My Thoughts - My Journey

The Bible teaches us that we are all dead in trespasses and sin, we are unable to give ourselves life. We must be born from above, born of the Spirit, and that is totally a work of God, not of the will of the flesh, not of the will of man, but of God. The Holy Spirit blows where He will, like the wind; does what He will with whom He will. This is a sovereign, mighty, divine work. He perfects us into the likeness of Christ....while cultivating the love of holiness, the love  of righteousness, the love of purity from within us. "And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose ...

We must spend time on our knees asking God for direction and just a little more fortitude when we are going through struggles in life. Sometimes, when we're battling something beyond ourselves, we just need to rejoice. It's a good thing we're really not able to make it alone. It's in those times of struggle, failure and ultimately growth that we find out God is enough....He is able and He is willing to get us through whatever we are dealing with. "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me ... For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

It is not what we can do on our own, but what He will do through us that brings out our strength and power. Put your ever trusting faith and trust in Him and watch amazing things happen in your life. His blessings will be abundant as you reach outside of yourself to help others in His Name.  If there is one homeless, if there is one thirsty, if there is one hungry, alone, depressed, in need of clothing....you get my message. If there is one who has a need and we can supply that need, as a follower of Jesus, we are to do so. Even if we feel we are without ourselves, when we give beyond, He will replace and exceed our giving. We are His message carriers. We are His hands and feet on this earth to be used for His purpose and for His glory. BE THE CHURCH....OUTSIDE THE WALLS! You are welcome. God put these words on my heart to share. Furthermore, this is one of His messages that I frequently talk about. It is in the streets....in our daily lives....that we fulfill Jesus words t...

Make plans to schedule a "Sabbath" rest for yourself. Set that day aside for praise and worship, prayer and Scripture reading, naps and whatever is restful for you. Most importantly, set your Sabbath state of mind on the Lord and honor Him with a day of rest and celebration.  Pausing once a week helps to clear our hearts and minds. This "space" enables us to focus on praising and worshiping the Lord. We find room to rejoice in the work He has enabled us to complete, which balances discouragement over unfinished jobs. It aligns our perspective with what is important and reminds us that these tasks will still be there when we return to work. "Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made." Genesis 2:3

Paul encouraged believers to embrace God’s promise that He can use all things for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose, not only for God’s good, but also our own. Regardless of how difficult our pasts are, as children of God we have a commonality in Christ Jesus our Savior.....God will use for good what the devil intended for evil.  When we allow God to use our pain for a purpose that glorifies Him and ministers to others, we enjoy the blessing o f spiritual healing and transformation like never before. Paul experienced pain and suffering through various forms of persecution: imprisonment, beatings and rejection. He spoke from the wisdom of his own experiences and exemplified the transforming power of God’s ability to turn any mess into a message. "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

One of the most difficult things to deal with in life is the death of a loved one. Even for the Christian, death is a part of life. Unlike they that do not believe, the Christian has a blessed hope....that is the return of the Savior Jesus to catch up His Church and bring them to eternal life with Him and God the Father. "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil," ~ Psalm 23:4 Between earth and those who have gone into eternity, deat h lies like a dark valley that must be passed in going from one to the other. It is but the shadow of death: the shadow of a serpent will not sting, nor the shadow of a sword kill. It is a valley, deep indeed, and dark, and miry....but valleys are often fruitful, and so is death itself fruitful of comforts to God's people. It is a walk through it....they shall not be lost in this valley, but get safe to the mountain on the other side. Death is full of terrors, but not to the sheep of Christ. When ...

".....Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning." ~ Psalm 30:5 What glorious comfort we are given in this verse. JOY....What emotions do we feel when we experience joy? Overwhelming happiness ~ Peace ~ Contentment ~ Excitement ~ Celebratory.... JOY!  After all of life's stress, turmoil, and sorrow....JOY will come in the morning. "In the morning".....at our great Homecoming!

"Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life."  1 Timothy 6:17-19 We are not saved by good works.....but, we are saved for good works.

Grace is received by faith......Faith is to "trust in." "God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. " ~ Ephesians 2:8-9 Grace is a FREE gift....It can NOT be earned. "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord." ~ Romans 6:23 Grace is available to everyone! Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. ~ Romans 10:13

This is so good… Doesn't need any additional words from me. Just soak it in and enjoy this message. Galatians 5:13-26 It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don’t use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that’s how freedom grows. For everything we know about God’s Word is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself. That’s an act of true freedom. If you bite and ravage each other, watch out—in no time at all you will be annihilating each other, and where will your precious freedom be then? My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God’s Spirit. Then you won’t feed the compulsions of selfishness. For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit is incompatible with selfishness. These two ways of life are antithetical, so that you can...

As God’s children, we have a heavenly Father who is worthy of trust. All our obsessive worry over our responsibilities and concerns doesn't change a thing, so we should resolve to try something different. Let’s give up our illusion of control and rest peacefully like children in Jesus’ unfailing care. Rather than grasping and holding on to our worries, we need to release them from our powerless hands and completely give them over to our faithful Father.  Trust is the mark of a  child because a child will, with ease, put their faith and confidence in their parents. Parents allow their children to feel safe and worry-free. Our heavenly Father wants to release the weight of worry and desires to shelter us and protect us. We need to become more as little children........... "But Jesus called the children to him and said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.’" Luke 18:16

"You are all sons (& daughters) of God through faith in Christ Jesus." ~ Galatians 3:26 The slave has a master. The son has a Father. The slave is an employee. The son is an heir. The slave is driven by duty. The son is driven by devotion. Are you a "slave" or a "son/daughter?"