A Surrendered Life

 

 

Heavenly Father, we thank You Lord for the mercies by which You allow us to present our bodies as living sacrifice, holy and acceptable, which is our spiritual service of worship to You. 

Dear Lord, it is not our will to be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, that we may prove what is that good, acceptable, and perfect will of Yours.  By grace given to us, show us how to not esteem ourselves more or less important to the body of Christ than another.  Thank You Lord for the Spiritual gifts that have been given to us that we may prophesy in proportion to our faith and to teach according to Your precious Word and to exhort and to give liberally and lead with diligences and show mercy with cheerfulness.

Lord, show us how our love can be without hypocrisy.  Teach us to abhor what is evil and cling to what is good.  Teach us to be kind and affectionate to one another in honor and give preference to one another not lagging in diligence to be fervent in spirit to serve You Lord.

Dear Father, we rejoice in hope, we are patient through tribulations, and we shall continue in distributing to the needs of the saints and be truly given to hospitality.

We will bless those who curse and persecute us.  We will rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.  We will be of the same mind toward one another and not set our minds on high things but associate ourselves with the humble.  We will not be wise in our own opinions and we will not repay anyone evil for evil for You Word says to repay evil with good.  We not give place to wrath but will wait on the Lord for vengeance is Yours, therefore, we will live peacefully with all people and be overcomers through Christ.  Lord we will offer drink to a thirsty enemy and food to one what is hungry that we may abide in Your Word forever, because we love You Heavenly Father, in Christ Jesus Holy Name we pray, with thanksgiving.  Amen.

Be bless

 

    Nina

Chosen4God

 

He understands the pain…

There is nothing that God does not know and understand.  His ways and His thoughts are infinite and should never be compared to man. Many of us struggle daily in keeping the faith, we struggle in keeping our flame of hope burning and we struggle in keeping our focus on the things of God.  Why is it that we struggle, why is our flame not as bright as it used to be?  Let’s just say it’s because of disappointment, pain, discouragement, frustration, helplessness and guilt, jealousy, false burdens, murmuring, unforgiveness, and so many other influences of today.

Is it because we can’t get past the abundance of strongholds that has bound our spirit, soul and mind?  We dwell on the negative because that is what we see daily, we are unable to look to the hills from whence cometh our help. To have a glimmer of hope in a sea of negativity is like finding a needle in the desert.  In truth, that’s all we need – just a glimmer of hope to help us to keep going, to keep us striving for the prize and to help us to keep our minds focus on God and His promises.

God knows the truth, He understands the true cause/reason for the pain in our hearts, He sees the reasons for all the disappointment we have faced, yes, God knows the truth behind everything.  We cannot hide, deny, contradict or hold back anything from Him; we can only try to hold truth from ourselves and others.  When you know that He (God) is the only one you can be totally truthful with then go to Him no matter the hurt, the pain you feel, the unforgiveable act or of the disappointment, God is the only one you can be completely truthful with. 

You don’t have to worry about your business getting out in the street, He won’t point an accusing finger at you, nor will He call you names for wrong decisions that you made.  God loves you in spite of all the failures, in spite of all the wrong moves you made, in spite of the confidence you lack, He wants you to keep drawing closer to Him. We must remember that God is in control, we must let go of all negativity, wrong thinking, and wrong speaking and we must remember where we have placed our trust in and in whom we do trust. As you begin to let go of the many hindrance’s just know that God is there with you in the process, even when it becomes too difficult to let go of the unforgiveness or the shame, He is right there next to you encouraging you, letting you know that He loves you.   

Be encourage my friends, know that there is no sin that God can’t forgive, there is nothing that we can do to tear His love away from us, as He was merciful to Israel He will be merciful to you. 

God bless

 

Nina

Chosen4God

Prayer is a vital key to every single Christian, for it is our communication that we use to commune with our Father, God.  It is talking with Him and telling Him about what is going on in our lives.  One way of praying is to pray the Word back to God, {Isa 55:11 KJV} "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper [in the thing] whereto I sent it." When we pray the Word back something will be accomplished in us for this is a promise of God to His Children.  The Word is power(ful) and it is something that we (should) have absolute faith in.

There is nothing on earth more powerful than the Word of God, and Psalms 91 is a most memorable Psalms that many know and many of us quote it almost daily to ourselves and even to friends.  It is a Psalm that brings comfort, assurance, blessing and hope to the children of God; it is a Psalm that teaches the protection of God for His chosen, it is a Psalm of love of a Father.

Praying God’s Word has a way of assuring us that God will listen to what He has said to us and that we can be assured of an answer from Him. Consider praying this Psalm or seek the Word to find one that fits your need at the moment, God will listen.

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Heavenly Father, we thank you that these things are written in Psalms 91, that we can dwell in the secret place of the most High, and we thank you that we can abide under the shadow of our Almighty God.  We thank you that we can say Your are our Lord, our refuge, our fortress and our God, whom we can trust.  We thank you for delivering us from the snare of the fowler, and from the deadly pestilence, We thank you for covering each of us with your feathers.  We thank you that we can walk under Your wings and take refuge.  We thank you that Your faithfulness and truth is our shield and armor.  We thank you that we are not afraid for the terror by night, nor for the arrow that flieth by day, nor for the pestilence that walked in darkness, nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. We thank you that a thousand shall fall at our side, and ten thousand at our right hand; and none will come near us.  We thank you for giving Your angels charge over us to keep us in all ways and that Your angel’s hands will lift us up as we do not dash our foot against a stone.  We thank you that we can tread upon the lion and serpent and trample the young lion and dragon under our feet.  We thank you that when we call You, You will answer us, be with us in trouble, deliver us, honor us, satisfy us with a long life and show us Your salvation.

Heavenly Father, we are thankful that our Lord Christ Jesus spoiled all principalities and powers and made a show of them openly and triumphed over them in Himself.  We claim all that victory for our lives.  We reject all the insinuations, accusations, and temptations of Satan.  We affirm that the Word of God is true and we choose to live in obedience to You Lord Jesus and in fellowship with You.  Open our eyes and show us the areas of our lives that do not please You.  Work in us to cleanse us from all ground that would give Satan a foothold against us.  We do in every way stand in all that it means to be your adopted child and we welcome all the ministry of Your Holy Spirit into our lives.

Heavenly Father, we pray that now and through our lives, You would strengthen and enlighten us, show us all the ways in which Satan and his demonic spirits are trying to hinder, temp, lie, and distort the truth in our lives, enable us to be the kind of person that will please you.  Enable us to be aggressive in prayer and faith.  Enable us to be aggressive mentally, to think about and practice Your Word, and to give You, Your rightful place in our lives.

Heavenly Father, we place all of our cares, all of our anxieties, all of our worries, all of our concerns once and for all on You, because we know that You love us and watch over us according to Your Word in 1 Peter 5:7.  Father we pray for the peace of Jerusalem and May all those prosper who love You. To God be all the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Be bless…

Chosen4God

A Time to Shine

There are times in life when we wish that we can let go of our past and start a fresh life someplace else with the hope of never seeing familiar faces that remind us of the past. We tend to base our self-worth on past failures, dissatisfaction with how we look, or bad habits we engage in, and we develop the “I am what I am, or the I cannot change and the I am hopeless” attitudes.   Even if you are able to move past your past, somehow deep within it still lingers in your person, in other words it affects your attitude, your words, and it even affects your perception of life. 

Some people may say “well this is just who I am and either you accept me or you don’t!” not realizing that their view of themselves demonstrates low self-esteem.  Robert McGee (Search for Significance) says it this way:

“If we excuse our failures with an attitude of hopelessness, too often our personality can become glued to the failures.  Our self-image becomes no more than a reflection of our past…many times the opinion of oneself is based on past failures, and those failures keep us from enjoying new experiences.”

 Ask yourself:

·         Am I capable of going forward?

·         Do I have what it takes to go forward?

·         Do I truly believe what God is saying about me?

·         But what if I fail, what then?

You cannot allow your past to dictate your future.  If the past dictates how we treat yourself and others, or how we react to new situations, or how we behave, then growth has been stifled. We are not moving forward but standing in the current and holding tightly to the past. How can you ever begin to understand who God says that you are and what has been given to you if you don’t let go of the past?  How can you appreciate the blessings when you feel so little about yourself?  

“Too often our self-image rests solely on an evaluation of our past behavior, being measured only through a memory.  Day after day, year after year, we tend to build our personalities on the rubble of yesterday’s personal disappointments.” (R. McGee; 1990).  We must have a new perspective which must be based on the Word of God, and the unconditional love and acceptance of God.  The reality of what we face is that God’s love is unconditional and our past is just that – past.  But if you continue to value all your failures, then you will be swallowed up in the self-pity pit.

How does one start to get out of this stronghold and lies of the devil?

·         Be honest with yourself and with God, He already knows everything

·         Talk with someone whom you can be totally honest with and who can keep what you tell them, and one you can be accountable to

·         Study the Word of God, search it for what you are experiencing, whatever your need is at that moment God’s Word has an answer

·         Apply what you have found, don’t think that it was for “back then” God’s Word is relevant today, now.  You can trust His Word that it will not fail

·         Pray daily or as often as you need to.  We must communicate with the one who knows all about our weaknesses and failures and still He loves us

·         Praise Him as often as you can, for praise will destroy the schemes and plots that the enemy will try to throw back at you to make you doubt

Do not allow to the past to come into your future, God loves you and He chose you to be His child.  Don’t ever think that you can hide anything from Him because He is Omniscient, Omnipotent and Omnipresent.  Jesus gave His life for you, His blood was shed for your sins and with His Resurrection, it is to give you eternal life. When we abide in the present and still holding on to the past we are not walking in faith, or hope, we are not embracing newness of life and we are not trusting in God. 

It’s time to put the past that you are holding on to at the foot of the cross and raise your eyes to behold our Savior and Lord who loves you and go forward into a new and wondrous future.

God bless

Nina Jenkins

Chosn4God

When God is Silent...

Have you ever been in a car where the radio was off and the windows were up and the only sound that you heard was the muffled noise from outside? Being alone with God is not what many are use to, but it's a time to draw closer to Him, a time to seek Him with your whole heart.  But when God is silent and your prayers seem to be going no higher than the ceiling what is going on? If you have ever felt that God has abandoned you  or that He is just not listening then Psalm 22 is for you.  When troubles are surrounding us, when everything we attempt to do fails, or goes south; what is one to do? 

It opens with the words that Christ uttered when He was on the cross “my God, my God, why has thou forsaken me?...” (Mt. 27:46).  Psalms 22:1 continues with “…why art thou so far from helping me and from the words of my roaring (cries)?”  There are seasons in which God seems so very far away for us; it seems that He has taken a vacation from hearing our cries.  You ask, but when He is silent then how should we respond?  Looking at King David, a man after God own heart we can see and learn what to do and not to do.

Starting in verses 1-3 David is curious as to why God has stopped help him as He did in the past.

When troubles seem to be lingering longer, when worries are plaguing your mind more than usual and when fear grips at your heart like a vice, there comes a wakening moment where we come to the realization that we are in a season and God has chosen to be silent. Silence can be deafening to some and a prison for others, our reaction and attitude at this point should be one of humility.  God graciously allows us to ask “why” when trouble arises

I have found that when God is silent then it’s not the time to figure things out in your own way, nor is it the right moment to make a decision and turn to someone else for a solution.  Silence is God’s way of increasing our faith and forcing us to seek Him with the whole heart.  Ask yourself "How serious am I in seeking God? Many of you will likely say “very serious” for soon frustration and discouragement will set in and then depression and anger will not be far behind, but just as David expressed “but thou are holy…” he remembered that God was a Holy God this is the right kind of attitude that we must have towards God.  Even when our prayers are not heard we must take the attitude of humility. 

“But thou art holy. Does it seem strange that the heart in its darkness and sorrow should find comfort in this attribute of God? No, for God's holiness is but another aspect of his faithfulness and mercy. And in that remarkable name, "the Holy One of Israel", we are taught that he who is the "holy" God is also the God who has made a covenant with his chosen. It would be impossible for an Israelite to think of God's holiness without thinking also of that covenant relationship. "Be ye holy; for I, the Lord your God am holy, "were the words in which Israel was reminded of their relation to God.” [See especially Leviticus 19:1. We see something of this feeling in such passages as Psalms 89:16-19 99:5-9 Hosea 11:8-9; Isaiah 41:14 47:4] J. J. Stewart Perowne.

The Treasury of David.

When prayers go unanswered and doubt rises to new heights there are at least two possible reasons:

1.  Sin – “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:” (Psalms 66:18)

“For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.” (Psalms 5:4)

2.  Unbelief – “And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.”  (Matthew 17:20)

“And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.”  (Numbers 20:12)

All sin separates us because it births unbelief.  We fear that God is not able to do what He says in His Word for us, this can damage our relationship we have with Him.  Unbelief comes only when desperation sets in, you see we get angry with God we start to blame Him for what is happening in our lives and pointing our finger (so say) at Him saying “why did you let this happen, why do I have to go through this and so on. We must remember like David “but thou are holy…”

Instead of pointing the finger at God, and questing why this or that, maybe we should be asking:

·         Are You trying to get my attention to tell me something

Tell Him that He has your complete attention and listen to what He will tell you, either from His Word, preaching, praise music, a friend or even a T.V. evangelist can preach a message that touches right where you and God have had some conversations – believe me I can testify to this.  God uses what He wants and who He wants to get our attention

·         Do I have any unconfessed sin?

(Psalms 139:23-24) “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

This should be our prayer each night because we do not want to be separated from God.  When God reveals something to you don’t try to justify it or don’t try to put the blame on others, accept that this action (s) has caused a rift between you and God and pray for forgiveness

·         What do You want me to learn? 

In the silence we seek God with our whole heart and that means reading His Word, and studying His Word like never before.  If it means reading every scripture that pertains to fear, faith, health, finances, deliverance then do it.  God wants to teach us something, are you willing to learn? 

·         How are You God, preparing me for Your purposes?

(Deuteronomy 7:6) “For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.”

(2 Timothy 2:19-21) “Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.  But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.” Look at what God tells us here;

1. God is a sure foundation

2. He knows them that are his

3.  Those who claim Christ must depart from iniquity

4.  We are a holy people

5. We are chosen to be a special people

6. We are vessels of honor

The Word is a sure foundation and it’s something that we can hold onto when He is silent and when the demons of depression, anger, frustration come on us; we have the Word of truth right in our hands. Now we are truly blessed and highly favored when you consider that you are made in the image and likeness of God, and therefore “God knows the plans he has for us”.   Even in His silence we need to remember that He is still in control and working things out for or our good. 

There is a purpose in the silence as there is a purpose being birthed within us.  When we come to the point of acceptance of the purpose of God it is not something that one should take lightly; it is here where obedience, trust and faith are join hand in hand to help lead, guide and teach you to do the will of God. But trusting in God completely is where it begins, for all His plans will succeed when we trust and understand our purpose is key to the journey and call we will take. 

Study these scriptures and meditated on the goodness of God even in His silence.  For our hope is in Him alone, remember God's faithfulness thus far in your life, remember how He delivered you from the enemies hand and remember the many blessings He has bless you with.  we must "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord." {1Co 15:58 KJV}

In the stillness of the room we must be encourage to keep living close to Him until our season change. 

Nina Jenkins

Chosen4God

Trusting in the valleys...

God in Christ by His Spirit calls you to step out of despair into the love of His life.  He invites you to step out of darkness to walk in the brilliant sunlight of His presence and person and power. 

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou [art] with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." (Psa 23:4 KJV)

Death can throw a frightening shadow over us because in its presence we have no strength. We struggle with other enemies like – pain, suffering, disease, and injury – but in the end our strength and courage cannot overcome death.  Only one person can walk with us through deaths dark valley and bring us safely to the other side – the God of life our shepherd.  Because life is uncertain, we should follow this shepherd who offers us eternal comfort.

When we start “Walking with God” it means that we will eventually go through a valley or two but in these valleys is when we will learn the most about God’s grace and about our faith.  At the moment we enter into a valley, there is a feeling of arrogance that this won’t be so bad and that we will be able to handle it.  Don’t ever make the mistake of believing that a valley will ever be easy or quick to get through even though the Bible says “…count it all joy…”  (James 1:2).

When adversity does arises we begin to question God’s plan, we wonder if /how we will make it through or why we have to go through this valley. No matter what precautions you take or how together your life is or how hard you have worked to stay healthy, nothing you can do will prevent you from walking into a valley at various stages of your life. 

When God brings us to valleys there is a reason. The valley is a place where our faith will be tried; it’s a place where faith will grow to a new level, it is a place where our trust in God will become more evident in our lives and not just in our valley. And it’s a place where we become stronger for the next journey or phase that we will take.  Psalms 23 is God’s promises and this Word is a reminder that He is always near––loving, protecting, and guiding us. As our faith is tried and our dependence upon God will grow more because you will now understand that it is He that is able to bring you through these valleys. 

The valley can be thought of as your training ground, for remember that God is faithful for He is preparing your heart and renewing your mind for what He has called you to do.  But if you look for outside help, if you seek some other way to go rather than through the valley you will fail in your pursuit of finding relief. It can be a fearful feeling when you know that you are walking into a valley, that what is about to happen will be extremely unpleasant but yet it is unavoidable.

Every valley is a passageway rather than a destination to reach, just know that sooner or later all the troubles, difficulties and trials will pass. The purpose of walking with God in the valleys is clearly stated in James 1:3-4(KJ); “knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.”  I like how it is stated in the Living bible “when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when you endurance is fully developed; you will be strong in character and ready for anything.” Many times we cannot see God’s purpose or understand His plans while we’re in the valley because our pain is so great. This is the time when we must stand strong in our faith and on His Word and promises.

When we have lost something or someone such as a friendship, a marriage, a job, or our financial stability just for example, it can throw us off balance, the blessing of the valley is, the deeper our valley then the greater the work of God will be in it and in our lives. The key word to grasp in James 1:4 is “perfection” meaning full growth, as men and not children, thoroughly instructed and deeply experienced”.  From our experiences in the valley’s as well as the mountain tops we find that God is the one who controls the length of time we spend in a valley but if and in our stubbornness, self-will, pride, arrogance, etc will not yield to the obedience of God then it only lengthens the suffering in the valley.

Valleys are not an easy trip to take and when we don’t handle the hardship well in a valley, what we are saying is that we are afraid of trusting God completely to bring us out of this valley, which in turn will only delay our deliverance as stated above. We panic in the face of difficulties, we are looking at what lays before us instead of who is with us and that He has ALL power in His hand.

We must find the reassurance needed to make it through the valleys, from the Word of God, through prayer, through obedience and through surrender.  This is the time that regardless of circumstances we need to rely on God, know that no matter what, the Father will provide for us as He says “He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters” (Ps. 23:2). God tells us that: "Thy word [is] a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." (Ps. 119:105) so in difficult times we can trust its truth to protect us from making wrong choices and bring us some comfort till we come out of the valley.

How do we handle a valley? One way is to surrender your life to God, give Him complete control of your thoughts, your attitudes and your heart.  Then you must believe the Lord will use this opportunity for good just as Joseph went through in order to help a nation of people through his distress God turned it for good.  Then rest, knowing that He is Omniscient, Omnipotent, and Omnipresent, so He knows where you are as well as what is happening.  Finally, be thankful to God "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you " (1Th. 5:18) for brining you into this valley for it’s in the valley that the greatest life’s lessons are learned.

Be bless

Nina Jenkins

NEWNESS OF LIFE

Eph. 4:24 “An that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”

This is such a great point to be in our Spiritual walk, we have “put on the new man…” and this new man has put on bowels of mercies, kindness, and humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering, forbearance, forgiveness, and love. 

As we are renewing in the spirit of our mind (v23), we are letting go of the wrong attitudes that has held us captive for so long, such as belittling, pride fullness, and vanity, and we are now on the way to choosing God's thoughts. At this point we are no longer walking as the world, where our understanding was darken, or in ignorance, and of blindness of heart.  We have been given a gift a most precious gift when we came under the blood, we now have the Holy Spirit residing within us.  This is the same power that was with Jesus working the many miracles that He did.

Yes, our entire course of life is now flowing in a different direction, we are now “in Christ…old things are passed away; behold all things are become new” (2 Cor.5:17).  It is foolish for any man to profess a relationship with Christ while still in the flesh, and while he remains unchanged in heart and life he is still dead in trespasses and sins; only the blood of Jesus can cleans you.  As we put on this new life, righteousness will be manifested and true holiness will will being to be evident in our walk, our ways, our attitudes and our thinking is changing.  As we “…yield your (our) members servants to righteousness unto holiness” (Romans 6:19), for we no longer live to the lust of men but to the will of God (1 Peter 4:2).

 Be bless

Chosen4God

Light bearers…                 

We are called to walk with Him in wholeness; in whole-someness; in holiness. No pains have been spared to make it abundantly obvious that no matter what our culture, society, or time in history, He invites us to walk with Him in dignity, decency, and on a plain above apart from our contemporaries. (Phillip Keller)

There have been many, many great examples given to us in the Bible of those who walked with God.  There is one that we know the least about but he left us an example of what it would be like when we walk with God in complete surrender and it’s Enoch (Gen. 5:22-24).  He was a man whose heart and life exudes a love for God that we can’t begin to comprehend; it says in Hebrews 11:5 “…that he pleased God.” Can anyone say that their walk pleased God as Enoch?  “…for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).  

We are prone to see from a human standard, we look at the education, the skill set, the intelligence, the financial stance of a person, more than the true part that God considers – the heart.  He does not need to look at the outside or the accomplishments of man, but is the heart humbled, is it one willing to yield completely to His Will.  What did Enoch have that we don’t? There was something so special with Enoch and his walking with God that God took him just like that.  There was something that he possessed that we don’t have or may not yet have reached his level of intimacy as he had with God. 

Another great example would be Abraham, God told him to leave his family and to leave his country as well. Abraham was called of God for a purpose and through him He promised him “…I will make thee a great nation, and I will bless thee and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing” (Gen. 12:2). Abraham’s faith and obedience to God were blessing that were passed on to us as believer, for we are of the seed of Abraham and we are also promised the same blessings as Abraham through the covenant, God promised; “And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee” (Gen 17:7).  Did you know that Abraham was 75 years old when he started his walk with God?

At this point in life we would all ready be in our retired state of mind but Abrahams faith was all he had to go on and a promise from God.  He set out across the desert waste to walk with God in explicit faith.  It doesn’t matter how old we are when God calls us just as long as we have a heart filled with obedience and faith in His promises then we can take that first step towards His purpose. Are you willing to obey when God calls you?

I believe Enoch and Abraham had something that we all are seeking and searching for today, but we have yet to obtain it.  I believe that it’s something that goes much deeper than faith, and that there is an intimacy level that is reached with God as we walk with Him all day, everyday – 24/7.  God has to consume our mind, our heart, our soul in such a way that every breath becomes a prayer of praise to Him.  I believe that it’s a level of intimacy that is achieved not in six months nor in a year, but in a life time.

We need to strive in devoting ourselves to be completely saturated in the Word, and our walk must be devoted completely to holiness with the Father.  You see, sin always blocks our vision of God; and holiness is coupled with living in peace where a right relationship with God leads to a right relationship with fellow believers.  Paul tells us this in Hebrew 12:14 “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see God.”  We must press towards the prize that many which have gone on before us have already obtained (see Phil. 3:12-14).  Holiness in this sense is talking about your consecration and sanctification, for in 1 Thess. 4:3 God commands us to know His will “For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:” Meaning, we must separate (sanctify) ourselves from all kinds of sexual perversion, and sex sins, all sins of the flesh (see Mark 7:21-23; Gal. 5:19-21) we must know how to possess these vessels (your body) in sanctification and honor. 

This is where the enemy traps many who are striving to walk with God, by using the lust of the eyes then the lust of the flesh and even the pride of life, these are all part of the world and so many have fallen into this trap (1 John 2:16).  Think about this, the mind is the battlefield, the enemy gains access when we allow unclean thoughts to take shape and he gains victory when we choose to act on these thoughts. You see, when darkness (sin) is still present within our minds the enemy has legal right to play havoc in your life, “…God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5).  So where we need to start at is by “Casting down imagination, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ “(2 Cor. 10:5). Until you truly understand that by renewing your mind with the Word of God the enemy will continue his destructive path. 

Let’s stop here and recap, first as you read your Bible you will find that there were many, many good examples that God gives us of those who by walking with God in obedience were able to do great exploits for God. Now don’t think their walk was without problems, stumbling blocks, or hindrances because there were plenty lurking around. There were shouts of despair, moments of darkness, uncertainty, and even persecution, but in the end they found light, love and life, and they found Him to be a friend that will see them through what He has called them to do.  

Enoch and Abraham were just two examples that show us the importance of having a relationship with the Almighty.  Light and darkness cannot walk side by side with each other. You must chose how you want to walk and be faithful to that choice because our enemy, Satan wants to kill you, steal your peace, joy, happiness and destroy your life and your future (John 10:10).  Finally, we must keep our mind renewed in the Word, we must strive to walk in holiness and we must stay separated from the Worlds view of living and believing because "Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men" (1Cr 7:23).  So till next time Saints keep walking with God.

Be bless

Chosen4God

Stuck between a rock and a hard place…

When I found this picture it brought back memories where I had found myself at times of my life, either by my doing or my choices.  We all have been “stuck between a rock and hard place” at one time or another and I’m sure many of you have heard this saying before of “being stuck between a rock and a hard place” right? What exactly does this mean? And how does it pertain to our Walking with God?  Well let’s say you have a choice that must be made and if you make the wrong choice the consequences could be more devastating than if you made no decision at all and the decision will affect more than just you. Of course this is just an example but we have all at one time found ourselves in this position. 

When we find ourselves in a situation that requires us to change directions we need to take heed to the path that God is directing us to.  But in our stubbornness and self-will,  for some of the paths we have chosen have lead us where we wish we hadn’t gone because we have made the grand decision to forge our own way.  The Bible tells us that "Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein" (Jer 6:16 KJV). We have opted out from the tried and true path to be different, to be unique or to “to be me”.  What we have done then is we have chosen the flesh part of life; we have gone with our own mind set, and remember “…the carnal mind is enmity against God... they that are in the flesh cannot please God” (Rom. 8:7-8). How successful has those choices been?

The Word of God is very clear when we choose our own paths, "Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God." (Jam 4:4 KJV).  When we are walking with God it should be a time of exhilaration, it should be a time of fulfilling what was commission to us by Christ, to go and heal the sick, to raise the dead, to preach the Word.  Nevertheless the path that we have chosen has been of our own making and choice and the consequences of this are ours to receive.

One thing for sure life has a way of challenging us and forcing us to take a good look at ourselves and as we start to get older our perspective about life changes and choices we’ve made come to mind and we begin to re-evaluate our lives, going back over some of the choices we did make and seeing where we shoulda, coulda and woulda made better choices had we known what we know now.  You must realize now that the past is the past and we can’t reach back to change it or erase it, there are no excuses we can give for the choices of the past.  What we must do now is “press towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:14). 

God is calling us higher, our destiny is not here in this world if you look at Israel they were God’s chosen people and nation, "For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth." (Deut. 14:2 KJV) yet He never gave up on them even though they tried His patience many times with their idolatrous beliefs, unbelief, their rebellion and stubbornness.  It is imperative to understand that as long as we walk in obedience to His Word, obey His commands and remain humble before Him we, who are called by His name, will reach our eternal home; if we do not faint on the journey we are now on. Getting past the past means knowing that we have been made “…kings and priest and we will reign on earth” (Rev. 5:19) with Christ on day, and even Paul tells us that we are “…heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ” (Rom.8:17).  Knowing all this we must let the past have no affect on our future neither upon what God says in His Word.

Walking with God means you do not walk alone on this path. You have the blessed Holy Spirit who will be with you forever because Jesus is your Savior.  Whatever the problems we find ourselves facing we can now take them to God in prayer. If you have a minimal prayer life or near non-existent one, you will most definitely develop a stronger and deeper prayer life that will become as easy as breathing.  Your faith level will be tested, your walk will be tried, you will have to deal with detours, roadblocks, stumbling blocks and yes, the enemy himself will be the one behind all of this, but don’t despair or become fearful for you have the “ELOHIM” the God of all creation is with you and He knows already what each of us will face and the victories that will be won in Jesus name.  We will not pass every test but remain faithful and true to God and you will find that your dependence on God will become stronger than a three-fold cord.

Chosen4God

Rain, Rain go away...

The skies are a dark bluish, purplish black color, the winds are blowing as though trying to get to a destination with the utmost speed and a feeling of relaxation comes over me and I settle on the sofa with a bowl of popcorn and with the T.V. remote at hand ready for a great evening.  I don’t know about you but I love a good hard rain, strangely enough it’s peaceful to my soul, the sound it makes when hitting the roof and the mini running lakes that it makes on the ground, yes I love the rain.

There was another rainy day that lasted for 40 days and 40 nights, a rain that was so devastating that all life was extinguished from the earth except for 8 people. All plant life, animal life and human life was destroyed in this rain. What would make God do such a thing? What happen for Him to be so disappointed with the work of His hands? Let’s look and see.

To answer these questions and others you might have, you must look at the times of Noah. Now Noah was a man that came from a great linage. His great-grandfather Enoch was a man who walked with God and that he pleased God, he also was a prophet of judgment just as Elijah and they fought against idolatry and apostasy in their time. 

Hebrews 11:5 tells us that “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.” Enoch did not see death (neither did Elijah 2 Kings 2:11-12) because God took him, he will be one of the two witnesses that will return during the tribulation of Rev. 11, but this is another great teaching.

A Brief History

Now Noah’s grandfather was Methuselah, he was the oldest living person recorded in the Bible at that time, when he died he was 969 years old. Enoch on the other hand is still in heaven awaiting his time to return.  I haven’t lost it believe me, if you have any concerns please direct all question to God, this is what His Word says; read Genesis 5:21-24 it does not say “and he died”. If you have a good references Bible (I use the Dake Bible) study all the scriptures about this and see for yourself.

Anyway, Noah’s father Lamech was a religious man; the Bible does not give much else about him. I must tell you that when you read Genesis 6-7 you must first realize that the Bible is God’s Word and it’s the truth and you must receive it as the truth.  When you get into debates or theological conversations it takes you away from the truth and you begin to interject your wisdom and your thoughts, not God’s.

State of the Nation

Starting in Genesis chapter 6:2, “that the sons of God saw the daughter of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.” The result of this affair produced giants 6:4 “there were giants in the earth in those days; also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.” In other words women were having children by fallen wicked angles as well as by regular men, producing giants in the earth so much so that God said “…my spirit shall not always strive with man…” (Gen. 6:3) “And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart” (Gen. 6:6).

We’re still talking about the days of Noah now, so don’t get too confused.  Well now, “God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen 6:5). The people of this day were doing just too much, “…every imagination…was only evil” can you even begin to imagine a world like this? There would be no safe place, or justice, no law for protection – almost sound like life today without the giants.

Noah’s Walk

“Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord” and “Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walk with God” (Gen 6:8-9). Perfect here means he and his sons had not infected their lives as others with fallen angels; they were still the only pure Adamites left. Noah had sisters and brothers after he was born “ And Lamech lived after he begat Noah five hundred ninety and five years, and begat sons and daughters:” (Gen 5:30); and yet he was the only one walking with God.

 His sisters and brothers all were fallen prey into the ways of the world; Satan was trying to destroy the pure Admite line from which Christ would come through.  Out of all his family and the entire world, Noah and his family were the only ones pure. He even walked as His great-grandfather did for he walked with God. It’s heart wrenching to know that you are the only one in your family that is walking with God, as much as you may try to influence them to hear a Word from God or talk about salvation they just blow you off.  I’m sure Noah did what he could to sway his siblings; we all would if we were in such a situation as he was.

God had finally had enough He pronounced judgment for His holiness could no longer tolerate this wickedness any longer.  “God said unto Noah, the end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is fill with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth” (Gen 6:13). Because of God’s grace for Noah and his family, He instructs him to build an ark; this was an immense undertaking for Him, God gave Noah the dimension of the ark, the type of wood to use, and the instructions in how it should look (Gen. 6:14-16). 

God promised Noah “but with thee will I establish my covenant; and their shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife and thy sons wives with thee.”  (Gen. 6:18). God then instructed Noah as to what animals to bring and how many “And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female” (Gen 6:19). But He also instructed that he bring in “of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female; and of beast that are not clean by two, the male and his female” (Gen 7:2). This was for the purpose of making sacrifice later.

The End

God then promised Noah that in seven days it will begin to rain on the earth “…and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth” (Gen 7:4). God’s Word does not return unto Him void, it was as sure as the sun will rise that the earth was about to be flooded and all life extinguished. Noah was a man of God so one would think that as he worked on the ark he was telling people to repent and trust God, right? I could only hope so.  Can you imagine the society at that time, the thoughts, the ways, and the attitudes were only evil. Men had become so universally depraved that God had no recourse but to destroy the race.

Noah was surrounded daily by a mass of godless, unbelievers, who would come to see his work and remain just to mock him. Through it all Noah maintain his faith to do what God had call him to do. Noah stands among all the workers of the Bible unsurpassed, if not incomparable, in persistent faith. We must ask ourselves whether we would have such faith in a world that only glorifies sin, would we be persistent in doing what God has called us to or will we finally give in to all the taunts, cursing and ridicule?

God open the “…windows of heaven…” (Gen. 7:11). The new movie Noah is out and I have not seen it yet. And from a lot of comments I have read many believers know that it was nowhere near Biblical based. I can’t say that whether I will see it or not, I just know that I believe in the Bible and after reading about the “Noah of the Bible” I would prefer this truth more than the fiction of movies. Thousands of people were lost because they would rather mock him and make fun of what he was called to do, instead of asking “what is this great calling that you do this?”  

We must open our eyes even in this day and time that judgment will first come to the house of God and then the world.  What is your heart like are you accepting of things that the Bible says is wrong or will you stand for what God says is right?

Chosen4God