Pursuing Excellence

So, I am pondering and pursuing the Spirit of Excellence in the LORD, and I asked for prayer today and I desire to be of an excellent spirit, because I respect and appreciate and admire those that operate in and do things in an excellent way. And so I was thinking what exactly is Excellence? What makes excellence excellent? God is so good and quick to hear my thoughts. Such a good teacher. He said "Righteousness" through "obedience" is what makes up Excellence. There is a right way to do something and a wrong way and doing something incompletely isn't excellent. Also doing something half-heartedly is not excellent- the Bible says Obedience is better than sacrifice. (1 Sam.15:22) Cutting corners then trying to make up for it by adding to it is not right, either. For the Word also says God loves it when we weigh things out right (Correctly). (Proverbs 11:1) And He shows no favoritism ( if we obey him we are blessed, if we disobey we are in trouble. )
I think also that one of the paths to Righteousness (in God through Jesus Christ) is the way of patience. Doing something right takes time. It takes effort and it takes diligence.

I think faith is what drives my desire for Excellence. I have seen other people, great people, do great things. Why am I (or you) any different? We do not have to settle for less.
One of my good friends said to me once, "Why be good when you can be great?!" That is a very inspirational quote, and it makes me want to strive to be my best. I think excellence comes from faith and I also think our faith can be renewed by excellence- because if you are anything like me you have probably been to a place in your faith or in your prayers when you felt like your faith wasn't enough, like you can't "believe" enough to make something change- but that is when we can explore our own heart more and the heart of God more- like the man who said to Jesus "help my unbelief", (Some people might have just stopped in their doubt, but he pressed on and admitted he needed more faith)- and the Word in Hebrews 10:38 says, "The just shall live by his faith". We can't let a seed of doubt stop us from our destinies, from our callings, from our very best that we each have to give for Him. The LORD is faithful, when we call out to Him, he is faithful to answers us. Call on Him from a pure heart and see what he answers you. He will answer you. And truly we have to be willing to listen to what He has to say...
Press on- pursue excellence- pursue peace - pursue whatever it is the Holy Spirit is telling you to pursue and have faith that God the LORD is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him in all they do!

We can be everything we want to Be in Christ Jesus the LORD and what's more than that is we can be everything HE wants us to be in HIM and in All His Beautiful Glory!
Have faith & believe~
~ God is So Good~

Hillsong United - From the inside out (Everlasting)

In the Truth

God does not save us so that we can sit around and have everything we want. I see people in church who are happy and content ("comfortable") comes to mind- in their lives. And, I think those things are all good but I think if we are really serious we need to realize that the Church is supposed to be a gathering place for disciples of the Lord, Jesus Christ, to come together to worship, and figure out how to do the works that he showed us (his disciples) how to do. He makes it plain and clear- he said "Go and make disciples", and he also said we will do greater works than what HE did. And his works here on earth were and will always be - Amazing! He turned water into wine, he caused blind men to receive their vision, he raised the dead, he himself came back to life, he showed people how to love the unloveable, he showed people how to share and have faith, he did so many things. He showed us the way to God. He said we- You and me, and everyone that is His- he says We are supposed to keep his commandment: Love each other- go make disciples, do the works that I have shown you I do. He came so that we might be saved- so he is telling us- Go and Save!
People need to be saved!!! We are supposed to be "the hands and feet"- but I see church people having their church parties, how long does the church need to be ministered to before they have enough??? When will the church get enough of it's fill before the people in it realize that the whole world is waiting outside to come in. The world needs a Guide, the lost need a leader, the broken need a Redeemer, The hurting and the sick needs a healer.
Jesus cured sicknesses- and he gave crazy people their sanity.
Get this: He said we will do GREATER things than this! If we are called and told we will do MORE than the things that He did, doesn't that then qualify also THE things that He did here on earth??? We should not "fear" - we should believe Him and obey him faithfully. The power comes from within - and it is from Him!

There are people everywhere- at your work, at the convenience stores and the traffic lights and the offices and the schools and in your neighborhoods and also at the churches- people need Truth. People need Freedom. People need Love. People need peace.
I have had so many instances of "Divine Providence" in my life that I believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that God sends us on the paths that he wants us o go, and that along His paths we meet people that will either minister to us, or need to be ministered to by us. And I don't mean "minister" like some put on show- I mean there is something inside of you that they need to know. OR maybe they see something in you and they have the answer and are put on your path to provide that love and light and truth that can save your life.

There are so many stories these days about horrible things people do- and I only think, you know, what if Jesus walked up on that person's path before they did those things- what if the Lord sent you or I on somebody's path that needed to hear that they are special, or to be understood if they are hurting emotionally, or maybe they need to feel loved and cared for- just because you go to church and are well provided for doesn;t mean it should end there- you only got there because other people were willing to step out and reach out to you and bring you up to where you're at.
We need to "Pay it Forward". And keep paying it forward to the next generation and the ones after that- That is the only way we have the Truth in our lives today- We can't let it stop with us because we're happy with our lives. God did not say, ok, I saved you, now, enjoy your own life while the world outside is dying for the life you have.
No- He said go and make disciples- Show them the Way. Show them the Way to Love. Show them the Way to Life. Show them the Way to Peace. Show them the Way to Truth. Show them the Way to Mercy. Show them the Way to Healing.
Give and it shall be given back to you.
You reap what you sow.
If we keep His commandment we are no longer servants, but His friend.

People, we are not saved for our own selfish gain, but we are saved so that we can lead others to Him.
What kind of people does God, The Very LORD want? What does He want? What kind of Church does He want? What kind of world does He want? What kind of people does He want?




He wants us to Love Him, and each other.

LET GOD USE YOU

Sigma/ Shin /Shaddai

The other day I was outside with my daughter and it was about 5 or 6pm. I was watering the garden and the sun was going down. There was a space on the grass where the sunlight was shining (I was in total shade ) so I told her to go stand in the sunlight, and I walked her over there and then she wanted me to throw the ball for the dog. I threw it once then twice and the 2nd time I threw it, my eyes went up to the sun and I closed my eyes because it was bright- and when I closed my eyes I saw an image - a symbol - and so I closed my eyes to see what I was "seeing" in the back of my eyelids, and it looked just like something I have seen before but I wasn;t sure what it was. It looked like the greek letter e. Like an uppercase E with pointy edges. So I went and drew what I saw and then I went inside to look up what a greek letter e looks like and also, what does it mean.
Som when I looked up the Sigma, (which is what the letter stands for in Greek), it was exactly what I saw when I had closed my eyes after looking into the sun. I did a little research and all I found was that the symbol - the greek E Sigma means "sum" (in mathematics). So, I was kindof dissappointed it didn't mean something more.
It has been a few days about a week since that happened and I gave up my search. but then today I started a search for "the names of God", because I have a friend who is researching that topic intently. When I typed it in I switched the results over to the image results and as I was looking I came across the Hebrew letters and I realized that greek comes from Hebrew, so I figured out that that greek letter E was first a Hebrew letter called "Sin" or "Shin" - and it makes the "S" sound. Now, I personally do not know why there letter is called sin, but they made that up I did not (you can research it for yourself). Anyways, It has much more meaning in the Hebrew than the Greek. And the meaning is valuable.

According to a wikipedia article on the letter "Shin", the old Israelites used to place a scroll on there doorposts with a blessing for their house written on it. And then this scroll with the blessing was sealed with a symbol (they used the letter representing Shin), because Shin also means Shaddai. And Shaddai means Most High. (I used to have an info guide that said El Shaddai means The God Most High, and I know El means God).
So.... to "sum" all of this up :) When I was a young child, there was a night when I was laying in bed and I asked God that if He was real, would he please show me a sign.
At that time I saw in my mind's eye a scroll rolled up by a window... Now I have my answer.

God is Great.
Amen

Revealing Love

Today as I was coming home, I was on 92 and facing the sun. I was worshipping the LORD. I just started to thank Him for His love, and for being so faithful to me. I was just loving on Him and as I was talking to Him, I was watching the sky. There was an area in the sky of some very wispy -like cloud-age, and as I was praising the LORD it looked like the cloud was changing, and I heard the Spirit say that worshipping the LORD moves Him. The wispiness was getting a little thicker through the fullness, and I just kept worshipping and praising and it looked like the cloud-age I was watching started to form "v's" and "w's" and "x's" and so I was seeking the heart of God. Then the sun had dropped low enough to where I could see it and the brightness and then the v's and w's and x's appeared to look like diamonds coming down from heaven~and the color of the sky was pink lavender and violet~! I continued on my journey home, and the Spirit of The LORD then revealed to my heart and said Declare to my children that this is the time for my LOVE! This is the time He has appointed for love in His kingdom. HE said he is writing love stories for all of us who desire true love and he showed me that there are many in the Kingdom of God that He is writing a love story for. He says we should "get our houses in order, for He is coming!" It is done, it is already done. He showed me that the work of Jesus Christ is that we all be loved and spoken for. He is the Bridegroom, we are the Bride! The Holy Spirit confirmed this to me with many signs, and I was blessed with awe! I am so thankful for this favor and blessing and revelation that He gave me today!
~The LORD God Almighty has spoken~ He is the same yesterday, today and forever!~ Have faith, worship the LORD, BELIEVE~AMEN~!

Don't let that become your idol!

Don't let anything become your idol. Don't let your sexuality become your idol. If you have problems with it, pray about it, God has an answer, and His work was finished on the Cross. Don't let your fears or even your desires become your idol. God is greater than the things that so easily trouble us, and we need to learn to trust Him in our problems to show us how to overcome our life's obstacles when we struggle. Our desires are from God- but if we let them become our god, then there's no room for the True Living God - and that makes Him very jealous, at least that's what I have read in the Holy Bible, and, I understand why. If we allow ourselves to be consumed by desire, we wouldn't be responsible with the rest of our lives. Sometimes our desires need to be aligned with God's truths to be made manifest properly. And that's ok. God can make all things Right when we look for His ways. His ways are always better and higher than our ways. He loves us so much more than we even love our selves. ~ His ways are true~

Don't let your righteousness or religion become your idol. Our righteousness is nothing to God- it is His Righteousness in us that does the work that He wants us to do. We are His servants. We serve His purpose and fulfill His plans. Not our own.
Don't let your appearance become an idol. God doesn't look at the flesh- he looks at the heart. When we stop judging people by their appearances, we start to see things in God's Kingdom a lot more like He does. With a pure heart.

Don't let money become an idol. I like what I heard this weekend at church, It's all God's money anyways. (P Hawkins') It is His money- He gives and takes away- He entrusts it with us and we use it to serve His purposes. And HE does want to take care if us. A good father loves to take care of His children!

Don't let people places and things become your idols. I'm not saying don't love people places and things, love. Just don't forget God in all these things and in your love. He created everything for a purpose and everything for a reason. Ultimately His desire is for His own glory and greatness. He is our Maker and our Savior. He is our Father and Friend. He is the Lover of my soul and we can all say that, in the end. God is Good and don't forget all things are His! To His Righteous and Awesome name be all the Glory in heaven & earth! AMEN

Live Your Dreams

When your love is so strong that all you want to do is chase your feelings, chase your dreams, prove them to be true...but that calm quite voice inside is saying to me- don't chase your dreams, sweet one, live them.
"Have faith and Trust me"

Notes and Ideas from this Sunday's sermon

The deceitfulness of deceit is that the one being deceived has no idea that they are being deceived. Deceit isn't something you see. In fact, it's what you don't see that messes you up! That is why deceit is so terrible. If you don't know what you don't know, then how will you ever know it?

Deceit can make people believe things that are not true. Since they do not know the truth, they will believe anything that "seems" true, or whatever they just happen to like or think sounds good. But God isn't interested in what "seems" true, what you think you like or what "sounds" good. Taking a month off of work to go to Miami Beach sounds good. Forget work, leave the kids at home, don't worry about the bills and the pets. A month at the beach sounds good! But when you get back the truth is that your house will be a wreck, your kids and pets will be gone and starving and you probably will not have a job to return to (if you work for any type of corporation) and your bills will be twice as much with all your late fees attached.
We can't just live life on the fly. You can't just do things without thinking and more importantly praying about what you're doing and why you're doing it. Even if you know "why" you're doing something do you really know the inner motivation and purposes behind it? The deep reasons and goals?

1Peter 1:6-11
6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:

7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:

9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

10 Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:

11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.

...Note verse 9...

In the Holy Bible the father Israel's original name was Jacob, and he earned his new name in God - because God caught him in his craftiness, yet because of his intelligence and faith God showed favor on him, and He blessed him. God turns things that are bad into good- all the time. He makes all things new. I recently read somewhere that when God makes you a new creature- it doesn't mean the He makes a better version of the old you- It means He miraculously creates a new person out of the old, and I can testify to that because I am nothing like what I used to be. I am completely new, and He is still transforming me. In the article where I read this, the author also said that the butterfly is a representation of this miraculous transformation that happens in a born again believer's life. When a caterpillar goes into it's cocoon, it literally dies and becomes mush- and then a transformation takes place, and at the right and appropriate time, a beautiful new creature emerges, a butterfly! Butterflies are true reminders that our God is a miracle working God.

2Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

This is Great News!!! :)
This is post script, I just want to acknowledge that this message began and ended on two totally different topics, but since it starts with deceit and ends with a new creation, and a miracle and butterflies, I'm going to say it's all good and I pray my readers get the message and are blessed :) Praise the LORD!
Much Love and Respect to the church and my friends in the faith and love of our Lord Jesus Christ.


~

The Key of David

THe Key of David is this, God looks at the heart, not at the outward appearance of man (and woman). Samuel thought David was too little, but God said anoint him, and he became the greatest king there ever was. God sees what we cannot see. We look back, we look around, we forget to look up (to Him), and also, we forget to look ahead. A year from now, five years from now, 15, 25, 40 years from now... make plans people. Live. But don't forget about God, and don't forget to love each other. Do you know how happy God is when "brothers dwell in unity"? And not just brothers, but us all. Why did Jesus tell us to love our enemies? Why did He tell us? TO embarrass us? To make us small and imbecilic? No, He told us to do this because He did it and because he knows that nothing can conquer love. It is the ultimate answer to all of life's questions. Just Love

You Are Who You Are

Today at church, the pastor was talking about God sending people to do His work, His Will, to carry out His command.
At one point in the sermon, Pastor Paul was preaching about how when God changes us, transforming us from our old self to our new self- he doesn't change "us". See, what He changes is our behaviours, our attitudes, our concepts, our beliefs.
Yes, that's a lot of change that takes place in a short amount of time. But I really want to focus on the fact that God doesn't want to change "us", meaning our personalities. We are who we are, and that is the reason God loves us. The Bible says that when God made man, He made man in His own image. That means, God is our Father, it's like, we all have the same Dad, and we all look like Him, just in different ways. So when He saves us from our "old self", it isn't our "self" he is trying to save us from, it's not out personality or character traits that he doesn't approve of, it's sinful behavior that He doesn't like. But that brings me to the next point, we as human beings, all have "natural" instincts. That some of us have problems with and this is where it gets dirty, this is where the testing begins, this is where God desires to do His great works in our lives. And everyone of us is different. We all have our own blend of personal habits, desires, likes, dislikes, and we all have the same life necessites to deal with also.
God desires to take us as we are, and show us that #1, He loves you for exactly who you are. Your smile, your hair, how tall or short you are, the color of your eyes, the sound of your voice, he loves every part of you. #2 He doesn't like to see you suffer. And, dear friends, no matter what capacity or what pleasure you might derive out of any type of sin in your life- it will never be God's best for your life.
Sin is not God's will for any one of us. It never was and it never will be. We have to have a clear understanding of what sin is, and what is natural and how to apply God's righteousness to our selves and lives to produce fruitfulness and to do His will. Just because we have natural instincts does not make those things in and of themselves "sinful". It is how we act on those things that makes them - and us, sinful, or righteous. Anger, sexuality, money, honesty... these are the top subjects that come to my mind. Everyone of these can be dealt with sinfully, or righteously. And our personality doesn't deal with these things, our personality is our display of how we deal with things. Whether we choose right or wrong- that comes from within. And if we really are serving God, we will want what is right... even if it hurts, even if it's not fair, even if we don't like it. Because we know deep down inside, that God wants what is best for our lives. And if He wants what is best for us, He will not lie to us. He tells us what to do: Love. When ever I do what He tells me to do,He proves Himself right to me- Every time. The more I obey what He tells me, the more He proves Himself true, the more He proves Himself true, the more I obey.
Its a win-win-win :) He is God Eternal.

Think about This

Humility is not shame. Shame and humility are two very different things. And, there is no shame in being humble. Yet, shame has to do with sin, and oftentimes pride. And there is no humility in pride.

I haven't had any commenters in a really long time... I would love some feedback on this. What do you think pride is? what about shame? What about humility, and humbleness? I will respond back to each reply... Thanks!! iAngel

Teach Me

I learn from myself. I think any wise person does. I'm not trying to boast, so I will rephrase my statement here, and say, I learn from the Holy Spirit- as He shows me my own self, as I grow in God. I grow and grow, I learn and I share.
My original idea tonight was to write about ministry, and how we strive to reach out to minister to people, but sometimes the ministry needs to begin inside our selves. Ministry to the self. Better yet, minister to God.
I am not saying at all not to reach out to people in need, please do. But seek the Lord for what He would truly have you do. We often do things, but sometimes, we wind up doing too much, and not listening to the LORD enough. I'm not saying HE can't use your works, or your charity, or your ministry, but let us not forget that God needs ministry, and so do we ourselves. We need one on one time with Him, where we can let Him into our heart and mind, because, the more we spend time with Him and open our hearts to Him, and talk to and listen to Him, the closer we get to Him, closer we are to Him. And when we are close to someone, we begin to resemble them, in actions, thoughts and ways.
When we spend time one on one with the Lord, in worship and when we take the time to listen to Him open-hearted, honest and humble, that ministers to His Heart. He loves spending time with us.
And His Word says when we draw close to Him, He draws close to us.

If Life is King then Love is Queen

If Life is King and Love is Queen
Then nothing should with hold the Dream
If God is love His Spirit a Dove
Then Come Lord Jesus from Above

Love Never End

when it rains it pours and we stay indoors
some people complain but I stay the same
we have to learn to accept what life brings
sometimes stuff happens that you can't change
and sometimes stuff happens that you can change

sometimes it takes courage to search the Lord's face
we need to surrender our pride and disgrace
it amazes me how the Lord's ways are higher
and the things I thought couldn't withstand the fire

I am amazed and grateful forever
that God saved my soul and gave me a Savior
to shine his great light to the depths of my soul
and tell me those things that I needed to know

He is gracious forever he is my confidant-friend
His word is the truth and His love never end

A Psalm...

So, I still sing my young daughter to sleep sometimes, and I have three or four or five songs that I sing (baby songs/nursery rhymes and one or two worship songs), but over the past couple of nights the LORD has been giving me a song and although I cannot play the music, I can hear it behind the lyrics and I wish I knew some people to tell it to so maybe they could orchestrate it, but the Words are like this:
You are My God, You are my King, You are my God and You give Life to everything
You are my King, You are my King, You are my Saviour and You deliver me
You are my God, You are my God, you give me Life and make me sing
Yeah~ Yeah~ You are my God
You are my refuge from the storm You keep me safe
You are my God, You are my King, You give me hope You give me life You keep me safe.

It's spontaneous and the words change as I sing it, the beat is upbeat but driven, kind of like a marching song (it has intent) but it isn't a march song. It's cool.. I just thought I would share...

Working for the LORD~!

God's love cannot be earned.
We don't have to earn it.
People get confused when they sin, or maybe if they are unbelievers and they think- because of sin, that God doesn't love them. But according to the Bible, God loves us all, the good and the bad, the righteous and the unrighteous. He loves us when we are good, and He doesn't take His love from us, when we sin and mess up.
There have been times when I have said to the Lord, " you must not really love me; you won't give me what I want. If you loved me, you would give me what I want, and what I need".
God loved me, and He loves me. I didn't see (perceive with understanding) that Just because God loves me, doesn't mean he's going to give me anything and everything I want, think I need or demand from Him. He is much smarter than that.
I have realized, we can't earn God's love, because He already loves us. BUT, we CAN earn His favor, and we CAN actually earn Blessings.
We earn His Favor and His blessings by a few principals and ordinances established BY God Himself, and the Bible guides us in how to do this.
And, it's real easy.. the concepts are, anyways ;)

1. Obedience
When we obey the commandments God has given us, He tells us He will bless us. When we obey Him, he is pleased and he therefore blesses us, because He wants to reward us. If and when we disobey him, he does sometimes punish us- and even though He doesn't reach down from heaven and give us a spiritual spanking (and sometimes he actually might, sin in and of itself is a form of punishment of it's own. And disobedience is sin. Anything we do that is not in accordance to God's Will, is disobedience and if we are not obeying His Voice (His Word, His commandments), then we are in essence living in rebellion, and not under God's protective covering. (Deuteronomy 28, Matthew 5 )

2. Faithfulness
When we put our Faith into God, that is actually a form of obedience. It is us, taking our thoughts (our hearts and minds) and AGREEING with what God has already said. When we agree with God, we are giving Him that authority and lordship - His proper place in our LIVES- and when we put our faith into His- AWESOME things happen! Many times people can look around too much- look at other people's lives and see how happy they are and we can easily lose sight of what the LORD is doing in our own life, and then we start to doubt or begin to compare and complain about what we don't have or what we're going through- But everyone has trials and everyone has tests. When we re-focus on the Lord and look to Him, the Author and Finisher of our FAITH, and hold fast to His Faith (He has faith y'all- I would say HE is Faith), when we do this, nothing is impossible and nothing can stop God from pouring out His Blessings on us! (Psalm 18:25, Matthew 17:14-22, 24:36-51, 9:1-7)

3. Righteousness
My definition of Righteousness, is obeying what God says is right. Because many people go around and think, I was good to that person, or I did a good thing when I paid the change that person was short of at the store counter, or I was nice when that person was mean, etc etc, but, I believe God's Righteousness goes deeper than that. Those little things are good, and valuable, but, there is a transformation in the heart that occurs when we compare our ways to God's ways, and truly UNDERSTAND the differences, and why they exist. And when we obey God's righteousness, and because His righteousness is based on HIS TRUTH, our obedience therefore is to glorify HIS Cause, His Truth, HIS Ways, HIS Heart, HIS Words, not our own. Some people also get caught up in thinking it's all about them (when they do what God tells them to do), and God does want us to be happy and He wants us to be blessed, but obeying God glorifies HIM, not us, because We didn't come up with all this stuff, HE did. It's His Truth, HE IS the Truth! He deserves the honor, He deserves the Glory, HE deserves the praise~! HE is WORTHY of it all! He is God, we are just His servants, His ministers, His messengers (angels <3). He honors us, for the Word says He honors those who Honor Him, yet there must be order because without Him, there would be none of this... you see. (Mark 10:18, Psalm 18:30)

4. Patience
I know patience is a virtue and it is a Fruit of the Spirit, but I feel the need to mention it as a vital attribute to "earning" hence receiving God's Favor and Blessing, because the Bible tells us, Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD will deliver Him from them all. Sometimes we have to wait. Sometimes we have to go though things, and it isn't always a "test", sometimes the natural process of circumstances in life create situations where we just have to wait on God to bless us. Like a farmer yielding His crops. He knows they will come up, He knows what He planted and He knows he did a good job, he knows his reward is coming. He just has to wait! As it is with us... we do what He tells us, We have faith (with hope and with works and without works) and we have His righteous truth in our hearts and minds, and eventually, as we wait patiently, God will begin to produce the Blessings and Rewards His Children have earned. (Matthew 13:31&32)

Favor means we resemble Him.... We remind Him of Himself... HE loves it when we do ;)
That's another message in itself, ;) for another time!!
Be Blessed!

~God~

God's Presence is Peace~
God's Heart is Love~
His Thought's are Great
His Touch is Healing
God's Words are Comforting, and True~
~God's Eyes are Watching...
His Ways are Holy, Right and Always Good~


~Blessed are the Pure in Heart, for they shall see God~ (Matthew 5:8)

Having Faith in Faith!

Why do we hold on to emotions as if they are our identity? If we followed the commandments of Christ, of God, and obeyed the Words of Christ and did what God and Christ told us to do, we won't lose our identities- but shed the things that hold us back and keep us from our true identity in the LORD. Emotions like unforgiveness, anger, lust, fear- they can almost comfort us at times, but they are pollutants to our souls (and minds and even our bodies). They are familiar to us all too often. And they keep us from all that God has for us; unless we pursue the Truth and Obey God's and Christ's words:
Forgive
Be slow to anger
Love ( as a command)
Be brave, courageous
Everything God tells us to do, is a powerful command - a choice - a descision we make on our own free will. To control our free will. (self control!! :)
It is like black and white - no grey.
We either love, or we hate... but that's not right, there also is complacency. That place in between right and wrong.
Like the "lukewarm church" in Revelation 3.
God is pleased with what? Our faith. I have learned that yes, believing is one method of faith, but there are times when we have to apply our faith THROUGH our beliefs to continue the path that God has for us.
What I mean is, we know we have faith because we have believed, and we know what we believe. THEN, - HERE's the kicker!
WE have these beliefs for a specific reason, and a particular plan.
And that is where I am taking us to... We have to boldly pursue our faith in Christ to accomplish all that God has given to us. We have to apply not only our faith now, but we must also apply our beliefs to our faith!
And to our lives and relationships.
It kinda adds up like math. We know that if we take two, and add two we have four. Same with God's principles. We know that if we obey his commands and DO what he tells us, we will be blessed. He is ALL Knowing. He already knows what will happen when we do what he says! We have to TRUST Him, Trust His Commands, Trust His Word, Trust His Voice...Just TRUST that when we do what He instructs us to do that we will be pleasing to him. We will be doing his will. And we will be glorifying him on earth.
That is what he created us humans for- His Glory. And he tells us how to do it through His written word in the Holy Bible. And the Holy Spirit who comes to us to remind us, and Jesus Christ as our example, visible by our faith and the testimony we have been given.
Our egos - pride- fear of losing our "identity"- our self-serving self-centered thoughts- those are the things that hold us back from forgiving. That egotistical way of thnking is what keeps us from letting go of anger... What are we losing when we let go of ego and really truly forgive someone? What do you really lose? Nothing. You GAIN God's approval. You usually gain a soul. You gain your own mental and emotional freedom and true Peace. You gain and you give Love.

We are taught by the world to serve our emotions, but GOD teaches us to serve HIM!

We are his workers, we are his beloved children. We are his chosen people. He is our Father, and we should honor him by keeping His Word!
Have Faith in Your Faith!

God is God, and God alone!
And He is Good! Amen?! Amen!!!!

Why do people fall into sin?
Some reasons are:
They don't believe in God, or keep His promises in their heart.
They quit being thankful/grateful for what they have, and seek things outside of His will.





Forgiveness of sin does not mean that the sin is ok. It means that it is understood that the sinner has need for God in thier life.

Everyone needs God in their life.