Angels

Your most effective...

Your most effective ministry will come out of your deepest hurt.- Rick Warren

Reading the Bible for myself

        Reading the Bible for ourselves is one of the most important things we can do. God's word changes us! Many Christians today depend on a pastor to share the Bible and never actually read it for themselves. You can often tell who these people are by the things they say and do. The fruit of a Christian who does not read the Bible is quite obvious. They usually quote cute sayings, out of context verses and hold non Biblical ideas about spiritual things. When questioned their favorite thing to say is, "Don't judge me." Is this you?
        If reading the Bible seems overwhelming focus on the New Testament. As a Christ follower, we are New Testament Christians and shouldn't live our life on the wrong side of the cross. Jesus changed everything. More separates the old and new testament than a sheet of paper in our Bibles. Our covenant with God changed. In the New Testament you will learn about Christian living 101, how to love others and how to worship God with your life. It's packed full of powerful life changing information.
        I had a friend come over a few weeks ago and she told me her concerns about finding a new church and listening to teachers on TV. She said, "There's so much out there. I don't know who to follow." Do you share her concern? I told her what I'm sharing now. Read your Bible for yourself, then find a church that lines up with what you've read. Many times we follow leaders and then conform our beliefs with theirs without knowing how accurate their message is. So, read then pick.
         When it comes to who to follow, remember, we are followers of Jesus. He is the one we should be following. Scripture is often twisted, taken out of context and then accepted by those who never actually read their own Bibles. Don't put your trust in man, but the Word of God. When the Bible is the center of your life you will know God's voice and just like a sheep you will know the voice of your Shepherd and a voice of a stranger you will not follow. But if you don't know the Word, you may be easily carried away with universalism and new age Bible teachings.
           The most powerful thing we can do is know the Word for ourselves! :-)

Being Grateful

           Being grateful can be one of the hardest things to do, especially nowadays when we are able to see the details of everyone's life through social networking sites like facebook, google +  and more. It's easy to compare, but comparing causes ungratefulness, it also causes us to steer our lives onto roads never created for us in effort to make our life line up with someone else. 

           One of the keys to remaining grateful is embracing our unique purpose. God has a plan for each of us. The steps He directs for one are not the same for another. Proverbs 16:9 NLT says, " We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps." God's determined steps for each of us are vastly different.   

           The Apostle Paul could have thought it unfair that he had to spend so much time in prison while other Christians at the time enjoyed life with their church families. Jesus could have been upset that he had to give his life while others did not. And I'm amazed Stephen didn't complain about being stoned to death - He prayed and asked for mercy on his enemies. You see, God has purposed us for different reasons and seasons. Comparing ourselves is easy, but pointless.

             When we are grateful we realize that we are placed where we are needed. The Bible says, " From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live." - Acts 17:26 NIV  God has determined our time and place. One may live in a mansion, another a trailer, but God has a reason behind it all. God places us where our ministry is. Yes, you have a ministry! Location, location, location! 

                If God provides for you to travel then keep your eyes open because He has some people He wants you to meet. If God has you placed firmly in a certain apartment complex then keep your eyes open because He has people for you to reach there too. For instance, my husband had a very vivid dream about moving into the apartments he moved into before we were married. He was also told that he'd live in this specific floor plan for three years before upgrading. God has a plan! My husband could easily say, "But God I'm married, we want a house of our own." but instead he chooses to follow the Holy Spirit and be obedient. He rather follow God's plan, not man's plan. Being grateful allows us to enter into God's adventures. Ungratefulness causes us to chase other people's accomplishments even if they aren't God's plans for us. 

           "Bloom where you're planted" is sound advice. Gratefulness allows us to bloom, and when we bloom we can see the purpose behind the situation we are in. Our main purpose for being alive is to make God famous and bless the people we encounter. Our jobs, homes, vehicles and everything dictate who, what, when and where we have influence. So embrace your life with gratefulness and see the great things He has in store for you without getting wrapped up in comparing. We will find our greatest joy smack dab in the center of God's will for us.

      

Come to Me

I'll meet you half way

         Meeting half way is man's way of thinking. Meeting in the middle is not how I believe God works. God's love goes ALL THE WAY!! He meets us where WE ARE! His love is extravagant! When we see God the same way we see and relate to man we miss out on some of His best characteristics.
          God is like us because we are like Him - made in His image. But many of the things we believe to be healthy and fair in relationships are self-centered and not like God at all. It's a relief to know that God goes all the way for us. His love went the distance through His son, Jesus, and now nothing stops Him from chasing us down with His kindness.
           Many  people avoid God because they think in order to come to Him they have to meet half way, "Do your part and God will do His" type of thinking. Since they can't seem to get their half  in order they stay away from God most of their life. Even Christians can have this "meet you half way" mindset and it hinders us from meeting with God everyday. If we are having a bad day or wake up on the wrong side of the bed we feel we can't be close to God because we haven't taken care of our half.
           The truth is we don't have strength to meet God in the middle every day, if we maintain this "half way" mindset we will miss out on those days. So remember God did the work already. He wants to meet us where we are everyday even if that is on the wrong side or 20 steps farther than we were yesterday. Wherever we are He wants to meet us there!!
          

Gifted Response

There's nothing

My husband posted a quote from a Jonathon David Helser song on Facebook yesterday, "There's nothing you can do that would make God love you more, also nothing you can do that would make Him love you less. He loves you b/c He loves you. His love is unchanging, He loves you 100%. He wont love you any better when you become better. He loves you 100% RIGHT NOW."

You Know Me

Prophecy never suffocates

“Prophecy never suffocates, but lets you breathe.” - Kim Clement

Interpretation of Tongues

Concerning Spiritual Gifts - "Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
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There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.
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Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues,and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines." 

- 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 NIV

           This weekend my husband and I went to church with my parents. It was great! My husband and I have seen almost every gift of the spirit used countless times whether it be in our personal lives, church services, worship events or conferences. The only gifts we haven't seen in operation are "speaking in different kinds of tongues" and the "interpretation of tongues". We are both filled with the Holy Spirit and pray in the spirit, but that's different than the gift of "speaking in different kinds of tongues" in a church service and then someone else with the gift of "interpretation of tongues" translating for everyone. It was powerful! I was so excited to see this gift in operation for the first time!
          Church service started with praise and worship.The worship leader sang some old songs that brought me back to my early stages as a Christian. It was strange, but in a good way. It's funny how many memories a song can hold. I flashed back to discipleship classes I took in my youth, walking up to the alter, being filled with the Holy Spirit, youth group, old friends etc. So many memories in a song. Then those memories triggered other memories and other songs and on and on....has that happened to you? I continued to worship and cleared my mind and refocused on the Lord. 
          As we worshiped I felt my heart release some heaviness I had been carrying, it was refreshing. Then it got silence and people praised the Lord in their own way. Slowly, their voices quieted and a woman began speaking in tongues as tears flooded her eyes. Then I felt the Holy Spirit on me and I heard the lady behind me breathe heavier and heavier. What was God doing? When the women speaking in tongues stopped the lady behind me spoke up and interpreted. We were in the back, so she had to project her voice so those in the front could hear. It was so spontaneous yet organized. No chaos and yet not controlled. Then everything went silent. You could feel the people waiting upon the Lord. Then a man spoke up from the other side of the church and gave a word. It went silent again. No one else said anything so the pastor stood up and began to pray and thank God. It was beautiful. I felt so blessed to have witnessed this gift moving for the first time. :-) 
        The whole service was powerful. At the end they baptized people in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of praying in the spirit, they prayed for the sick and they were healed. It was a great morning, but again the highlight for me was observing what I hadn't observed before. :-) If God didn't want us using the gifts of the spirit in church He would have said so, but the New Testament actually promotes the gifts. We need them to encourage each other. They are for us, the church!
           I understand that there are some churches that have gone WAY off course and do nutty things like "barking", yes, I said "barking". That's crazy! Things like that turn people off, it turns leaders off, it turns me off from allowing the Holy Spirit to lead. Many churches fear this non Biblical nutty stuff.
              We shouldn't throw the baby out with the bath water. Look at driving cars. Not everyone is a responsible driver and yet we still drive. What about pastors? Not all are good. Some have done very evil things, yet we still have pastors. There are tons of things in almost every area of life that have good and bad sides, and yet we still hold them close because we believe the good outweighs the bad. I guess many don't believe in the good that spiritual gifts bring. Why have we stopped believing in these gifts? 
             I was reading one article about spiritual gifts, and the author was for them, but when I read his description of each gift he had watered each one down with practical reasoning and took the super natural out of each one. Are we scared to let unbelievers know that, "Yes! Our God is super natural!"? Do we fear their reaction? That they may think we are crazy? or off our rocker?  I've gotten those looks. Trust me the anticipation of those looks is scarier then actually getting them. When we are faced with negative reactions to the truth, God's grace fills us and we are able to stand and go through. Dreading rejection and negative reactions is way worse then the actual experience. 
                When the gifts of the spirit are used the people are blessed, the people are encouraged, the people grow and God is glorified. :-)

Glorious

No one who understands...

No one who understands the beauty of the word "holy" would ever follow it with the word "crap." - Bill Johnson

Self-Publishing MY Way

Self-Publishing MY Way :  

A Beginner's Guide for Publishing Independently Without Leaving the Comfort of Your Home

         I'm so excited! My 2nd book is officially ready for purchase! I know it will be a blessing to many!! I wrote this book in response to countless number of people who have asked me for help publishing their books. I'd love to help everyone but publishing a book is very time consuming. It involves undivided attention at times and lots of waiting. It would be impossible for me to sit down and help each person individually, but I couldn't ignore the constant requests for help. I decided to right a beginner's guide for self-publishing successfully. My book will point people in the right direction and give them the tools they need to complete each step of the publishing process.

If you're a writer this book will prove worth while. If you know of any writers let them know my book is available.

Holy Spirit by Bryan & Katie Torwalt

God's purpose ....

God’s purpose for your life is on the other side of fear. - John Paul Jackson

I'm A Lover Of Your Presence

What would happen...

"What would happen if people got born again and were introduced to glory and not a church?" -Damon Thompson

I See Heaven by Bryan & Katie Torwalt

In the middle...

In the middle of dark situations, is the potential to see incredible light.- The Ramp