Home » Posts tagged 'Jesus'
“I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.”
Philippians 3:13-14 MSG
Keep Moving Forward by Faith!
Google Search
I re-read the story of Mary and it really doesn’t say that she endured a lot of trouble, but we can just surmise. An angel came to Joseph to explain that his wife had not betrayed him. Thank the Lord! But, what’s interesting is that Mary accepted her assignment, although she didn’t totally understand it all. Whether it troubled her or not, she had the Faith that God was going to do what He said that He would do.
We too have our assignment for the coming year. God has promised us that He is going to meet ALL our needs. He has told us that we shouldn’t worry about Nothing. We already know that there is nothing Impossible with God… and ALL things work together for our good. I speak prophetically that in 2014, we should expect Double for our Trouble! We have a game plan. We are going to identify our goals (2 or 3 major ones, and pray about them), break ’em down into bite size pieces and reward ourselves for our accomplishments along the way… and most of all, we must ADD Faith!! It is all for naught, if we don’t believe that we will receive what God has promised!
Google Search
Google Search
What is trouble? By definition, trouble is a state of distress (to cause strain, anxiety, or suffering to), affliction, difficulty, or need; a distressing or difficult circumstance or situation. So, what was your last bout with trouble? The first thing that comes to my mind is, financial trouble… not having quite enough to make ends meet. What trouble comes to your mind? Consider for a moment with me that we are chosen to endure our season of trouble …Bishop T.D Jakes used the Virgin Mary as an example. She was favored among women and chosen to give birth to the Holy Child named Jesus. BUT, then she had to explain to everyone that she was a pregnant virgin. She had to endure the looks, the whispers, the tears, the hurt and then later, give birth to her son, the Savior of the world, in a barn. Chosen, but not without her season of Trouble!
Google Search
Now fast forward one week, a New Year begins… Now think about what it will really mean for God to give us DOUBLE for our trouble in 2014!!!!
Get…
T -Tested, but Trust God
R – Road gets rough, but Rest in Him
O – Obstacles to overcome, but Obey His Word, because…
U – You are Chosen!
B – Blessed and Highly Favored!
L – Let GO and Let GOD!
E – Enjoy Life!
Be Given…
Google Search
I am glad that I prepared you all for a Part 2 for the blog post on yesterday, because I am sure you all are wondering, “How was that a rant on religion????” As a side note, let me mention that it was very interesting to see the related articles which expressed major concerns with “religion”, which to a certain degree emphasized a few of my concerns.
Now I did say that I had and still have A LOT in my head on this topic, but let me attempt to connect some of the dots… In my OPINION and I stress my opinion, Man (Humanity) has misused, mishandled and in some cases, misinterpreted the Word of God. Some have taken a scripture or two, used it out of context and created an entire religion. For others, religion has become BIG $$$ business. Unfortunately, these and other issues have turned people away from church and away from God Himself.
Along the same lines, many of us (50 and over), grew up in church, which was and in some cases, still is heavily influenced by tradition. As a young adult, it appeared that anything other than breathing would send you to Hell and for some, it is still that way. 😦 My pastor tells us often that we (the church) have allowed tradition to truly choke out the Truth. The Word of God stands by itself, is spiritually discerned and does not need our help to make it TRUE.
So, what is my point? We have run people away from God with our words. Young people and older ones too, are seeking a Savior and we tell them about everything, BUT Christ Jesus. Your dress is too short, your hair is too long, you can’t chew gum (lol!)…. just to name a few. I believe that I said it yesterday, if we simply allow the Spirit of the Lord to lead, guide and direct us is ALL that we do and say; Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. Ephesians 4:29
If you notice, Jesus Christ did not hang out with the “religious” folks. He hung with those who needed Him most…. the people that needed to KNOW Him. We are losing an entire generation or two, because we won’t simply tell this about Jesus. I have two (2) grown daughters and we have talked about everything. They have asked me about nose piercing and tattoos, joining sororities and most recently, how would I feel if they stopped going to church. I respect them as intelligent young women and their decisions, and they respect my opinion. I let them know that I will no longer suffer their consequences for them. My youngest will call me just to vent and she will tell me up front, “Mom, just listen… I don’t want to hear scripture”. At times, we just have to agree to disagree, but I am confidence that they KNOW Jesus and that’s the best I can do. Everyone deserves to KNOW Jesus. In John 14:6, Jesus said , “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
Are we speaking LIFE or Death with the power of our tongue?
I will try not to make this post too long. But I have so much in my head right now that I may have to make this a two-part post.
There are a few things that I need to mention before I get into the meat of my message… First, I will reemphasize that this is NOT A BASHING of Religion! Actually, I am going to speak very little about religion specifically. Second, I want to remind you that this is a RANT! So I am going to ramble at times, thus I may say things that may not make any sense to you, so you may need to read it more than once. 😀
When I gave my initial message, as an aspiring missionary, my pastor told us that the Word that the Lord gives us comes to us first. So there has been this Word in my spirit about what we say out of our mouth. The Power of Life and Death is in our tongue! It never ceases to amaze me how the Lord will confirm His Word to us in ways that we least expect. The Spirit of the Lord will keep talking until we listen.
Don’t rush me yet, I told you that I was going to ramble…
Are we telling people about Jesus??? I heard someone say that we all must preach the gospel and when necessary speak words. Think about it… Are we talking about the Grace of God that has been afforded us? But the cost was great! We, in general, spend TOO much time telling ourselves and others, what we have done wrong, what we shouldn’t do or even what we can’t do??? We must be really careful about what comes out of our mouth. We must speak LIFE, first to ourselves.
Make a Declaration! ….
Google Search
Google Search
We must allow the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself to speak to us and through us. Remember, God SPOKE the world into existence. If we show everyone the Love of Christ, He will take care of the rest.
I understand that this message doesn’t apply to All of Us. But it has served to remind me that I have to be very careful of what I let out of my mouth, even words I speak about myself. I really don’t want to hinder the blessings that God has for me, simply because of what I just happen to speak into the atmosphere.
How about you?
Google Search
I think that there’s more to come (part 2)… My pastor spoke today about speaking our thoughts. He said that we are going to have negative thoughts, but what happens when we speak them out loud?
timothysblogspot.wordpress.com
Photos Credit: Google search**
Finding Order in Chaos 