Issues About Christians

5-31-16

             There are 3 things with Christians that have always bothered me. Honestly it's what kept me from church. Recently I found that it's not about those people. The point of church is to go to be in the presence of the Lord with other true believers. Yeah, I said TRUE believers. True believers run hot for the Lord and we'll get to that later on in this post. Right now we're gunna start with the good ol' book of James.

James 1:19-27English Standard Version (ESV)

Hearing and Doing the Word

19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear,slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word,which is able to save your souls.

22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. 27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

                                             Issue 1

     Plain and simple, we have too many sayers, no ones really listening, and not enough are actually living out His word. On one side of the spectrum, we have Billy. Billy likes to pray and worship at church. But Billy also like to pray and worship outside of church, even in public with random strangers. Billy also likes to take care of those who are truly in need. On the other side of the spectrum, we have Nancy. Nancy likes to pray and worship God also! But, as soon as Nancy leaves church, she parties like a rock star, spews out profanities, and then speaks curses to the cop who's trying to get to put her clothes back on. Dont be like Nancy. We need more Billy's. We also shouldn't be flying off the rails at the drop of  a hat when something doesn't go as planned, or when Sally Sue makes us mad for letting her dog crap in your yard. We're suppose to be SLOW to anger. We're suppose to not only sit quietly and listen, but we're suppose to retain the knowledge learned and APPLY it, in our daily lives HUMBLY. We're not suppose to be like Nancy who acts the part in church, then after turns into the devils stunt double!

     When we can obey God's laws, we can and will be abundantly blessed. Like Billy, we need to always help those in need, always pray, and study his word DAILY. You can think you're religious all you want, but if you have the lifestyle of Nancy, you might as well be talking at a brick wall. I say this because, when you're like Nancy, your praises and worship mean absolutely nothing. It's like telling God "hey, i'm good enough like this. I don't follow all your rules". God wants, needs, and deserves your full attention, to have his rules followed. We have commandments for a reason. There are tons of guidance scriptures all throughout the bible! There is literally ZERO excuses you can make to say "well, the bible didnt say...."

                                                                 Issue 2     

    Being lukewarm Christians. In Revelation 3:16, "so, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, i will spit you from my mouth". Lets circle back to good ol' Billy. Billy is 'hot' for the Lord. Billy prays every day, almost as much as King David. Billy helps those in need, even if it's going out of his way, he studies his bible daily. Billy can't get enough of the Lord and wants to grow more and more closer to God til the day he's called home. Then we have Nancy. Nancy finally fell off the bandwagon. She very rarely, if at all goes to church. She ignores the needy and worries only for herself. Nancy is 'cold' to God. Now, we have Cindy. Cindy is a good person. She volunteers, is almost the perfect house wife and working woman, goes to church 3 times a week, she keeps from sin as much as possible. When she slips she immediately repents. But Cindy doesn't go out of her way to pray for someone in need outside of church, or really at all. She prays, praises, and worships pretty much only at church. She reads and learns the bible, only at church. She is completely content in her current status of Chirstian-hood. Cindy, is 'lukewarm'. God doesn't want lukewarm!!! You are completely FOR God or not! God desires for EVERYONE to be HOT for him. To want to learn, to grow, to become His warriors. There's this song. It's called, Start A Fire by Unspoken. In the Chorus is says, "start a fire in my soul, fan the flames and make it grow, so there's not doubt or denying. Let it burn so brightly, that everyone around can see, that it's You, that it's You that we need. Start a Fire in me". Everytime I hear this song. I just want to be still and listen. I want that burning fire. I want to be so HOT for God, that i'm like a fresh cup of coffee. That God would have to wait for me to cool off a bit before he can handle this. Now, that might be a little too big for my britches, but that's how amped up I am. Did you know, the reason we have so few miracles now a days verses back in the bible days, is because we've become so self centered, and distant from God. Back then Miracles were normal because everyone was SO Close and SO HOT for God. If people could get their heads out of their rears we could do it again! My mom wants to speak and people be healed, I have a friend who wants to be so hot and full of God that her Shadow will heal people. I wanna heal people just by looking at them! LOL! It sounds crazy, but it's very possible if we make it a habit to grow, listen, act on his word. We also have to do one other thing. It's a very important key to walking and being like Christ.

                                                                Issue 3

     We need to learn how to pray, and sacrifice the flesh DAILY. I'm not talking about beating yourself, or taking off parts of skin. That cruel, wrong, and just gross. I'm talking about SPIRITUALLY sacrificing the flesh. Everyday we are tempted with gambling, anger, lust, jealousy, hoarding, selfishness, etc. These are all action of the flesh. We have to 'crucify' ourselves everyday, and take up our own personal crosses to be able to follow the will of God. Luke 22:42 says, "not my will be done, but yours, be done" when he was praying to His Father. In Luke 9:23, Jesus said, "if any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily, and follow me". We have to be WILLING to bare our own crosses and follow Christ. I'm not gunna lie, some days will be a lot harder than others. Our Spirit is in constant battle with our own flesh. There's a Native American Tale. Which can equate to our flesh and spirit.

            An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. “A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy.

“It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.” He continued, “The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”

The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”

In the Christian aspect, the 'evil wolf' is our flesh. It's the UN-Godly things our flesh wants. The 'good wolf' is our spirit. It wants to do God's will and follow his word. When we give in to fleshly things like lusting after another woman, or spending 'just one more dollar' on that slot machine, we're feeding the 'bad wolf'. But when we deny the flesh, when we pray for help, for strength from God, we FIGHT those urges and keep walking in GOD'S will. We sacrifice and deny ourselves giving into, and feeding, the 'good wolf', our Spirit. Don't get me wrong, there's are plenty of examples all throughout the bible also! Galatians 5:13(and on), Jeremiah 3:13-16, Hebrews 3: 12-19. Those are just a few examples in the bible if you want some light reading. But for me, at this moment, 'the tale of two wolves' is a better analogy for me to work with. I'm still very much in the learning process.

     Hopefully my wording was on point. Sometimes i'm not very good with words. I really struggled writing this segment. Hopefully it catches your attention, opens eyes, gives a different perspective, what have you. If you ever feel like you aren't strong enough to deny the flesh, to 'crucify' youself daily, try to remember this verse, "I can do ALL things through Christ, who strengthens me" Philippians 4:13. Hope you all have a blessed day.

Unity vs Division

5-30-16

Guys, if you haven't gotten This book you really should lol. This chapter in particular is extra meaty and juicy!! Gets better and better each chapter!!

Chapter 15!!

"Above all, put on love-the perfect bond of unity" - Col. 3:14

Today, ladies and gents, we're going to go over probably one of the least spoken subject. The Tower of Babel. 'yea we know, they built a tower, God created multi-languages, every dispersed the end' is probably what crossed your mind(or not i'm not a inter-webs mind-reader). Well, true...but not quite. Do you actually know WHY God did what did? and don't say 'because they were building a really tall tower to reach heaven'..cuz that's only PART of the reason. The Tower of Babel was stopped by God who initiated multiple languages, was not only to stop the self glorifying tower construction, but also because of their unity. 

Yep, UNITY! 'well, that doesnt make any sense' some of you say? well, here, let me indulge you. Imagine this if you will. When we are unified, do we not gain more power and momentum? African Americans unified for freedom, America, in our war against Britain. We unified for the first time as a nation to claim this land as ours. Lets talk animals; African Wild Dogs, Lioness', Hyena's, Killer Whales, Dolphins, Wolves. They all work in a unified manner to hunt and direct their prey a certain direction. Sports! Do the players not have to work as a unified team? Unification causes great power, and with great power, the more and more you unify, the more momentum you gain, the more power you gain. The better leader, the better hunter, the better group, the better player/coach, the greater success. Hopefully now it makes sense. 'yea sure. But why would God stop that?' is the exact same question i asked myself. The reason being was because it was humans being selfish. Glorifying God wasnt even part of their plan. They wanted to go *in my stuart voice*"hey! look what i can do!". Can you imagine, what things could be accomplished with God IN the plan. Having God aligned with our unity? Why do you think the devil wants everyone to be divided? keep everyone split up, at each others throats?

That being said, God LOVES and blesses unity. So long as it glorifies HIM. When people see unity, it's attractive, beautiful, they can see purpose, love, power. But when and ARMY of people work together, they form quite the force. Would you not agree? Speaking of groups and God's love for unity. In the book of Acts, it talks about one of the early churches. This church was SO unified, they operated like they all had the same mind. With this, their unity was so powerful, it not only caught the eye of God, but gained his favor! Powerful movements through prayer, worship, etc, arose from this unity. God's blessings fall when believers dwell together in unity.

This blessing and unity goes into all aspects of our lives. For a HOME to flourish, there must be unity between and husband and his wife. The CHURCH, unity must dwell among it's members with no selfish ambition. The NATION, unity must be among the people, instead of war agendas, or what someone else's moral and worldviews are. "when 2 gather in unity and seek the Lord, he is their midst"-matthew 18:20. It only takes 2 believers to get the ball rollin' folks.

"Call to me, I'll answer you, and show you great and mighty things." Jeremiah 33:3

Update

5-30-16

Im having a little trouble wording it so bare with me. I also might be adding to it. I haven't quite discerned if i should or not but i can see also how it would tie in. Looks like just a chapter from the battle plan for prayer book today(which is still pretty good!) and hopefully tomorrow, before bed, ill have my own little dealio to talk about

Safe and sound!

Made it safe and sound! Thank to all who prayed traveling mercies! Resting, winding down. Hopefully tomorrow back in the groove. Got one or two things id like to post about. Depends on time. In the meantime ive watched fireproof (yes just now) and courageous! Both super good! Faving giants is next on my list. What are some other good ones?

Faith and wisdom

5-26-16

I know its been a while since ive done my actual bible study. But i believe i needed to step away from the for a bit. That and ive been so busy. Visiting family, my papa having strokes, moving, plans changing time and time again. But its all good. Ive been keeping my focus on God and turning to prayer more often. Let me tell you how much that has really helped me. By now, id be pulling my hair out, curled up in a ball, in the floor. Stress is not my forte and neither is NOT having a concrete plan. Im all about plans and time tables. But me and Jesus are working on that. Its one of my many personal 'trials'. Among many other things, relinquishing my troubles, strengthening my faith, gaining wisdom on when to speak/act and when not to. But this go round, instead of my usual im just goin, 'Lord, I wash my hands of this. You take it. Im not even gunna think or worry about it. You take it and do your thing and ill grab my unicorn helmet' and ill just go about my day. If i feel stressed throughout the day, i just repeat it over and over til i feel better.

James 1: 2-8 goes over faith and asking for wisdom. I feel like thats an ongoing trend for me lol. So lets kinda plunge in there. This one is all me by the way lol. Ive been trying to read past this segment and read the whole chapter but I can't. So im just 'ok God. You have my attention'. Anyhow, i have a horrible squirrel brain sometimes.

So verse 2, 'brothers and sisters, you will have many troubles. But this gives you a reason to be happy'. Ok, well, yea troubles kinda come with just about anything with the devil prowling around. My surprised reaction was to be happy about the troubles. Im just sitting here like 'wait what? Am i supposed to go "yay car repairs with money i don't actually have"?'. At this point it almost suddenly felt like i got smacked in the back of the head so, I kept reading.

Verse 3-4, 'you know that when your faith is tested, you learn to be patient in suffering. If you let that patience work in you, the end result will be good. You will be mature and complete. You will be all God wants you to be'. At this point, my brain was going all 'ding ding ding' and I was like 'oooooh ok. I see now'. Im sure some of you are still like, 'i...dont get it'. Well, lemme lay it out for ya. This is how *i* see it. When we are 'tested', going through troubles, spiritual attacks, etc, we have to buckle down, strap on our helmets, and just pray. We have to be PATIENT, and wait on God to give us the wisom to see what HE wants US to do. When we align ourselves with HIS will, everything falls into place, prayers are answered, he shows us our exit. Our 'end result is good' because of patience and faith. Make more sense now?

Verse 5-6, 'If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind'. Ask and you'll recieve, but to recieve you have to believe. I hate using this analogy but im drawing a blank. Think of it like a child does santa. They ask for things, they believe hes real, hes gunna bring gifts, they believe, wait, and watch eagerly. They anticipate and believe so hard they're gunna get that tea party set, or that remote controlled drone with H.D video feed. We should always keep that child like eagerness and anticipation for God. We should believe like a child does waiting and watching for santa. If you're are all on the fence, God plainly stated you might as well be wave being tossed about the wind. Waves are here and there, theres no control or real set motion. You start to believ, but then if you dont get an immediate answer, you faulter. Hopefully I clarified that well. 

Verse 7-8, 'That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-mindedand unstable in all they do'. I'd say 'you cant think one thing and then double standard it',but, obviously we can. And we do. Im guilty of it. Not pleased about it. But this past couple weeks ive been back and fourth. Hashing it out both spiritually and flesh wise. I want to do things that make me happy, but at the same time i wanna go do my thing too. But then i remember what my life was like. So i end up fighting not only myself but I start  questioning God. Then i get mad at myself for not being able to understand what he's trying to tell me. Then i turn around in frustration and just huff 'can you just punch me in the face with im suppose to do?! I give up. You Take care of it!' And like that, bam, bam, bam. Things line up perfectly. And im just like 'why couldn't i just do this to start with?!?!' And i hear a little voice going 'i tried to tell you' in the back of my head. I was unstable in my faith. I faultered. When infully submitted to God and just went, im done, have it. All was well in the world. His glory shined as he guided my steps and let everything go how it was suppose to be. He showed me how i was suppose to act, how he wants me to be. He wants everyone to be like that. Just laynit down and go 'GOD, take it and help me'. 

Ah! Feels so good to get that off my chest!! Thank you Lord!! Learning how and when to speak lol. Maybe now i can relax and sleep LOL! Night y'all. Hittin the road tomorrow. Pray traveling mercies for me!

Am I strong enough?

5-25-16
Bits and pieces by: Pastor Glen; High Praise Church
-added narrative from yours truly.

Im sorry!!! I pick up key words and my brain runs with it! I left my notes in the car >.> I'll update in the AM whilst i haz me coffeeeee.

Lets say God is a plane. Point the nose up, you go up, nose down, you go down. Nose right...yup it goes right. Theres no tricking the plane and theres no tricking God on what your focus is. We should always be focused on God. When we focus first on God, do things not fall into place accordingly? Horrible circumstances take miraculously unexpected turns for the better. Faster than normal recovery, cancer straight up disappearing, loved one having  multiple strokes and then making leaps and bounds if the recovery process, a completely horrific accident and someone walking away with minor-mild injuries, someones 'lights' literally about to go out, the all of a sudden they have the energy of spring chicken.

Each tragic, stressful, sometimes almost unbearable circumstances happen. When we follow God, I've said it before. Its not unicorns thats fart rainbows. Puppy dogs and ice cream. Kittens in a field of daisies. It down right sucks and makes you gauge just where exactly your faith lies. How strong it is, as you're given your trials and tribulations. *sings*what doesnt kill you, makes you stronger!*end* what you have to do is just pray. You know what..read psalms! David is God's 'chosen man' for a reason. Be like David. Minus the spouse killing part cuz you want someone else's woman/man. Anyhoo....trails..tribulations. Right. Really they do suck. But like I said, pray. Praise God even when it hard.

Pastor Glen gave a good example of strength. I dont know how many of you garden,or at least know the basics, but here it is(you gon learn today). So it's couple week before spring. You plant your precious little seeds in the cute little cups indoors. After a couple weeks they start to sprout. You continue care for them inside in a controlled environment. After its warm enough at night where you dont have to worry about frost(ive forgotten seedlings outside before) to start training them for ther new environment. Inside theres no heat, no air circulation, no wind. But outside, well it is. But that wind, the changing temperatures, it helps temperament the plant to be able to stay outside day by day. Each day as its pelted with rain, blown almost all the way over by strong winds, bugs, diseases. It goes through its own little plant world of tests to help it grow stronger. Our troubles and trials are like the beating heat of the sun or the huge gusts of wind, or even a huge hectic thunderstorm that sent you crying to mommy and daddy when you were a kid.

God will test you, the enemy will come at you from all sides to discourage you. Rise above it. "With God all things are Possible". "I can do anything with God who strengthens me". God knows our ins and outs. Our strengths, our weaknesses. But even in our weakness his glory shines through us. 'Oh, im really not that strong', 'God cant use me. Im too weak. I dont know how to help anyone' are common thought processes. Im guilty of it. I lived by it for...wel..about 10-11yrs. I didn't think I was worthy enough and I thought surely i couldnt make a difference to anyone. So i just did whatever I wanted. I lost my focus and i suffered for it. God helped shownme my strengths. Even my weaknesses. Each and every person had ther own unique aspect about them. That one person who couldnt get the town drunk to church, well, maybe you can. There are people in this world, that only certain people could really connect and reach out to. When one is unsuccessful, another is, where that other isnt, someone else is. Ya know, God 'will never give you more than you can handle'. Ever. *sings*"i wont give you more than you can take. I might let you bend but I wont let you break"(.group 1 crew - he said).

God doesn't let bad things happen. Especially not because 'you screwed up'. Were human. He expects us to mess up. But he also expects us to do our best. What we need to do is ask God to discern what our strength and weaknesses are. Then we need to hone our strengths, and sharpen our weaknesses. "When God is for us, who can stand against us?" Romans 8:31. Grow strong my friends. Strap on your favorite helmet and let God drive the bus. All you have to do is pray and praise. That said ill end it with you also have to believe that God is in control and just surrender everything to him. "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand" Isaiah 41:10. So, are you strong enough? YES! Especially when God is on your side. 

Todays word brought to you by...

High Praise Church of God
Pastor Glen
5-22-16

With added documentary that was laid on my heart by,none other than yours truly, Kacie.

Man was service good this morning!! Guess what were gunna go over today folks. Nope. Were gunna talk about conformity. Lets take a walk down Matthew 27 starting at verse 11 and then alllllll the way down to 31. We all (should) know this story. But in case you don't, here a run down. Pilate had jeses and Barabbas(brain jump yet?). He had them before the crowd, and the crowd was given a choice. To free Jesus. Or to free Barabbas, a renowned killer and rapist and all sorts of other awful things. The crowd chose....you guessed it! Barbbas! Then it leads on to how the crowd was chanting that Jesus be crucified. But there were some who disagreed, but remained silent. They whipped jesus, gave him a crown of thorns. You know the rest of this tragic script.

'Ok, what does this have to do with conformity?' I can hear you ask. Well let me tell you. Pilate, will be our representative of our Government. The 'crowd' will represent 'we the people'. Christ, will represent the Chuch. I can feel gears turning and thoughts going 'oooh! I see where shes going' right now. But please, indulge yourself in some reading. And, for those who still are confused, which ok(took me a minute myself), seriously, keep reading this is some good stuff i got for you.

So, the government goes "hey we have a idea for you guys. Yes or no" and naturally, although it doesnt seem like it sometimes cuz its not how we voted, majority rules. The Government *has* to listen to its people. Afterall, its in the constitution. So while drugs are getting legalized, people are accepting that someone feels like a turtle and not a human, a cat thinks its a dog not a cat, sex should be allowed out in public, etcetera. As we grow, mostly children, see this, it becomes normal, when its normal, its socially acceptable, when its socially acceptable some may speak out, but most are quiet or just go with the flow.  When that happens we get stupid laws passed like 'dont leave children unattended'. Cuz you know each generation just seems to get dumber and dumber. But, with majority rule, others are forced to conform. Whereas, as mentioned earlier, children grow up knowing it was just like that. Children are more easily molded.  When we conform, when we keep silent, just like those in the crowd when they were yelling 'crucify Him', we might as well be just as guilty. Our foundation as a church is cracking because of conformity. Very few are speaking out to keep our foundation. Its so bad at the moment, the Holy Spirit could walk out in the middle of church, and most wont even be able to tell. Stay silent you're just as guilty as the rest. I have a big mouth. My family knows it. My friends know it. God Himself knows it. God has to help me choose my word or help keep my mouth shut. I will get as brutally honest as a child when I get riled up enough. We're screwing up folks. All because we think we have to blend in, instead of stand out. We have a choice. What are you gunna do? Blend in, stay quite? Or be bold, and stand out? If you'll excuse me, im off to be my own special, bright colored crayon. #StopConforming 

Break

Alright. I've been having some major blockage for some reason. i'm gunna be off for a couples days to see if i can get back in my zone. Pray for me!

Repentance or Pride

5-18-16

This was a pretty short and to the point chapter. Or at least my notes were. As the title states, repentance and pride are our topics today. One leads to humility, the other...well...that road isnt very pretty.


Chapter 14
" Humble yourselves in the presence of the lord, and He will exalt you." - James 4:10

There was a pharisee and a tax collector, and they were both in a temple. Well, mr pharisee, thought he didnt' sin, so he didnt need to repent.The tax collector however, asked to be forgiven of any transgressions he had.

In HUMILITY, we can clearly see see how much we NEED God. The deception of pride, makes us think we're more important than we really are, convincing ourselves that we havent done anything to repent for but we're 'just that awesome'. Being PRIDEFUL not only hurts us, but it takes away our humility and our blessings. It's when we're humble, that God allows us to grow and bless us.

David, who was the greatest King of Israel, always asked "who am I?". Always feeling unworthy of all the things God blessed him with. Paul, who was a self-proclaimed "chief of sinners", wrote like half of the new testament. Joshua knew he needed to God to conquer the promised land. Ester showed submission and humility to God, who in turn, heard her, and helped her save her people. All through out the bible are countless examples about what happens to those who are prideful and those who are humble.

The more THANKFUL we become, the more humble we are. The more humble we are, the more we care about others instead of ourselves.  Anything we obtain, should be redirected towards God in a thankful manner. We should always be repenting also. I've said it before, if you even have to think "oh Lord, Jesus, help me." when you're trying to keep a bad thought from fully entering your mind, you just did something that needs repenting. Repenting causes us to remain humble in the Lord, which in turn will give us more frequent and powerful prayers. Remember, Humility and thankfulness= like Jesus. Prideful and lack of thankfulness= sin.

The Cross of Christ

5-17-16

Chapter 13
"He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”
 - 1 Peter 2:24

I hope y'all are ready for this! This is definitely a real gut puncher! Buckle up ladies and gents!!

Did you know, most RELIGIOUS people, can't seem to hardly ever show evidence of answered prayers?? It's true! it's because of the LACK of a PERSONAL, saving relationship with Christ.

Out of Jesus' own mouth, he warned, "not everyone who cries 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but ONLY the one who does the WILL of my Father in heaven! On that day, many will say 'Lord, Lord, didn't we prophesy in your name? cast out demons in your name? and do many miracles in your name?' and I will tell them, 'I never KNEW you! depart from me you lawbreaker!" Matthew 7: 21-23. Go ahead. Grab your bible or google it. I kid you not. It's not just a simple 'ok God, I believe you are real.', it's not just a 'hey got baptized and i've done this many good deeds today' type thing. You have to actually go through the motions of prayer, and studying, and worshiping, getting to truly know him. One of the reasons you pray, is so HE can know YOU.

"Well, I don't think -"..I'm gunna stop you right there joker. I said it, GOD said it, JESUS said it. You DON'T go to heaven just because you pray, get baptized, or do good deeds. Yes, these are nice and wonderful things to do, but, you ALSO have to make a RELATIONSHIP with God and Christ. "But I think-"..NO! It is stupid and down right PRIDEFUL to think we get to decide how God is. It is PRIDEFUL to think WE get to decide when, how, and who get's to go the heaven or not. "BUT!" NO! STOP IT! OR I'LL WHACK YOU IN THE FACE WITH MY BIBLE! IT'S NOT HOW IT WORKS! It's not 'What do *I* think God should do?", it's, "What does GOD want ME to do". You know what really grind my gears?! People going 'well, *I* don't think God will let a murderer in just because he said a prayer', '*I* don't think Jesus will really send someone to hell for taking their own life cuz the broke. they were a good christian. God will forgive them for that.', "*I* don't think God will make some go to hell for...' STOP! IT!!!!!! IT SAYS PLAIN AS DAY IN THE BIBLE WHAT WILL SEND YOU TO HELL OR LET YOU IN HEAVEN! STOP TWISTING GOD INTO HOW *YOU* THINK HE IS!!!!! THAT IS CREATING YOUR OWN MAN MADE GOD!

There are 66 books in the bible. Each one is like it's own puzzle piece, and they all fit perfectly together. In the end, after each puzzle is placed together, when we fully understand, we can see the whole picture. The whole story as one painting. It tells us of God's sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ, How God's love for us is never ending, and so much more. When Jesus Sacrificed himself for us, rather than us being required to sacrifice things time and time again to try to EARN our way to heaven, Jesus became the ULTIMATE sacrifice so we no longer had to that. Through Jesus, it is now a 'free gift' to us, so long as we ask for forgiveness, and get to truly know Jesus and God on a personal level.

God is your Father, you are his child, his holy spirit entered your heart, you've been redeemed and cleansed by the blood of Jesus, You access and boldly approach God in prayer. These are a few things you will know for sure if you are saved. In Total there 7 key indicators. Before I really get into these 7 things, let me ask this. If you were put on trial, right this very second, for being a christian; Would you be able to provide overwhelming evidence to show you and Christ know each other? What we're gunna do now is go over the 7 indicators which are all in the book of 1 John.

1. A lifestyle of Obedience. Being totally submissive to God, reading and studying his work DAILY, know his commandments and live them out.

2. A confession of Jesus as the Christ, God's son. It's not just a 'yea, Jesus is God's Son. I know that cuz i read it in the bible'. You have to know this and TRULY from the pit of your stomach BELIEVE this to be true. 

3. Have a lifestyle of repentance of sin. "unless you repent you will all perish"(luke 13:3). I know i've said it time and time again. You have to constantly be confessing sins EVERY time you pray. Every day, whether is a brief thought or moment when you have to go 'Lord help me' or 'Lord bless em' you already did something.

4. Genuine love for other believers. Your 'brothers' and 'sisters' in Christ are to be exactly like your real brother and sisters. Ones you love wholeheartedly and would do anything for them just as you would your own true blood. 1 John 3:14-15 says, "we know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the bretheren. He who does now love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murder; and know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him"

5. The discipline of God your Father. Just as we discipline our children when they get out of line, God will smack us if WE get out of line.

6. Presence of God's Holy Spirit.  This is how we know He lives IN us; we know it by the spirit he gave us(1 john 3:24). If you truely believe, God's spirit is in you and will testify with your spirit that you are a child of God.

7. Faith in Jesus alone for salvation. Trust in Jesus. Pray, in Jesus' name, Believe Jesus died for you sacrificing himself for all the sins in the world that WAS done and ARE to come into passing. It's not "i believe in God but not in the Holy Spirit or Jesus.", or any other variation that tickles YOUR fancy. Trust in Jesus, and everything else will follow suit. God sent his SON Jesus, Jesus died for US, and afterwards, God sent his SPIRIT to walk the earth for HIM as HIS form of communication and to ACCESS his kingdom and power to bring HIM glory.

It only gets better from here folks. I can tell. This book i recommend to anyone and their mama. GET. IT!!!

KEYS of prayer

5-16-16

Hey all! I'm baaaaaaack! Decoding my dream last night was a bit tougher than usual. But I like a good a challenge! Most the time lol depending on the situation. Anyhooooo hope everyone is doing well today and you've been working on them prayers we've gone over so far! Also hope you've been thanking the good Lord for something each day.  Bit of a praise report today. I don't know if you remember about me talking about how my papa was in the hospital ICU for multiple strokes or not. But I'm am pleased thankful, and joyful in Lord! He finally woke up and could be alert yesterday! He even surprised everyone by saying a couple audible sentences!!! Thank the Lord indeed for answered prayers! Anyone wanna share what they are thankful for today?

All right let's get this ball Rollin shall we?
Chapter 12!! 😸😸
"Call to me and I will answer, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know" - Jeremiah 33:3

I'm gonna take a bit of your time and go on a small tangent i feel i need to speak about with you all. "Call to me and I WILL answer". WILL. Remember that post? About God answering prayers always. Sometimes its immediately. Sometimes its before we even ask. Sometimes its 2-3 days of constant prayer. But He answers. "He will tell us things we don't know that are great and mighty". He speaks to everyone differently. Some, its that little voice whispering in your head, tingles down your spine, dreams, songs that play at the perfect moment; sending you into an immediate crying fit. So many different ways. Now and then, when we're having trouble discerning something, need guidance, he'll also tell you something "you didn't know", that you need to know. Last night in a certain part of my dream, I was headed down " my usual path" when I was yanked back. I was angry at first but then I realized the issue. I was going down The same path with the same ruts. But some one stopped me and as I looked, there was a man, making a 'quiet' gesture. What I noticed was the emphasis in my dream about his eyes, hand, and the finger on his mouth. During my decipher game I play with the good Lord. He told me something I didn't know I was doing. I wasn't being quiet. At this moment I'm drawing a blank. I guess I'm not suppose to discuss it further. I've been unfocused and ignoring all the signs. But funny, it brings me full circle to a part of today's review. Prayer. I'm always praying persistently, asking to be shown or told something I might be missing because of my lack of focus. I tell..well, ask him to pretty much hit me in the face with it. While in the previous post, locks cause us to pray and repent and deal with our issues, in full swing, it also brings us to our keys in which I was giving personal example of.

Key 1: pray persistently, by asking, seeking, and knocking. Go full Sheldon cooper on that mug. Matthew 7:7 'keep asking and it will be given, keep searching and it will be found, keep knocking, I will answer'. Plain as day right there in your bible. Right in fro t of your face. Never ever hold back. Ask day after day, after day, you WILL get your answer.

2: pray in faith. Full trust in God no matter the situation. When you fully let 'Jesus take the wheel' how many times have you seen him move mountains in your life?

It might seem like I'm cruising through through this, but that's because it's very straight forward. I know I can drone on but this just like 'pow! Right in the kisser!' Type stuff.

Key 3: pray. In. SECRET!!! one on one man. When you pray in secret, and you see God unfold something before your eyes, and you are the only one who knows what's happening. THAT is the special reward you get. Its not always about going and praying at church or with your bff. God loves to have alone time with you also.

4: pray according to God's will. Romans 12:12 ' be happy with the hope you have, be patient when you have trouble, pray all the time'. Learn to pray to discern what God is doing and pull your buggy up right along his. When you are aiming at the same thing God is, there isn't a thing in this world or in hell that could stop you!!

5! Pray in Jesus' name!!!! Using the reflective, unselfish, God honoring name of His son Jesus Christ, amplifies our prayer to infinity and beyond!!

6: pray in agreement with other believers. If you can get someone else and you both pray in agreement in Jesus' name....that devil might wanna start running before you even finish your sentence. ' If two of you agree on earth about anything, that they may ask, and it shall be done for them by my Father who is in heaven. For where 2-3 are gathered in my name, I am in their midst' Matthew 18: 19-20.

7: pray while fasting. Fasting is going without food or some other daily need you have(social media, technology, etc) so you can fully focus on God. It opens your heart, mind, and spirit to be one more receptive to what he wants to tell you. After this post it might be a day or two before I post because its time for a good ol' detachment session. Trust me. Even just a day off social media alone is a breath of fresh air sometimes.

8: pray from an obedient life. When you pray, you should be able to pray in full confidence and expect an answer. If you do not feel this, plain an simple, you done messed up and you need to pray about figuring out what you did.

Key 9: praying while abiding in Christ and his word. Abiding by definition is something enduring and last in a long time. So, endure and have a permanent long lasting relationship with Christ no matter what the devil throws at you while you pray and rejoice in Him.

And lastly 10: pray while delighted in the Lord.  When you Love God and put Him above all else, his blessings for you are more than you can count my friend.

These are all the keys, plain and simple. How many locks are in your possession right now? How many keys do you have? What do you need to work on and/or improve in your prayer life? 

Locks of prayer

5-15-16

If you havent, im gunna say til im blue in the face, get THIS book!! This chapter were going over today is some really good stuff. Today well be learning about the "locks" of prayer. This is like the big list of what NOT to do when you pray. All in all there are 10 "locks" of prayer. You keep seeing me go "locks" but wondering what it means. When I say "locks" of prayer, what i mean is if you do any of the following further in my post, essentially God is going to shut his door and lock it to not hear you. Job 35:13 says "God will not listen to their worthless begging. God All-Powerful will not pay attention to them". He hears us but its like we do when our children or fur babies have a fit. We hear them, we just ignore them. But we're still gunna love and potect them just like God does for us, His children. If you haven't actually read and studied Job I highly suggest it. Its a good read and good lesson for sure. Any ways this chapter is REALLY good.

Alright lets get this pony show on the road shall we? First up we have, "praying without knowing God through Jesus". All over the world, even if its someone going by the power of cuthulu. EVERYONE at some point in their life has prayed. It would be better if was God, and in most cases i do believe its to God and not the latter, but it happens. Sometimes even multiple times in someones life they will pray. That is a just a response we have when we face a crisis and we're feeling completely hopeless. Jesus said in John 14:6, if you know it say it out loud with me, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. The ONLY way to the father is through me"!! Those who pray but don't actually believe, can't really *expect* their prayers to be answered. Because at this point it's almost like their rock bottom and, sad to say it, theyre just looking for someone to throw em a bone and then act like nothing special happened.

Numba 2, "praying from and unrepenting heart". In Psalms, 66,51, and 103(vs 18,17,14) the basic rundown is this. If you pray and keep sin in your heart, hes not gunna listen to a single request you make. Period. Dot. God wants us to humble ourselves and repent. He doesnt want us dragging 100lbs sandbags worth of burdens, while having our hands and feel chanined together, while dancing to the hokey pokey across freshly likey flaming hot coals. You have to remeber we are made of DUST and HE knows that. So get it together man! You wanna stiff arm God hell stone cold Steve Austin your behind then let you smell what the rock was cookin! You dont call the shots here. Big daddy God does. Quit bein a heffer!

Three! Were only on 3 and ill be surprised if you cant tell how excited i am re writting my notes for you guys. It feels like my insides are fire(in a good way). Heres number 3, do NOT pray just to be a show off. No one likes a show off. No one likes the "hey look what i can do!" Type person(unless its your kid who just learned what they thought was the most fantastical thing on earth  thinking they created said thing). Matthew 6:5 is a really good verse for this. Im glad the author of the book found it. It says when you pray, dont be like the hypocrites! They LOVE to stand in the churches, and out on the strret for all to see as they pray loudly for all to hear. The only truth for them from God, is that attention they're drawing to themselves is the ONLY thing they're gunna be rewarded with. That little 10mins of fame. When you pray, other people shouldnt matter. The only "audience" you should be entertaining is God All-Mighty himself!

*sings*foooouuurrrr. Praying a repetitive prayer. Have you ever been distracted in a prayer cuz the guy(or girl) praying is so overly dramatic and reminds you of sheldon from big bang theory in repeatedly saying something 3 times in a row. "Lord heal him, reach out and heal him, heal him lord, i beliebe you can heal him lord" and they go on and on about ONE thing for like 2 minutes? Ugh now I feel like I'M being repetitive right now. say your prayers ina heartfelt manner and move on with out droning. "Lord, so and so is sick. I pray in Jesus' name you reach out and heal him lord. Give comfort to his family..inalso wanna pray for..." See how nice, sincere, and easy flowing that is?

Comin in hot at number 5!! Halfway there folks can you believe it?! Its a bit odd sounding. "Prayers not prayed". This actually one of the most ineffective moments in prayer. Its the thing you dont take time to actually speak about ehen praying. After i read this, I sat and thought a minute on this trying to comprehend it. After a few moments i felt a little buzz in my ear and a thought crossed my mind. Sometimes, when im just getting to sleepy, or im having trouble concentrating, im guilty of speeding through the last tid bit of my prayer. I'll be all motivated and completely falling at his feet. Then sometimes i hit squirrel mode right in the middle of it. It'll go from "lord thanknyou so much for today. Bless so and so and their spouse as they do this and i pray for..." To this "annnd I wanna pray health and happiness for all my friends and family in jesus name amen. Night lord see ya in the morning". See the difference? Hopefully I explained that well enough to help give a better understanding on this one.

Over halfway! Comin in at number 6, "praying with a lustful heart". Man oh man. Hopefully im not the only one guilty of this. Fact of the matter is, 9/10 we've all done it at least once. Remember my post on where I mentioned i was greedy and selfish praying to win the powerball? That falls under this. As soon as i read that first sentence, i lowered my head in shame and immediately prayed for forgiveness. I dont think anyone will ever outgrow this try as they might. we're human. But as ive quoted from James 4:3 before in previous posts, "when you ask, you don't receive anything, because the reason you ask is wrong".

Number 7, "praying while mistreating your spouse".  I kid you not, 1 Peter 3:7 says "if you do not live with your wife in an understanding way or honor her as an heir of grace, your prayers will not be heard". Same thing goes for wives to their husbands. Youre suppose to love, honor, and respect each other. After all, that was partnof the vows when you get married right? How can we saw were are unified with God if our home life is a wreck?

8! Almost there folks and ill be quiet for the next 16-20hrs lol. Number 8 is "praying while IGNORING the poor". All throughout the bible, can you even count hiw many times the poor, tired, and helpless were helped? When you help those in need, Gid will show favor on you. But if you ignore them and/or treat them horribly heres what proverbs 21:13 has to say. "He who shuts his ear to the cry of the poor, will also cry himself and not be heard".

Number 9, "praying with bitterness in your heart toward someone". Go ahead and raise your hand. You know you also have prayed for forgiveness when theres that one person YOU just cant seem to forgive. That bitterness is actually like posion to us not only spiritually, but mentally and physically as well. How many out there knows how tiring it is to just stay mad at someone all the time? Stop it!! I know easier said than done sometimes it seems. But if Jesus can forgive all the people who hated Him and KILLED Him, I think we can humble ourselves to forgive jo shmoe down the street.

And finally, number 10, "praying with a faithless heart". Faithless...heart. What good is prayer without faith? Without hope? Can you even imagine it? I try and I just start to feel really depressed. Thats like saying sally sue is your bff in the whole wide worl, but you dont even trust the hair on her head. Bit contradictory isnt it? But its true and sadly this is a barrier most have to break. I mean, whe your a kid and you dont fully understand whats going on, you just see people praying; well you're just gunna pray and not expect..well..anything. Hebrews 11:6 says "without faith, no one can please God. Whoever comes to God must believe that hes real, and that he rewards those who try to find him". In James 1:6-8, in a nutshell it says, you have to believe in God, never doubting him. If you doubt him you might as well be like a wave thats blown carelessly by wind to rise and fall. Always indecisive on what to do or where to go.

These are what cause you to be "lukewarm" in the Lord. In revelation 3:16 it says "since you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, i will spit you out of my mouth". God doesnt want luke warm. He would rather you be either cold or (preferably) hot for him. Either all in or not at all. This whole chapter has had me feel all sorts of emotions. One minute im excited, the next i feel like someone kicked my puppy. But it needs to be said, read, and discussed. This is one of those gut punching meaty info my brain, heart, and soul absolutely loves. I am completely in love with this book right now. Not as much as God of course lol but def in the top 10 I think. Alright guys and girls :) til next time!

Postures of Prayer

5-13-16

Chapter 10
"Come let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our maker" -Psalms 95:6

There are 6 different types of postures to pick from when it comes to praising and worshipping God. Let jump right to it!

1- Bowing. If you bow before the Lord you are showing full on submission and showing complete allegiance. All throughout the bible it was stated multiple times that various people when praying to God, that they would quickly bow down, like full on face on the dirt. The ONLY person you should EVER bow to would be the good Lord only!

2- Raising of hands. Many prayers in the bible also done with lifted hands, or even folding our hands together. "Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice."(Psalms 141:2)

3- Lifted eyes. Want less distraction? Close them eyes! What better way can you pray than with closed eyes so you can drown out everything that would normally distract you and you can fully concentrate on God. 

4- Silence. Simple as that. Sometimes its just as good to just sit in silence and bask in his amazing glory. Have you ever been just awestruck by God all you could is just sit there silently? You can even pray silently. You can speak with your heart and mind and not have to utter a single word. God still hears you and now its a private conversation between just you and Him. 

5- Lifted voices. Along with lifting your hands and eyes, lift your voice. Pray, praise, sing your heart out!

6- Cry out. Even if you think you sound like a dying walrus. If you need to, cry out to God. Pour every ounce of your heart out. 

You dont have to do anything of these. Theres no real mandate or anything. As long as we pray, our body will send out its own signals reminding us of his awesome presence, how dependent we are on him, and allow us to truly worship God for who he is. 

Spontaneous Prayer

5-13-16

So far weve gotten some really good really basic info on prayer planning think from skimming through we got a couple more chapters and then well be gettin into the 'meat' of prayer and i can only imagine it getting better and better as we continue. If you havent yet, go to Amazon and GET THIS BOOK!! You wont regret it, I promise!

Chapter 9

"Let everyone who is godly pray to you in a time when you may be found" -Psalms 32:6

My last post was about scheduling prayer. And towards the end i went off on a bit of a tangent. But really, 'im just to busy' is not really an excuse. You can say it while putting on your makeup or while youre in the shower. It doesnt have to be "ok its 9. I have to lay on the floor and say my prayer". Granted when you 'schedule' a prayer, thats a special time for you to be free. Kinda like when you have your kids go have quiet time to regain your sanity. When we schedule it, that time just seems more of a deeper level of "aw man. Hey God. Let me tell you what happened today" ; like you would your better half after a long hard day at work, or a long hard day at home with two screaming terrors, that seem to become the perfect little angels you dreamed of, when their daddy gets home. 

Something to strive for though is for prayer to become more of a reflex. Usually it starts off "oh crap im in over my head, lord save me!"  Gradually as we work on prayer more and more, the 'battlefield' becomes more and more favorable for you. There are 7 events that should have you eventually pray spontaneously right there on the spot. But wait..you just said to schedule prayer!why yes, yes i did. But thats to get you to be still and actually keep your mind and ears free to hear the Lord and his responses to you. To be completed calm and fully, whole heartedly, pray your heart out. But as i also said, you can say a quick "lord help me with (insert issues) in Jesus name amen"(see how quick and short that is?) or "Lord, bless(or heal) that person right there" when the need arises. So, off we go to numero uno. 

Your first spontaneous prompt is anything thats new. A new day, new friends, new relationship, new car, new home, new job, etc...anything new at all. Every morning, i try to remeber to pray, even before reading this chapter, that i can keep my temper in check to set a better example for my children. I also pray that my children dont drive me absolutely crazy that day to merit me having to have a anger check. Something about constant fighting and whining and crying and arguing just..just thinking about it *twitch*. Anyways, lol i make my girls sound horrible. Theyre not most of the time. But as any child(ren) they have their days where its just one meltdown after another. 

Second, NEEDS!!!! Depressed, having an anxiety attack, money for an unexpected flat tire, someone to come along who can give your car a jump. We serve a God whos need meeting business is booming with the hightest 10 star ratings in service. He is Jehovah Jireh, God who provides. Remember, im gunna drill it in your head!! Ask and you shall receive!! But God already knows what we want and need. Why do need to? Good question!! You and your spouse created or adopted your child. Even if you knew every need or want they could possibly desired even before they ask. Would you still not want your child(ren) to talk and spend time with you?

A third thing to spontaneously pray for are blessings!! Traveling to work? Pray! When you get to work, thank the good Lord for making it to work without dying. I say this because everytime i drive some crazy woman driver(yes im aware im a female also but heres something i dont do) seems to so busy ON HER PHONE shes swerving in and out of her lane and others, not paying attention when fully switching lanes, weaving in and out of traffic, running a red light, had to take up 3 parking spaces cuz they cant park right-ok ill stop. Sorry. Back on topic. Blessings. Never ever take a blessing for granted. Whether its making to work, getting a paycheck, your car starting that morning, the dog not pooping on the floor that day, that flat tire you got being fixed at no cost, etc.  always pray and thank him. 

Fourth, burdens. Burdens come in many forms. Sometimes they can feel almost soul crushing. Not having enough money to afford or qualify for insurance. Living Paycheck to paycheck. Your car breaking down for the upteenth time. Falling behind on bills. Being tempted left and right to sin. The lists are endless. Everyone has their own stuggle, their own burden to deal with. All we have to do is pray to God and as my favorite song goes 'let it goooo, let it gooo!!' Lol. I know its hard to let it go, but youll be amazed at how things fall into place if you 'let it go' and just let 'jesus take the wheeeeeeeeel" on im done with my puns now lol. 

Next up at number five! Crisis! At one time or another someone faces one. Loss of a baby, a dear friend or loved one being diagnosed with cancer. You pet goldfish dying(hey its a big deal to a 5hr old!). Heres a personal one. My grandpa is currently in the ICU. He had a stroke, seemed to be on a quick road to be on the mend thanks to the good lord, then stupid satan went 'oh hey by the way' and he had another stroke its believed and hes now in the ICU. So better believe im am completely begging and pleading to God right now. In Psalms 50:15, God says, ' call me when trouble comes. I will help you, and you will honor me". 

Number six, when you worry. When you are overcome with worry pray. As i said before. Lay everything  at Gods feet. He truly and deeply cares for you. He always has a solution. 

And finally seven. Sin. If you sin, or even think about sinning you need to be praying. God will never give you more than you can handle. EVER.  If you can humble yourself and pray to God about bhe will heal and cleanse you. 

You can pray to God about any and everything. Keep prayers spontaneous and as often as you like. God is always listening. Im just gunna leave this Here. Its one of my favorite songs at the moment and i hope it helps someone. 

Scheduled Prayer

5-12-16

Chapter 8
"After bidding them farewell, he left for the mountain to pray" -Mark 6:46

Here Is where you can get this book. Ive already read way ahead of schedule i just couldnt get enough. But still doing chapter notes a day. This chapter, hence the title, is about scheduing prayer. Its rather short compared to the others but this chapter was definitely more 'straight to the point'.

Prayer should ALWAYS be part of your routine schedule. Not just a "well im notnaure if i feel like toay" schedule. We should always be praying. Essentially it should be part of our thinking process. Ive gotten into the habit this. Especially when i have two darling children whi are only 14months apart. Im *almost* constantly 'lord, please help me keep my composure and my temper. In jesus' name' between them, a few people at work, and how messy the work area is(i work in retail). Heres my take. If you can 'schedule' in txting a friend, checking your facebook, your email, watch tv, go to the movies, you can schedule in prayer. It doesnt even have to long. It can be a simple hearfelt 'thank you for today lord'. Throughout the day instead of getting irritated go 'lord help me. And help them. I pray blessings and abundace and that their day gets better to improve both their and my attitude to better suit you'. You dont have to stop and bow your head. You can keep working, driving, what have you while you pray. But at night, and/or first thing in the morning. Take a moment to actually be still and pray to Him. When you intergrate and schedule prayer in and throughout your day it becomes easier to NOT forget. It also shows that God is in fact part of your everyday life. Daniel and david both prayed 3 times a day. In the morning, at noon, and before bed. If theres anything you love and enjoy, you seem to always make time for that, even if we are super busy. Why cant we all prioritize prayer like we do with our phones, tv shows, etc.?

High Praise COG

5-11-16

After a whole month, my work schedule allowed me to actually go to church tonight!! praise the lord! Man it was good! If anyone needs a church, come on out to High praise off of slate stone in summerville,sc. Its small but its so homey and everyone is so welcoming. The nusic is good, the sermons are better, and the prayers are the best. I just wanna share with some of y'all our semone tonight.

The young man who had the honor of giving this sermon is named Cody. He started off with a passage from Matthew 14:22-33. This is a story im sure were all familiar with. It was when jesus walked on water and called out to peter. Towards the end, jesus questioned peter and everyone on why they had so little faith. He went on to say that peter had a trend of essentially thinking his faith was on point, then he would be shown that it really wasnt. No ones it. There are times in life where even we ourselves think 'oh yeah. I got this!' But like peter we get a good old reality check. Hiw can we call ourselves 'christians' but always lose our focus and start to sink just like peter did when he lost his focus off Jesus, which "caused him to sink, and he cried out to Him to save him".

What do you think could happen if the church and christians as a whole could actually focus on the word and what it actually said?  Right now it seems like everyone and their mom(im totally paraphrasing by the way) has add or adhd. More and more children are being considered and taught to just go 'oh sorry. I have add.' And it seems like everything is ok. Now no one was saying its all made up. If you follow my dream blog its quite obvious probably i legit have adhd myself hence the name lol. But really. Its like everyone is being taught this. They're pushing every medication under the sun down our throats. Squirrel..back on track kacie. Lol thats funny cuz this post is about focus xD. Anyways. Add. Its on the rise. Everyone had it. BUT we can focus on things we actually WANT to focus on. Friends, tv, favorite novel, music, etc. why is it we can't focus on God like that?

We SAY we can focus in faith, but how is there a way to STAY focused and learn the powerful wisdom of his word? How can we dig deep and learn all those hard hitting questions non-believers ask. Just READ. Its all in there. You just have to actually read, pray, study, take notes. Focus completely on Christ and see how your focus can shift and open your eyes to see clearly the answers. It all begins and ends in His word. If an olympic athlete can focus only on a medal and ignore his/her surroundings. Why cant we do that for God? Even if He wakes you up at 3am just to pray. Why not?

Ya know back in olden times. Miracles were a normal thing. Overtime we seemed to have lost more and more focus, which seems to have given us a decline in these blessings and miracles. Or at least so it seems, that weve heard and read so much about since sunday school.

The last thing mentioned was, all the problems we have now. If instead of arguing, yelling, telling people theyre 'going to hell'(which isnt christian like anyways cuz who are you to judge? Youre not God); We forget to pray. We forget to pray, and let God do our fighting. Just gunna add in here, if it's just us, its gunna be a hard long battle. If GOD is with us. You best believe the devil is gunna be runnin outta dodge. Because "with God, ALL things are possible'. If we get focused and become a praying nation, oh my brain done got started. Oh if we became a praying a nation. Can you even begin to IMAGINE the things by keaps and vounds we could accomplish?! Can you imagine how much more better our society would be?! Our children could actually go out and play with out us worrying about a kidnapping, or a school being shot up, the amazing possibilities are endless on how mich better things could be right now. But, as my dear friend Cody said, us alone and our lack of focus and our poor mindset. One day were gunna have to be face to face with God on that.

 When that happens,i ask, are you gunna be able to look at God and go. 'Yes Lord. I stayed focused'? If you said yes kick yourself lol. No ones perfect and God doesn't expect you to be. But you better well have been trying your hardest just as peter did. 

God's Answer to Prayer

5-11-16

Chapter 7
"I sought the Lord, and he answered me"- Psalms 34:4

As stated in the previous post, "ask and you shall receive" -Matthew 7:8. This post will go a little deeper in that and about HOW God answers prayer, even if its a no. If you look closely, even if it seems God hasnt answered, he has. And more than likely it was yes in some sort of variation. There are a total of 5 different ways of him answering you.

First, an immediate yes. Sometimes our prayer is what God was already wanting to do already. Heres a personal example. There was this sweet old lady at my work. Her back had been killing her the past couple days. I prayed right there on the spot for her and immediately after she had left, she had hurried home to call me at work to tell me all her pain was gone!

Second, yes, in due time. A delay in answered prayer is not being denied. Sometimes God wants you wait a little longer. Another personal example. Its been a few months iv been praying for my friend and her financial struggles. I Spoke with her recently and she got the help she needed and is almost debt free! There are very many in the bible as well. Joseph, as he waited in prison only to be led out and become governor over egypt is one. Zechariah and Abraham when they prayed for a child.

Third, yes, so you can learn and grow. Sometimes, even after being told no many times, God will let us have what we wanted. Only to find out he was right, that it wasnt a good idea. Helpful tip. Dont ever, ever, EVER pray for patience. I prayed my husband would let me finish my contract with the military and just stay home. He agreed finally, i got my answered prayer, but we struggled financially, barely making ends meet, i fell into depression, and almost always refused to get out the house. (Im in a much better place now in my life. thank the Lord!)

Fourth, no, because your heart isn't right. Sometimes its not about timing its you. Remember The last post? God will never answer a prayer thats not in line with his will or is stemming from sin. One time, my heart was in the right place, but i was also being greedy. Remeber when the powerball was in the triple billions? Yea i may or may not have prayed to win the powerball*hangs head in shame*. I won. Kinda. I got $8 of my $9 i spent back T-T i know. For shame kacie. For shame. If lust, GREED, bitterness, or pride is at the root of your prayers, God WILL pretty much ignore you. Not because he doesnt love you. But because he does love you.

Lastly, no, because i have a better plan in store for you. Sometimes we don't pray big enough. We might ask for a beat up but working car to get us to point A to point B, but God may want to give us a brand new mercedes benz(would be nice eh?). when you pray for a friend to not be in pain, God wants to do a total make over of healing on that person. Romans 8:28 says, "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."

All you have to is ask. Like mentioned in the previous post, its not just needs you can pray for. You can ask for things you want also. God will ALWAYS answer in some manner. Just be persistent, listen, and look. 

Types of prayer

5-10-16

If youve been taggin along so far, thank you! If youre just now joininh, welcome! Hope you all are enjoying what ive done so far. As always, feel free to comment and if you need/want your own book just go Here its only like $11-12.

Chapter 6
"I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men" - 1 Timothy 2:1

We have a fun little acronym for this prayer. A.C.T.S. A couple of the words were changed a tad to similar names. A.C.T.S. Stands for adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication. These are all types of prayers. God gave us freedom in HOW we pray to be able to flow in and out of each of these areas as many or as few at a time as we like!

Adoration: prayer that praises, worships, and honors God. We were all created and called to praise the good Lord all throughout our lives. "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord, praise the Lord" (Psalms 150:6). We adore Him silently in our hearts, shout it out loud, or even when we sing our hearts out! All throughout the bible you can observe people expressing one and/or all of the following; who God is, remebering what he HAS done, proclamation of his holy greatness, rejoicing of His name, or giving total control over to God. 

Next up, Confession: prayer that gets honest about sin. Were all sinners, we can easily admit that right? We all stumble, make mistakes, whether its not turning in that dollar you found, lied about something, said some bad words when you lost your temper, so on and so forth. But through the cross of Christ, God has provided a way for anyone to be forgiven. When we pray, we should always ask for forgiveness for ANY sins you know youve done. Even ask God to show you or let you know what sins you did and help make you better at not doing it again. Pour your little heart out. Not only will you feel better, you can experience his forgiveness you can FEEL your chains being dropped. You will experience almost a sense of complete freedom. 

Moving on next to Thanksgiving: God-directed gratitude. Praise that completely focuses on who God is. Thanking him for EVERYTHING he has done. Be it thanking him for a good day, for waking him,  for healing a sick friend, for unscathed loved ones who were in a bad accident, for breathing. Being UNgrateful is a sin almost as bad as poison. Jealousy, greed, lust, complaining, theft, envy, these are all things that can make an ungrateful heart. We ALWAYS have a reason to be thankful!! Godd is ALWAYS working miracles and blessings in our lives. 

Lastly, Supplication: asking things of God. We are commanded to seek and find. This is also recommended to be the VERY last thing you pray for. Because by the end, after giving thanks and asking forgiveness, our heart is the most pure. The most importytype of supplication is when you pray for others. After all, jesus did interceed for us. 

Now that being said, you dont have to do all 4 at once. You can do one in the morning, a couple ar lunch, and one at bed time. You COULD do all at the same time. You can go really in order you want.   But the more you work in, the better the prayer, the more time you spend wirh with God.