2 Kings 6:8-23

There is a lot to learn from 2 Kings 6:8-23

The first things that caught my attention was the protection, unseen, that was around Elisha. If God protected Elisha then you know we are protected now. God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. But there is more than just that once instance of protection. Let me go step by step on what the Lord revealed to me.

I have learned that the Lord will use this to help others but that He also ALWAYS has something He is trying to teach me too. So before I start let’s agree in prayer

         Dear Lord, I ask that you open our eyes to the Truth You are trying to show us in these passages.

         That if it’s encouragement you are sending, we accept it and give you praise and thanksgiving; standing on Your promises.

          If it’s conviction, then help us to set our pride down, repent and begin to draw on the Truth You are giving us so we can move forward and see our prayers answered for protection.

         In Jesus  Name, Amen

The king of Aram was at war with Israel, he made plans to surround them and kill them but time after time they were warned. Elisha heard the Lord and warned the king of Israel every time, saving them.

So here’s the first thing I see – Elisha knew the Lord so well that he could go boldly before the king of Israel and tell him what the Lord had to say. Elisha was so connected to the Lord that the king always believed him and made the changes that were needed to keep his land and his people safe.

Therefore, Elisha’s life, the way he acted, dressed, spent his time must have shown his commitment to the Lord. The king knew he could trust what Elisha had to say, he was trustworthy. I don’t imagine Elisha went to wild parties, had premarital sex, cussed up a storm, stole, disrespected elders and those in leadership positions, walked in pride, lied, etc.

I have to admit that there are times I get too busy or have the radio or TV on while I’m cleaning or on the web. Now there is nothing wrong with this as I usually have Christian radio or TV on BUT when I have it on all the time I’m not leaving room to hear from God. He wants to talk to me (to you) about things. He wants to give me people and things to pray about. There are many things He will give me IF I’m listening. Can you imagine God telling one of us about an impending attack on our family, neighborhood or something bigger and we are too busy to hear him.

Okay, the next thing.

Now the king of Aram decides to get Elisha. He sends horses and chariots and a ‘strong force’ to get Elisha. And notice, they ‘went by night’ to surround the city.

Let me ask you, when you are doing something you should not be doing isn't it usually in the ‘dark’? That dark could be another city where no one knows you, a bar on the other side of town, even in your own home with the curtains drawn. Evil dwells in darkness, where no light has come in. It is easier for the enemy to sneak up on you in the darkness. This is another reason I need to know God, really know who He is, and to obey Him. Because when that darkness tries to come in you want His light to expose it so you have the victory over the darkness, the harm that is trying to come against you, your family, and your country.

Okay, so ‘the servant of the man of God’ saw this army with horses and chariots around the ‘city’. Doesn't say Elisha’s home, it says ‘the city’. So many people could have gotten hurt or killed while they went to get this one man.

The servant  asked Elisha what they should do, he was afraid.

Now notice what Elisha tells his servant and what he prays:

                “Don’t be afraid….those who are with us are more than those who are with them”

Now remember a ‘strong force’ was sent by the king of Aram, but Elisha was unmoved, he knew he had the best protection. I believe Elisha was concerned for his servant and wanted to see the fear leave him so Elisha prayed – ‘open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see’. Elisha wanted his servant to see what he saw.

Now let me ask this. How close must Elisha have been to God to SEE the unseen in our world? Do you think Elisha was like we are today and spent most of his time in front of a TV, playing video games, sleeping, eating, whatever your distraction is (I know they didn’t have TV’s, video games, etc.  back then but there were other distractions).

I want to know how to see God’s protection, His angels, chariots and horses! Now I’m ahead of myself…..

So after Elisha prayed for his servant to see, God opened the servant’s eyes and he saw ‘the hills full of horses and chariots of FIRE all around Elisha.

This ‘mighty force’ had an added element – FIRE and it was not burning up the horses or chariots. What power!!

I believe it was because of Elisha’s faith that he was able to know, see and pray for his servant to see this. A faith so strong he could see the unseen in this world. He did not fear! I would not fear if I saw this kind of protection around me, my family, and my country. And you know what, I believe that same protection is here for me, for us; if we would just believe and grow in our faith. What if we would listen to the Lord and take the time to sit at His feet instead of giving in to our fleshly desires? Believe me, I’m guilty here and I want to change.

Now don’t get me wrong I’m not saying we have to do this ALL day and night, that would be silly as we do have responsibilities that the Lord has given us – provide for our family, provide for the orphans and widows, we need a place to live and a car to drive or bus money – so yes we have to work BUT what we need to ask ourselves, what I have to ask myself – once I am done with my 8 hour day, once the weekend is here, etc. What am I doing with that time? Oh and you can spend time with God at work and hear from Him there too – every task you have to do you can quietly give it to the Lord, asking Him to give you wisdom and to bless the work of your hands…..you just can’t sit down and close your eyes all day!

Okay, so back to when you are not at work. This is what I have been guilty of – I come home and decide it’s all about me now. I have children and a husband I need to feed and spend time with, that is something I LOVED doing and it almost always included time in the Word or taking walks and talking about God in what we would see in nature BUT then once the kids were in bed I wanted to do what I wanted to do – give in to my flesh and eat popcorn or candy and watch TV ALL night until I could no longer hold my eyes open…..too tired for prayer or Bible reading or study. Or I would want to go out on the town and drink or go to a game and drink, not intending to drink too much…….I could give a lot of examples, some good and some not so good…..but my point is I put God last when he should have been first and I would have received my refreshment, my peace and my protection from Him. I may have seen those unseen forces by now!

Okay, moving on again J 

Elisha prayed to the Lord to blind the army and God answered Elisha’s prayer. With confidence in the Lord, with faith in God’s protection; Elisha walked up to this ‘mighty force’, this army sent to capture him and basically told them they were in the wrong place but he would lead them to the man they were looking for.

Can you believe this!

So they allowed him to lead them and once they entered the city Elisha asked the Lord to open their eyes. What a shock it must have been to have their eyes opened and find they were inside Samaria with the king of Israel and Elisha.

Another great lesson follows, at least for me.

This army came to capture Elisha which would have probably led to his life imprisonment or death. But when the king of Israel asked Elisha; ‘Shall I kill them, my father? Shall I kill them?’

(Okay, I don’t know why the king of Israel called Elisha ‘my father’. Anyone have any revelation on that?)

Elisha responded with, ‘Do not kill them……set food and water before them so that they may eat and drink and then go back to their master.’  WOW Elisha is responding with forgiveness, mercy and love, sounds like the Father.

He had good reason to have them killed or imprisoned but Elisha’s heart was right before the Lord. Elisha KNEW the Lord and His ways, knew what the Father wanted. Because of the way Elisha responded to this army the ‘bands from Aram stopped raiding Israel’s territory.’ Can you say WOW again!!

Like I said, so many things to see and learn from these passages but this last one really blew me away and talked to me.

Elisha reached out to them in kindness, spared their lives, and trusted God for His protection. Elisha did not call them names or talk bad about them to the king, no he treated them like he would a friend. He had the king of Israel give them a ‘great feast’ and then sent them home to their master. Because of this king Aram stopped raiding Israel’s territory.

Maybe we should stop and think about some of our actions (I know I need to) because most of what happens to us individually is very tiny compared to an army coming against us. What do you think would happen if we treated those we see as our enemies, be those in our own families, in our churches, in our work place, etc…..if we started treating them as God commands us to; with forgiveness, mercy, love, compassion……so they see God is on our side, He protects us, He lives in us and because of that we can love and forgive as He does.

Put all this together and I begin to wonder how the tables would turn and the US would be spared from future attacks.

We do have an unseen army that God has sent to protect us. We do have a God that will answer our prayers according to His Word. BUT we need to KNOW Him, to know what His Word says, to study it, pray about it, and listen to God to give us revelation. We need to be in unity in the church.  How can we have denominational fights and not live any differently than the world? That’s not faith. We need to be able to talk to each other, study the Word and allow the Holy Spirit to teach us without having these big disagreements. We need to get a handle on the scandals taking place in the churches, for Pastors to stop looking at preaching as a ‘job with a paycheck.’ I could go on and on but I won’t.

It is time for me to pray and listen to the Lord more on this because I desire to have the faith that Elisha had, one where I can see the unseen and know I/we are protected. To know I can pray and see the prayers answered and can be as forgiving to my enemies, sending them back where they came from amazed at the hospitality they received and then seeing peace cover the home, the land, how amazing would that be? Could people deny there is a God then? Where did we lose it? I want it back, how about you?

Recipes, Crafts and More

There's always a lot of great articles, recipes, crafts and interesting items in this ezine.
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Open publication - Free publishing - More crafts

My Way Or Else !! Really

If you threaten your family and friends to block or delete people from facebook (or any other site) and if they don't do this command of yours....you threaten them with.....they can not have anything to do with you or your family........YOU are in a prison and now they have entered it with you.



Live life, enjoy life, take the chains off I can tell you freedom feels GREAT! and that freedom comes from knowing who you are in Christ. 

It also comes from repenting from the wrong you have done, forgiving others and moving forward in the changes. I'm tired of the petty stuff.....life is too short and we will ALL stand before God someday. Don't hurt others because you are mad at someone.

Ephesians 2:
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

They Heard of Their Faith

Let’s take a look at Colossians 1:3-14 starting with asking…..Why do they always thank God … when they pray?

If you keep reading you will see it’s because ‘they heard of their faith….and of the love they have for all the saints.’

Let’s take a look at the word ‘faith’ in the Greek.

 Faith (4102/pistis) is always a gift from God, and never something that can be produced by people. In short, for the believer is "God's divine persuasion" – and therefore distinct from human belief (confidence), yet involving it. The Lord continuously births faith in the yielded believer so they can know what He prefers, i.e. the persuasion of His will (1 Jn 5:4).

So they lived in a way that this gift from God was showing. They were persuaded, they yielded themselves to Him and knew His will.

And they had a love for the saints. I can only assume if they were known for this love it was because they were walking the way of the Lord. They were a light for Christ, showing and living forgiveness, teaching the Truth in love, seeking God for themselves-yielding themselves to Him so they knew what their next step should be. They confessed their sins, prayed for each other….I’m sure you can add to this.

Now let me ask you; are you a light in and outside the church? 

Do people see God when they ‘hear’ about the things you are doing? Are you talking bad about a Pastor-the ones we are called to share the Gospel, ones anointed by God --------(Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe.  He said to his men, "The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord's anointed, or lift my hand against him; for he is the the anointed of the Lord." with these words David rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. I Samuel 24:5-7) Did you notice even though Saul was in the wrong, out of God's will and trying to kill David; that David still called Saul 'the Lord's anointed'?  

Do you talk about other believers – heck even non-believers (gossip)….. Are you full of pride….only doing things so you can buddy up with people you think have 'position'? Do you have your own little circle and forget you are to be a light in this world? Are you spending time with the Lord so you know His ways or just giving him a few minutes or an hour a day?

We should be living in a way that will draw others to Christ, will wake up the pew sitters and strengthen us in our walk so we are not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ.

We want people to say this about us, about the church (believers on His vine). They should be thanking God for who He is in us and what He does through us. (Col. 1:3)

Let’s look at ‘fruit’.

Our ‘fruit’ Fruit 2592 - bring forth, deeds: thus of men who show their knowledge of religion by their conduct  - fruit acceptable to Him – 
our lives, the knowledge we have of God should show in our conduct and it should be acceptable to our  Father.

And our fruit should continue to grow. If we stop growing, our fruit will begin to rot. We don’t just accept Christ and then stop searching His Word, stop talking, praying and studying His Word alone and with others. I like what ‘increasing’ means – key to authentic discipleship and it’s continual. We should never think we have all the answers and it’s our way only. We will have some Truth to share with others but some Truth will come from others that may have gone through a revelation (a learning experience) that we haven’t. For example, Joyce Meyer can share the revelation God has given her on being sexually molested because she went through it and walked through her healing and forgiveness using the Word of God. Someone that has not been through this will not have the revelation she has. We are branches on the vine, each of us has something to share and should share about what the Lord has and is doing in our lives.

Increasing - 837 auksánō – properly, grow (increase); become greater in size (maturity, etc.).  ("to grow") is key to authentic discipleship. Indeed, the Lord requires non-stop progress (development) in the life of faith.

And they ‘learned’ –

You learned - 3129 manthánō ( "a disciple") – properly, learning key facts; gaining "fact-knowledge as someone learns from experience, often with the implication of reflection – 'come to realize' "

As you read on and see what they are praying for them you will see endurance, patience and joy.

To grow and have people hearing and praying for us, it will take endurance and patience. We are in a body and have fleshly desires and emotions that can get in the way. Satan knows how to get our attention on ourselves, to make us selfish and prideful.

We need endurance and it comes from God, so that’s another reason to know Him and who we are in Him.

Endurance 5281 - properly, remaining under, endurance; steadfastness, especially as God enables the believer to "remain (endure) under" the challenges He allots in life.

Then there is patience. We will be tempted to scream at some people…you’re going to hell…..or to compromise our values because we don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings, we begin to tell ‘white’ lies. When we go through things like this an improper anger can arise – this will put out your light.

Patience - 3115 makrothymía  – properly, long-passion, i.e. waiting sufficient time before expressing anger. This avoids the premature use of force (retribution) that rises out of improper anger (a personal reaction).

 I don’t know about you but I would love for Christ’s Light in me, the way I live my life, to have others  thank God and  pray for me because they ‘heard of my faith and the love I have for all saints’.

To have them pray for God to fill me with the knowledge of His will with spiritual wisdom and understanding…..so I can live a life worthy of the Lord, please Him in every way, bear fruit, grow in the knowledge of God, strengthened with all power, have great endurance and patience and joyfully give thanks to the Father…….’

I want to live the life God has for me, one that will draw people to Him no matter how far away they live.

What about you?

Colossians 1:3-14

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints— the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth. You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Lies Something to Think About

This is an older video but I felt the Lord wanted me to post it - so I'm obeying.
I hope it blesses you, helps you repent and return to your family or friend - that it shows you love conquers all. Or that it gives you hope to hang in there while you wait for the person to see how much forgiveness and love really is in your heart. I know we are waiting on someone to return to the family and it's not always been easy but our love has never died!

Pinning Pictures

Okay, anyone else out there addicted to 'Pinterest'?

It's a site where you can have a 'board' of favorite movies and then put pictures of these movies under that boards title.

You can have a 'board' for anything you want to title it.

Here's the link to my pin site

Christena's Pin Board

Leave your link in the 'comment' section of this blog and I will follow you.

A picture is worth a thousand words.
Napoleon Bonaparte

Something To Think About

February 14th Valentine's Day

Here is something to think about.

“But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.

“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ lend to ‘sinners,’ expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Luke 6:27-36

On this Valentine's Day, why don't you reach out in forgiveness and mercy to those that have hurt you. Someone you see as an 'enemy' leave them a special gift or card today. You don't have to sign your name, you can just put 'someone who wants to bless you' or 'Jesus - John 3:16'

Think outside the box and lift Jesus up on Valentine's Day!!  Give him the glory, honor and praise and watch what He will do in your life and the life of the person you are blessing in His name.

Reverence? Respect? Really?

Ephesians 5:22-33 talks about husband and wives but I want to zero in on the last part of verse 33 – on wives because the Lord has been talking to me about respecting my husband and how that relates to my worship on Sunday’s at church.

Ephesians 5:22-33

Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.  For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.  Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.  In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.  After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— for we are members of his body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

I use Strong’s Concordance and here’s what I found.

(respect)    to reverence, venerate, to treat with deference or reverential obedience

Then I went to the dictionary.

definition of reverence - Regard or treat with deep respect.

Definition of respect - A feeling of deep admiration for someone

Definition of admiration - Respect and warm approval

So ladies, we are to treat our husbands with deep respect have a feeling (and I believe show the feeling) of deep admiration. Our men stand taller when we do this and I know I get a benefit of being the woman on his arm, the one he likes to show off, the one he loves coming home to.

Now let me ask you, when you talk to a coworker, a person at church, even to yourself…..what do you say about your husband? Do you complain that he isn’t listening to God, that he doesn’t take the trash out, that he is stupid or lazy? Do you realize you are speaking death into your husband’s life as well as your marriage? Do you speak to your husband this way? Do you tear him down, play Holy Ghost, Jr?

In this context, I found Colossians 3:22 and the word ‘slaves’ very interesting because of the reverence slaves (believers) are supposed to have for Christ.

Colossians 3:22 

Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord.

Greek for slaves -  sadoúlos ("bond-slave") is used with the highest dignity in the NT – namely, of believers who willingly live under Christ's authority as His devoted followers.

That would be us, those that have accepted the Lord as our Savior. What are ‘slaves’ to do? ‘reverence the Lord’!

So let me ask you, when you go to church and shout out ‘Amen’ or nudge your husband in the side because you think he needs to ‘get’ what the preacher said or you just basically close yourself off because you just know it’s your husband that has the problem……do you see where I’m going?

If we are to ‘respect – reverence’ our husbands and we are to ‘reverence’ God, yet we are walking a day here and there disrespecting our husband,  do you think that reflects on God? Do you think the full power of God will fall on you as you worship? You have unbelief, un-forgiveness, and maybe even anger at your spouse. I wonder if we only see half of what God wants to do because we are not walking as ‘one’ with our spouse?

One more Scripture and then I’ll close.

I always thought I Peter 3:1 meant husbands that were not saved, well check this out!

I Peter 3:1

Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives;

Ladies, look what ‘obey not’ means in the Greek!

Obey not -  Greek meaning –   are disobedient, rebel

Then look at ‘conversation’!

Conversation – greek meaning –   behavior, manner of life

It may be an unsaved rebel of a husband OR it could be a saved but disobedient husband, one that ‘you’ feel isn’t doing it right. And even if he isn’t doing it ‘right’, it is commanded by God, that your behavior, your manner of life (which includes what you speak as well as your attitude) will win them over.

On Sunday there were two things that happened and I believe one was a lesson, an encouragement and the other one was a correction.

First, we are fostering a dog and we’ve only had him a few days. My husband was leaving for work and I had just prayed over him. Well, he opens the door to leave and out goes the dog, man is he fast – down the road he goes and out the door I go screaming his name running after him until I see he is way down the road by now. I turn and look at my husband and my flesh wanted to scream at him and blame him for not being careful. But I heard the Lord speak to me and the Spirit took over and I kept my mouth shut (that is a miracle from years ago, just ask my husband….okay maybe months ago) but anyway, I knew it was not his fault that I could have had a leash on the dog before opening the door, etc. So I stopped and said a short but to the point prayer and thanked God for His faithfulness. I kissed my husband bye, told him I loved him, went in picked up my keys and a leash, and proceeded to drive down the street. God answered my prayer, the dog had turned around and heading back to our home, so about ¼ of a block down he had stopped. I got out of the car, sat on the side of the road and called to him. He came running to me, let me put the leash on him, jumped in the car and off we went. If I would have let my mouth and flesh scream earlier and had not prayed, it could have been awful. I’m so thankful I did not mess up my husband’s day and with that, my day was awesome too.

The second thing is something I’m working on and I admit with great difficulty.  The Lord asked me, while I was mindlessly watching a show, is it honoring, and are you respecting your husband when you have an area that needs cleaned up and it’s still a mess when your husband gets home?  Ouch. It’s not like some BIG project, it’s a small stack of papers on the floor I’ve been meaning to go through or maybe a sink of dishes and you know what it is in your home. There are times I will tell my husband I will do this and that but when he comes home I have spent too much time watching Netflix or being on Facebook or just being lazy. Now there is nothing wrong with any of those things, in moderation. But when it’s 9 hours later and I did not get those one or two things accomplished – not good.  So that is what the Lord has been speaking to me and I’m happy to say those papers are not on the floor they are now filed away or in the trash where they belong! Now about those dishes !!!!!  Oh wait, I had to get this blog finished….right??!!

Lies

This is an older video but after listening to it again I've decided to repost it.
God was truly speaking to me that day!

I Want my Behavior to be a Credit to my Father's Name

Ephesians 4:1-2

1)   I am bound to the Lord, He is my Father and I desire to lead a life worthy of the divine calling He has placed on my life. I want my behavior to be a credit to my Father’s Name.

2)   I want to live in humility and not pride (Proverbs  8:13; 11:2; 16:8), so other will know it is by His strength, His blessings, His guidance that things are accomplished in my life. It is by His power that I have victory over the tests that come my way. (I John 5:4; I Corinthians 15:57) I want to be meek, not self-centered. To reach out to my brothers and sisters in Christ and have patience with them because I love them as Christ loves them. (I John 4:16)  We are called to encourage, correct, build one another up, etc. (I Thessalonians 5:11-18)

 

I realize there is only one way I will be able to accomplish all that’s in those 2 verses (it’s Christena’s version by the way). It will require me to be in God’s Word daily, to not just read His Word but to ask Him for wisdom, a revelation of what it means and how to apply it to my life today. To not become so busy that I don’t hear Him when He speaks. He does speak today. I can’t tell you how many times I have followed through and found out it was at the right time for someone to receive a phone call or a card in the mail, a visit, flowers, a hug and sometimes a prayer of protection.

It requires me to take my thoughts captive, to stay focused on today and my future and not keep looking back at my past. When I look back at my past it causes me to stumble (I can’t walk forward while I’m looking behind me—I fall every time!) and to use excuses as to why I sinned. That’s not who I am anymore. I’m a new creation! God has a hope and a future for me and now I have to choose to obey His Word or disobey and face the consequences. I choose to let go of my past and walk in a way that will bring abundant life, a way that will help others.

I’m thankful to God for all He has cleansed me from and for His patience. I need to remember He will do this for everyone – the sleepy Christian who is full of pride and wants a position to honor themselves; the drunk at the local bar; the prostitute on the corner; the spouse that cheated; the liar and the list goes on. GOD LOVES ALL OF HIS CHILDREN AND WANTS NONE TO PERISH. HE STAND AT THE DOOR AND KNOCKS. WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING, IT REQUIRES ACTION ON OUR PARTS – FROM THE TIME WE OPEN THE DOOR AND ACCEPT HIM, ALLOWING HIM TO COME IN – TO THE TIME WE GO HOME TO BE WITH HIM FOR ETERNITY. I Timothy 2:3-4; Revelation 3:20)

Again, it points back to knowing His Word, knowing God and that takes time.  So if you are a new Christian, a child of God – don’t be discouraged. Make sure you attend a church that teaches ALL of God’s Word. A church that truly hungers and thirsts to know all there is to know about God and His ways; how we are to live in this world, giving glory, honor and praise to Him.

Get involved in a Bible Study, find others to hang around with that are hungry and thirsty for God. Allow yourself to be corrected and loved on, encouraged and called upon to advance in the Kingdom building. And as you learn to hear the Shepherds voice, you will begin to help others in the correction, loving, encouraging area. We are branches on the Vine, we need each other with all our differences. I believe that is why the greatest commandment is to love one another. Where there is love (not worldly love) it covers a multitude of sins, there is forgiveness and a true desire to see the person set free from bondage's, lies, and pain; a real desire to see the person have victory in their lives.

All this comes from having a relationship not a ‘religion’ with Jesus Christ. If you haven’t accepted the Lord as your Savior yet, close your eyes, bow down OR stand and raise your hands, eyes to heaven and say a prayer (prayer is a conversation with God, don’t make it complicated) Here’s one you can read if you want. Just pour your heart out to Him, for He cares for you!

You can pray --  Father, I come before you and confess my sins, my selfish ways and I’m so tired. Your word in Romans 10:13 says ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved’, and I’m calling on you now. Forgive me of my sins and guide me in the way of life, Your life.  I accept you as my Lord and Savior and I desire to understand Your word. Thank You for forgiving me. Thank You that You are true to Your Word and You will guide me and I will know my Shepherds voice. I praise You Father, for Your love and I accept Your forgiveness and Your love.

In Jesus Name I Pray, Amen

Good place to start reading is the book of John.

 I personally believe in baptism – immersion. It is an outward expression of obedience. Jesus was baptized.

Mark 16:16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

Titus 3:3-7   whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

And I believe eternal life begins the moment you accept Christ into your life, it’s not ‘fire insurance’. You receive all He promises today, heaven on earth. Why else would he instruct them to pray – ‘your will be done on earth as it is in heaven’.  Matthew 6:10

If you need help in finding a church or just want to tell someone you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, please email lifechurchandtraining@yahoo.com and we will be in touch with you, celebrating with you!

Praying for Your Adult Daughter and/or Son and Forgiveness!

The Power of Praying for Your Adult Child

this is a book by Stormie Omartian

Our second class was even harder to keep within a time frame. All the questions in the Prayer and Study Guide, for me, make it a 3-4 class study.

Just looking up the Scripture she mentions and praying over it, checking some of the words in the Greek or Hebrew, well there’s a lot there.

So we started our time in prayer, thanking God for our children and for what He has and is doing in their lives and for changing us, opening up our eyes to things we need to change.

The question we started with was :

What is your favorite book of the Bible? and Why?

Please share your answer too.

Then I asked which of the 7 truths spoke to them the most. It was unanimous Truth 5 'You Need to Know You Have to Forgive'

and this isn't just about forgiving you children, it's about forgiving anyone that you believe has hurt your child, and forgiving yourself.

I shared about a person that really  hurt my daughter in actions and words and how I struggle with forgiveness because it could have caused great damage to her if my husband and I had not been there to help. So that has been a struggle for me on top of wondering where the heck I went wrong. And this is where satan wants us to get stuck. We have to realize God tells us to forgive as He has forgiven us. We also know there is nothing we can do about the past, we can't change it but we can learn from it, repent and move forward. God is a God of restoration and peace.

So, for me, I had to say 'I forgive .....' and when those 'feelings' would come up I would have to take authority and say 'stop, I have forgiven....' and then I would ask God to help me love them as He loves. Some people can do this once or twice and they are fine, but it was an uphill battle for me in the beginning.

Once I had forgiven I would pray this ‘I have forgiven...and I ask that you bless...., that they will be drawn to You and receive You as their Savior - help me love them as You love them.

And guess what......I mean it now! I still do not have to have a relationship with them or hang with them but I am called to forgive, pray and love.

Then those 'what did I do wrong thoughts' - there are NO PERFECT PARENTS or people out there, that's why Jesus had to come! So with that in mind, repent where you know you screwed up and accept God's forgiveness and believe Him to bring restoration in those areas. Move forward in the changes you need to make, be in in your words or your actions , and watch God move in your life and the life of your child!

Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious over anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication along with thanksgiving let your petitions be made known to God.

Colossians 3:13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover the prisoner was you. Unknown

Anger makes you smaller, while forgiveness forces you to grow beyond what you were. Cherie Carter-Scott

As they shared things in their lives we began to see how God was moving now, in us. How He is opening our eyes to His faithfulness and greatness. How we can pray and believe His word. I'm beginning to think this is a little of God's humor because we 'see' Praying for Our Adult Children.....but it is really working on our hearts as parents.

I also found a prayer online that I shared with the ladies. Here is the link  http://www.prayers.org/viewprayer.asp?id=113

Prayer for Adult Children by Germaine Copeland

Love A Lesson Learned

I was going to work on the second class of our 'The Power of Praying for Your Adult Children' by Stormie Omartian but the Lord put it on my heart to share this first.

I really struggled with love until I did a search in the Bible and spent time with God. I'm so glad he challenged me and has kept me growing. Do I have it perfectly yet? Nope, but I'm not where I use to be either!

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Parents May Know a Little?

Have you ever stopped to think that your parents may know a 'little' of what they are talking about? Are you brave enough to read on? Will you read with an open mind? an open heart?

You see you just might want to listen a little better when they offer advice/warnings because they have lived through some of the things you are considering, some of the things you've already done.

Parents do not warn you because they want to hurt you or stop you from having fun. When my daughters were born I never said, 'I'm going to take all their joy away and expose them to all kinds of pain.' Duh NO it was more 'Father, give them a life full of joy, health, and peace'. Show me how to teach them right from wrong, to protect them from the evil in the world and to protect them but not smother them. I want my daughters to have full, wonderful lives.'

So you see (and I'm sure deep in your heart you already know) we want to protect you, guide you away from the lies, from things we've experienced or seen our friends experience. Most of us already know the consequences of certain actions and we don't want to see our children go through it, we still remember the pain of wrong actions and words.

Some of you have chosen to be offended by this.

Some parents don't always say it in the best of tones but is it really worth turning your backs on the ones that love you the most? If you have walked away from your parents, if you have done the things they warned you against and you feel they won't forgive you - that's a LIE. You both may need to let go of some pride to get past the lie BUT please return to your family. Your parents love you no matter what you have done, no matter what you have said, you can't kill the love they have for you. You will find they have their arms and hearts open just waiting for your return. Heck I'm sure they have already forgiven you so you can bodily return to your family. Love between a parent and a child is an amazing force. I'm so very honored and thankful for my daughters and I know your parents feel the same.

Don't kid yourself (parents or children) we ALL make mistakes, we all have bad judgement calls and rotten attitudes at times. So forgiveness is a two way street, it's never just ONE person that is wrong.

My challenge to you - are you adult enough, mature enough to step forward and say, I'm sorry and I love you? You can tell the person what you are sorry for if you want but I'm sure they won't even hear anything past the

"I'm sorry", they will be so full of joy and yea lots of tears so give them a break if they can't answer back right away.

What is holding you back? Go further, think about when you become a parent (maybe you are one now). What do you want for your child(ren)? It's not that much different that what your mom and dad wanted (still want) for you is it?

One day you will be looking back and saying, 'no I wasn't perfect but I did the best I could with what I had and what I knew. And my love never died, it only grew.'

Your child will know and pick up on your emotions, they will mimic you and use your excuses. Once you have your own children you will see the many changes that take place in your priorities, what you thought was important for you to have isn't so important anymore. Your parents gave you life, you taught them unconditional love, don't shut them out now. One day you will miss them, one day your child will ask you about your life and you will remember all those times your parents were there for you, took you places they didn't care to go, bought you things while they went without and thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it, would do it over again! A parents love is a pretty amazing love.

Believe me, we do not want to see you hurt or unhappy but we have learned to let go and hope you return. 

And remember our Perfect Father, He is showing us the way and we all have a choice to be blessed or face the consequences of going our own way .... “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

Forgive Them?! Really?!

This is a video I did awhile back on forgiveness. This has been one of my biggest struggles but I'm gaining victory!




“There is no love without forgiveness, and there is no forgiveness without love.” Bryant H. McGill