Jesus - mi Amado

healing prayer

2011-11-09T01:34:00.000-08:00

i don't believe in luck, good or bad. i believe in the absolute sovereign providence of God. for a few days i've been wondering if i wanted to be healed. i've struggled for a couple of days with the evil and wickedness of this world. why would i not want to go to heaven and be with God. i'd see my mom again and see how happy she finally is. a very dear lady came to me and said the church nee...ded to contend in prayer for my healing but i had to want to be healed. God was telling her the same thing He was asking me. i had told God that if He wasn't finished with me here He needed to change my heart. this morning i thought even if i were married it wasn't enough. i would rather be with Him. He adores me and i adore Him. romans 8:28 is my favourite verse and even when God allows pain or unpleasant circumstances i know it's because He loves me and that it's for my good. well after the first round of puking my guts out yesterday morning i said ok God i want to be healed. i had had my regular breakfast that i've had almost every day for months. even after i puked the first round i felt great so i knew it wasn't the flu. after the 3rd round i was getting worn down and i said ok God i've had enough. i'll go for healing prayer. for the many times God has told me to wait this year i guess it's not heaven just yet.

cancer

2011-11-06T21:08:00.001-08:00

in 2006 i was diagnosed with follicular lymphoma, a form of non-hodgkins disease. i was told it was stage iv, in my bone marrow, it was terminal, there was no cure, that it was slow growing and i had 7 - 10 years. when the surgeon who had performed the biopsy told me this i smiled and said ok :o). he said he'd never had anyone smile when they were diagnosed with terminal cancer. i smiled again. Jesus is the Prince of Peace and He has given me absolute peace the entire time. last year a friend said no wonder i had so much joy i knew i was going home. i had asked God a few years ago if He was going to heal me and i thought He said no. ok. i was ok with that. i was looking forward to going home. i keep going up for prayer when i'm at different places and have asked for prayer because it's been hard for me to ask for prayer for myself. i travail for other people in prayer but not for myself. 2 weeks ago i asked God again if He was going to heal me and i have told Him i don't like yes or no answers. He said I'm not. ok. :o) total peace. like paul said to live is Christ, to die is gain. Phil 1.21 It's hard not to think i would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 2Cor 5.8 when i told a friend that God had "I'm not" going to heal me she asked how i felt about that. i told her "But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God." after this i talked to a lady that had prayed for me and she said she and others believed God was going to heal me. i started thinking about God's Word and over and over He says we are healed. i started thinking that what i heard God say did not line up with His Word and started talking to Him about it. i talk to Him but He, other than a word here and there has been silent for 2 years since oct 31. nov 7 last year God told me to be still and then followed with just wait, be patient, wait, soon, wait, wait, wait. since He has been silent i have no idea what i'm waiting for. He has told me i will have a husband. am i waiting for healing, a husband or heaven, a ministry. 11/4 reading in touch mag it talked about clinging to the promises of God. i asked the Holy Spirit to point out applicable promises for my life and Ps 103 came to mind. praise the Lord who heals all our diseases. as i was looking for some scripture john 5:6 almost jumped off the page at me. Jesus asking the invalid at bethesda pool if he wanted to get well. whoa! it was like He was asking me. and it wasn't even underlined or highlited. i really had to think about it and couldn't honestly say yes. this morning i woke up sad for the first time in years. i knew that wasn't from God. i allowed myself to be sad for a bit then told it to get lost. when i went to church i thought i needed to talk to the lady that leads prayer and wrote myself a note thinking i would send her an email later. after service she came to me because God had told her to. she said i needed to come to the prayer nights because they had to contend for my healing. we talked for a bit and she asked if i wanted to get well. i still couldn't honestly say yes. like she said there's no point in praying for my healing if i am not in it. i had a ct scan 3 weeks ago and was told the cancer is progressing in my organs. the gp and oncologist said i should have chemo or radiation. but they've also told me that it won't cure me only treat the symptoms. and recently two people have been told that their heart conditions were caused by chemo. why would i want it? i love God more than my life. Abba if You're not finished with me yet please change my heart.

Laser therapy and cancer

2011-07-19T17:50:00.000-07:00

I went for laser therapy on my feet today and I asked the physiotherapist if it would work on reducing tumours. He said no it accelerates cell growth so it wouldn't be used on cancer patients. I told him I was a cancer patient and he stopped immediately to ask me what kind and where etc.

I told him it was in my bone marrow and he said he had to call and find out if that would include the bones in my feet and whether it was safe for me to have laser therapy.

He wrote a letter to the oncologist asking if I am an acceptable candidate for laser therapy and gave me a consent form to sign if the doctor said it was ok.

So do I have laser therapy on my feet so I can hopefully walk without pain knowing it will speed up the growth of cancerous cells?

Hm. I have two questions. How fast would it speed it up and when is Jesus coming back?

Faith

2011-05-16T13:26:00.000-07:00

What did Jesus say about faith?

Isaiah 7:9 - If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.
Habakkuk 2:4 - The righteous will live by his faith.
Malachi 2:16 - So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith.
Malachi 3:10 - Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.
Matthew 8:8 – Lord… just say the word, and my servant will be healed.
Matthew 8:10 – Jesus… said… “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.”
Matthew 8:13 - Jesus said… “Go! It will be done just as you believed it would.”
Matthew 8:26 - He (Jesus) replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?”
Matthew 9:22 - Jesus turned…. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.”
Matthew 9:29 - “According to your faith will it be done to you”
Matthew 13:58 - He did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.
Matthew 14:29-31 – Peter…was afraid. “You of little faith,” He said, “why did you doubt?”
Matthew 15:28 - Jesus answered, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.”
Matthew 17:20 - He replied, “Because you have so little faith…. if you have faith as small as a mustard seed…nothing will be impossible for you.
Matthew 21:21 - Jesus replied…if you have faith and do not doubt…if you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.
Matthew 24:10 – At that time many will turn away from the faith.
Mark 2:5 – Jesus saw their faith (and healed the paralytic).
Mark 4:19 - The worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.
Mark 4:24,25 - Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.”
Mark 4:39,40 - He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
Mark 5:32-34 – Jesus… said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you.
Mark 5:36 - “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”
Mark 6:4-6 – Jesus… could not do any miracles there…and he was amazed at their lack of faith.
Mark 7:29 – For such a reply, you may go. (your daughter is healed)
Mark 9:23 - “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for him who believes.”
Mark 10:52 - “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.”
Mark 11:22-24 - “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “I tell you the truth, if anyone… does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
Mark 16:14 - Jesus appeared to the Eleven… He rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe.
Luke 6:38 - Give, and it will be given to you…. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
Luke 7:6-9 - “Lord… say the word, and my servant will be healed. When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and… said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.”
Luke 7:50 - Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you.
Luke 9:1,2 - When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.
Luke 10:17-19 - The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” He replied…I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.
Luke 12:22 - Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry.
Luke 12:28 - O you of little faith!... Do not worry.
Luke 18:8 - When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?
Luke 22:32 - I have prayed for you… that your faith may not fail.
Romans 8:26-34 - In the same way the…Spirit himself intercedes for us…because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will…. Christ Jesus… is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.
John 11:40 - Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”
John 12:9 - Because of… Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. …on account of him many… were going to Jesus and putting their faith in him.
John 14:12 - I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
John 14:16-17 - The Father…will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth… He lives with you and will be in you.
John 20:29 - Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Acts 3:16 - By faith in the name of Jesus, this man… was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through Him that has given this complete healing to him.
Acts 14:9 – Paul…saw that he had faith to be healed.
Acts 20:21 - They must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.
Acts 27:25 - I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me.

Like Loren Cunningham said this morning miracles are still happening all around the world today.
Why not here? Are we afraid? Are we doubting? Are we worrying? Are we not trusting God?

Do you believe God or merely believe in Him? Do you believe God is who He says He is? Do you believe God can do what He says He can do? Do you believe you are who God says you are? Do you believe you can do all things through Christ? Do you believe God’s word is alive and active in you?

God is who He says He is. God can do what He says He can do. We are who God says we are. We can do all things through Christ. God’s word is alive and active in us. Start saying these until you believe them.

Seeking God

2011-04-15T15:49:00.000-07:00

Lord that I might always, continually, diligently and earnesty seek Your presence and Your Word, I ask that You would provoke in me such an acute hunger and passion for You.

Three devotionals today all talked about the same thing, seeking God. Psalm 105:4 Seek the LORD...seek His presence continually! Isaiah 26:9 9 My soul yearns for You...my spirit...earnestly seeks You. 2Chronicles 15:2 the LORD is with you when you are with Him And if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.

Do you think He might be trying to tell us something.

Seek the LORD your God and you will find Him, if you search after Him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Killed for your faith or not for your lack of faith.

2011-04-09T19:27:00.000-07:00

Why are non-believers in Christ not persecuted for their lack of faith and why are those who do believe in Christ persecuted? Besides the fact that Jesus said we would be does that make sense to you?

If you are a non-believer reading this does it make you wonder? People aren't trying to kill you. Do you wonder why they would want to kill us?

Eternity - are you ready for it?

2011-04-09T17:51:00.000-07:00

are you ready for eternity? do you know where you're going to spend it? God is love and He gave His one and only Son for you. Jesus paid the price for your salvation. God is also holy and just and He cannot and will not let sin taint His heavenly kingdom. only those who have trusted Christ for salvation will enter into heaven. have you?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JoIN1DnwyQ&feature=share

What satisfies your deepest longings?

2011-04-05T19:52:00.001-07:00

Wealthy, western nations don't look to Christ to satisfy their deepest longings, they think they can find satisfaction in money, power, success, new and bigger and better things.

Madonna says she is a material girl and we are living in a material world. Rolling Stones say they can't get no satisfaction, they try and they try but they just can't get no satisfaction.

What satisfies your deepest longings?

Turn from following the occult to following Christ

2011-04-05T19:40:00.000-07:00

Wurmbrand says in Tortured for Christ that we must win rulers, leaders in politics, economics, science, and the arts. They mold the souls of men.

At an evangelistic crusade in the Philippines the local witch doctor and his wife came to see what the local priest had told all the villagers to stay away from. At the end of the night the witch doctor and his wife gave their lives to Christ.

What an amazing end to the night knowing that if the people followed the witch doctor in the occult that they would now turn to Christ and follow Him. Praise God!

Faith under Torture

2011-04-05T19:25:00.000-07:00

The communist secret police knew that if a man believed in Christ, he would never be a mindless, willing subject. They knew they could imprison the physical body, but they couldn't imprison a man's spirit - his faith in God. (Tortured for Christ - Wurmbrand)

Fox's Book of Martyrs tells hundreds of stories of people's faith sustaining them through indescribable tortures and death, singing praises to God even as they were engulfed in flames.

Would that I have such faith.

An atheist's prayer to God

2011-04-05T19:01:00.000-07:00

One day, being a very convinced atheist, I prayed to God. My prayer was something like this: "God, I know surely that You do not exist. But if perchance You exist, which I contest, it is not my duty to believe in You; it is Your duty to reveal Yourself to me. I was an atheist, but atheism did not give peace to my heart. By Richard Wurmbrand, founder of The Voice of the Martyrs.

Needless to say he gave his heart and life to Jesus.

I used to be an atheist too. Praise God He continued to pursue me until I found Him even after I had said there was no God.

God is our Refuge and our Fortress

2011-04-01T20:26:00.000-07:00

Psalm 46 (New Living Translation)

1 God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.
2 So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea.
3 Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!
4 A river brings joy to the city of our God, the sacred home of the Most High.
5 God dwells in that city; it cannot be destroyed. From the very break of day, God will protect it. 6 The nations are in chaos, and their kingdoms crumble! God’s voice thunders, and the earth melts! 7 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here among us; the God of Israel is our fortress. 8 Come, see the glorious works of the Lord: See how he brings destruction upon the world. 9 He causes wars to end throughout the earth. He breaks the bow and snaps the spear; he burns the shields with fire. 10 “Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.” 11 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here among us; the God of Israel is our fortress.

Rob Bell - Love Wins

2011-03-23T14:40:00.000-07:00

The bible warns us to beware of false teachers, our eternal destiny depends on what we believe. And Rob Bell is definitely a false teacher.

2 Peter 2:1 But false prophets also arose among the people. In the same way, false teachers will come among you. They will introduce destructive opinions and deny the master who bought them, bringing quick destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow them in their unrestrained immorality, and because of these false teachers the way of truth will be slandered. 3 In their greed they will take advantage of you with lies. The judgment pronounced against them long ago hasn’t fallen idle, nor is their destruction sleeping.

4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment; 5 if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; 6 if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; 7 and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless 8 (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— 9 if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.

1Timothy 1:3 command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer. 7 They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm.

1Timothy 6:3 If anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, 4 they are conceited and understand nothing. They have an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions 5 and constant friction between people of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth. 20 Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, 21 which some have professed and in so doing have departed from the faith.

2 Peter 2 False Teachers and Their Destruction 1 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.

2John 9 Anyone who does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take them into your house or welcome them.

Romans road to salvation - NLT 10 As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous— not even one. 23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
12 When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. 8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. 9 If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.

God is sovereign. God is just. God is Holy. Yes God is love but if Jesus, on the cross, cried out "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me" because God the Father had turned His back on the sin (our sin) that was upon Jesus, what makes us think that He wouldn't turn His back on those of us that continue to sin.

Fear God. God will judge everyone at the last day (and that day is fast approaching) and He has the power to cast those who continue in unbelief and sin into eternal torment.

The Judgment of the Dead Revelation 20:11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

I pray that people will read the bible for themselves and know the truth and not be lead astray by the false teaching of Rob Bell. His heart may be in the right place but his teaching isn't.

The Goodness and Severity of God

2011-03-18T21:40:00.000-07:00

Romans 11:22 Behold the goodness and severity of God. A.W. Tozer - If man will not take God's goodness then he must have God's severity toward all who continue in moral revolt against the throne of God and in rebellion against the virtuous laws of God.

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your (God's) throne; love and faithfulness go before You.

God's Lovingkindness

2011-03-18T21:38:00.000-07:00

Why would Jesus bleed and die for us if not out of His goodness and lovingkindness.

The Goodness of God

2011-03-18T15:57:00.000-07:00

God loves us so much that He would rather see us enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire / hell. He is absolute goodness because He is absolute love.

Like a loving Father He disciplines His children because He loves them, He is good to them and He knows what is best for them. Because He knows all things, past, present and future, He knows what is best for us more than we know ourselves.

Did God out of His goodness will the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, the southeast Asia tsunami, floods in Pakistan and Australia, earthquake in Haiti?

Will the earthquake and tsunami make people turn to the One and only true God that can save them from the eternal fires of hell?

God loved the people of Nineveh. He sent the prophet Jonah to warn them of impending destruction. When they repented He was merciful and didn't destroy them.

When God was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah Abraham pleaded for those cities and asked God if there were only 10 godly persons living there would He destroy it. God said even if there were only 10 godly people living there He would not destroy it. There were not and God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.

Pray that the Japanese, and the rest of the world, would repent and turn to the one and only true living God, Jesus Christ, who can save them and heal their land.

Sovereignty of God

2011-03-18T15:50:00.000-07:00

God is sovereign over all the earth, over all of nature, over all creation. There is nothing that can happen that He does not cause or allow to happen.

Giving thanks in all circumstances

2011-02-04T15:19:00.000-08:00

Talking to a friend last night made me realize I was feeling sorry for myself. I am so blessed, I know I am, people tell me they want what I have, and my friend said it was the assurance I have knowing, without a doubt, how very much I am loved by my God and Saviour Jesus Christ. I have such great joy in this knowledge and am always smiling.

I had been focussing on the fact that I have been alone for 20 years and prior to that married a few times to alcoholic men who left me for other women. I am estranged from my daughter and granddaughter, my Mom passed away last year and I've never been close to my brother and sister and since becoming a christan we're even further apart. My darling grandsons are soon getting to the age where they want to hang out with their friends and not their grandmother, which is of course a natural progression.

I have never had close friends because most of the women I had trusted in my life betrayed me, one with my last husband. I had one best friend who died 4 years ago. We had been friends for 38 years and I have missed her.

In talking to my friend last night I said I think the reason I have such love in my life is because He is my only source of love. She said she wished she didn't have so many family members and that I was blessed to have just me and God. I know my grandsons love me and I am thankful for that.

I was feeling sorry for myself thinking that there were 1,000 people at this man's memorial and there would maybe be 10 at mine. I don't know why that should bother me because if they're at my memorial that means I'm with Jesus.

The bible says to give thanks in all circumstances and for the past week I haven't been doing that. Until last night when I thanked God for loving me so much. When I sing that song 'be my everything' He really is my everything and I am so blessed.

Mourning

2011-02-03T14:50:00.000-08:00

A month ago a family was devastated when the husband/father was killed in a head on car accident. The wife has been blogging her journey since that day and it breaks my heart as she pours out her pain on paper. And I ask God why not me. She has four young children to care for and raise without her husband. Her grief is overwhelming. Her pain almost too much for her to bear. And yet You are walking with her every day Lord. I experienced grief 20 years ago and the pain is healed, my children are grown, nobody needs me any more. I know what it's like to think you can't go on without that person, the incredible, agonizing heartache. I met her the day she buried her husband and I can't help but cry for her loss. When I first read her story I wondered why not me instead. Why take a young man from his family who needs him, who loves him, who wants him. I am so ready to be with Jesus and my family doesn't need me any more.

I'm sure everyone who knows this family has been asking God the same question, why? People ask God all the time why. When my second baby died I asked God why. Why does He allow suffering? It's a question people ask all the time. I can only say that He didn't keep His own Son from suffering. God loves us so much and He is concerned about our ultimate destiny that He may use suffering to draw us closer to Him.

As I read her journey I weep at the depth of God's love for her as He leads her through each day. I know she can't see it now but God heals all wounds. People say that time heals but it's God that heals and thankfully she knows God and even through her pain is trusting Him.

God heals the brokenhearted when we trust in Him. God says blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted. I can read His comfort in her words.

Fox's Book of Martyr's

2011-01-05T14:42:00.000-08:00

Unbelievable, indescribable the tortures Christ's followers have endured throughout the past 2,000 years. At one point I put the book down and couldn't read further all the atrocities committed against true christian believers.

The Catholic pope named anyone a heretic that did not bow down and submit to his teaching and authority. He is not the ultimate authority. Jesus Christ was, is and always will be.

Catholics call themselves christians but don't know the truth for themselves, only what the priest tells them and the priests are committing blasphemy teaching idol worship.

How can the Holy Spirit come upon someone who doesn't have a relationship with the only name that saves, namely Jesus Christ.

"There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved."

As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

Is Catholicism evil?

2011-01-05T14:25:00.000-08:00

Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons. These people are hypocrites and liars, and their consciences are dead.

They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.

The Catholic pope forbid priests to marry and commands that catholics abstain from meat on Fridays.

I've never met a Catholic who knew Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour, only ones who converted from the deadness of Catholicism to the true faith in Jesus Christ in evangelical christianity.

Talking to a friend this week speculating who the antichrist might be. He suggested a muslim. I suggest it's going to be the pope.

Catholic church history

2010-12-09T20:29:00.000-08:00

Idolatry is forbidden yet millions of catholics bow down and worship the pope. The first and second commandments of God are "You shall have no other gods before me" and “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below and You shall not bow down to them or worship them."

300 AD Roman Catholic church instituted prayers for the dead. The time to make the right choice is before you die. Once you're dead it's too late to save your soul.

375 AD Worship of saints and angels. Even the apostle John, when he bowed down to the angel in Revelation 22:9 the angel told him he must not do that, that he was a fellow servant with him.

431 AD Worship of Mary as Mother of God begins.

593 AD Doctrine of purgatory introduced. I guess this is how they explained praying for the dead. Nowhere is this spoken of in the bible.

709 AD Kissing the Pope's foot came in - now if that isn't a case of idolatry I don't know what is.

440 AD Celibacy became a law for priests of the Catholic church. God created woman because He saw Adam alone in the garden and said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

1079 AD Celibacy of priesthood enforced by Popes Hildebrand and Boniface. Maybe if they didn't have the strict law of celibacy and lived as God originally created man, woman to be a helper for man, there wouldn't be all the problems of sexual abuse in the church.

1220 AD The adoration of the wafer (host). The Pope holds a Monstrance or Ostensorium which is used to display a round wafer of bread, called the host, which is used in what is called the Mass. Interestingly a picture of a Monstrance in the Vatican's museum shows the letters SFS in Hebrew and Greek represent the numbers 666. The bible says this is the sign of the devil. Does it not make you wonder about the connection? The Pope sometimes holds up the sunburst monstrance with the host encased for the congregation to adore and venerate. Virtually any time the monstrance, a pagan sun symbol, is viewed by the congregation, they kneel in submission. A Catholic cannot walk past this sun symbol without acknowledging it by kneeling and or making the sign of the cross with their hands.

1229 AD The bible was now forbidden to laymen. In 2004 Costa Rica children were punished by the Catholic church if they were caught reading a bible.

1997 AD Recommendations to proclaim Mary as co-Redemptrix of Humanity, making her co-redeemer with her Son, Jesus Christ. I can only imagine Mary crying out from heaven saying NO!

Did I mention that in 438AD it was decreed to be unlawful to disagree with the beliefs of the Catholic Church.

And you don't want me to get started on the Inquisition. Reading Fox's Book of Martyrs has left me utterly speechless at the unbelievable, indescribable, horrific attrocities executed against the Protestants by the Catholic Church. Yet the Protestants joyfully went through torture and died knowing the truth that they would be raised to life with Christ.

In Revelation 21:8 God said the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars —they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” The Catholics seem to worship everyone, the pope, Mary, saints, angels.

From everything I have learned about Catholicism I am afraid for the millions of Catholics who will die in their unbelief and idolatry and be consigned to hell for all eternity.

Are you ready for His coming?

2010-12-09T20:20:00.001-08:00

Though warned that a flood was coming people lived as though they were flood proof. Then God brought the flood and except for eight people He destroyed by water everyone and everything that lived on the face of the earth. Now people are living as though they are fire proof. There will be fire and brimstone when He returns. Why do people not believe that He will again destroy the wicked and the unbelievers. People are living in unbelief that because He is a merciful, gracious, compassionate, loving God that He will forgive everyone. Only those with faith in and a relationship with Jesus Christ as the risen Lord, Son of the Most High God will survive His coming.

Joy

2010-12-09T19:51:00.000-08:00

Joy doesn't have anything to do with happy circumstances; it has to do with looking into the face of God and knowing He's all you'll ever need. Stormie O'Martian

Jesus was speaking to the church, to those who overcome

2010-12-06T18:41:00.000-08:00

Jesus said...

To the one that overcomes I will grant the right to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

The one who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.

To the one who overcomes He will give some of the hidden manna and a white stone with a new name written on it.

To the one who overcomes and who keeps His works until the end, to him He will give authority over the nations.

The one who overcomes will be clothed thus in white garmets and He will never blot his name out of the book of life.

To the one who overcomes He will make a pillar in the temple of His God.

To the one who overcomes He says He will grant him to sit with Him on His throne.

Jesus was speaking to the church 2000+ years ago and is still speaking to the church today. Will you overcome? Jesus says we will have tribulation but He tells us what we will have if we overcome. He says he who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Are you listening?

God is not a warm fuzzy god who will allow sin and wickedness to enter heaven. He is holy and just. He can not and will not allow unrepentant sinners and unbelievers into His eternal kingdom. He has sent prophets throughout millenia to warn us about what is to come. His final revelation is a prophetic message to the church, a warning that Jesus will return, and I believe soon, maybe even in my lifetime, and that we all need to be ready. Are you ready?

Beatitudes of Revelation

2010-12-03T07:37:00.000-08:00

Most people know the Beatitudes from the sermon on the mount. How many of us know the seven beatitudes of Revelation. One friend once said she had never read the book of Revelation because she was afraid to. Sure end times events can be scary but what's scarier still is to not know your bible and what to expect so you can't be led astray. Throughout history there has always been false prophets and Revelation tells us there is one who is part of the unholy trinity, satan, the antichrist and the false prophet. For millenia people have been led astray by false teaching. The only way to not be led astray is to know the truth. If you don't read what God's word says to us in Revelation how will you discern the truth from the lies spoken by the false prophet. No matter what you think you know and believe now, if you succumb to the teaching of the false prophet you are doomed for eternity. Revelation is not scary if you are a believer in and follower of Jesus Christ.

Discipleship

2010-11-22T22:49:00.000-08:00

Three hindrances to discipleship are:
Material comforts
Family and friends
Our job

Christ must reign in our hearts without a rival. All other loves and loyalties must be secondary. God is my first love and in 2004 I put aside everything else to follow Him and He has blessed me because of it.

Joy

2010-11-22T22:45:00.000-08:00

Joy doesn't have anything to do with happy circumstances, it has to do with looking into the face of God and knowing He's all we'll ever need.

Polygamy case going to court

2010-11-22T22:39:00.000-08:00

Chief Justice Bauman should watch the following video, as should anyone trying to legalize polygamy on LDS religious grounds. LDS archaeologists and anthropologists trying to prove Mormonism actually disproved everything Joseph Smith and other Mormon prophets said as religious fiction. These same people later converted to Christianity.

http://sourceflix.com/the-bible-vs-the-book-of-mormon/

What is God's Will?

2010-11-19T16:37:00.000-08:00

The will of God is that we:
Fear God;
Believe in His Son;
Be sanctified;
Rejoice always;
Pray continually;
Give thanks in all circumstances;
Respect those appointed to be in authority over us;
Respect all people;
Love the family of believers.

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 1 John 5:14

It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister. 1Thess 4:3

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thess 5:16-18

For the Lord’s sake, respect all human authority — whether the king as head of state, or the officials he has appointed. It is God’s will that your honorable lives should silence those ignorant people who make foolish accusations against you. Respect everyone, and love your Christian brothers and sisters. Fear God, and respect the king. 1 Peter 2

For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life. John 6:40

The Beatitudes

2010-11-19T16:31:00.000-08:00

“God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him,
for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
God blesses those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
God blesses those who are humble,
for they will inherit the whole earth.
God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice,
for they will be satisfied.
God blesses those who are merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
God blesses those whose hearts are pure,
for they will see God.
God blesses those who work for peace,
for they will be called the children of God.
God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right,
for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

Pride - Don't live with regrets

2010-11-18T21:54:00.001-08:00

Listening to a story on the radio about a father who was dying and he asked the nurse to call his daughter. They hadn't talked for a year and when the daughter got the news she rushed to the hospital only to find she was too late, her father had died just before she got there. Through her tears she told the nurse the last thing she had told her father when they had a fight a year before was that she hated him. She said she didn't really hate him, she was angry and let her pride get in the way.

How many of us get upset at something someone has said to us so we ignore them, don't talk to them, don't see them then when we find out they're dying wish we could make it up to them.

Several years ago my sister and I stopped speaking to each other over something, for two years. We were both too proud. When I finally called her we were both so happy to talk to each other neither one of us could remember why we had stopped talking in the first place.

Don't live with regrets. How many of us are too proud to say I'm sorry or I forgive you or ask for forgiveness? Pride - a high or inordinate opinion of one's own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority, whether as cherished in the mind or as displayed in bearing, conduct, etc.

Do not mock God

2010-11-18T13:33:00.000-08:00

Do not be deceived: A man reaps what he sows.

Here are some men and women who mocked God:

John Lennon (Singer): Some years before, during his interview with an American Magazine, he said: 'Christianity will end, it will disappear. I do not have to argue about that. I am certain. Jesus was ok, but his subjects were too simple, today we are more famous than Him' (1966).

Lennon, after saying that the Beatles were more famous than Jesus Christ, was shot six times.

Tancredo Neves (President of Brazil): During the Presidential campaign, he said if he got 500,000 votes from his party, not even God would remove him from Presidency.

Sure he got the votes, but he got sick a day before being made President, then he died.

Cazuza (Bi-sexual Brazilian composer, singer and poet): During A show in Canecio (Rio de Janeiro), while smoking his cigarette, he puffed out some smoke into the air and said: 'God, that's for you.'

He died at the age of 32 of LUNG CANCER in a horrible manner.

The man who built the Titanic - After the construction of Titanic, a reporter asked him how safe the Titanic would be. With an ironic tone he said: 'Not even God can sink it'

The result: I think you all know what happened to the Titanic

Marilyn Monroe (Actress) She was visited by Billy Graham during a presentation of a show. He said the Spirit of God had sent him to preach to her. After hearing what the Preacher had to say, she said: 'I don't need your Jesus'.

A week later, she was found dead in her apartment.

Bon Scott (Singer) The ex-vocalist of the AC/DC. On one of his 1979 songs he sang: 'Don't stop me; I'm going down all the way, down the highway to hell'.

On the 19th of February 1980, Bon Scott was found dead, he had been choked by his own vomit.

Campinas (2005) In Campinas, Brazil a group of friends, drunk, went to pick up a friend..... The mother accompanied her to the car and was so worried about the drunkenness of her friends and she said to the daughter holding her hand, who was already seated in the car: 'My Daughter, Go With God And May He Protect You.'
She responded: 'Only If He (God) Travels In The Trunk, Cause Inside Here.....It's Already Full

Hours later, news came by that they had been involved in a fatal accident, everyone had died, the car could not be recognized what type of car it had been, but surprisingly, the trunk was intact. The police said there was no way the trunk could have remained intact. To their surprise, inside the trunk was a crate of eggs, none was broken

Christine Hewitt (Jamaican Journalist and entertainer) said the Bible (Word of God) was the worst book ever written.

In June 2006 she was found burnt beyond recognition in her motor vehicle.

Many more important people have forgotten that there is no other name that was given so much authority as the name of Jesus.

Many have died, but only Jesus died and rose again, and he is still alive.

The Covenant - The Story of My People

2010-11-16T19:52:00.000-08:00

Very disappointing. The production in itself was fine but it totally missed the message of the New Covenant Jesus gave to the people of Israel.

Luke 22:20
In the same way, after the supper He (Jesus) took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.

The musical production shows the Jews celebrating Passover and giving thanks to God for delivering them out of Egypt. Their was no mention of the last supper Jesus celebrated with His disciples when He gave them the new covenant. The only reference to Jesus was John 8:7 When they kept on questioning him, He straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”

The worst / greatest day in history, Jesus' crucifixion / resurrection not only for the Jews but for all of mankind, was totally missed. Jesus poured out His blood for His Jewish brethen and they rejected Him, the prophesied, long-awaited, Messiah.

The children of Abraham are the children who, in faith, believed in the promise of God. That promise now, because of the unbelief of the natural Jews and their rejection of the Christ, has now gone to the Gentiles, the spiritual Jews.

Jesus will return and those who pierced Him will mourn as the Old Testament prophets prophesied.

Isaiah 53:5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

Zechariah 12:10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.

Revelation 1:7 “Look, He is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him”; and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of Him.” So shall it be! Amen. And then it will be too late.

If God could deliver His people from Pharoah He certainly could've delivered His people from the Nazi genocide. But like Pharoah their hearts were hardened. Throughout history God delivered His people and throughout history they have continued to reject Him.

The message the Jews have missed throughout history is that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob loved them so much He gave His one and only Son Jesus to be the sacrificial lamb to pay for their sins. Jesus became sin, for them, for you, for me and for everyone else. He was the one, pure, perfect lamb, the ultimate sacrifice.

A God Thanksgiving

2010-11-14T02:22:00.001-08:00

Last year was my very best thanksgiving. I cooked a large turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberries, vegetables, gravy, dessert, the works and I took it with my best tablecloth, my best china and my silver place settings to a drug house. My best friend, who is a recovering addict, had stayed for a time with these 2 other addicts and we took them dinner. We had a fancy table complete with candles and crystal wine glasses for our pop. It was amazing. It was such a God Thanksgiving. I don't know who was more blessed, them or us. I absolutely loved it.

Jesus loves me

2010-11-13T09:10:00.000-08:00

The fool says in his heart that there is no God. On December 11, 1966 I said there is no God. I was so heartbroken upon learning my second baby had died. What followed was 33 years of misery. Now, after being on my own for 19 years, I have more love, more joy, more peace than I would ever have thought possible. It's because I found there really is a God and He loves me. I am so thankful that even after I denied Him He continued to pursue me until I found Him. I look back over my life at all the stupid things I did and I can see how He kept me safe.

There exists no greater display of love than giving one's life for someone else. Jesus did that for me. And for you. Because He loves us that much.

I have thought how Jesus loves me in spite of me but in reality He loves me because of me, because of my very great need for a Saviour.

Jesus, our greatest need

2010-11-13T09:00:00.000-08:00

Jesus Christ is the lover of our souls. He creatd a space in every human heart that only He can fill. We try to find fulfillment or significance or security in relationships, possessions, money, success but nothing satisfies. We go from relationship to relationship looking for love in all the wrong places. We buy more things thinking they will satisfy. We work harder, longer, hoping that will satisfy us thinking if we have more money we will be happy. There is only one thing that will satisfy the longings of the human heart and that is an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. We may use drugs or alcohol for a temporary high but it does not satisfy, or we may use them to deaden the pain of loneliness or emptiness but nothing can satisfy our hearts except Jesus Christ.

God loves you so very much that He gave His one and only Son for you. He is love and His love is so amazing. Jesus died on the cross and was resurrected to life making a way for us to come into the presence of God. There is nothing that He won't forgive. There is nothing that we can do to earn His love, no amount of work. It is simply His amazing grace by accepting His Son Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour that we are brought into a right relationship with Him. Our broken, empty, lonely hearts are healed, not by anything we do but by His sovereign power and amazing love.

Our pride says we don't need Jesus but He is everything we need.

Case for Jesus' Resurrection

2010-11-13T08:41:00.000-08:00

Jesus' disciples went to His tomb on the third day and found His body was gone.

While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.

Well the disciples were martyred because they would not deny the resurrection. If there was no resurrection all they had to do was produce His body to be saved. Instead they were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated.

Proud Pharisee or Grateful Sinner?

2010-11-12T15:51:00.000-08:00

So which are you? Are you a proud Pharisee who thinks he's not a sinner? Or are you a grateful sinner giving praise and thanks to a merciful God?

We are all a depraved humanity in desperate need of a Saviour.

2010-11-12T15:31:00.000-08:00

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

2010-11-12T15:16:00.000-08:00

I go to a couple of churches, one on Saturday night, the other occasionally on Sunday mornings if I don't take my grandson to church.

They are very different and remind me of the story of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector.

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people — robbers, evildoers, adulterers — or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

The Rich Man and Lazarus

2010-11-12T15:12:00.000-08:00

“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’

“But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’

“He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’

“Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’

“‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’

“He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

Going to church does not make you a christian

2010-11-12T14:29:00.000-08:00

I met a 73 year old lady at Alpha who said she was a christian because she had gone to church her whole life. I knew that she didn't know Jesus and when we were on the bus going to the weekend retreat we were talking about Jesus.

She found me on Saturday night and she was excited as a person could possibly be. With her eyes gleaming and a smile on her face from ear to ear she told me she had just found Jesus. After a life spent in church she had finally found her Saviour. It was awesome.

Every time I saw her after that she said she couldn't help but tell all her friends, everyone she knew about Jesus.

Have you gone to church all your life? Do you really know Jesus or do you just think that you must because you've always gone to church?

This is really important because your eternal destiny depends on it. If you're not sure talk to your pastor.

Faith

2010-11-06T15:34:00.001-07:00

Everyone has faith - faith that when we sit on a chair the chair will support us. Faith that when we board a plane it will get us safely to our destination. Faith that when we go to bed at night we will wake up the next morning.

I have faith in Jesus Christ, the risen Son of God.

Do you have such strong faith in something that you would rather die than deny it? Martyrs do. Jesus' disciples would rather die than deny Him so they suffered torture, mocking, flogging, chains, imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two and killed with the sword. And they are suffering today for their faith, refusing to deny Jesus.

Without faith it is impossible to please God.

What do you have faith in?

Gentiles obtained righteousness by faith; but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal. Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works.

Our eternal destiny - heaven or hell

2010-11-06T15:25:00.000-07:00

When my Mom died I was devastated. There was no outward evidence of her having received Jesus and I thought she had gone to hell.

A couple of years ago in one of her more lucid moments Mom asked Jesus into her heart. Our soul and our spirit are separate. Outwardly all the bitterness in her soul masked a spirit that knew God.

Mom had dementia and most of the time in the past year she rarely spoke or when she did it didn’t make much sense.

When I visited her I would tell her that I loved her. Sometimes I would ask her who else loved her, but never got a response. One day when I asked her who else loved her clear as a bell she replied “Jesus loves me.”

A couple of times during her last week of life her mind was in such conflict that she would lash out and I would sing to her. I sang “Jesus loves you this I know, for the bible tells me so” and I could feel the fight and tension drain out of her body and she would be completely at peace.

As I thought how satan, the devil, can not say that Jesus loves him and how peace flooded her body when I sang to her I thought how the devil is the father of lies who wanted to deceive me into believing that Mom wasn’t with God.

The bible says that if you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. Mom did. She declared Jesus as her Lord and obviously believed it in her heart otherwise she couldn’t have said that Jesus loved her. She finally had the love she always wanted.

So now I have peace that Mom is with Jesus and that I will see her again.

Mom spent her whole life looking for love in all the wrong places, just as I did and now I too have the love I’ve always wanted.

I want all of my family to be together forever in heaven but we have to make a choice. We will all spend eternity somewhere, where we spend it depends on our choices.

Jesus loves every one of us and forgives everything we ever did wrong when we ask Him. He is the most amazing love you could ever want or need.

For everyone who chooses Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour will spend eternity with Him in His heavenly kingdom.

Whoever does not confess Jesus as Lord will spend eternity separated from Him in eternal torment in hell.

You wondered how I could have such peace even when I was told that I had terminal cancer. You were worried but I was just as content as I ever was. I am filled with His love and peace and joy every day. How could I ever be afraid of dying.

I love you and I hope you choose Jesus so we can all be in heaven together forever.

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through Me.” To reach God and live in heaven after you die, you must accept Jesus as your personal Savior and Lord.

To accept Jesus as your Savior, simply talk to God and admit that you are a sinner, believe that Jesus died for your sins and was raised from the dead, and give Him control of your life.

Here is an example of a prayer that will help you know what to say:
Dear God, I know that I’m a sinner and that my sin separates me from You. I realize that I can’t do anything to earn my way into heaven. I believe that Jesus took the punishment for my sins by dying on the cross and coming back to life. I accept Him as my Savior and Lord. And I will try my best to please You all the days of my life. Thank You for forgiving me and saving me now. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

Blessings

2010-11-02T20:33:00.000-07:00

The Bible's book of Revelation talks about the blessings people will receive when Jesus returns.

The Sermon on the Mount teaches about the blessings we can receive on earth as well as when we get to heaven.

Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.

Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.

Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.

Blessed are all who are watching for me.

Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.

Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years

Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are those who obey the words of prophecy written in this book.

Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.

Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.

Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.

end of days

2010-11-02T19:47:00.000-07:00

I had a dream I was with a good friend and we went to her daughter's house. The daughter was saying how very broke they were. They had no money to buy anything. My friend and her two daughters and I were all sitting around the kitchen table lamenting the daughter's financial state. The kids (young children) were fighting in another room so I went to see what was happening. Then everyone was outside in a park and the kids were playing on the playground equipment. The two girls husbands were there and one of them picked up a club and hit the other over the back of the head and again and he fell down. The man's oldest son saw this and was horrified but continued on his way to where the other kids were playing. My friend and her two daughters watched as the husband dragged his dead brother-in-law away. I was horrified and sickened. The women had hatched the plot while I went to see to the kids. I was thinking about what the bible says that in the last days we will all turn on each other. And this is the godliest family I know.

I woke up sickened but happy that it was only a dream.

If the godliest people can turn on each other in the last days what hope is there for the rest of us.

The Bible says the love of most will grow cold. Matthew 24:12

You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. Luke 21:16

Our hope is that because our faith is in Jesus Christ we will overcome. 7 times Jesus speaks of the blessings to those who overcome.

Will you...overcome?

Marriage

2010-07-22T18:03:00.000-07:00

This was sent to me some time ago. Now that I have read it. It needs to be shared with everyone.

MARRIAGE

When I got home that night as my wife served dinner, I held her hand and said, I've got something to tell you. She sat down and ate quietly. Again I observed the hurt in her eyes.

Suddenly I didn't know how to open my mouth. But I had to let her know what I was thinking. I want a divorce. I raised the topic calmly.

She didn't seem to be annoyed by my words, instead she asked me softly, why?

I avoided her question. This made her angry. She threw away the chopsticks and shouted at me, you are not a man! That night, we didn't talk to each other. She was weeping. I knew she wanted to find out what had happened to our marriage. But I could hardly give her a satisfactory answer; she had lost my heart to Jane. I didn't love her anymore. I just pitied her!

With a deep sense of guilt, I drafted a divorce agreement which stated that she could own our house, our car, and 30% stake of my company.

She glanced at it and then tore it into pieces. The woman who had spent ten years of her life with me had become a stranger. I felt sorry for her wasted time, resources and energy but I could not take back what I had said for I loved Jane so dearly. Finally she cried loudly in front of me, which was what I had expected to see. To me her cry was actually a kind of release. The idea of divorce which had obsessed me for several weeks seemed to be firmer and clearer now.

The next day, I came back home very late and found her writing something at the table. I didn't have supper but went straight to sleep and fell asleep very fast because I was tired after an eventful day with Jane.

When I woke up, she was still there at the table writing. I just did not care so I turned over and was asleep again.

In the morning she presented her divorce conditions: she didn't want anything from me, but needed a month's notice before the divorce. She requested that in that one month we both struggle to live as normal a life as possible. Her reasons were simple: our son had his exams in a month's time and she didn't want to disrupt him with our broken marriage.

This was agreeable to me. But she had something more, she asked me to recall how I had carried her into out bridal room on our wedding day.

She requested that every day for the month's duration I carry her out of our bedroom to the front door ever morning. I thought she was going crazy. Just to make our last days together bearable I accepted her odd request.

I told Jane about my wife's divorce conditions. . She laughed loudly and thought it was absurd. No matter what tricks she applies, she has to face the divorce, she said scornfully.

My wife and I hadn't had any body contact since my divorce intention was explicitly expressed. So when I carried her out on the first day, we both appeared clumsy. Our son clapped behind us, daddy is holding mommy in his arms. His words brought me a sense of pain. From the bedroom to the sitting room, then to the door, I walked over ten meters with her in my arms. She closed her eyes and said softly; don't tell our son about the divorce. I nodded, feeling somewhat upset. I put her down outside
the door. She went to wait for the bus to work. I drove alone to the office.

On the second day, both of us acted much more easily. She leaned on my chest. I could smell the fragrance of her blouse. I realized that I hadn't looked at this woman carefully for a long time. I realized she was not young any more. There were fine wrinkles on her face, her hair was graying! Our marriage had taken its toll on her. For a minute I wondered what I had done to her.

On the fourth day, when I lifted her up, I felt a sense of intimacy returning. This was the woman who had given ten years of her life to me.

On the fifth and sixth day, I realized that our sense of intimacy was growing again. I didn't tell Jane about this. It became easier to carry her as the month slipped by. Perhaps the everyday workout made me stronger.

She was choosing what to wear one morning. She tried on quite a few dresses but could not find a suitable one. Then she sighed, all my dresses have grown bigger. I suddenly realized that she had grown so thin, that was the reason why I could carry her more easily.

Suddenly it hit me... she had buried so much pain and bitterness in her heart. Subconsciously I reached out and touched her head.

Our son came in at the moment and said, Dad, it's time to carry mom out. To him, seeing his father carrying his mother out had become an essential part of his life. My wife gestured to our son to come closer and hugged him tightly. I turned my face away because I was afraid I might change my mind at this last minute. I then held her in my arms, walking from the bedroom, through the sitting room, to the hallway. Her hand surrounded my neck softly and naturally. I held her body tightly; it was just like our wedding day.

But her much lighter weight made me sad. On the last day, when I held her in my arms I could hardly move a step. Our son had gone to school. I held her tightly and said, I hadn't noticed that our life lacked intimacy.

I drove to office.... jumped out of the car swiftly without locking the door. I was afraid any delay would make me change my mind...I walked upstairs. Jane opened the door and I said to her, Sorry, Jane, I do not want the divorce anymore.

She looked at me, astonished, and then touched my forehead. Do you have a fever? She said. I moved her hand off my head. Sorry, Jane, I said, I won't divorce. My marriage life was boring probably because she and I didn't value the details of our lives, not because we didn't love each other anymore. Now I realize that since I carried her into my home on our wedding day I am supposed to hold her until death do us apart.

Jane seemed to suddenly wake up. She gave me a loud slap and then slammed the door and burst into tears. I walked downstairs and drove away.

At the floral shop on the way, I ordered a bouquet of flowers for my wife. The salesgirl asked me what to write on the card. I smiled and wrote, I'll carry you out every morning until death do us apart.

That evening I arrived home, flowers in my hands, a smile on my face, I run up stairs, only to find my wife in the bed - dead. My wife had been fighting CANCER for months and I was so busy with Jane to even notice. She knew that she would die soon and she wanted to save me from the whatever negative reaction from our son, in case we push thru with the divorce.-- At least, in the eyes of our son--- I'm a loving husband....

The small details of your lives are what really matter in a relationship. It is not the mansion, the car, property, the money in the bank. These create an environment conducive for happiness but cannot give happiness in themselves. So find time to be your spouse's friend and do those little things for each other that build intimacy. Do have a real happy marriage!

If you don't share this, nothing will happen to you.

If you do, you just might save a marriage. Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.

A CHRIST-CENTERED MARRIAGE IS A MARRIAGE THAT IS SURE TO LAST A LIFETIME.

So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate. Matthew 19:6

Powerful, Awesome!!!

Martyrs

2009-11-25T07:19:00.000-08:00

Yet not as I will but as You will. Jesus' prayer in the garden of Gethsemane. Jesus' heart must have been so very broken at the thought of being separated from You Abba. The pain of His broken heart must have masked the pain inflicted on His broken body. I always thought if I was told to renounce You or suffer torture I, being a coward, might renounce You. Now as I think of the pain of a broken heart if separated from You I think that my body could suffer anything being done to it. Martyrdom must be a deeply spiritual thing. Lord as You srengthen and empower us in our daily lives You must really empower martyrs when they are suffering. I love you so much Lord. I pray Ephesians 3:14-21 for my family, friends and others that no matter what their circumstances they would renounce their sins and say Yet not as I will but as You will.

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom His whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge —that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

God is so amazing

2009-11-21T20:17:00.000-08:00

God is so amazing and sometimes I can hardly believe how dense I am. November 11th I was sitting at the computer thinking I'm hungry, missing a friend, thinking of the times in my life when I feel lonely and I always turn to food. As I'm sitting there trying to think of what I'm hungry for, thinking that I've eaten so I don't need food but still craving something and thinking of what food I have yet knowing that none of it will satisfy me I finally cry and ask God why I always feel this way and turn to food when I feel lonely and the food doesn't satisfy me. God said "My Word satisfies" and instantly the hunger for food was gone, the loneliness was gone, I had peace and knew I wanted to / needed to read the Bible. God is so-o amazing. My soul, my craving was satisfied as soon as I started reading the Word.

the Bible versus the book of mormon

2009-06-05T19:17:00.000-07:00

check out the following link. christianity has history, geography, archaeology, flora, fauna, metallurgy, writing, coins, warfare, temples, historical figures to support the Bible, there is no evidence at all to support the book of mormon. two of the people interviewed are ex-mormon anthropologists and archaeologists who were trying to prove that the book of mormon was true. couldn't do it. there is evidence to prove that Jesus Christ of the Bible existed. an LDS anthropologist said the Jesus Christ of the book of mormon existed only in the imagination of joseph smith. the bible - an authentic historical account. the book of mormon - 19th century book of religious fiction.

it's long but well worth the time to watch it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1mFdO1wB08

teaching that turns people off from church

2009-03-24T12:22:00.000-07:00

after what i heard at two different churches this morning it's no wonder some christians leave the church and why some christians give the church a bad name.

my saturday night church is a mennonite church. my sunday morning church is a free methodist church but as my grandchildren were going skiing last sunday i didn't go to church in mission. instead i decided to check out a nearby church in abby. while looking at the brochures at the info table at the alliance church i overheard an older woman ask about a camp squeah brochure. looking at the brochure she said "camp squeah, isn't that a mennonite camp?" a gentleman responded yes and she said in what i thought was an indignant voice "what's it doing here?" the gentleman said that maybe people liked variety or in case their camp was full.

i thought about unity how we are all one in the body of Christ and wondered what the teaching was at that church that this woman would speak the way she did.

i was really early for the service and decided to check out another nearby church. the lead pastor said that a pastor from this pentecostal church had crossed the river to mission and started a church service in the local theatre. i have heard great things about this theatre church. however the lead pastor spoke of this theatre church service as "touching a segment of the community that we wouldn't be comfortable with." i could not believe it. 9 people were baptized there there sunday morning. with teaching such as i heard they are going to grow up to be just as hypocritical as the pastor and congregation.

needless to say i won't be going back there.

new year's resolution

2009-01-02T17:35:00.000-08:00

For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 1 Corinthians 2:2 (NIV)

I suspect Paul only had one resolution on his list: “This year I resolve to know nothing but Christ and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).

Paul’s message is radically simple: Salvation is in Christ alone. What does this mean?

It’s not Christ plus your good behavior.
It’s not Christ plus the number of Bible verses you memorize.
It’s not Christ plus your tithe or the church you attend.
It’s not Christ plus wisdom from the latest Christian seminar.
It’s simply Christ plus nothing. Christ and Christ alone.

2009 Purpose Driven Life.

God's gift today

2008-12-25T18:43:00.000-08:00

today i was thanking God for the precious gift of His Son. as i do sometimes in monday night class i asked Him if He had another gift for me. He said peace. i was feeling sad that i couldn't spend christmas with the one person i really wanted to spend christmas with. God knew what i needed and He gave it to me. praise God. thank You Jesus, the Prince of Peace.

Christmas

2008-12-25T13:55:00.000-08:00

we have 2 feet of snow and i'm sitting indoors at my computer feeling sad because the one person i want to spend christmas with isn't here.

christmas isn't about getting things. christmas is about the King who was born today. God who, because of His incredible love for us, took on flesh and lived among us. who, because of His incredible love for us, suffered, died and rose again, for us, because of His incredible love.

everything He did He did for us out of love. thank you Jesus. happy birthday!

Jesus is better and greater than Santa

2008-12-21T20:58:00.000-08:00

Santa lives at the North Pole.
JESUS is everywhere.
Santa rides in a sleigh
JESUS rides on the wind and walks on the water.
Santa comes but once a year
JESUS is an ever present help.
Santa fills your stockings with goodies
JESUS supplies all your needs.
Santa comes down your chimney uninvited
JESUS stands at your door and knocks.. and then enters your heart.
You have to stand in line to see Santa
JESUS is as close as the mention of His name.
Santa lets you sit on his lap
JESUS lets you rest in His arms.
Santa doesn't know your name, all he can say is "Hi little boy or girl, What's your name?"
JESUS knew our name before we did. Not only does He know our name, He knows our address too. He knows our history and future and He even knows how many hairs are on our heads.
Santa has a belly like a bowl full of jelly
JESUS has a heart full of love.
All Santa can offer is HO HO HO
JESUS offers health, help and hope.
Santa says "You better not cry"
JESUS says "Cast all your cares on me for I care for you.
Santa's little helpers make toys
JESUS makes new life, mends wounded hearts, repairs broken homes and builds mansions.
Santa may make you chuckle but
JESUS gives you joy that is your strength.
While Santa puts gifts under your tree
JESUS became our gift and died on the tree.
It's obvious there is really no comparison.
We need to remember WHO Christmas is all about.
We need to put Christ back in Christmas.
Jesus is still the reason for the season.

May the Lord Bless and Watch over you and your loved ones this Christmas 2008
And may He prosper and bless the work of your hands in the New Year 2009.

Prayer Alert during Canada's current Political Crisis

2008-12-12T14:18:00.000-08:00

1. Pray for Governor-General
Michaelle Jean as she consults with her advisors about
the key decisions she needs to make in the days
ahead. Pray that she would ultimately be guided by
the Holy Spirit.

2. Pray for public calm and
safety. Strong emotions are being stirred up by
this crisis. Let's pray that as various
demonstrations take place that peace and order would be
observed and no violence would erupt that might cause
personal injury or property damage. Pray that the
potential divisions and alienation that could deepen in
our land would actually be addressed and healed at this
time. We have had many calls from people who are
concerned about separatism in different parts of the
country.

3. Pray that God's good purposes would
be accomplished during this difficult "shaking"
process. Pray that all party leaders and members
would learn and grow through this crisis. Ask the
Father to thwart every attempt that the enemy is trying
to use to harm our nation and its governance. Pray
that every dark motive and plan would be exposed,
especially back room deals and hidden agendas that would
feed self-interest and not our nation's greater
good.

4. Pray for each of the party leaders that
they would resist the lust for power and would approach
their duties with humility and true
servanthood. Let's intercede that each
one would be able to receive godly wisdom and act in a
responsible manner. Pray that righteousness and
justice would prevail.

5. Pray for the media and
all the "pundits" who are seen and heard in the various
news agencies and networks, that they would be careful
to represent the truth and not take advantage of the
situation. Ask the Father to make this a time of
maturing for everyone involved in the media as
well.

6. Pray for our nation's economy and for
good leadership through 2009 as we navigate our way
through the global economic crisis along with the other
nations of the world. Pray that all parties would
understand how their decisions are affecting
average Canadians and their economic health.

7.
Pray for the emergence of a stronger and healthier
democracy in our land as we move through this political
uncertainty. Pray that all Canadians would realize
the importance of their participation in the democratic
process, especially the younger generation that needs to
be engaged more fully.

8. Pray for all our
members of Parliament, that a spirit of unity would
emerge out of this fractured time. Especially pray
for the Speaker of the House - the honourable Peter
Milliken as he presides over the debates. Pray
that M.P.s who are followers of Jesus Christ would set a
higher tone and be exemplary in their conduct and
conversation.

9. Pray for the "average
Canadian" who is generally ill-informed and therefore
reliant on the media for their perceptions. Pray
that truth would prevail and that apathy or a spirit of
resignation would be lifted from the general
public. Intercede that the people would not become
demoralized or cynical about the political
realm.

10. Let's pray for a revival of prayer to
come upon the Church in Canada. Pray that
believers would rise to the challenge of the hour, and
that a spirit of prayer would come upon us as we stand
on guard for our nation in its hour of
need.

God - the great I AM

2008-12-02T22:35:00.001-08:00

have you ever wondered about this name "I AM"? in Exodus 3:14 God identified Himself to moses as "I AM" it's an unusual name whose full meaning is somewhat hard to grasp - at least until the New Testament, when Jesus completes the thought.

John 6:35 "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.

John 8:12 "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

John 10:9 "I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.

John 10:11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

John 11:25 "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies;

John 14:6 "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 15:5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

a most amazing story

2008-11-29T11:03:00.000-08:00

https://www.seeds.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=50

An Amazing Revival in the Fiji Islands
Written by David S. Rathjen
Thursday, 21 August 2008
The story I am about to tell you will stretch your belief to the very limit. I am telling it as near as I can remember, from the many times I heard it from the lips of Pastor Bill, Superintendent of the Western Division of the Assemblies of God in the Fiji Islands. He is the Director of three hundred pastors on the western side of Fiji. (no photos needed for this up-date!) Early in February 2008 four young men went on an evangelistic mission in the Yasawa Chain of Islands. After the meetings as they were returning home from the ferry on the Main Island, they were involved in a terrible accident. Their car went out of control and tumbled end over end seven times, ending up-side down in a deep ditch. The first part of the story was told by three of the boys who were totally uninjured.

Part One:
As they were gathering their wits in the over-turned vehicle, they heard the voice of the driver asking them if they were alright. When they affirmed that they were OK, he then asked them to get out of the car and flag down the first motorist who would come along. Upon reaching the roadside, they realized that Sevuloni, the driver, was still in the car. They found that his body was halfway through the broken windshield with his head buried in mud. They were amazed that he could have uttered any words from the position he was in.

Upon pulling him out of the mud, both his eyes popped out and hung down on his cheeks. His skull was severed across the forehead, with the upper half raised up like a trunk door of a car. His head and hair were full of shattered glass and mud. Stranger still, came the calm voice of the terribly injured boy when he uttered the words, “Thank you Jesus”. Sevuloni wasn’t breathing, nor were there any signs of life.

A police cruiser had stopped, and the officer asked what was going on. The body was quickly loaded into the van, and a speedy trip was made to the hospital some twelve kilometers away. In the high-speed journey, there was a fly-by accident with another vehicle. Seeing that no one was hurt, the police officer elected to keep on going and settle damages later. To his amazement, the injured boy said, “I love you Jesus.”
“Is this man a preacher?” asked the surprised officer. When informed that the lad, whose name is Sevu (abbreviated), is just a sincere young Christian boy, the policeman continued to drive. At the emergency entrance of the hospital, the paramedics were so shocked, they had to be told to hurry up and bring a stretcher and get the boy into the emergency ward.

A doctor examined the young man, finding he was not breathing, nor were there any signs of life. Taking into account the terrible injuries to his head, he pronounced him dead. As he turned to go, the injured boy quietly said, “Thank you Jesus!” Greatly puzzled, the doctor wheeled about and said, “What is going on here? You better clean him up and remove the glass out of his head. Cover his eyes with a bandage and keep him right here under observation.”

They called his mother to sit at his bedside, and nurse to attend to him and report any changes. His brain was so damaged that nothing could be done regarding his broken skull. His eyes, though protected with bandages, were still hanging out of their sockets. There was no sign of life, except for the occasional utterance, “Thank you Jesus”, or “I love you Jesus”. The body laid there in this ultra-comatose condition for three and one half days.

There was no medical description for the state of this inert, yet talking man. His body functions were so faint and decelerated as to be almost non-existent. Perhaps it was similar to extreme hibernation that some species achieve when there is no detectable functioning metabolism. Word began to spread about this patient’s highly unusual condition. Many were the prayers that ascended to God on his behalf. The nurse who was given charge of this unprecedented case, happened to be a Christian. She was very attentive because she realized something supernatural was taking place.

Part Two:
As Sevuloni was driving the car, suddenly he was blinded by a great light, and lost control of his vehicle. He doesn’t remember the crash, but only of being suddenly lifted up and out of the tumbling vehicle by two angels in white garments. He was taken up to a place they called Paradise. He described Paradise as being a waiting place for the souls who are redeemed, and are waiting for their mansions in the New Jerusalem.

One of the first things the angels showed him was the death-rate of planet earth. Streams of disembodied souls were streaming out of the world like grains of sand being poured out of dump trucks. Thousands upon thousands were being poured out every minute. The vast majority of them were going to Hell. A tiny minority were entering into Paradise. The road to Hell and the gates thereof were very wide in order to accommodate the surging river of lost humanity. The gates of heaven, on the other hand, were so narrow that redeemed souls were entering single file. This was very troubling to Sevu. Could it be that many who were convinced that they were right with God, were deceiving themselves?

According to the angel, construction in the New Jerusalem is all complete. All mansions are finished and waiting for occupancy. He was told that the size and value of each individual mansion depends entirely on the number of souls one wins to God during one’s life-time on earth. “The winning of souls to Jesus Christ”, according to the angel, “is the highest priority in the Kingdom of Heaven. Nothing compares with the value of snatching souls from the fires of Hell, and pointing them to Jesus, The Doorway into the joys of Heaven.”
He remembered the story about the Lost Sheep, and how the Shepherd left the ninety-nine sheep safely in the fold and went out into the darkness to search for the Lost Sheep. The way Jesus told it, there is more rejoicing in Heaven over one lost sinner being rescued from certain destruction, than in ninety-nine who are safely in the fold.

The angel pointed to a big clock on a wall. “Look,” he said, “it is a minute and a half before midnight! At any moment now the Rapture will take place and Christ will bring home to heaven all those who truly believe in Him, See, the tables are all prepared for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. The food is already on the tables. Food preparation is already complete. All that remains is for the Guests to arrive.” He was then shown a place where God keeps an immense supply of body parts. “When the Lord performs miracles of healing on earth,”
the angel explained, “God does not repair or mend the problem part, He replaces it with a new one. God makes everything new. The old is removed as the new replaces it.” God is prepared for every human emergency, but so few people claim by faith what He has provided!

Sevuloni was told that Paradise is presently located inside the enormous City Four-Square. Paradise is the ‘waiting place’ of the dead in Christ, and for those who will go up in the coming Rapture. Jesus, the Judge, will then try by fire the works of believers at the Bema Seat Judgment. All works that are not done in the will and power of Jesus Christ and for His Glory, will be burned up. Then, and only then will believers place in the New Jerusalem be determined and allotted. The Central place in the New Jerusalem will then become the residence of the Great Triune God. The angels emphasized the importance that all our efforts on earth be engaged in the rescuing of souls from the horrors of Hell, and preparing them for everlasting Life in Heaven. Any other type of Gospel will be judged, not rewarded.

Sevu tried to describe the innumerable precious gemstones everywhere apparent, that were being illuminated by the Glory of Father God and His Son, Jesus Christ. The whole of Heaven was lit up in this way in an astonishing, indescribable, fluorescence of glory.
Sevu was amazed that he instinctively knew people in Paradise. He knew relatives who died before he was born. He saw Christians he had known, who had died and gone to Heaven. He was amazed at the very few young people he saw in Heaven. Paradise was full of people of all ages, but young people were conspicuous by their scarcity. The angel told him he would soon be returned to his body on earth, and that he must warn the young people especially that they must repent and turn to God.

“Now, we will show you what Hades is like,” said the angels. “It is located in the middle of the Lake of Fire. It is the waiting place of the damned, until the Great White Throne Judgment takes place. After those who have rejected Jesus Christ are judged and sentenced to eternal punishment, Death and Hades, with all who are imprisoned in them, will be poured into the eternal Lake of Fire, which is heating up right now.”
Hell, according to Sevu, is a place of unending torment. He saw a woman he knew who had been a very negative critic on earth. She enjoyed spreading hurtful stories about others. The very demons who prompted her in evil deeds while on earth, were her tormentors in Hades. He was troubled at the enormous number of young people in Hell. “Why are there so many young people here,” he asked the angels. “Youth is the age when people on earth are choosing whom they will serve,” was the answer. “Young people tend to go through a period of rebellion. In this condition they often precipitate their death, and end up here. When you return to earth, you must warn them to get right with God, now, not later.”

There were preachers in Hell that Sevuloni had known. He was amazed to find them there. He was told that they had not preached the frightening truth about Hell, the destination of those who reject Jesus Christ. These preachers also had not been warning people of the very soon-coming of Jesus Christ. Then again, they had been watering down the Bible truth about the deadly seriousness of personal sin. “You must tell your people,” stressed the angel, “that Hell is very real, and that they must seek God and Heaven through Jesus Christ with
all their soul, strength and being. Tell them to resist Satan and evil completely so they will not come to this dreadful place.

Sevu was then taken back to Paradise. “You must return now to earth, and your waiting body,” the angel told him. “But I don’t want to go back to earth,” Sevu cried, “I want to stay in this wonderful place of love, blessing and joy!” The angels were adamant that he return to earth. “That is why you have experienced this whole ordeal. You must warn people that they must prepare to meet their God.” The angel picked a fruit from a tree growing by the River of Life, saying “Eat this and it will help with your healing. Your healing will be progressive. You will spend four days in Intensive Care, and two weeks in Recovery. Your complete healing will depend on your being faithful in humbly telling your people the things you have seen and heard.”

Sevu was taken down until he could see his death-like body as it lay on the hospital bed. He was concerned about how he would re-enter that emaciated form with its broken skull and gaping eye sockets. He had been free of its hindering limitations for three and one half days. His questions were soon answered as he entered the body with a swoop, headfirst through its feet. As soon as he entered his body, it became alive, beginning to stir and waking up from its deep sleep.

Those lingering lovingly near that ultra-comatose body began seeing amazing things. As the Doctor removed the covering bandage, the dangling eyeballs popped back into their sockets. The severed skull went back into place. The young man sat up, saying, “I am hungry. Please give me something to eat.” Seeing a plate of fish and vegetables near-by, he asked if he could have it. The nurse told him he must have liquids only, no solid food. Sevu insisted that he was OK, and wanted the fish and vegetables. He ate it up with no after ill-effects. True to the angel’s predictions, healing occurred progressively. He spent four days in Intensive Care, and two weeks in Recovery.

Pastor Bill Naivalu, Superintendent of Fiji’s Western Division of the Assemblies of God, was naturally wary that the lad’s imagination may have played some part in the amazing story he had to tell. “I don’t want you to be telling your story until everything is documented, and every-thing lines up with the Word of God. Too much discredit has occurred in Christendom because of well meaning people who let their imagination prevail over actual facts.” He examined the whole matter from beginning to end, and arrived at the conclusion that there were too many witnesses who all agreed. There was too much documentary evidence for it to be other than as recounted. The sincere transparency of Sevu was convincing as he told and re-told his experiences. Everything lined up with the truth as recorded in the Bible.

We are going to do a test event,” he told Sevu. “You say you have a message from God? We will hold a test service in the remote town of Vatu Colo.” The meaning of the name is ‘Gold Town’, a once-thriving town near a gold mine. Since the gold has been depleted, the town now has only half its former population. Everything, including the Christian religion has been in decline there for years. It would be a good place to test the event.
After modestly informing the town’s people that Sevuloni would be sharing his experience at a meeting on April 27, 2008, the team arrived at the big meeting hall. The whole town had turned out for the meeting. An enormous crowd was trying to get into the building. Pastor Bill requested that all the Church people go
outside the building so that invited Town folk could get inside. The building was filled to fullest capacity, with many people standing outside.

The service was purposely kept low key. Pastor Bill offered a simple opening prayer. A hymn was sung. There was no special music. A brief introduction was made. Then the service was turned over to Sevu. There was no preaching. Sevu simply recounted his experiences in the other world. The congregation of non-church people was intensely impacted by his words. The presence of God in that meeting like nothing Pastor Bill had ever witnessed in forth-five years of ministry. No invitation was given, but everyone in that meeting, plus those who were outside, wanted to get right with God. Two thousand people that day registered their decision to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of their lives.

The next weekend saw another momentous gathering. It happened at a Youth Convention in the huge Assembly of God church building in Lautoka. It was a three-day event, with the closing meeting being given over to Sevu’s testimony. Again, there was no hype or worked up excitement in the meeting. Once again the simple recitation was backed up by a tremendous sense of the presence of a Holy God.
The young people were sitting in the front rows of the huge wrap-around sanctuary. Thousands of others filled the rest of the place to capacity and then some.

For an hour and twelve minutes the lad related the message the angels had given him. The effect on the vast congregation was electric, with multitudes drenched in tears. Pastor Bill affirmed that even he was affected as never before by an over-whelming sense of the presence of a Holy God. Many believers also were re-evaluating their present relationship with God, and realizing that their own righteousness was like filthy rage to a holy God. They realized anew that only by God’s grace was salvation possible. They also realized in a new and powerful way, that acceptance before God’s infinite purity is only possible when one is clad in the righteousness of Jesus Christ, His beloved Son.

As Sevu was summing up his story, Pastor Bill said that the seat he was sitting in became too hot to sit in. He stood up and looked up. The whole ceiling at the front of the great sanctuary was full of ethereal fire. Suddenly all the young people saw it also. There was no need for an alter call. The youth group literally rushed forward, throwing themselves prostrate before the altar.

They fervently prayed, repented, confessing their sins, and re-dedicated their lives to God for a period of four hours – from nine PM until one AM. During that time they simply could not get up because of the weight of conviction that was so heavy upon them. The travail of their souls was followed by a scene of intense joy and peace over the realization that their sins were forgiven, and for the glory of a renewed relationship with God.
Many others had crawled under the pews, covering their heads with their hands and crying out to God for mercy. Pastor Bill had never seen anything like it before. He asked some of them later why they had done that. Their answer was that they were scared stiff because they felt so unprepared and unworthy in the presence of such a loving and holy God. Time alone will tell out of the thousands who had undergone such soul searching that night, how many received a renewed and lasting relationship with the beloved Son of God.
One week later, another meeting was held in the sleepy little town of Ba. As Pastor Bill would be in San Francisco at that date, he asked that the meeting be held in the park, because there was no venue in town big enough to accommodate the crowd that would attend. Those in charge thought otherwise, and decided to use a church building. Never in their life-time, had there been need of a bigger venue in Ba for religious purposes, than would accommodate three hundred people.

To their dismay, eight hundred intensely determined people nearly wrecked the place trying to get into the building. It was mayhem, with people trying to crowd by and over one another in order to find a place where they could hear and see what would happen. They tried desperately to enter at every door and window in the place, as if their very lives depended on getting in. No one remembered to try getting into the meeting place through the roof. Over six hundred made decisions that night to accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of their lives. More business was accomplished for eternity in that one Holy Spirit meeting than in the previous forty years.

The most amazing thing about this move of God is that, whole towns and cities are being mightily impacted. Someone has come back from death and is warning them to prepare to meet a Holy God. The loving Holy Spirit of God is melting the resistance of the most hardened and rebellious of sinners. Those who had a cool head-knowledge of God, new have an exhilarating heart-relationship with Him. The fear of God, which is a very deep, reverent and loving submission to the Lord, is the prevailing response of those who are touched by these meetings. People are forgetting about denominational differences as thousands from many faiths are crowding together to hear what God has to say to their hearts today.

At the time of this writing, May 24th, 2008, two more meetings have been held in the towns of Raki and Nadi. One thousand and seventeen persons accepted Christ in Raki. The meeting in Nadi (pronounced Nandi), was even more amazing. Altar-workers, who were trying to help earnest seekers, were overwhelmed by the response. Somewhere well in excess of one thousand persons registered decisions to surrender their lives to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in that meeting.

Pastor Bill made a special trip to Abbotsford, to see Phyllis and myself in order to tell us the story. In two and one half days while in Abbotsford, he told this story fourteen times to churches, small meetings and interviews. Many were stirred deeply as he shared. He is greatly concerned because there are no adequate follow-up materials in Fiji for the thousands of converts coming to Christ each week. With meetings in Fiji lined up for Sevu until December, and more in 2009, it is crucial that an adequate Follow-up program be initiated immediately.

We, of Multi-Media Ministries Inc., are working together with Seeds International to meet this urgent need. We are short $10,000 to reprint enough copies of the ‘Seeds’ follow-up booklet in order to begin this project. After returning from a three week mission to Romania on July 3rd, we plan to go to Fiji in mid July, The Assemblies of God want me to examine every detail of Sevu’s experience and write a booklet about it. We need your most earnest prayers during this busy summer!

the most amazing sermon ever

2008-11-29T10:55:00.000-08:00

http://northview.org/WeekendSermons.html

check out november 22 sermon "two fatal errors" when jeff gave an altar call several people went forward, another young man just sat in his seat and wept. i was so happy when my friend who has been wrestling with God went forward. i thought of many other friends and family members who needed to hear this message and my heart broke for them, believing they were saved, but Jesus would say He never knew them and they would spend eternity in hell.

shane claiborne wall street money drop

2008-11-11T18:57:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ETBMhEzYKU

ok so i'd never heard of the guy before this weekend and now i'm watching all his youtube videos. he's walking the way i want to walk and the way all christians should be walking. wow - i am so inspired by him.

shane claiborne at fusion youth

2008-11-11T16:50:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPANKUHabx4

until saturday i'd never heard of shane claiborne. i left church early so i could hear another speaker at another church. it was a very small church, maybe 50 people, but you could feel the presence of the Holy Spirit. it was awesome. then i heard friends talk about the service at northview and how amazing it was. thankfully northview downloads all it's sermon and i was able to watch it.

man that guy is what christianity is all about. i want that kind of walk.

check out http://northview.org/WeekendSermons.html
nov. 8 a scandal of grace.

Esso's (Imperial Oil) record profits - OUTRAGEOUS!!!

2008-10-31T14:35:00.000-07:00

Record profits for Imperial Oil - Montreal Gazette 10/31/08
Imperial Oil Ltd., Canada's biggest integrated oil company, said today its third-quarter earnings hit a record $1.4 billion or $1.57 a share, up from $816 million or 88 cents a share a year earlier, with higher oil prices. That brought nine months' profit to $3.22 billion or $3.60 a share, up from $2.3 billion or $2.15 a share a year earlier.

The U.S. Exxon Mobil Corp., which owns 70 per cent of Imperial, yesterday posted earnings of almost $15 billion U.S.

Fort McMurray Today 10/31/08
Imperial Oil has announced record earnings for its third quarter with a jump of about 70 per cent to just over $1.3 billion, the largest quarterly profit in its 128-year history. WHILE MORE AND MORE PEOPLE ARE DYING FROM STARVATION, MORE AND MORE PEOPLE LOSING THEIR HOMES BECAUSE THEY CAN'T AFFORD THEM AND ESSO MAKES THE LARGEST PROFIT IN 128 YEARS. I AM SO-O INFURIATED.

“Contrary to the doom and gloom out there, we think the future looks very bright for Imperial,” said Wong. GIVE ME A BREAK. THE RICH GET RICHER AND THE POOR GET POORER.

you sure as heck won't see me at an esso station.

US elections

2008-10-28T13:34:00.001-07:00

Will Barack Obama Support Israel?

By: Dr. Michael D. Evans

Barack Obama’s campaign cries of “change” mimic those of Jimmy Carter’s campaign rhetoric in the 1970s. Carter chose the Shah of Iran, one of America’s closest allies in the Middle East, as his scapegoat for change. I can only stand and wonder which American ally will take the brunt of Obama’s presidential aspirations. Our only real ally in the Middle East is Israel; if elected, would Obama sell Israel down the river just as Carter did the Shah of Iran?

Early in his presidential campaign, Barack Obama added former Carter National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski to his own list of “advisors.” Brzezinski, of course, got himself into trouble early in his role as advisor when “he published an essay in the summer issue of the journal Foreign Policy, defending a controversial new book about the power of the “Israel Lobby” in American politics. One of Brzezinski’s first jobs as advisor was to defend Obama’s plan, if elected, to meet with Iran and Syria: “What’s the hand-up about negotiating with the Syrians or Iranians?” asked Brzezinski. “What it in effect means is that you only talk to people who agree with you.” People who agree with you? I, for one, would like to know just why Obama would want to talk with Iran’s president who denies the Holocaust, has called Israel a “stinking corpse,” and vowed to wipe it off the map.

Another man from whom Obama sought advice was Joseph Cirincione, president of the Ploughshares Fund. Cirincione is said to have decidedly anti-Israel leanings. Ed Lasky, writer for American Thinker, wrote that Cirincione was “another in a disconcertingly long line of Obama advisors, who seemingly have an anti-Israel bias and who would be very willing to apply American pressure on our tiny ally to disarm itself in the face of its mortal enemies.”

I might also add here that Hamas political advisor Ahmed Yousef seemed delighted with Mr. Obama: “We like Mr. Obama, and we hope that he will win the elections.” Obama also drew a pseudo-endorsement from Iranian parliament Speaker Ali Larijani during a stop-over in Bahrain. Larijani purported that “Iran would prefer Democrat Barack Obama in the White House next year.” Larijani also dismissed any idea that the US would attack Iran. “We are leaning more in favor of Barack Obama because he is more flexible and rational, even though we know American policy will not change that much..”

Now, why do you suppose a terrorist organization or a rogue state would support one candidate over another? Could it be the knowledge that one candidate is likely to be more anti-Israel than the other? Or that one candidate would respond to terrorism more forcefully than another?

During a speech to the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) in June 2008, Obama “clarified” some of his earlier statements: Yes, he is “still in favor of meeting with Iran’s leaders…but (clarification) only at the suitable levels and at a place and time” of his choosing. He favors a withdrawal of American troops from Iraq…but (clarification) it must be gradual. He prefers diplomatic and economic pressure…but (clarification) says the military option “should be left on the table.” After all, one must be willing to “clarify” in order to achieve the highest office in the land.

How committed is Obama to Israel’s security? He promised the members of AIPAC a “Palestinian …state that is contiguous and cohesive, and that allows them to prosper...[and] Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel, and it must remain undivided…[but that the final solution for Jerusalem] must be negotiated between the two parties [Israelis and Palestinians], an agreement that they can both live with.” How can this be, when the Palestinians have demanded again and again that Jerusalem must become the capital of any Palestinian state?

In his formative years and with a myriad of churches from which to choose, Obama aligned himself with Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Jr., a man he calls his spiritual mentor. Wright’s stance regarding Israel and the Jews became well-known during Obama’s campaign. The pastor, a Black Muslim sympathizer is riddled with anti-Semitism. He has “damned” America from the pulpit, and his diatribe following 9/11, an event Wright labeled as “chickens coming home to roost,” was particularly offensive and provoking. He insinuated that the horrific assaults were godly revenge for America’s many failures at race relations.

Wright embraces what is called “black-liberation theology,” a tenet that is often associated with the racial supremacist Black Power movement of the 1960s. Rev. Wright openly supported Louis Farrakhan, Supreme Minister of the Nation of Islam. Farrakhan has labeled the Jews “bloodsuckers” and openly endorsed Obama’s presidential bid (which Obama publicly rejected.) Farrakhan has likened Obama to the forerunner of the Messiah, and points as proof to the candidate’s mixed race background.

Was it from his own experience that Obama articulated one of the bigger gaffes of his campaign? He was overheard saying of the people of Pennsylvania, “And it's not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them…” Obama was referring to the Bible-believing, working-class voters. Does he feel the same way about Israel?

In the first World Policy Forum, held at a French lakeside resort, Rev. Jesse Jackson promised "fundamental changes" in US foreign policy; the most important change would occur in the Middle East, where "decades of putting Israel's interests first" would end.

Jackson told author and journalist Amir Taheri that he believes although "Zionists who have controlled American policy for decades" remain strong they'll lose a great deal of their clout when Barack Obama enters the White House. "Obama is about change," Jackson told Taheri in a wide-ranging conversation. "And the change that Obama promises is not limited to what we do in America itself. It is a change of the way America looks at the world and its place in it." And, in fact, Jesse Jackson told me at the White House Middle East Peace Summit in 1993 that the multitudes of problems in the Middle East were caused by the Jews.

On foreign policy issues, Obama’s call to eradicate nuclear weapons worldwide would leave the West and Israel at the mercy of unscrupulous, hate-filled leaders in countries such as Iran and Syria. Those nations would simply go farther underground and continue the secret production of nuclear arms. A part of Israel’s firewall against the launch of a globally inclusive attack is its nuclear arsenal. Obama’s plan would effectively disarm Israel, while making it impossible to police the Irans of the world. Has he considered the danger of beating our collective swords into plowshares? That would leave the world even more vulnerable to those who don’t follow suit; who, instead, keep their swords at the ready.

Jimmy Carter felt that talking with our enemies, i.e. Ayatollah Khomeini, in the name of human rights while castigating pro-American allies such as the Shah of Iran would make the world a better place. Apparently Mr. Carter still feels that way. He considers Israel an apartheid state and Hamas and Hezbollah human rights movements rather than terrorist organizations that need only economic support and understanding. Does Barack Obama embrace Carter’s liberal world view?

spiritual attack

2008-10-27T22:30:00.000-07:00

a friend told me her ex biker-boyfriend taught her something that always stuck with her. "every member knows that if you want to hurt someone beyond repair, go get the one he loves the most"

if satan can't get to us he will go after the ones we love the most.

lift your loved ones up and surround them with prayer. trust that God is the one in control and that everything works together for good (even if we don't see it at the time) for those who love God and are called according to His purpose. God will give you total supernatural peace.

supernatural healing

2008-10-23T10:46:00.000-07:00

i want everyone to read "And Jesus Healed Them All, by Gloria Copeland. yesterday at oasis i was praying for someone for healing. listening to her and another lady it was like no wonder people don't get healed. doubt kept creeping in. and saying that if it's God's will. God's will is not for His kids to be sick.

we are all wondering what God's will is in our lives and pastors keep telling us that God's Word is God's will. well God's Word says over and over and over how Jesus came to heal us. and if God's Word is as relevent today as it was when Jesus was alive then that means God's will is that we all be healed. and if God's Word is the truth and Jesus is the truth....

when afshin talked he told stories of so many people coming to Christ because in Jesus name all these people had been healed.

why is it so hard for believers then to be healed? besides if there is unconfessed sin in our lives, if we don't REALLY believe that God's Word is living and active and His will for us....

that was the clincher for me. so many people, all the pastors, etc. praying for healing and i kept thinking well if God can use it to bring my family into His kingdom. God doesn't need me to bring my family in His kingdom. He can do that without me.

but... when someone asked if i REALLY believed that God wanted to heal me, when he looked me in the eyes, it was like my eyes were opened to the truth.

what glory does God get if i die. but if i live and declare the glory of God....

i just want people to believe.

Campaign For Safe Cosmetics: SafeCosmetics Home

2008-10-21T14:08:00.000-07:00

Campaign For Safe Cosmetics: SafeCosmetics Home

Skin Deep: Cosmetic Safety Database

2008-10-21T14:02:00.000-07:00

Skin Deep: Cosmetic Safety Database

hormone altering cosmetics chemicals found in teens.

search your skin and hair care products. you might find you want to throw some of them in the garbage.

Not Just A Pretty Face

2008-10-21T13:53:00.000-07:00

Not Just A Pretty Face

cancer causing skin and hair care products

2008-10-21T13:35:00.000-07:00

www.glimpseinvitation.com

wow this is a great video on all the chemicals and toxins in all the skin and hair care products we use on our bodies every day.

my naturopath has been telling me about this stuff for years and i have quit some of the most toxic ones but i had no idea about all of them.

it's scary especially when the doctor's told me i had terminal cancer and that it was caused by chemicals and pesticides (which are covered in the video).

Glimpse

2008-10-16T16:08:00.000-07:00

Glimpse

XanGo to Launch Glimpse™ Intuitive Skin Care :: News :: Natural and Nutritional Products Industry Center

2008-10-16T16:07:00.000-07:00

XanGo to Launch Glimpse™ Intuitive Skin Care :: News :: Natural and Nutritional Products Industry Center

homeless on thanksgiving

2008-10-12T16:38:00.000-07:00

at thanksgiving people are asked what they are thankful for. this past week as i have served breakfast and lunch to the street people at sally ann and listened to them talk about sharing tents and burning 3 candles all night in their tent because it is so cold outside (2 degrees) i am so thankful that i have warm shelter, warm, dry clothes, enough food to eat and clean water to drink.

it bothers me that it is only 2 weeks into fall and it is already so cold. they are addicts or alcoholics or mentally ill, they are people that most of us don't care about but Jesus loves them, as much as He loves you and i, and i don't know how i can help them. my heart breaks thinking what we do or don't do for them, we do or don't do for Jesus. my heart breaks thinking of them living outside, in the cold, in the rain, in the snow, hungry and freezing.

i know Jesus said we would always have the poor. i always think of the poor in third world countries like africa and india, drinking dirty polluted water, going days without food, literally starving to death. now with the cold weather upon us i think of the poor in cold climates facing even worse conditions.

yesterday i found myself wondering which would be worse, dying of starvation or freezing to death.

i know i can't feel guilty that i am not one of the desperately poor but i always wonder if there isn't something more i could do.

so i am thankful that i am not desperately poor, living in a third world country, starving or freezing to death. and i am thankful that i am not one of our homeless people. and i am thankful that like them, Jesus loves me too.

what are you thankful for?

resentment

2008-10-12T16:29:00.000-07:00

it's hard to pray for someone when you're angry at them. when you feel resentment or unforgiving toward them you know you're not being very Christ-like. so you ask God to forgive you and take those feelings and change you because you can't do it on your own. then you think of God saying to bless those that persecute you. you know you should but you're almost choking on the words but then the blessing comes and you know it's God working in you because you know it's not something you could've done on your own. and you feel the burden lift.

safe cosmetics

2008-10-05T13:54:00.000-07:00

check out - http://www.safecosmetics.org/companies/signers.cfm

The companies listed above have pledged to not use chemicals that are known or strongly suspected of causing cancer, mutation or birth defects in their products and to implement substitution plans that replace hazardous materials with safer alternatives in every market they serve. Several major cosmetics companies, including OPI, Avon, Estee Lauder, L'Oreal, Revlon, Proctor & Gamble and Unilever have thus far refused to sign the Compact for Safe Cosmetics.

i am learning more about this as i switch from skin care brands i've been using for years to a new one called glimpse.

check it out - http://www.mymangosteen.com/TasteSensation/canad/product/Glimpse.asp

who makes it you say - Xango (approved as a safe cosmetic)

who sells it you wonder - i do (interested? let me know)

if you would like to put nutrition on your skin instead of potentially toxic chemicals you might like to try glimpse.

think it's just for women, think again, men are enjoying it's benefits as well.

Defining Unforgiveness

2008-09-13T12:38:00.000-07:00

Now that we’ve looked at forgiveness, let’s think about unforgiveness—the deliberate decision to cling to 1) resentment you feel toward someone else and 2) your right to get even any way you can. It’s a mindset that says, “You hurt me. You must pay.”

What an ungodly, unscriptural attitude! And yet it is painfully evident in the hearts of far too many Christians. Therefore, we need to uncover the dark truth behind this destructive landmine. Unforgiveness . . .

• Demonstrates unwillingness to extend to others what the Lord has extended to you (Eph. 4:32). It simply means saying with your attitude that you refuse to show the grace and forgiveness of Christ to anyone else.

• Plants a root of bitterness in your heart.It may start with some simple resentment because of the way someone else acted. Then, that little seed of animosity begins to grow. Before long, a whole crop of anger, malice, and bitterness completely dominates you. If it is not dealt with early, these bitter fruits will spoil every part of your life.

• Prevents your becoming the person God wants you to be. An unforgiving spirit makes it impossible to accomplish what the heavenly Father has in mind for you. How can you expect to grow in Christ while willfully allowing bitterness to erode your heart?

The results of withholding forgiveness are obvious, and yet many believers stumble into this very trap. Don’t fall for it. Ask God to help you release any unforgiveness you have, and be reconciled to your brothers and sisters without delay.

in touch devo sept 13

The Landmine of Unforgiveness

2008-09-13T12:34:00.000-07:00

What is your first response when someone hurts you? Maybe you want to retaliate. Or perhaps your outward attitude doesn’t change, but inside you are quietly nursing a dark bitterness and resentment. These reactions strike us as understandable and perfectly natural, don’t they?

In reality, however, unforgiveness is one of the most destructive behaviors possible. Impacting every prayer, every relationship, and practically every thought you have, it is a land mine with the potential to completely destroy your life.

Scripture is clear that we are to openly and willingly forgive anyone who causes us harm. Why? The reason is that we ourselves have been forgiven. The grace that God pours out on each of us should be our motivation and example. If we have received God’s loving pardon, then we simply must do the same for others, even when it seems difficult or unfair.

What is forgiveness? Simply put, it is the act of giving up resentment toward someone, along with the desire to retaliate. In other words, we must surrender three things: the general feeling of resentment, the specific feelings toward a particular individual, and all claims to retribution.

Forgiveness is far more than a simple “I forgive you” statement. It involves a total change of action and an attitude that declares, “Though you wronged me, I love and forgive you. I wish you the best and will help you however I can.” Can you make this statement after being hurt? Pray for those who wrong you, and release your resentment.

from in touch magazine devo sept 12

compare Glimpse Intuitive Skincare to...

2008-09-13T10:17:00.000-07:00

Glimpse Demographics

It's important to understand your target market for this new skin care system. I'll leave you to read about why this product line is so exclusive and move directly into who is most likely to purchase these products.

Customers who most often purchase their skin care products from the department store will definitely want to know about Glimpse.

To help the men in our group better understand how women use skin care products, understand that in addition to Cleansers, Toners, Serums and Moisturizers, women often buy Eye Cream, Night Cream, Make-up Remover, Wrinkle Reducers, Exfoliators and Masks.

With the Glimpse System there is no need for the additional products!

So, let's take a look at the top-selling department store products. While it its impossible to compare the quality of Glimpse with what is currently on the market, we can compare the pricing of the four products; cleanser, toner, serum and moisturizer.

Aveda---$153 for all 4, plus another $125 for the necessary eye cream and night cream equals $278 per month.

Clinique--$164 for the 4, plus another $119 for the necessary eye cream and night cream equals $283 per month.

Elizabeth Arden--$237 for the 4, plus another $170 for the necesary eye cream and night cream equals $407 per month.

Esteee Lauder--$369 for the 4, plus another $145 for the necessary eye cream and night cream equals $514 for the month.

Guerlain--$372 for the 4, plus another $188 for the necessary eye cream and night cream equals $560 per month.

Kiehl's--$157 for the 4, plus another $36 for the necessary eye cream (they don't offer a night cream) equals $193 per month.

Lancome--$404 for the 4, plus another $282 for the necessary eye cream and night cream equals $686 per month.

ROC--$190 for the 4, plus another $113 for the necessary eye cream and night cream equals $303 per month.

Shiseido--$197 for the 4, plus another $146 for the necessary eye cream and night cream equals $343 per month.

All of these companies combined sell BILLIONS of dollars worth of these products. The market exists and the market is hungry for products that (a) actually, truly work and (b) do so without all the chemicals and additives in the current market products.

The Glimpse product line is so exclusive, spas and beauty salon owners should be at the top of your list of people to introduce to this exceptional line of products.

If you use any of these products and would like to try Glimpse please send me your email and I will send you more information.

biblical history of iraq

2008-09-06T21:47:00.000-07:00

VERY INTERESTING-
1. The Garden of Eden was in Iraq .

2. Mesopotamia, which is now Iraq, was the cradle of civilization!

3. Noah built the ark in Iraq .

4. The Tower of Babel was in Iraq

5. Abraham was from Ur, which is in Southern Iraq!

6. Isaac's wife Rebekah is from Nahor, which is in Iraq!

7. Jacob met Rachel in Iraq .

8. Jonah preached in Nineveh - which is in Iraq .

9. Assyria, which is in Iraq, conquered the ten tribes of Israel

10. Amos cried out in Iraq!

11. Babylon, which is in Iraq, destroyed Jerusalem.

12. Daniel was! in the lion's den in Iraq!

13. The three Hebrew children were in the fire in Iraq (Jesus had been in Iraq also as the fourth person in the Fiery furnace!)

14. Belshazzar, the King of Babylon saw the "writing on the wall" in Iraq .

15. Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, carried the Jews captive into Iraq ...

16. Ezekiel preached in Iraq.

17. The wise men were from Iraq

18. Peter preached in Iraq

19. The "Empire of Man" described in Revelation is called Babylon, which was a city in Iraq !

And you have probably seen this one. Israel is the nation most often mentioned in the Bible. But do you know which nation is second? It is Iraq ! However, that is not the name that is used in the Bible. The names used in the Bible are Babylon, Land of Shinar and Mesopotamia. The word Mesopotamia means between the two rivers, more exactly between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The name Iraq, means country with deep roots.

Indeed Iraq is a country with deep roots and is a very significant country in the Bible.

No other nation, except Israel, has more history and prophecy associated it than Iraq.

And also, this is something to think about! Since America is typically represented by an eagle. Saddam should have read up on his Muslim passages...

The following verse is from the Koran, (the Islamic Bible)

Koran (9:11 ) - For it is written that a son of Arabia would awaken a fearsome Eagle. The wrath of the Eagle would be felt throughout the lands of Allah and lo, while some of the people trembled in despair still more rejoiced; for the wrath of the Eagle cleansed the lands of Allah; and there was peace.
(Note the verse number!) Hmmmmmmm?!

church sign

2008-09-06T20:48:00.000-07:00

church is a gift from God - some assembly required

eye of the hurricane

2008-08-30T13:38:00.000-07:00

if you have the weather layer turned on in google earth you can see the eye of the hurricane and watch it as it changes course, increases in intensity.

child soldiers and the LRA‏

2008-08-30T12:23:00.000-07:00

this is from an email from a friend who is in africa (uganda and rwanda) with world vision. she is visiting some of the kids she and her friends sponsor. i saw her huge heart for kids when i met her in el salvador in february.

"today our group had the privilege and unique opportunity to hear from several children were abducted by the LRA and forced to be child soldiers - it was a powerful experience! - the young man who spoke to us painted a vivid picture of what he had gone through and it was easily apparent that both the physical and emotional scars were still visible - it was easy to see scars from old wounds on his body and when he spoke to us he looked away and his eyes were almost closed - a girl also spoke about her experiences and luckily (that word seems inappropriate) she was only 9 at the time so she had not been sexually abused - it was my feeling that the other girls were not so lucky - eventually these kids were a few of the lucky ones and made their way back to their families - they spoke of how WV provided counselling and safety for them - they would be fine during the day but to lessen their fears at night they would gather in a safe haven provided by WV - they continue to receive counselling and school support by WV - when asked what message they wanted us to bring back to canada it was simple .....

THE WORLD NEEDS TO LOVE EACH OTHER AND UNITE IN PEACE

when asked if there was one thing that they could say to Koney (leader of the LRA) what would it be? .....

THAT THEY FORGIVE HIM AND THAT HE NEEDS TO COME BACK HOME TO LIVE IN PEACE

this is a powerful message and if a bunch of young adults can feel this in their hearts then maybe the rest of us could learn a lesson from them"

please make your voice heard - stop pornography

2008-08-27T09:40:00.000-07:00

Write the CRTC, the Prime Minister, your Member of Parliament, the Minister of Canadian Heritage Josee Verner, your cable or satellite tv provider. Don't let Northern Peaks create a pornography industry in Canada. If enough people write letters voicing their concerns hopefully they won't get a contract and the license will expire.

Teri, thank you for copying me on your email to the Minister. I must tell you that I am also disturbed by this decision. As you probably know, the CRTC acts at arms length from our government, and the Minister typically would be loathe to interfere in the decisions of an independent regulatory body except in the most extraordinary circumstances. I am quite certain that our Minister had no involvement in the decision to grant a license for a porn channel in Canada, but I certainly understand those who state that ultimate responsibility still rests with the government. I will certainly pass your concerns (and my own) to my colleagues in Ottawa.

child porn

2008-08-27T09:27:00.000-07:00

pornography - where does it all lead? do you want your children viewing porn magazines or on-line websites? what would have happened to this little 12 year old girl if her mother hadn't been concerned about the time she was spending on-line? would she have been lured into child pornography as a participant?

Former B.C. prosecutor on trial for child porn
Louise Dickson, Victoria Times Colonist
Published: Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Former Victoria prosecutor Roger Denley apologized when his children found pornography on the family computer in 2003, Denley's former wife Dr. Ellen Skinnerland testified in B.C. Supreme Court yesterday.

"I confronted Roger, and he said he was sorry," Skinnerland told Justice Jon Sigurdson. "I asked him to account for what he was doing with pornographic pictures of young girls. He said he wouldn't do it anymore. We left it there."

Denley, who worked as a youth prosecutor, is charged with possession of child pornography and accessing child pornography. He sat calmly in the courthouse, taking notes as the evidence was presented. He appeared to have no contact with his family.
After the couple separated in August 2004, Skinnerland became concerned her youngest daughter, Julia, was spending too much time on the computer. When Skinnerland's sister checked the computer's history, she found the young girl, then 12, had set up a personal website with sexually explicit conversations.

On the advice of her daughter's counsellor, Skinnerland took copies of the website to Victoria police forensic computer expert Const. Paul Brookes, for advice. The meeting was also attended by Francis Graf, president and chief executive officer of Forensic Date Recovery Inc.

In September 2004, Skinnerland brought the family computer to Graf and paid him $2,500 to copy and analyze the hard drive.

Graf told Skinnerland much material had been deleted.

"There were 160,000 images, and he told me he saw some pre-pubescent girls. He said he could show me a few pictures," she said.

Graf, as he is required to, brought the matter to the attention of Victoria police.
Skinnerland also testified that earlier, before the separation, she had found pornographic magazines with names like Barely Legal and College Girls. Although Denley told her he destroyed the magazines, she found others, she told the court.
Defence lawyer Stephen Kelliher asked Skinnerland if she recalled Denley trying to show her "that once you get into the website, it's unpredictable what pops up?"
Skinnerland said she couldn't remember.

ldickson@tc.canwest.com

CRTC

2008-08-26T19:09:00.000-07:00

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) is an independent agency responsible for regulating Canada's broadcasting and telecommunications systems. They report to Parliament through the Minister of Canadian Heritage

The Minister of Canadian Heritage is also the Minister for the Status of Women. Unbelievably this minister that is head of the CRTC that approved the license to Northern Peaks, the new pornographic channel, is a woman. I am outraged and dumbfounded.

What does she think the Status of Women is that she would allow this application to be approved?

What kind of message does she think this sends to the women and girls of Canada. Does she think that it's ok to show this violence, degradation and indignities perpetrated against women on tv? We should be fighting against it not condoning it.

An animal is treated with more dignity than a woman or girl in a pornographic movie.

Please write to the following and voice your opposition to this obscenity.

CRTC
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada, K1A 0N2

By fax:
819-994-0218
_____

Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women
The Honourable Josée Verner (what is honourable about approving pornography?)
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6
_____

Office of the Prime Minister
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa
K1A 0A2

Fax: 613-941-6900
_____

Your local Member of Parliament.

Your local cable or satellite provider.

Would you want your daughters to watch pornography or worse yet to be drugged or seduced into it as a participant?

What kind of message is this sending to your sons, that it's ok to abuse and debase women?

porn channel an abomination

2008-08-26T15:53:00.000-07:00

i read this on-line today and sent it to everyone in my email address book. i hope each one of them will send it to everyone in their address book and so on and that everyone will write to the crtc voicing their objections. i hope that everyone will also write to their cable or satellite provider so that with enough objections the cable and satellite providers will not add the channel to its service list so they will not get a contract and the licence will expire.

Porn Channel an Abomination
Fred Henry, For The Calgary Herald
Published: Tuesday, August 26, 2008

The CRTC approved a Canadian pay-television pornography channel called Northern Peaks last week on the basis that 50 per cent of its pornographic content would be produced in Canada, which in turn, will also lead to the creation of a pornography industry in Canada.

In justifying its decision, the CRTC argues that it never takes a moral perspective on the contents of the applications it reviews. This explanation is not only ludicrous in itself but simply not credible because the CRTC has been noticeably reluctant over the years to license religious broadcasting.

Without question, pornography has a devastating impact upon all of society, especially women and young children. Pornography teaches that women enjoy "forced" or perverse sexual activity; advocates prostitution, exhibitionism and voyeurism as normal behaviour; and regards women as sex objects to be used for one's self-gratification.

For some men, the regular use of pornography normalizes aggression toward women in sexual and other interpersonal encounters, and increases the tolerance for such aggression against women in the larger culture.

Sadly, the greatest impact may be on the young, especially males 12 through 17 years of age, because pornography portrays sexual activity outside of marriage as acceptable without the dire consequences of AIDS or other venereal diseases, and without the responsibility toward conceiving a human life.

These assertions are supported by criminal evidence. A proven direct correlation exists between crimes of rape, child abuse, and the physical abuse of a spouse, and the proliferation of pornographic materials and the presence of live porn and sexually oriented businesses in a community.

Pornography is not simply linked to a "one time, one action" phenomenon, but may become like a spiritual cancer that corrupts the person.

Dr. Victor Cline has posited four progressive effects of pornography:
(1) addiction, where the need to view pornographic materials leads to a loss of free control over behaviour;
(2) escalation, where the person delves into progressively harder pornography, usually to attain the same level of sensation and arousal;
(3) desensitization, whereby the user is no longer morally sensitive to the shocking, illegal, repulsive, perverted or immoral quality of the material, but instead views it as acceptable and begins to look upon others as objects; and
(4) acting out, where the fantasizing becomes overt behaviour.

Additionally from a moral point of view, there are three reasons why pornography is wrong and sinful behaviour for individuals.

First, pornography offends the dignity of the participants (actors, vendors, the public). Each one is exploited himself or exploits others in some way for personal pleasure or gain. In all cases, the dignity of the human being -- whether the person posing, the person producing, the person distributing, or the person enjoying -- is debased.

Second, those who engage in pornography immerse themselves in a fantasy world, withdrawing from reality. While genuine love always involves a self-giving of oneself for the good of others, pornography entices a person to withdraw into a selfish world of perverted fantasy which may later be acted out to the detriment of oneself and others. This problem has increased dramatically, since the Internet offers "virtual reality" sexual interaction.

Third, pornography offends against the virtue of chastity and constitutes an assault on marriage. Each of us must respect the sanctity of our own human sexuality, which involves the integration of his physical and spiritual being. Furthermore, conjugal love which reflects the union of husband and wife, and the enactment of their vows is sacred. The conjugal act ought to express that faithful, permanent, exclusive, self-giving and life-giving love between husband and wife.

Economic values that are important today must include the enhancement of people, not their exploitation and debasement.

In making its decision on Northern Peaks, the CRTC specified that the channel would only be given its formal licence if at least one cable or satellite provider agrees to add the channel to its service list. The channel has three years to obtain such a contract or else the licence will expire.

Consider writing to your own cable provider (name and address available on your monthly bill) and advise it that if it includes this pornographic channel on its service list, you will immediately switch providers. If the cable provider believes that doing so will harm business -- the company will refuse the pornography channel.

In addition, write to the CRTC, Ottawa, Ont. K1A 0N2, Fax: 819-994-0218, raising your objections to its approval of this channel -- Canadian content or not.
Fred Henry is the Catholic bishop of Calgary.

Keep the porn channel out of Canada
The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Re: Stop porn channel, family group says, Aug. 22.

I think Charles McVety of the Canada Family Action Coalition is right: Canadian content is no compensation for an increase in pornography.
When I read your news article on the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission's (CRTC) decision to licence a pornography channel, my first thought was "What good are they?" (The CRTC, that is).
I object to having my tax dollars run an organization that is either unable or unwilling to protect Canadian women from continued sexual degradation, objectification, and exploitation.
Maybe it's time to get rid of both of them, the CRTC and the pornographers.
Peggy Lynn Kelly, Nepean
© The Ottawa Citizen 2008

outrageous wage increases in bc

2008-08-09T13:03:00.000-07:00

the following is taken from the vancouver sun august 9th. i couldn't believe it when i read it.

"On Friday the government gave retroactive raises to deputy and assistant deputy ministers ranging from 22 per cent to 43 per cent, depending upon position. For Campbell's deputy minister, Jessica McDonald, her salary will rise to $348,600 from $243,936.

The increase comes less than two years after the government gave its other political staff, including those appointed by Cabinet, raises of 25 per cent." not mentioned was the 53% increase gordon campbell gave himself.

the same government's website says "The First Job/entry level minimum wage rate is $6 per hour. This only applies to employees with no paid work experience before Nov. 15, 2001. After they have worked for a total of 500 hours with one or more employers, these employees are entitled to the regular minimum wage rate."

the minimum wage rate being $8.00/hour which has not been increased in 7 years.

i am outraged. i'm sure none of these fat cat bureaucrats have ever felt the humiliation of standing in line at the food bank because you live at or below the poverty line and can't afford to feed yourself or your family on the minimum wage income.

make poverty history - well that's sure not happening in this province. the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.

when i worked people voted to go on strike to get a 2 or 3% wage increase.

don't wait til next year - call the election now and get rid of them.

He made the stars also

2008-08-03T10:31:00.000-07:00

offensive advertising on vancity's website

2008-07-28T16:06:00.000-07:00

i found their advertising the queer festival on their banking website offensive so i wrote them and told them so. when i was logging off the gay pride advertising came up. if i wanted to watch any of this garbage i'd google it so i wrote them again. i don't understand why a bank website would display such morally bankrupt advertising.

Happy People Dancing on Planet Earth

2008-07-22T17:25:00.000-07:00

this is a very cool video some guy made dancing in 39 countries. it is so fun to see people dancing and having fun in so many different countries. the silliness of it all would make anyone smile. i don't know how he managed to get it posted on nasa's astronomy picture of the day site but i'm glad he did. it's nice to see people from all over the world laughing and having fun instead of hearing about wars and violence.

check it out - http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

the world is starving for the knowledge of the God who can satisfy the needs of the human heart.

2008-07-21T21:22:00.000-07:00

this is the signature line that goes out with every email i send.

i have been phoning and emailing someone for several months with no reply. today i got an email from someone else saying " he has asked me to tell you that his computer will not accept any e-mails from you if the word God is included. So maybe you should delete your quote about the world starving for knowledge of God etc."

i have not mentioned God in any of our conversations so there's no reason why he could not have returned one of my several phone calls over the past 6 months. it's sad but he won't be the first person that stopped talking to me since i became a christian.

bible couriers

2008-07-19T22:35:00.000-07:00

check out http://www.millionbibles.com/ read about an on-fire christian spending his 2 week vacation smuggling bibles into a closed country. it's an amazing story of God's victory over the enemy.

1. While all mission trips are good, do you know of any other mission trip with the sort of impact that Bible smugglers have? If you spent just one week as a Bible smuggler and smuggled even just 1,000 Bibles, at the 1:5 ratio of delivered Bibles to new converts, that’s 5,000 souls won for Christ which will be linked to your heavenly account. Can you think of anything else you can do for a week that will result in 5,000 souls won for Jesus? How about 500 or even 50?

2. Being a Bible smuggler for even just a week will take your faith in Christ to another level. Every passage as a Bible smuggler is a miracle of God, so you end up praying and relying on God like never before, and then watching Him grant humbling miracles. Not only do you get to watch God win, you also have the immense privilege of being used by Him in His victories! I think every Christian should spend a week or two basking in the privilege of serving as a Bible smuggler.

3. You’ll have the added privilege of meeting and fellowshipping with some incredible Christians from around the world. Every Bible smuggler I met on this trip was a sold-out, on-fire-for-the-Lord Christian. After a hard, sweaty and exhausting day, you get together with the other Bible smugglers to share combat stories of the day, personal testimonies and prayers that give you a second wind. The only downside is that you sometimes end up staying up all night and lose sleep, but who cares when you’re being so blessed?

israeljerusalem.com

2008-07-19T21:05:00.000-07:00

The Bible says that the Messiah already came 2000 years ago and that when we die, those who believe in him will go to heaven as discussed, while those who deny him will go to hell, a place of unspeakable, eternal torment (Luke 16:19-31).

One day a grave will have your name on it. On that day, which could be decades or even hours away, where will your soul end up?

If you feel tempted to insist that the Bible is wrong and that there is no heaven or hell, consider this. You wouldn't critique a movie without having watched it, right? Have you ever read the Bible for yourself? I'm not talking about hearing things about the Bible or watching people give their opinions about the Bible. Have you ever watched the movie for yourself?

If not, isn't the destiny of your soul too important to be outsourced to anyone? Why not watch the movie for yourself before passing an opinion that could affect the rest of your eternity? If the whole Bible seems daunting, just read or study in-depth the Gospel of John, which is only 18 letter-sized pages long.

But before doing anything, pray to a God you don't believe in. That's right. Tell him you neither believe nor particularly want to believe in him. But you do want to know the truth - whatever that may be - and if he really does exist and needs to help you on this one, that he will.

the above taken from http://www.israeljerusalem.com/jewish-graves.htm

feel like i've lost my best friend

2008-06-25T16:31:00.000-07:00

since my best friend passed away a year ago i have been asking God for a new best friend. in february He brought someone into my life and i wondered if they were in answer to my prayers. He put it on my heart to pray for this person and He gave me agape love for him. somewhere along the line my feelings deepened and grew. today he went away. we hugged and said goodbye. if he is faithful to God he will be gone a year. whether or not i'll ever see him again i don't know. i know he had to go and i wanted him to go but now i'm sad. God brings people into our lives for a reason or a season and i wonder if this was a season that is now past. or is it for a reason and there is more to it. i certainly hope so. i praise God that He worked out all the details for my friend to go. i will miss him so much.

if you want to know God's will - ask Him

2008-06-06T11:48:00.000-07:00

I am wondering if God is wanting me to go to Peru next month. I prayed about it a month ago when the pastor I went to the Philippines (Bill) with first asked me about it. I said yes and then wondered if 'I' said yes or God did. At that time it was only going to be with another pastor (married man) and me (single woman) and I thought no because just the two of us wouldn't be appropriate. Since then Bill has told me that there are a couple of other women that are going and maybe another man. I prayed about it again and thought yes then wondered if again it was me. My heart is in missions and I love to travel and except for the evangelistic crusade with Bill in the Philippines in April I have always done work trips. For this trip they wanted 2 workers capable of working with children. When Bill said that I thought well that let's me out. I'm more comfortable serving the homeless at Sally Ann than working with children. I prayed about it again and thought yes and I was sure it couldn't be God because I suck at working with kids. Bill had told me it cooled off at night and after praying about it again because I want to do God's will I thought I was thinking yes again. I asked a friend about it and she asked if I had peace about it. I didn't have peace saying I wasn't going. Then I checked CNN weather and I 'knew' God couldn't be asking me to go. I am cold here when the temperature goes below 70. The high temperature where the team is going is 65 and the low is 33. I would die - I did NOT want to go. Then I would read a devo and it seemed that God was trying to tell me I was supposed to go.

this morning i got a devo from a lady pastor "How do we know when it’s God asking and not the world or ourselves or Satan? - it will require more than you have or want to give."

reading her devo i wondered again if God was trying to tell me something. like that He would require more than we want to give, this after saying i'm His servant and will do whatever He asks of me.

she said she would love to hear what God is asking of us. so i was writing this to her and i was going to ask her what she thought and if she would pray about it.

then i remembered if we want to know God's will for us ask Him not someone else. who else would know His mind. i prayed about it again and now i have peace that i am not going.

baptism of fire

2008-05-28T14:01:00.000-07:00

But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." (Matthew 3:11)(Luke 3:16)

I emailed this to four pastors wanting to know what they thought this meant. One pastor responded. I emailed a fifth pastor, 8 days later I got a second response.

Does it mean God will burn off our sin (the chaff)? or... as Hillsong United's Consuming Fire lyrics say

There must be more than this
O breath of God, come breathe within
There must be more than this
Spirit of God we wait for you

Fill us anew we pray
Fill us anew we pray

CHORUS:
Consuming fire, fan into flame
A passion for your name
Spirit of God fall in this place
Lord have your way
Lord have your way with us

Come like a rushing wind
Clothe us with power from on high
Now set the captives free
Leaves us abandoned to your praise

Lord let your glory fall
Lord let your glory fall

CHORUS

BRIDGE:
Stir it up in our hearts, Lord
A passion for your name

is God trying to tell me something?

2008-05-25T21:29:00.000-07:00

this morning in church the pastor said something that was so profound, to me anyway, that it was like God was speaking to me. i had to write it down so i wouldn't forget it and i didn't have any paper but because i had to write it down i wrote it in a book i had in my bag.

'i want you to prove your commitment before you prove your attraction.'

God uses various ways to speak to us so if this is from God i wonder what it means and how i would do that.

unmet longings

2008-05-23T13:08:00.000-07:00

the Lord is my Shepherd; i shall not want. psalm 23:1

reading the above scripture i think but i do want Lord. unmet longings. i longed for a husband for a long time. i thought i needed a husband. what i needed was God. then i thought God was enough. He filled my heart with such love and joy. in february God stirred my longings and desires. He awakened in me something that i thought was at rest. He brought someone into my life and i started wondering what life would be like with him. i was content in my singleness and i thank God for that but now i'm wanting more. the book i'm reading right now, walking with God, says it's not good to bury the deep longings of our hearts. having been awakened to my unmet longing i have wanted it more and more. God awakened this desire in my heart and i can't help but wonder what He's going to do about it. cs lewis says in 'the weight of glory' that what God uses to awaken desire is not necessarily what we long for. if it is not that relationship that i desire but what it points to then what is it. i have wondered for months why God brought us together. now i wonder how He is going to meet that longing that He has awakened in me.

walking with God

2008-05-23T13:07:00.001-07:00

is a great book and i highly recommend it. by john eldredge. it's about having a conversation relationship with God. it's certainly got me thinking. i've hardly been able to put it down. i had borrowed it from the church library but now think i want to buy it so i can read it again and share it with others.

a futbol game - a gift from God

2008-05-21T13:37:00.000-07:00

sometimes God just gives us gifts cuz He loves us.

i haven't watched much futbol this year because i don't get the channel that the best games are televised on. i planned to finish reading a book while eating my breakfast and decided instead to check my email. upon opening my email there was one advertising THE best two teams in england playing in the champions league final.
i put the tv on to see what time it might be coming on and if i got the channel it might be on. it had just started here although it was midnight in moscow where they were playing. it was the first time that the champions league final was an all english futbol game.

it was a tie game so they went into extra time, it was still tie so they went to penalty kicks, it was still tie after the normal five kicks that they allow and they kept going. i absolutely loved it. the best footballer in the world, cristiano ronaldo, scored a goal but missed the penalty. he was a shoe-in, no pun intended, but he missed. then the captain of the other team who you would've thought would also be a shoe-in missed.

it was exciting. thank You Lord.