Everyday You Are Faced With Choices

Who Are You Gonna Call (Upon)?

          Everyday you are faced with choices that you have to make. They can be as simple as - what am I going to wear, eat, or do today or as complex as - should I marry this person, take this job or that one, etc. But did you realize that you make a lot of choices you seem unaware of? You will make choices that determine your day, your week or even the rest of your life, as well as choices that determine how you handle situations and crisis in your life.

          Everyday you make a choice to submit to either God or the devil. I bet you didn't see that one coming! J More times than not, without even realizing it, you submit to the devil and his works of darkness.

“What”?!! you say, “But I’m a Christian and I go to church every time the doors are open! I work at the church, I volunteer, for heaven’s sake I teach Children’s church! How can you say such a thing”?!!

Very easily…do you want to know how? By listening to what comes out of your mouth between the “Praise the Lord!” and “Hallelujah’s!”.

You see…if what comes out of your mouth is contrary to the Word of God and what He says about your situation, then you are bringing yourself into submission to satan and allowing the works of darkness to operate in your life.

What you need to do is keep your mouth SHUT until you have heard from God about anything - from how your day should be ordered to what He wants you to speak over your body when symptoms of sickness try to come against you, to what you should say to the person that is right in front of you yelling at you for whatever reason, etc.

Every night you need to seek the Lord and inquire in His temple for the next day. Ask Him to show you how He wants you to handle what may come the next day or in the weeks to come. Ask Him to let you hear what He would have you to speak over people or situations that would arise. Ask Him to prepare you and equip you so that you will not fall prey to the tactics the enemy of your soul will present to you that day. 

Read in John 5:19, 30 about what Jesus did. Something a dear friend once said to us has impacted us greatly. He said “Jesus prayed and sought the Father at night and commanded (or carried out what He saw and heard) during the day”.

God wants you to be prepared as a good soldier to fight the good fight of faith. Declare with your mouth that which brings life to your body, to your family – those you love, to your finances, to your job, to those around you.

How can you prosper in ALL things if you are constantly speaking death to those you love, speaking that you feel sick and agreeing with the symptoms, complaining about work and the people there, etc.

James 3:3-18 talks about the tongue and how it affects your life and the lives of those around us.

Bring your tongue and every part of your being into submission to God. Resist agreeing with satan on ANY level and he must flee. Draw near to God every day and He will draw near to you so that you can be a BLESSING everywhere you go and to whomever you meet!         

(James 4:7-8)

So Who are YOU gonna call upon today?

   

                                         

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Gun Control

The tragedy that took place in Newton, Connecticut on 12/14/12 took the entire country off guard.  The event has sparked discussions about gun control and how future tragedies can be avoided.  Believers are calling for God to be placed back in the school.  Others, incorrectly, are asking why God would allow such a horrible thing to happen.  While I would agree with those that are calling for God back in our schools, the time for talk, debate, and social networking is over.  What I am calling for is prayer.  No debate, post, rant, or rave is going to change the hearts of the American people.

In 1^st Thessalonians 5:17 we are told to be in constant prayer, ‘Be unceasing in prayer’.  Obviously, unceasing means non-stop.  God is telling us to never stop praying.  I am convicted myself when it comes to prayer, let alone unceasing prayer.  In today’s world it is difficult to remember the unlimited access that we have to our Father.  When Jesus Christ gave his life on the cross, He created a bridge that allows us to go before God in the Throne Room of Grace.  That bridge allows us to bring any worldly concern to the Father, and like Pastor Mitch says, we should be leaning on the Holy Spirit for direction in what we pray for.  The Holy Spirit was left on Earth as our helper so that we might know and understand the perfect will of God.

After spending quiet time with the Holy Spirit, if you still are not sure what to pray for, you can never go wrong when praying for God to be glorified.  After all, no matter how things seem to be going, if God is not being glorified, it is pointless.  I promise you that God is not glorified when a tragedy such as Newton, Connecticut takes place.  The prayer that Pastor Mitch gives us is a good example of how to pray for our nation, and it is a good start in glorifying God. 

“Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on Earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.  For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Mathew 18:19-20.  More of us need to be agreeing that God’s will be done on Earth, that God be glorified, and that our children are protected against the wiles of the Devil.  Anyone who is not praying these things on a daily basis is failing to contribute to the Kingdom of God.  The very least that a person can do to help their country and their family is to pray for God’s will and protection.  This is where we need to place our focus.  Complaining does no good.  In fact, complaining gives credit to Satan and strengthens his goals.  Arguing about politics and policies is futile and a waste of time.  God wants us to let Him do the work.  He is waiting for us to allow Him to do it.

I am calling for anyone that reads this to make a conscious effort to always be praying for God’s will and for His glory to be manifested.  Every time you see an injustice in the world, pray for God’s will to show greater than the injustice.  Any time you see Satan attack, pray that God’s glory shines through and Satan is forced to flea at the magnification of God.  When victory is experienced, make sure that God is given the glory for the blessings that he provides.  If we can start doing this, God’s protection will return to our country and we will stop seeing such tragic events taking place.

                      

The Season to Arise and Shine

Tis the Season to Arise and Shine

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night.

And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

Luke 2: 8-11

A Light for revelation to the Gentiles (to disclose what was before unknown) and (to bring) praise and honor and glory to Your people Israel.

Luke 2:32 AMP

Glory to God in the Highest!!

This is the time of year that we celebrate the birth of our Precious Lord and Saviour - that we remember and appreciate how He humbled Himself and became a man to save us from our sin. I Praise God for all of this and am so very grateful!

As I have grown in my walk with the Lord and have learned from His Word, I am finding out that there is so much more to what Christ has done for us!

He came as the LIGHT of the world - A Light that dispels the darkness. Light also means having understanding and knowledge of the truth. As children of God we have that Light of the gospel within us and it gives us revelation of His Word.

Jesus’ main objective for coming to the earth was to destroy the works of satan (that’s what His Light does) and restore relationship with the Father. As believers, that should be our objective too.

He gave us power to become the sons of God when we choose to believe on Him. (John 1:12) In doing so, He also gave power and authority over all devils and sickness. (Luke 9:1)

We can only know and understand these things and how to defeat satan’s deception by spending time with the Father, reading the Word which helps us get to know the Father, believing what the Bible says and living like we believe it!

This Christmas season live in that Light and Arise and Shine for the Glory of God!!

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Love and Light

Who Is Lord?
Jesus is Lord!

The Love of God

The Love of God

‘For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoseoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life’ John 3:16.  

Let us take a deep look into this verse.  Can you imagine someone taking a punch in the face so that you can live a life free of sickness?  Can you imagine someone being kicked in the back of the head so that no weapon formed against you shall prosper?  What about someone having a nail, most likely the size of railroad ties, driven through their wrist so that you may have peace both on the Earth and throughout eternity?

I want you to imagine yourself being this person.  Think about how much you would have to love a person to take this sort of torture for them.  Oh, do not forget that you know for several years leading up to the day of torture what is going to happened.  In addition, you have every opportunity to back out.

Obviously, I am referring to the life of Jesus and his purpose here on Earth.  In Matthew 26:39, Jesus prayed, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me:”  He is asking that he not endure what is coming because he knows how horrible it is going to be.  But then the second part of the prayer is “nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.”  Despite the knowledge that he has, he will go through with his calling because it is the will of God.  This not only speaks to the love that Jesus has for the world, but it also speaks to the love and trust that he has for God.

In Matthew 4 Jesus was tempted by Satan to not go through with the calling that God had put on his life.  In verse 9, Satan offered Jesus all of the kingdoms of the world.  So, at that very point in history, Jesus made a choice to resist the wiles of the devil and to accept the calling of Jesus.  The world should be thankful that He chose the unselfish path.

Now that you have attempted to relate to Jesus, take it one step further.  Try to imagine the position of God.  Send your only son into a place that will not accept him.  Into a place where he will be ridiculed, persecuted, and eventually tortured and murdered.  Then, he is going to be sent to hell for three days so that the very people that murdered him can have a way to avoid hell.  In addition, throughout time, people attempt to deny that this incredible sacrifice even happened.  Despite knowing all of this, God sent Jesus to the Earth knowing the he would be tempted by Satan, knowing that he would request an alternative, and knowing that there would still be those that rejected Him.

Think about how much God loved us to put His Son through that.  Think about the words of John 3:16 and how true the love of God really is.  Think of how much love God must have for each and every one of us that he will accept us into His Kingdom just for accepting Jesus into our hearts.  He is not asking for us to endure anything close to the sacrifices of His Son.  Instead, He is offering us everlasting life, health, security, and peace.  All of these things were taken from His Son so that we may have them.  The love that God must have for us to do what he did is a love that I want and need a revelation of.  If God will offer up his own son as a sacrifice for my sins so that I may live without lack, without sickness, and without the curse, what would God not do for me?  

Once we get a revelation of the depth of God’s love, we will understand that he has already provided everything we need.  Once we understand this, nothing else will matter except God’s will being done on Earth, and once we are focused on His will, we will stop asking Him for worldly things and start asking what He would have us do for His Kingdom.

You Cannot Serve Two Masters

To my brothers and sisters in Christ, after the recent elections I have spent a lot of my time in meditation and prayer and I would like to share my thoughts.  

I feel your anger and bitterness.  You look around at your fellow Americans and ask yourselves, how can you do this?  The answer is quite simple, this nation has turned its back on God and they do not know their Lord.  You cannot serve two masters and they have chosen to serve the ruler of this world.

  The ramification of this election is great.  We now have a government that calls what is good bad and what is bad good. With 16 trillion in debt they will continue to spend this country into an economic collapse, and when the United States sneezes the rest of the world catches a cold, so this will be a worldwide collapse.  They will continue to print money to try to pay for their spending which will continue to devalue the dollar and create massive inflation.  Expect to see higher and higher taxes as the price of everything you buy continues to rise.  You will continue to see massive regulation from the EPA on greenhouse gas emissions that will cause utilities bills and gas to skyrocket.  They will continue to defund and weaken the military until we will no longer be able to defend ourselves.   

The Bible talks about the nation of Israel.  All nations are judged on how they treat the country that God has placed his name on.  Those that bless Israel will be blessed those that curse Israel will be cursed.  The United States has been a friend and ally of the nation of Israel since it was re-founded in 1948, but now we have a government in direct opposition to Israel. With Israel feeling more and more isolated and knowing they can no longer rely on the United States, I would expect them to launch an attack on the Iranian nuclear facility in the near future that could very well escalate into WWIII and draw us into it. This will usher in a world government system and a one world religion that will be forced upon us.  All of this will lead to a final battle that will culminate in our Lord setting up his kingdom on earth that will not perish.  You should not be surprised about what I am writing about because it has already been written in the bible. 

This is not the time for you to despair and to become fearful, this is the time for you to gird up your loin belt, dust off your bibles and get into the word. Put on the whole armor of God because we do not fight against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rules of the darkness of this world and, against spiritual wickedness in high places.  In their arrogance the enemy thinks it is winning, they think they have defeated and demoralized us, but I see the Lords hand in all this, he is moving the nations to his place of choosing and for his judgment for our God is also the God of the deceived and the deceiver.  He increases nations and destroys them. He enlarges them and straightens them again. He gives and he takes away. At the same time he is gathering his people to him.  We have become too complacent and have trusted the government to always do the right thing. Now he is taking away everything that we trusted and relied on so that only he is left, so put your trust in him.  Soon the Lord will pour out his spirit on the earth and you should expect to see miracles and all manner of great wonders, be ready to receive it.  

We still have a lot of brothers and sisters still living in darkness, once they stop believing and relying on the government they will flood back to the Lord, we should welcome them with open arms. We have been put on this earth for a purpose and at this time and this place. You will become the kings and priest of the kingdom set up by our Lord and we will reign with Jesus forever. It is time for you to prepare yourself, put away the things of the flesh and focus on the Lord, because our time is drawing short and the victory is ours.  

              

Album Party Faith Has A Voice

ALBUM PARTY

NOVEMBER 10TH

SATURDAY

3:00 pm

at

LIFE Church and Training Center

5895 E. Thompson Rd.

Indpls., IN 46237

317-786-5460

FAITH HAS A VOICE

Get Up

Get up and praise the Lord to this awesome song.

Peace in Uncertain Times

How to Have Peace in Uncertain Times

                Ever have those times where things seem out of control? Where everything in your life seems to just go wrong?  You try and fix the situation and it seems like it gets worse. This is where we tend to get stressed and anxious about what we perceive as problems. Combine that with satan whispering all sorts of lies to you and you've got a hot mess on your hands. That’s when you’re most vulnerable to be deceived by the devil.

How do you keep from getting to a point of worry and stress? Simple, by casting your cares on Him because He cares for you (1^st Peter 5:7). I have had people tell me, “Well Pastor Ben, I tried that and I still worry.”  Well that’s impossible, if you truly cast your cares to the Lord. Proverbs 16:3 says “Commit your works to the Lord, and your thoughts will be established.” The word commit literally means to roll or to roll away.

When you roll all your heavy burdens to the Lord and truly trust Him with it, your mind will be at peace knowing your God works everything out for the good of those who love Him. How do you get to the point of trusting God like that? Know who He is. Know that God is your strength, your rock, your fortress, your deliverer and your shield (Psalm 18:1-3). He will never leave nor forsake you, and is able to deliver you with a great deliverance (Deuteronomy 31:6, Psalm18:50). This is how you have peace in uncertain times.

                                  

Discipleship at LIFE Church and Training Center

This lady has great insight on healing and God's Word.

Discipline The Mind Prayer and Fasting

 This piece will cover two topics. 

The first topic is meant to reiterate what Brother Josh spoke about on Sunday, September 16^th.  The topic was disciplining ones mind to be mindful of God.  If you were not present you should get a recording because it was very good. 



The other topic is going to be about the national day of prayer and fasting scheduled to take place on Saturday, September 29^th, 2012.  The two topics are tied closely together, and what is important to understand is that prayer and fasting will not be effective without the diligence that Josh spoke of.

 Brother Josh gave a very relevant and timely word on Sunday.  I would be shocked if anyone hearing that message was not inspired to do better.  To summarize, he spoke about training one’s mind to spend time with God and in His Word.  Josh compared this to training a child to stay in time out.  When one’s mind wonders from time with God, one must stop it and take it back to what it is supposed to be doing, much like putting a child back in time out when it gets up without permission.




For most of us, spending time with God is a choir.  We find ourselves falling asleep, our mind wonders, or we allow ourselves to be distracted by other things.  





Then, to make matters worse, we give in to sleep and distractions and do not complete our time with God.  When we do this, we are letting Satan know that all he has to do is distract us and we will leave our time with God, missing out on what he had for us.  This needs to change.  No one is going to be faulted for their mind wondering, but when it does, it needs to be caught and put back in its place.  No matter how many times it happens.  Eventually, like a child, the mind will learn not to wonder.  When the mind stops wondering, a person’s time with God will be more productive, and they will receive more revelation from God.

This relates to the national day of prayer and fasting in that Christians are going to need to be discipline not only on 9/29/12, but in the days leading up to it as well.  
I have been meditating on the date quite a bit, and God has revealed some things to me concerning the affect the day can have on the rest of eternity.  I will not get into what those thing are, but what it has done is help me to understand how important that day is.  A day of this important, with the sort of impact that it can have, needs to be approached with preparation and expectation.  The worst thing that the Body of Christ can do is treat 9/29 as another exercise.  If the day is not approached with seriousness by Christians, the day will be lost and it will not be taken seriously by the world.  I would encourage all believers to be in prayer now and in the days to come about how God would have you prepare for the day.

Disciplining one’s mind is a worldly exercise that takes time and training.  Most of us fall short of the discipline that it takes to kick start a national move of God.  God’s grace can supernaturally step in as a substitute for the discipline we lack in the natural.  That grace will allow us to focus on His will during this time of prayer and fasting.  There are certain things that God is having me do that will bring his grace upon me and my family.  Part of that grace is the focus and discipline that is needed to make that day a success for His Kingdom.  Christians need to be in prayer now regarding what God would have them do to ignite that grace.



What are you doing to prepare for this national day of prayer and fasting?  Do you believe that this date can change the course of this nation?  If you have not started to prepare, use these questions in your quiet time with God to figure out what He would have you do.  Force yourself to give God your undivided attention until the Holy Spirit speaks to you, and do not resist the assignment that God gives you.  As the Body of Christ we cannot afford to take this day lightly.  Remember, one will put a thousand to flight, two will put ten thousand to flight.  Just think of what and entire nation of believers can do.

Change

Change is Good.

As we approach our church wide day of prayer on September 29^th .   I have been examining myself for areas where God wants me to make changes.  The basis of this is really wanting a closer relationship with God. Growing up, I had always heard change was a bad thing. I developed the mindset that resisted change.

Recently, I heard a story of a snake that escaped its cage at a local school. Despite efforts by school officials and the animal control agency to find the snake, it was nowhere to be found.  Someone decided to leave the cage door open and turn the heat rock back on. The snake returned.  Many times, we behave the same way. We find a comfort zone and park ourselves there. We may venture out but usually return to what is familiar or comfortable.

The Bible teaches us that God wants us to change to be like Him.

Ephesians 4:22 – 23 says : That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;  And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;  And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

 The word renewed in verse 23 means to “renovate”.   I have to examine the way I think, my beliefs and behaviors. If they don’t line up with the Word of God, I am are required to change.  That is serious renovation or change.

So how did I begin the process? During Sunday church service we were told to routinely say,” I believe God, I belong to God, I serve God”  I also added “ I love God.”  We were also instructed to start saying, “Without Him, I can do nothing, know nothing, have nothing.”

I began to say those things, then I would ask God to show me where I had pride in my life that would prevent me from seeing areas that needed renovation.  I would sit quietly and listen for instruction.  God started showing me where I needed to change. 

 Changing a lot of times is simply saying, God you’re right, forgive me, I repent of that. Instead of that wrong behavior or belief,  I replace that with Your Truth and the power of your Holy Spirit then I move on. 

The change brings peace, freedom, and a closer relationship with Him, the Creator of the universe. All because He loves us and gave His best for us.

He wants us all to be more like Him.  Let’s step out of our comfort zone, and live recklessly for God.

                                   

God's Kingdom

“Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.” (Proverbs 4:23).

          

  Being an effective part of God’s Kingdom takes diligence.  

It’s not a once a week commitment. 

                                                                                    It's not even a once a day commitment.  

Being an effective part of the Kingdom of God is a constant thing that you must train yourself to do.

Recently, Pastor Mitch has been talking about being doers of the Word, knowing the names of God, and knowing what the Holy Spirit does.  He has been on these three things for quite some time now.  He talks about drilling himself about the names of God and repeating over and over what the Holy Spirit does when he comes.  Why does he do this?  Because that is the diligence it takes to get to know the things of God.

Think of learning math equations in school.  Did you look at them once and understand them?  Even if you had the rules in front of you, could you pass the tests without practicing them and studying them first?  Of course not.  The rules of algebra had to be explained to all of us before we understood them.  Then we had to be diligent to practice and study them before we felt comfortable enough to apply them during a test.

Well, it is the same thing with the Word of God. 

At church and through teachings are a couple ways we have God’s Word explained to us.  Then it is up to us to take that Word home to study and meditate on.  Once we have meditated on the Word, it is then our responsibility to apply what we have been taught.  Applying the Word is our test, and much like school knowledge, Kingdom knowledge builds upon itself.  You can’t learn algebra without knowing how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide.  This is why it is important to constantly apply the Word and to not allow any aspect to be thrown to the way side.

I think that most people will agree that it is not easy to constantly meditate on and apply the Word of God.  This is where diligence comes in.  Diligence is characterized as a steady, earnest, and energetic effort.  Apply that to Proverbs 4:23 and we are instructed to be steady, earnest, and to have an energetic effort to keep our hearts.  This is the complete opposite of a once a week sermon in which most people turn their brains off and are fortunate if they retain the five to seven percent that is expected.  Diligence is not only giving that sermon one’s undivided attention, but then reviewing that sermon throughout the week and meditating on how God would have one apply it to their life.  As one applies the Word, not only does it become the issues of one’s heart, but it pushes out worldly ways.  This is how a person goes about the Father’s business.

When a Word is brought forth there is a transfer of responsibility.  If our pastor fails to teach on something God told him His people needed to hear, then our pastor will have to answer for that, but once he preaches the Word, we are responsible for it.  If we fail to do anything with it, we have allowed God’s Word to return void, and we will have to answer for that.  Don’t allow God’s Word to return void.  Be diligent in the things of God’s Kingdom and apply His Word to your life.

As a young adult pastor....

For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. (Romans 8:19 KJV)

God has been revealing more and more to me as my relationship with Him grows and prospers. This is not unusual seeing as we should be moving from faith to faith

. As a young adult pastor it’s important that I move from faith to faith and glory to glory. I need to prosper in my releationship with God so I have something to give out to others. The lost and dying depend on us to take our relationship with God seriously and to make His name known to them.

Each and everyone of us are called out and set aside to do something for the kingdom of God. You have a purpose, no matter who you are, God wants to use you! I used to ask myself “Is what I’m doing really helping anyone?” “Am I really accomplishing anything for the kingdom?” I can say with assurance now YES! No matter what lies satan tries telling me I can always be assured I’m manifesting God in what I do.

How can I be sure of this? Simple, being successful in kingdom work is not based on what you do. It’s based on your willingness to listen and obey the Holy Spirit. it’s not based on works it’s based on obedience. So no matter what God has called you to don’t lightly esteem it, or think its not important! Don’t compare it to what other people are doing. But instead measure your success on if you are listening and being obedient.

Passion For Christ

How to Keep Your Passion for Christ

     Has your spiritual life been boring or dull? Has the getting into the Word of God been a struggle?

 I think for a lot of Believers this has been or is a reality in their lives. We can sit in Church and listen to a sermon, and maybe be excited about it for a couple of days or so. Although after a couple of days we seem to slip back into a rut with our relationship with Christ.

The reason for this is gaining knowledge without application is unfulfilling and boring. 

The Word of God is supposed to be absorbed THEN applied! 

That is how God designed it. We can know all there is to know about the Word, but if it’s not applied then it’s rather pointless. 

Think of it like this. If I was given a task to make a sandwich and I read the sandwich bible, went to sandwich seminars, I absorbed all there is to know about making a delicious sandwich, the ingredients and the tools I needed were all provided for this task.

But be ye doers of the Word… James 1:22

Now if I just did nothing with all that information I got, I would look pretty ridiculous not to mention sandwichless. 

You see God is looking for someone to produce and bear fruit. 

John 15:8 says “Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.” Don’t just hear the Word, but do it and produce with it! 

Then you’ll be excited not only to spend time with God but to see Him be glorified through you!

Do You Pick and Choose

Do You Pick and Choose?

When I say to a wicked man, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin,and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his evil ways, he will die for his sin; but you will have saved yourself.

“Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and does evil, and I put a stumbling block before him, he will die. Since you did not warn him, he will die for his sin.The righteous things he did will not be remembered and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the righteous man not to sin and he does not sin, he will surely live because he took warning, and you will have saved yourself.”

Ezekiel 3:18-21

Have you ever left out part of God’s Word or sugar-coated it so the person you were talking to would not feel bad?                                                      

I know I have and then the Lord began to work on me. If I believe God, then I must know His Word and if I know His Word I must speak it as Truth – all of it! 

He does not say, oh it is okay if you add to my word here and say don’t worry about it God will forgive you. God may forgive them but you are commanded to tell them what His Word says. Then it is their decision to continue in the sin or follow His Word. 

I don’t know about you but I don’t to be held accountable for the blood of someone I did not tell the Truth to. I believe that is why so many churches are asleep today, why we are not seeing the power God says we have. 

This is not an easy step to take but with God’s help we don’t have to worry or fret because He will give us His Words at the right time and He will protect us. 

““I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. “I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God. But he who disowns me before men will be disowned before the angels of God. And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. “When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.” Luke 12:4-12

But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. II Thessalonians 3:3

I can profess to know God, to have faith in His Word but am I walking my talk? 

Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. James 2:18-19

Demons believe but they do not fear the one True God so they keep sinning, ignoring the Word of God. We as believers, walking in faith, are called to know God’s Word, when we know God’s Word and have a relationship with him (making the changes we need to make during our lifetime) we are able to help others grow in their faith and show it by their deeds. 

Satan is pretty slick, he will come in and say ‘everyone is doing it, even those in the church, so why should you lose out on the fun?’ 

The Bible is pretty clear on what God hates, this is just one passage of many.

When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures,  idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division,  envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19-21  

Now I don’t know about you but I have had to repent of several of these things and more than once! That is why I believe we are to tell the Truth in love. We are not to beat them over the head and neither are we to tell them  it’s okay because their circumstance is different (if  it’s in the Bible it’s not okay!). 

Too many believers want people to feel sorry for them so their ‘sin’ is lost in the emotional.

They talk bad about another person, telling things they should not be telling and usually leaving out the part they played in it. They have the poor me syndrome and that is not from God! We are anything but poor once we have accepted the Lord as our Savior, repented of our sins and started on our faith journey.

But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. I Corinthians 15:17

I know this will seem harsh to some of you, but if you are believers you can’t pick and choose what you want from God’s Word.

 I want to speak the Truth in love, and then it is up to them to make the choice according to what God says. Neither I nor you can make that choice for anyone, not our husbands, our parents, our children, our friends….but we can search God’s Word and ask Him for wisdom on how we are to act and speak so they will be drawn to God. 

So make sure when the Lord has you speak to someone, write about something, whatever He tells you to do – make sure you are doing it with God’s love, with a true concern for them to know what God has to say.

Whatever God says to do or not to do something, He will always give you the strength and the way, we are never alone.

How many times have I not spoken Truth to someone, or shared my faith. Now to listen to God and see how to do this in love, not in fear, not in Bible beating, but in genuine love because you want to see them blessed by their Father. Because you have your Father’s heart to see them saved and not suffer the consequences for a bad decision – a sin.

If you get attacked, let it go and trust God, love them and pray for them.  It could be the Holy Spirit working on them, making them uncomfortable and you are just an easy target. Again, love them and pray for them. 

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up      Luke 18:1

I’m grateful for the people that spoke truth to me and never gave up praying. 

It’s never too late to repent  -  Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death 2 Corinthians 7:10
 Let Jesus release you from those chains!

   By: Christena Hammes

             Blessed and Fit

Thought I Was Going to Blog About the Pastor's Message; God Had a Different Message

I was asked in May to write a blog for the church’s blog site. Since that time I have asked God, “Lord, what am I supposed to write about?” and His answer has continued to be, “You’ll figure it out.”  Even sitting down to write this, I thought I might know what I was supposed to write about.

I thought I was going to be blogging about Pastor Mitch’s sermon from last Sunday, June 10^th, and what God spoke to me during the sermon.  While I’ll be mentioning it a little later, it has transformed into something completely different as I’ve began to type.

Sunday, Pastor Mitch posed the question, “Are you eating from the right tree?”  Pastor Mitch did a great job of defining the trees; one tree being the word of God and what He says is truth, and the other tree being the tree of knowledge of good and evil—the tree of what the world says.

For many, I’m sure they were able to understand this just from this explanation. I’m not always like that. I found myself saying, “Okay, Lord. I believe Your word is true, so where am I missing it?” 

He showed me two examples where this applies. He said, “The wrong tree is the doctors telling you, you are sick and dying. I am the tree of life. The wrong tree is the world saying you’re poor and defeated. I am the tree saying you are prosperous and victorious.” The examples can go on and on.

I’m an analytical learner. I like details, examples, metaphors and visuals. This is the way God speaks to me.  He is either giving me check points, using examples in my life or visually showing me things and saying, “it’s like this”. His voice is always the same, but His tone changes. For me, it’s been patient, friendly, chiding, or humorous. It just depends on what He’s saying and how long He’s been saying it. Sometimes He’s my Father, and sometimes He’s just speaking as my friend.

 In church we’ve been talking about prayer lately, and how we pray. As a family, we have set times during the day where we pray; morning, meal times and bedtime. We use these prayer times to thank God for what He’s done, what He’s doing and what He continues to do.

If a problem presents itself throughout the day I thank Him for providing me His patience, strength and wisdom in helping me through the situation. If I get a prayer request from a friend or someone else I pray very similarly. I provide scripture to the person and let them know what I’m agreeing to believe with them on and that God receives all the glory for it. 

I’ve found myself asking, do I pray enough, and do I pray the right way. His response to me was, “Praying isn’t just ‘God help me; God, do this; God, do that, God, why won’t you do this; God, why won’t you do that.’ 

Prayer is communion with Me. It’s showing respect and knowing what I do for you and knowing what I’ll keep doing for you. As a parent, as an employer, as a person in a position of authority, or as a friend - would you want your children, employees, subordinates, or friends to continually bring all their problems to you for you to fix them? No. You want them to use what you have given them, use what you have taught them to solve their own problems.  If you have given your word on something, it’s okay if they remind you of it because you want them to know you care for them and they can depend and rely on you to honor your word. You want them to talk to you and share with you things they find important, just as I do with you.”  

He went on to tell me how much time I don’t even realize I am talking to Him and with Him just because it’s become a ‘normal’ part of my day. He told me it’s okay and He’s pleased, and that made me smile.

 At the beginning of the year, the Lord shared with me that I was being selfish by not sharing with others what he speaks and has spoken to me.  I made a commitment to share and have honored that commitment. 

Today, he wanted me to share that He speaks to each of us differently in a way that is most beneficial to each of us. There is no right or wrong way to hear from Him. If you are confused rather you’re hearing Him or not, He says if whatever he’s said, or instructed you to do or change is followed with a feeling of peace, it’s Him.

                                                     by: Jessica Carlisle