No such thing as Christian yoga

      We abstain from things offered to idols -Acts 15:29

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. -Romans 12:1-2 NIV

      Yoga is a trend that's growing with great momentum in America. Should Christians practice Yoga? This is a hot topic that gets tempers to flare, trust me, I've gotten in several debates about it. I can't force anyone to see it my way, there are many different opinions, but I can share what I believe to be true about this issue. 

       Yoga is rooted in Hinduism. Oneness with the universe is the goal of all yoga. That's also known as the process of enlightenment, or union with Brahman (Hinduism's highest god). As Christians we are only to be in union with our God, and yoked to Him.

        Spiritual dangers of yoga: 

- Many yoga classes instruct students in astral projection, or "stepping outside" of the body, which poses a serious spiritual danger.

- The word "namaste," often said at the close of yoga classes, means, "I bow to the god within you."   - The sound "om," chanted in many yoga classes, is meant to bring students into a trance so they can join with the universal mind.

 - The "salute to the sun" posture, used at the beginning of most classes, pays homage to the Hindu sun god. 

       It's impossible to extract Hindu spiritualism from yoga. Every pose is a pose to a different god. Can Christians stretch? Yes! But next time you are in a yoga pose remember these are postures that are offered to the 330 million Hindu gods. You are giving offerings, praise and worship to another god. How can we do this as Christians? Some yoga classes in America will even have statues or pictures of the god's for you to "bow" in front of, as it is in India. The best thing I've heard about this subject is, Christians participating in Yoga would be like a Hindu or Buddhist taking communion.

Grace forever

“Suffering, failure, loneliness, sorrow, discouragement, and death will be part of your journey, but the Kingdom of God will conquer all these horrors. No evil can resist grace forever.” 

- Brennan Manning
April 27, 1934 – April 12, 2013

Influential ministries in my life

      How did you become who you are today? If you are Christians, I'm sure you'd say, God. I agree, God deserves all the praise. But who did God use to help shape you, grow you and mature you spiritually? Lots of ministries have sowed a little here and there, but there are specific people that have played bigger roles in my life.

        If I had to make a short list of the most influential, life changing, people in my spiritual walk with God it would be as such: (not in order)

John Paul Jackson - His teaching on dreams and holiness gave me a safe place to learn about the encounters and events in my own life. Learning to understand God in this way has shaped and directed my life greatly. God is speaking, are we listening?

Jason Upton - Jason Upton's intimate worship and truth speaking revolutionized my time with God and changed the path my spiritual life was heading in. I first heard of Jason Upton through a "dreamer" friend, and first saw a video of him at Jentezen Francklin's church. I've even heard angles singing at one of his events, which has happened several times at his events from what's I've heard. Jason Upton eventually opened the door for me to discover Jonathan David Helser who has been a great influence as well.

Jonathan David Helser - Jonathan's musical style has a folk country sound. It's so relaxing. I've been listening to him since 2005. One word - intimacy. Check him out, his sounds brings healing to broken hearts and encouragement to the weary. This is the first ministry that truly showed me what the family of God should look like in heart and action. His farm house internships and events are something truly sincere. I'd love my future kids to participate in something like that.

Joel Osteen  - I sat under Joel Osteen for 10 years. I'm so happy God used Joel to built such a firm foundation at such a young age. Because of Joel I have a foundation of hope. You don't realize how important this is until you go to other churches and meet other Christians and see how defeated and depressed people are. I'm so thankful that I know how to encourage myself and build myself up with God's promises. He was truly my first pastor (other than random places I went as a kid). He's deposited a measure of faith in me that can never been taken. I will always have a "glass half full" perspective. God is for me!

Jentezen Franklin - His teaching about Python really helped point me in the right direction as a teenager. . I will never forget the video skit about Python at his church. He went on to minister to me greatly with all his other books as well. Not to mention, fasting. Fasting has changed my hubby's and my life. So many miracles and breakthroughs!

Leo Tyler - Healthy Soul Ministries is an amazing discipleship program that my husband and I spent several years sitting under. Leo opened our eyes to a freedom process that truly works for us. We discovered our personality types, how to identify and be healed of past hurts and walk in our new nature. As a psychology lover, Leo's christian class changed our life.

Kim Clement - Kim's whimsical and quirky prophetic style are a true gift. He's so far out of the box that you can't helped but be refreshed. It's a nice change of pace. His encouraging and musical nature have a special place in my heart.

Dreams & Mysteries

       I love the new program airing on Daystar, Dreams and Mysteries. It comes on every Thursday at 9:30c. On this program John Paul Jackson teaches about dreams and mysteries. Last night He discussed the difference between Prophets and Psychics. I'm thrilled he shared this information on such a large platform like Daystar. Unfortunately, many Christians  read their horoscopes and run to Mediums for answers. They're getting the enemies plans for their lives, even if it sounds good. Some may argue, "But the reading was accurate!". John Paul Jackson touched on this as well and talked about the difference between revelation and information. A psychic makes information sound like revelation.

       John Paul Jackson is very close to my heart. I've been following his ministry and teachings since 1999, when he was less known. So seeing him on Daystar weekly, not just as a special guest, is like sharing a close friend with the world. He's been so faithful all these years and I'm excited for this new opportunity God's opened for him. I know he is blessing many.

        I've had dreams since I was a child. I was even harassed by nightmares and wasn't able to sleep. John Paul says that many dreamers have the same experience growing up and I  agree. Many of my "dreamer" friends had nightmares growing up. The enemy likes to attack your gifts. One of the best ways to discover your gifts is to look at the attacks that come against you, and ask, "What's this attack trying to stop me from doing?".

        If you feel that you're gifted in this way: as a seer, prophet or a spiritually sensative person in some way, check out John Paul Jackson's teachings. He's very well balanced and backs everything with scripture. It's hard to find solid teaching in this area because many are either extremely religious and against it, or whack-a-doodles on the other end of the spectrum. John Paul's ministry, over the years, has helped me develop deeper intimacy with God, learn to hear His voice more clearly and has encouraged a holy life.

          I've you've missed any of Dreams and Mysteries episodes you can watch online, HERE.

One topic in my next book

          I hope you are excited about my next book. I know the subject may throw some for a loop but I truly believe the Holy Spirit has been speaking to me about this. Without giving away everything in my next book I'd like to ask you to think about the Bible's account of Peter walking on the water.   

          Many of us have heard this account used in sermons about leaving our comfort zone, but is this really the point of the story? When we are taught something early on, we may find it difficult to think about the story outside of the box that we've always heard it. But the Lord's been speaking to me about this particular account as I finish up my forth book.

        Was it really out of Peter's comfort zone to jump out of the boat? Peter was a man of action. He was gutsy. Out of everyone I'd expect such action from Peter - no surprise. It wasn't his only bold move. It's not as if Peter was shy and timid. Do we see anyone else trying to walk on water? So, what could this account be telling us if it's not about stepping from our comfort zone?

            I'll leave it at that until my book is released! :-) 

You're Enough

"Start With Me"

You are air to desperate lungs
Water falling on the sand
Silence to an angry storm
Sight to a blind man

You're still the God of miracles
So if You're gonna move again
would You move in me?
Move in me

You're the beat to a broken heart
Bread for a hungry crowd
In one word from Your voice rings out
And the dead of the grave close down
Because You're still the God of the empty tomb
The one who came alive again
So come alive in me
Come alive in me
Come alive in me
Come alive in me

My life is an empty cup
Fill it up, fill it up!
I wanna hear every rescued heart cry
You're enough, You're enough!
Break what needs breaking
'Til You're all we see
Start with me, start with me

Whose arms hold the fatherless?
Whose voice do they hear?
Who sits with the prisoner
And stands for the one who fear?
You're still the God of what is just
And You're still the God who loves
So would You love through me
Love through me yeah
Come and love through me
Would You love through me, yeah

My life is an empty cup
Fill it up, fill it up!
I wanna hear every rescued heart cry
You're enough, You're enough!
Break what needs breaking
'Til You're all we see
And start with me, start with me, yeah

Your kingdom come
Your will be done
Lord let it be
Let it start with me, start with me

Yes, Your kingdom come
And Your will be done
Oh Lord let it be
Let it start with me, start with me

Yeah, start with me, start with me

My life is an empty cup
Fill it up, fill it up!
I wanna hear every rescued heart cry
You're enough, You're enough!
Break what needs breaking
'Til You're all we see
And start with me, start with me,
Yeah start with me, start with me
Yeah 

     I'm a lover of lyrics. I could stay up all night listening to songs as the words fill my heart. Lyrics take me on a journey. Before I know it, it's 4am and I'm still awake riding on beautiful ribbons of poetic words. 

     This song in particular has been ministering to me greatly. Life has a way of breaking us in the most intimate ways. But it's in the brokenness that God comes alive in us. When we think we've been broken enough and can't go on we see there is yet more work to be done. Brokenness allows His light to shine through us. I'm learning to embrace the process each broken piece brings. Break what needs breaking, Lord, till you are all we see.

Today and everyday!

Help me to live in such a way...

Destiny Hope

       I've seen all these bloggers write letters to Miley. All well meaning, but still sometimes sarcastic and cutting. I thought I'd write my own little letter to Miley and share what I sense in my spirit for her.

Dear Miley,

     God can give you a new name, restore the name He prophetically put in your parents hearts and mouth, Destiny Hope. You are a child of purpose. You have been placed on this earth for a reason, for now, for this season. As I began praying for you and thinking upon your life and all the wonderful plans God has set aside just for you, this song began to bubble up in my spirit for YOU.

     God can replace all the shame and sadness and replace it with true joy. He can give you real freedom. Freedom from your critics, freedom from users and abusers, freedom from yourself. A freedom that allows you to BE, to soar and to rest. He will bring restoration to your soul.

To worship you, I live

Your Love Is Extravagant

For signs and for seasons

"And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons,and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day." Genesis 1:14-19 ESV

        I love looking at the sky. I love the stars, the clouds and sun sets. I've heard about people who've seen the life of Jesus written in the stars, those that have seen angels in the clouds, and felt the warmth of God's presence in the sun. Through out the ages the sky has been a mysterious and beautiful thing for all cultures and religions. This shouldn't be a surprises since even God says He created the lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, for signs and for seasons and days and for years. He created them with messages to us, with a rhythm for us to catch onto for seasons, days, nights, weather, signs etc. But as with anything sometimes a message gets skewed, taken advantage of and exploited by those with an alternative agenda. 

        One example of a deceptive message coming from the sky would be horoscopes (a diagram of the heavens, showing the relative position of planets and the signs of the zodiac, for use in calculating births, foretelling events in a person's life, etc.)  Horoscopes are false prediction of your future. One given by a false or corrupted source. Since I  have a heart for discipleship it really puts a fire in me when I see Christians posting their horoscopes. Horoscopes are witchcraft. I used to love them as kid, when I didn't know any better. We all have a desire to know what's next. It gives us hope and a sense of expectancy. Plus, they look innocent and fun in those fashion magazines. They don't look dark or demonic at all. When I learned the dark source of the predictions while in my teens I repented and never looked at another horoscope again. Horoscopes and Astrology are not only a sin but deception that will eventually lead you away from God's good, perfect and pleasing plans for your life. Same goes with fortune tellers and psychic hot lines.

          It is built in us to want revelation about our future. God put that in us. But that desire is to be filled with His presence and divine revelation that comes from a relationship with Him. He can give you divine words, dreams, signs and direction but it comes by being connected and loyal to Him, not demonic copy cats. 

        There is a difference between Astrology and Astronomy. Astrology is  the belief that, "the position of the Moon and Sun within these twelve divisions influence what happens on Earth, from the personalities of people born under a certain sign to the likelihood of certain kinds of undertakings to be successful." Astronomy is the, "scientific interpretation of matter in space" and has nothing to do with the future and shaping of individuals and their lives.

         So next time you are admiring the beautiful art work in the sky, do just that, admire God's handiwork and delight in it and know He has woven mysteries within. Even the wise men followed a star to Jesus and they are not the only ones. Throughout history people have used the stars as maps and guiding lights for their explorations, escapes to freedom and the telling of weather patterns. But when it comes to your future, it is in God's hands, not the stars and the interpretation of an individual who is under demonic influence. If you want the map to your life then go to the source, the creator, God almighty and His personal book to you, The Bible.

 (Definitions from the farmersalmanac.com)

Good, Perfect and Pleasing

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” – Romans 12:2 NLT

Material and Godliness

      I was watching a video on Youtube and I saw a comment by someone that stated something along the lines of "If you're rich it's a sign of God's blessings" and basically if you weren't then the opposite is true. She went on to say that you can tell if someone is in God's favor by the things they own. Sadly, this is a common misconception that's been running throughout many churches for a long time.

     Of course God blesses His people, but what does that look like? There are many ways to be blessed. When we think about being blessed we can't think only about America, we need to think world wide. People are dying everyday all over the world from starvation, lack of water and disease. People are living under trees, in cardboard huts and some with less than that. If we look at the bigger picture we realize that if we have access to a computer/phone to read this very blog we are already blessed.

      If we only look at blessings in comparison to how the wealthy live in America we will be deceived and succumb to greed. We will never be grateful. Common sense tells us this idea of wealth being a sign of God's blessing is flawed. If it was true we'd have to assume the Mafia was favored by God, also the Kardashians and other Hollywood Celebrities. Are they living a life for God? Do they even believe in Jesus? So you see, wealth is usually a sign of compromise and sin, and not a sign of living a Godly life. What about the missionaries who live off 20k or less a year? Are they sinful and unloved by God? This whole idea of measuring a person's favor with God by their material gain is broken.

        Look at the world around you, so many have much less than you do. You are blessed. You are taken care of by God. He loves you. This crazy, insane wealth we see in America is usually filled with sin, scandal, compromise and a self reliance, not a God reliance (there are a few exceptions to this). At times it's easier for ungodly people to get rich because they are able to sow into the lusts and fun, evil desires of others. Sin sells. Also, they don't have the enemy trying to stop them in the spiritual world. As long as you are doing the devil's work why would he try and withhold anything form you? These are all things we have to think about. God's people do righteous and holy things with wealth. They make the world a more beautiful place with the prosperity God gives them, so of course more hindrance come with this holy agenda.

        With all this said, know, God takes care of His children. God will make sure we have everything we need. God is not going to have His kids begging for bread and for shelter over their heads. But if we are comparing God's provision with a Mercedes and a Hollywood mansion we may miss the goodness that's already been given to us by our Lord or judge people unfairly. Our ideas of wealth in America are so far in left field that we forget that rain and sunshine are all gifts from God. That a healthy family, and air in our lungs are blessings. That having a job, food on the table, a house (no matter the size), access to the internet, a vehicle and more are all blessings that many live without.

        This whole wealth and godliness mentality does nothing for us but feed our greed, causes people to live fake lives trying to keep up appearances, and breaks down healthy relationships in our churches since everyone wants to be around wealthy people since they are "blessed" (sad but true in many places).

         The fruit I care about are the fruit of the spirit in your life. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." - Galatians 5:22 NIV    I don't care what car you drive up in, what brand your clothes are, what your job title is, how expensive your purse is, or how many vacations you go on per year. As Christians we should be ashamed of ourselves if we judge others based on such temporary things. Material does not determine if a person is evil or good. As with all things God looks at the heart.

         Plus, if we really look around we will see that many of us are far more blessed than we ever realized, but we are to busy lusting after a Hollywood and an upper east side lifestyle to notice.

Your love never fails

Who God is

The least of these...

Pastor Jeremiah Steepek transformed himself into a homeless person and went to the 10,000 member church that he was to be introduced as the head pastor at that morning. He walked around his soon to be church for 30 minutes while it was filling with people for service....only 3 people out of the 7-10,000 people said hello to him. He asked people for change to buy food....NO ONE in the church gave him change. He went into the sanctuary to sit down in the front of the church and was asked by the ushers if he would please sit n the back. He greeted people to be greeted back with stares and dirty looks, with people looking down on him and judging him.

As he sat in the back of the church, he listened to the church announcements and such. When all that was done, the elders went up and were excited to introduce the new pastor of the church to the congregation........"We would like to introduce to you Pastor Jeremiah Steepek"....The congregation looked around clapping with joy and anticipation.....The homeless man sitting in the back stood up.....and started walking down the aisle.....the clapping stopped with ALL eyes on him....he walked up the altar and took the microphone from the elders (who were in on this) and paused for a moment....then he recited

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

After he recited this, he looked towards the congregation and told them all what he had experienced that morning...many began to cry and many heads were bowed in shame.... he then said....Today I see a gathering of people......not a church of Jesus Christ. The world has enough people, but not enough disciples...when will YOU decide to become disciples? He then dismissed service until next week.......Being a Christian is more than something you claim. I'ts something you live by and share with others. - Author Unknown

Amazing

Jason Upton - Calgary Confrence

I love Jason Upton's teaching. His videos take you on a journey.

Stand up for others