what is the point of Jesus coming to save us from our sins, He would have been wasting His time. He would just have sent a message saying, "Try to be good and I will bring you home to me" If that is the case why tell us to live the life that He wants us to live. If you love the Lord, we are to follow all His commandments and trust in the Lord for all things.

We are so quick to excuse our walk in this life with the mistakes by saying it is okay – NO IT IS NOT OKAY! We are to stop the sin, repent and STOP DOING IT! Many people love David because of all the errors he made and God still loved him. Well, David made many BIG errors and God still loved him, for David repented and NEVER REPEATED THAT SIN AGAIN.

Let us say that you are sleeping with a man that is not your husband, realize that it is wrong – STOP IT, REPENT, AND NEVER DO IT AGAIN. If you keep sleeping with him, then you are not sorry for that sin. Why is it we do not accept that behavior from people we know, but expect God to accept that. We will kick friends to the curb for minor things that they do that offend us, we will spank our children for not listening to us because we told them the same thing repeatedly, yet they still do it. WHAT ABOUT GOD! We do this to Him and then excuse it away saying God is good and loving, He will never make us pay for He loves us too much.

My dear friend that is the enemy coming at you once again, you need to read the word of God again. People died in the Old and New Testament for not listening to the direction that God has given. If your heart is not in the right place, then you are not going to even begin to live as God wants you to live. If you are not studying the word of God for yourself, instead relying on the message preached on Sunday you are not going to live, as God wants you to live. If you do not stop, doing all those things that you KNOW is wrong you are not going to live, as God wants you to live. We have to remember that we are to live, as God wants us to do.

God did not say serve Him with half of your heart, He said serve Him with all of your heart. If you serve God with all of your heart, you will be able to resist those things that are not of God. If you fall down, sure, we will get up, but we have to repent and never do it again. God did not tell us these things if we cannot do it. Jesus is coming back, prepare your heart and live your life as if He is standing in front of you because He is!

We should live our lives, as God wants us to do. We are in the world but should not be of the world and should "separate" ourselves accordingly.

I Peter 1:14-16 As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

Romans 12:1-3 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

I have talked to a few Christians that believe that "come as you are" is how we are to be for the rest of our lives in Christ. It is true that Jesus accepts us for who we are but we have to make sure that we are building a relationship with the Lord and as we build a relationship with Him, we will find ourselves changing. We will find that our desire is to please God and not please man or ourselves. We will find that our way of thinking and how we perceive things will change; we will find that we are growing. We will grow from babes in the Lord to stronger faith, stronger relationship in the Lord.

I have heard people say, "Jesus is working on me". Yes, Jesus is working on all of us, but we have to strive to live a holy life. God would not say that we could if we could not do so.

We are to stand out and be different as both verses above state; we are to live holy as a living sacrifice. We are not to say we love Jesus, and continue to get drunk, do drugs, sleep with people who are not our spouses, cuss/swear, smoke cigarettes, talk about each other, lie, cheat, beat each other down with our words and actions. Husbands should love their wives and not beat them up; wives should treat their husband as the man God has called them to be. Parents are to parent their children and children are to obey their parents. These things should stop, as we get closer to God the more we want them to change.

When I hear someone excuse away something that they are doing, that means to me that they are not ready to give up that fleshy part of their lives and that they need to get closer to God. I hear people say that we fall short in God, and we do, but that should not be the excuse as to why we do what we do. We are to fight against the fleshy things and move towards the love of Jesus.

The Changes in My Life that Has Me Trying to Walk as God Would Have Me to Walk...

How My Dress Code, Submission to the Lord and Future Husband All Came to Work Together...

I think back to July 17, 2005 when I walked to the front of the church and committed my life to walk with Jesus. I did not have any dresses so I went to church in pants; I came as I was, but the minute I had money to buy some clothes to wear to church, I went out and bought dresses to wear. Now I wear only dresses and skirts. I believe that for me, it keeps me where I need to be in the Lord and always mindful that I am a lady. Now that is me and what I feel is right with my walk in the Lord. I have come to realize that in my pants, I was more masculine and not willing to give up that "independence" that I had within myself. I am a strong believer that a woman should submit herself to her husband as if for nothing else, someone has to be in charge, two people cannot be in charge. I know many women do not feel that way and are married, but someone has to be in charge and in my readings of the bible, that person is the man, as he is the head of the household. Therefore, as I get closer to the Lord and the more I submit myself to the Lord, the easier in my mind it seems to submit myself unto my future husband. My mindset in that manner has changed, all from changing my dress and submitting myself to the Lord.

How I have perceived presenting my body as a living sacrifice to God...

I do not know about you but Romans 12:1-3 speaks volumes to me. As I started studying the word of God and attending church service on a sincere level, I have come to see that we are to present ourselves correctly to God.

I came to God again, in July of 2005 but I did not come to have a relationship with the Lord until the end of February 2006. I had been through some things at that point, and was still seeking the truth and something to satisfy the desires that I had inside of me for answers to my life. Therefore, I attend church on more consistent bases; I read the word of God more and prayed more. I was getting closer to the Lord and striving for His will for me.

I found that I could not listen to secular music any more – none of it for it was not glorifying to God. I know that some find that there is nothing wrong with it and that is their choice for them but I personally do not see how I can live my life holy and still listen to it. Most songs are self-glorifying. If they are not singing about the glory of God and to His glory, I do not want to listen to it. I have even got to the point that some music, which is considered gospel music, I do not listen to because it is not glorifying to God but the person singing it. (Sorry, I just cannot get into any artist who uses old songs and tries to mix in gospel words to it – just does not sound like a song of gospel to me.) For me, I cannot live holy half way, I have to strive to live holy 100% and God did not say it would be easy to do so.

I have found that I cannot watch a lot of television any more because it does nothing but waste my time. I have found that I am more active in trying to find good things for my son and myself to do. I spend more time writing about the Lord and seeking His face.

I used to smoke cigarettes, and after 25 years of smoking cigarettes and three years of smoking 2 packs a day, the Lord delivered me from smoking. I used to drink wine and cuss up a storm, but God has changed my desires to start acting like the woman that He has called me to be. I know that many Christians think that drinking wine is all right and maybe for them it is. I know that we are not to be drunk on anything and since I know for me that all it takes is one drink, I stay away from it. I find it funny that people see issues with smoking but have no problem with wine. By the way, Jesus may have made the wine but it did not say that He drank it and became intoxicated on it.

Here I say I still have "flesh issues" and used to say God is not done with me yet on.

I am striving to be holy and to live my life according to the will of God and I am thankful that He is with me always despite my stupid ways. I have some serious areas that need to be worked on and pray that I kill the flesh inside of me and allow God to shine through me. I know that it has improved and I need to pray and fast on these things to get to where I need to be. I have a temper that is out of this world when I do not feel well or when I am tired. It is one of the major things that I need to stop giving into and turn over to God. I am not sitting here saying God is not through with me yet or excusing it away. I know it is a problem and I know that the problem starts with me. I thank God for having the patience to deal with me in this area and I pray that I stop being stubborn and give it all over to Him as He wants me to do so. I know that the more I seek His face, the closer to Him I will get and the more I will see a change in me in the areas that need changed! So please continue to lift me up in prayer and remember to stop excusing yourself and live up to what God wants in your life. If you take a step towards Him, He will be there with you every single step of the way!

Be Mindful

Philippians 4:8-9 "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you."

Be mindful of what you put on your mind, you are your environment. If you are listening to music full of sexual manner, no wonder your thoughts are thinking of what you could do to that cutie pie you see. Now of course some of it is our human nature, my point is to surround yourself with things of Holiness, as these things will help you resist temptations that come your way.

Many people keep putting off church until tomorrow and putting off getting to know God. People take for granted that we have tomorrow to get our lives together. None of us are promised tomorrow, none of us are promised not only tomorrow, the next hour, the next minute, or the next second. We have to stop living like there is plenty of time later to get to know Jesus. We should live each day as if our Lord and Savior are coming back that day. We do not know when He is coming and those that are telling us that they know when He is coming – they are lying to you. No one knows the hour or the day that He will come again. We need to live each day as if He is standing in front of us asking us what we are doing. We need to live our lives like we are thankful to have another day to love each other, to have God love us and walk with us – in our hearts. We need to live each day as if it is our last day to show Jesus how much we love him, does not matter how we feel or what we are going through, we need to just live our lives as if He is standing right there in front of us. So many times I think that I have forgotten what I learned from Him, some of the things that He has shown me, I have let myself forget, instead of embracing it and loving the life that I have and I am living. I am learning more each day to appreciate all that He shows me and all that He has provided for me. I think that we sometimes forget all that He does for us, I think that is important for us not to forget that, but sometimes life has it so just do not pay attention – we need to pay attention to all that Jesus does for us and to be happy with life as it is and thankful that He has does supply all our needs!! I am not sure where God will lead us and where He is taking us, but we need to let Him take us there and to appreciate all that He gives us and all that life gives us. God will direct our steps and move us where He wants us to be moved to if we allow Him to direct our lives. We have to not just go and do – we need to listen to what God says to do. We need to learn to stop and listen to what the Lord says. If we are unsure of what He says we need to stop and not move until we truly hear from Him.

I will leave you with this...please see life with the BIG PICTURE frame and do not look at life to the tip of your nose; you just might miss something spectacular!!!! God has shown me the Big Picture of my life because life does not stop at the tip of my nose, we have to remember as Christians there is more to living for Christ than what is in front of our faces, God knows all before it is even into existence, He has a plan and direction for our lives and sometimes we will miss out on the blessings of life if we limit ourselves with the blinders of life and thinking inside the box, we need to live outside the box and we have to have open vision to see His vision of our lives!!! I encourage each of you to stop and listen to His call on your life and may you allow God to guide and direct your every move!!!!

Psalm 118

O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever. Let Israel now say, that his mercy endureth for ever. Let the house of Aaron now say, that his mercy endureth for ever. Let them now that fear the LORD say, that his mercy endureth for ever. I called upon the LORD in distress: the LORD answered me, and set me in a large place.

The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me? The LORD taketh my part with them that help me: therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes. All nations compassed me about: but in the name of the LORD will I destroy them. They compassed me about; yea, they compassed me about: but in the name of the LORD I will destroy them. They compassed me about like bees: they are quenched as the fire of thorns: for in the name of the LORD I will destroy them. Thou hast thrust sore at me that I might fall: but the LORD helped me. The LORD is my strength and song, and is become my salvation. The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous: the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly.

The right hand of the LORD is exalted: the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly. I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD. The LORD hath chastened me sore: but he hath not given me over unto death. Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and I will praise the LORD: This gate of the LORD, into which the righteous shall enter. I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation. The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. This is the LORD's doing; it is marvellous in our eyes. This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD: O LORD, I beseech thee, send now prosperity. Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD: we have blessed you out of the house of the LORD. God is the LORD, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar. Thou art my God, and I will praise thee: thou art my God, I will exalt thee. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

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