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Yearly Archives: 2011

The Strength Of The Spirit

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Ezekiel 36:24-29

[24] For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.
[25] Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
[26] A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
[27] And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
[28] And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.
[29] I will also save you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you.

Ezekiel speaks on the blessings that were being spoken to Israel, speaking on the transformation of the heart. That spirit we have today is used to cleanse us, to walk in the statutes, and do them!

John 14:16-28

[16] And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
[17] Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
[18] I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
[19] Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.
[20] At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.
[21] He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
[22] Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?
[23] Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
[24] He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.
[25] These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.
[26] But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
[27] Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
[28] Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.

Jesus was speaking about the spirit that would be there for us in our time of need, that what was being left behind would keep us until we get to Heaven!

Romans 8:9-10

[9] But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
[10] And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

So when we are in the spirit, He is with us, and without it we are our flesh and the part that is sin. We need the spiritual things to keep us each and every day while we live!

1 John 2:27-29

[27] But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
[28] And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.
[29] If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.

The spirit will teach you, not man, not tradition, not doctrine, not religion, not what you had always thought you knew, but the spirit will!  We need not be ashamed!

Sometimes The Best For You Is Not The Best For You

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If I had to say one thing that we all have been guilty of at one point or another, it would probably be trying to keep up with a trend of some kind. Sometimes it could be as silly as having the latest gadget or gizmo (I hear the droid noise as we speak) or as serious as something that would shift your faith towards God.

You see, popularity and trends change just as quick as the direction of the wind: very often and seldom predictable. Even knowing these things, we will still try to follow after most of the latest things in hopes of some kind of true fulfillment.

I would hate to have to be the one to say this, but I suppose I have said worse in my life. The truth of the matter is, when we are not satisfied with God’s movements, we’ll often move our passion to something else. One day we’ll be on fire and active in church, while on the next we will be out in the world not able to be the true light of the world. This is an alarming trend that we are finding more often, and with this you find less stability in representatives of Jesus Christ.

People, especially youth in this day and age, are truly hungry for a passion they can live by. We as representatives of Jesus Christ need to provide them with the trend that we live by: Godly living in love reaching out to all that need salvation and spiritual fulfillment for eternal life. It’s simple yet necessary. We make it more complex than it should be. If people seeing you following after God and seeing you leading a life of joy, then when their life is finally in a place to where they can be led by God we as the body of Christ are able to lead them!

So remember: sometimes what we have in our lives that people are calling “the best” may not be what people need to be “the best” for them. People need Jesus Christ. People need salvation, a way of escape, and people that will love without condemnation! Remember who you are in God!

Go For The Goal: Motivational Stories about Men of Achievement

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I received this book from a family member a few years ago and read it rather quickly back then. A month or two ago I read it again, and thought that it was worth put a post out there for just in case you might be a person who enjoys really short books!

This book has a good amount of inspirational quotes with different goals to achieve for. It has small inspirational stories throughout, and is a very small read (about 40 pages). It would be very ideal for someone younger in age who would read but doesn’t like to read much. When you put the book down after you are finished, it definitely leaves you with inspiring thoughts and stories to think on. It also definitely gets you thinking about your walk with God. So if that is your intent with someone who digs sports and God, you might want to slip this in their room or their bag sometime!

And always remember when you are done with one, pass it on or recommend! That helps the ones who work so hard to write them!

Check out: Go For The Goal: Motivational Stories about Men of Achievement – ISBN 1577487109

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Asimov’s Guide To The Bible (Reference)

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This is an older book that I borrowed this book from a family member. I went for quite a while before I started wanting to be able to have a greater understanding of the “wheres” and “whens” and how significant they are. And when you begin to read into it, it really does have a powerful effect on what you study in the bible. Let me tell you, this was not one of the easiest reads that I have ever went through (and I’m still not finished), but it definitely has it’s benefits. When you want to know about more details to do with historical and geographical facts to do with how the bible ties into it, this is a great tool to have on your bookshelf. It has made going through the old testament an easier experience and helps save time on having to dig facts on geography and history that would have been once too difficult to do on one’s own. It is definitely put together, and highly recommended for you reference buffs out there!

And always remember when you are done with one, pass it on or recommend! That helps the ones who work so hard to write them!

Check out: Asimov’s Guide To The Bible – ISBN 051734582-X

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When It Starts To Get Bad Make It Better

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THE WORD

Matthew 5:23-25 –  Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Plenty of people told me in my youth about how exciting life was going to be. I learned really quick as I started out that no person could have prepared me for the way life would surprise. There are all sorts of circumstances that occur that will challenge your walk with God. You can try to run as fast as you can from the trial but at some point you will have to face it head on. I wish I could say that it was going to be an easy experience that you endure, but often it ends up being tough. Conquering our life battles with victory is truly what defines you. What defines you and builds your character are the experiences you have and the decisions that you make (as well as the rewards and consequences of those).

I have discovered that no matter what kind of mess I am in that I can have redemption in a trial through prayer and repentance! We must yield our pride and ask God for forgiveness for our sins and transgressions! By God’s grace and mercy we have the ability to move forward and overcome. I would not be able to make it through life without the peace that comes by prayer! Do not live stuck in things that you think that you have live with to forever. Give God your issues and allow the spirit to dwell in your life in a greater way. Nothing is impossible to God, and is in fact but a small thing! I encourage you to remember who the God that you serve or and embrace that relationship. Do not let life get worse while you are still able to make it better!

PUT INTO PRACTICE

Battle through something that has hurt you and pray that God will forgive you for your feelings of bitterness and anger. And as you overcome, pray God show you how to improve something that is within your means to do (forgive someone, being benevolent).

Even When We Cannot See, God Is There

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There are so many days when we are in question of what we deal with as well as what we go through. Often times it is truly hard to understand and grasp the true knowledge of the “why” and “what” on everything we face. I am reminded every day that when it does not feel easy that those are the days that we have to allow God to begin to be our strength. Those are the times that we have to allow God to build our faith. Most importantly, we have to remember that God is there.

It would be easy for me to sit down and give up on my faith. Or so we think…I say that because faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. How many times has God came through for us in our lives even when we were not aware of a way to be made through something? I could not begin to count!

It’s by His grace and mercy that we still stand today, and it’s by the blessings that He pours upon us that we continue to strive forward as servants of Him! And remember, that God will never leave your, nor forsake you; especially in a time when you are calling on Him to be near. When Jesus was on the earth, He spoke of a comforter that would come when He would go. That comforter is ever-so-present with us now, and is more than able to help us through the days that are hard!

God is there! He is with you! Remember that, and do not waiver from how far that you have come! You have came too far and done so many great things in your life to simply lay down from a few hard times here and there! Let’s face them together and believe in faith! By the Lord God above, we shall prevail in victory!

Singing And Speaking At New Salem Baptist Church

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First of all, I just want to say that we had another wonderful experience at New Salem. The church there is growing in a great way, and it is wonderful to see what they are working for come to pass each time that we come and visit them. Their love and fellowship is always great and makes a person feel so welcome to come there. If you are in their area, and are looking for a church to go, go check them out! I can guarantee Pastor Kenny Rogers will make sure to make you feel right at home!

The homecoming to me was a great success. It was great to see the church work together to step out and do all that you can to provide a platform for anyone that needs help to be able to get it. When you get in that spiritual place with God, that is when you can really begin to get the work done that you need completed! We enjoyed singing there so much, and even got to debut Reagan and Emmy this time! They were champs!

There were many that came and prayed for many different reasons, and many that came to us afterward to leave prayer requests with us as we go. It was truly uplifting to see people make that statement and step out to enhance their life in a greater way! I just want to state for the record that we will be remembering all of these things that were spoken to us!

Hopefully we’ll be receiving a recording of that service in the near future, and when we do, we will get it on here as soon as possible! And for all those that mentioned it, don’t worry we’ll be back soon!

Break The Mold, Step Out Of The Trendy Fold

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I love God! I praise Him today for everything that I have in my life. He has done so much that could not even begin to start telling you in words through any media or venue! I did not always have this excitement about God in my life. I know, you might be thinking, “what?!?”. You see, I have been saved for a long time and it has been wonderful to accept Jesus Christ and to have salvation in my soul. However, I had been essentially in a place in my life where I was in a state of mind to not explore what the spirit of God can perform in my life. For many, this is a touchy subject, and I get that.

I encourage you to read on with me.

You see, the spirit of God is a wonderful thing. It’s the part of the ministry that does what we cannot do for others. It’s the part of worship and your love for God that gives you strength for another day. It’s the comforter to your heart and mind in a time of trouble in your life. After I got saved, there were many trials of my life that began to start to overwhelm me (far more than I could handle for sure). I started becoming someone that was in need of those things we read of that we know as the fruit of the spirit.

When I began to pray to God for more of Him in my life, the hunger and thirst for God began to be fulfilled. I know you might be wondering, “how did you know?” There was a day that came after allowing the spirit to work through me that I stood and gave a testimony like I never had my entire life. It shocked me. I didn’t know that it was possible. At first, it even felt wrong simply because it was not what I was always used to, you know?

Over the next period of time as I allowed God to shape me, I began to sing in a greater way (and I previously thought it couldn’t get any better!). And after I began to allow my lifestyle to be what God wanted it to be, my life was truly transformed by the Holy Spirit in a way that could not begin to explain. I started beginning to exhort which eventually led into preaching. The preaching has led into outreach and publishing, and still I seek more!

The great thing about it all is that a long time ago when I was in desparate need for a change that the Holy Ghost began to perform a miracle in my life. It changed my mind, body, and heart truly for the better. Each day as I allow the spirit to lead and teach me I become a better witness of God and servant to God.

My excitement is unwavering! I cannot say this excitement was always met with acceptance everywhere that I have been, nor can I say that it has always been easy to stand where you know people would consider that kind of excitement frowned upon.

This is what I leave you with today. We have to be an example to show that the spirit of God can be and is fluent in the day we live in. We show that by stepping out of the mold set before us and being who God has called us to be. Let it be shown and let God be glorified! For when you step out for God in obedience by the spirit, the spirit will reach out even when you have done all that you can! It makes the difference!

Step out and be a brave obedient vessel today!