Obeying the Will of God

Many people seem to think, nowadays, that obedience to God's will is a form of oppression, restriction, and only brings about suffering and affliction. When in fact, those who fear the Lord and obey His commands shall have the key to living life abundantly. The commands of the Lord, have the purpose of keeping us from harm, and chasing away calamity. It shields us from evil, and prepares us to receive God's blessings for our lives. He wants nothing but the best for us. That is why He gave a few instructions on how to go about life.

(For examples on God's commands consult the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Matthew.)

But the most important one is as follows: "Jesus replied, "You must love the Lord, your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind." "This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: "Love your neighbor as yourself." (Matthew 22:37-39). It sounds pretty simple in theory right? Putting it into practice in our lives may proof to be a little trickier. However, it is not impossible; because to those who have been born again, God has provided a Counselor, a Helper. This Counselor is also known as the Holy Spirit of God. It dwells within His children, to guide them, teach them, comfort them, and encourage them in their walk with Christ.

The Holy Spirit also provides with power to lead a Christ-like life. In other words, it gives us grace to love others as we love ourselves. Moreover, it teaches us to be merciful and kind to others. It also provides us with supernatural power to release genuine and heartfelt forgiveness to those who have offended us-for we cannot do it by our own might-and it also gives us tolerance to deal with the everyday struggles of human interaction. Furthermore, the Holy Spirit provides us with spiritual gifts; such as, the apostolic gift,the gift of teaching, the gift of prophecy, the gift of ministering healing, and so on.

In addition to the commands and guidelines which are written in God's word-and are to be followed by His children-we must also ask God for guidance in our everyday lives; asking Him for counsel in everything we do, waiting for His reply, and carrying out His will for our individual lives. We must constantly seek Him in prayer and supplication, and submit to His will.

I realize that is not an easy task to accomplish. That is the case, because obedience and submission to God's will, require self-denial. It requires us to be selfless; and not selfish (as we naturally are.) Obeying God's will requires that we go against our very nature, and fight the flesh within us. We must put the flesh under subduction, and be masters over our sinful, and selfish desires. We must ask the Lord our God, to give us strength to resist temptation and keep us from sinning against Him. And lastly, we must strive to serve Him effectively, in all that we do, and in all that we say, with the help and counsel of His precious Holy Spirit. So, that in the end, we may receive the reward from our Lord and King, Jesus Christ.














All glory, honor, and praise to God forever and ever!

Amen and Amen!

Prayer: An Act of Worship

Prayer... What is it? A conversation with God? A means through which you can talk to Him about your troubles, your burdens, and your heart's desires? A means through which to plead for the forgiveness of our sins? (Mind you, genuine repentance must come first.) Well, the answer is: Yes, yes, and yes. Prayer is all of that; but there's more to it. Much, much more...

Prayer is the channel through which we have the privilege to fellowship with the One who made us. Prayer is an act of worship. It gives us the opportunity to be still and just dwell in His wonderful presence. That is, if we are willing to put in the time to get there.

You see, the point I'm trying to make, is that prayer, has the potential to take us into a much deeper realm than I originally thought. But it takes TIME. And there are a few other requirements...like say, surrender, selflessness, and a contrite and humble heart. Oh, and one more thing: It requires you (and me) to be there! All of you and all of me; mind, heart, and soul. Do not allow your mind to be invaded by the cares of this world. If it does, hang in there. Do not let distractions get in the way of your fellowship with the Lord. (Like I did.) You wouldn't want to miss out on this incredible opportunity to dwell in His presence and worship Him. Would you?

It is my most sincere prayer to the Lord our God, that He may teach us how to make more effective use of this most wonderful, and powerful tool He has so graciously given us, which we call PRAYER.

In Jesus' name I pray,
Amen.

All glory, honor, and praise to God, forever and ever!
Amen.

A Matter of Perseverance

There are many times in life, when one might feel overwhelmed by the challenges and responsibilities of life; be they work-related, family-related, and so on and so forth. Sometimes, we, as the finite humans that we are, may feel at our wit's end after a stressful day at work, a family dispute, an unexpected turn of events, not to mention, having to adjust to the new economic times that we face today as a nation. And the question remains: What to do? How do I balance all the responsibilities that I have, and succeed at fulfilling them, without losing my mind in the process? Well, the answer is simple in theory; it just may get a little trickier when we attempt putting it to practice. But don't lose heart just yet; there is hope.

It's a matter of perseverance. In other words, you have to "roll with the punches," and adjust to the changes in your circumstance. It's not an easy task to accomplish-I realize that-but it's not impossible.

Remember: While the "punches" may slow you down, never let them stop you. Pace yourself if necessary. But never, ever, under any circumstance, give up. For as long as there is life, there's hope. And I have good news for you: You don't have to go through it alone. Jesus can help you. He can stretch out His hand and lift you up again.

If you have come to end of yourself, cry out to Jesus, if you have no hope left, cry out to Jesus, if you see no way out, cry out to Jesus. Let Him into your heart if you haven't done that already. But do it with sincerity and wholeheartedness. I can assure you that if you do so, He will not ignore your cry for help. All you have to do is humble yourself before Him, plead for His mercy, acknowledge your sinful nature, repent from your sins, and brace yourself to receive His grace, His mercy, His compassion, His love, His peace, His reassurance, His comfort, His strength, His forgiveness, and of course, His precious gift of salvation. The privilege of spending all of eternity with the King of kings, and the Lord of lords. The Alpha and Omega; the beginning and the end. Isn't that amazing?

But wait, not only does He graciously give us eternal life, He also promises us His provision for our every need. That's right! Our every need. That includes all aspects of our lives. Namely, our emotional lives, our professional lives, our finances, our relationships, (family, friends, boyfriend/girlfriend, husband/wife), and most importantly, our spiritual lives; (bye-bye anxiety...hello Prince of Peace.) That is, as long as we give our lives to Him, and trust Him to be our Provider; to care for us, and lead us safely in His path. To reveal to us His plan and purpose for our individual lives. And to equip us with the tools and power-provided by His Holy Spirit-to successfully fulfill it, for the glory of His Holy name. (Amen.)

So I urge you, please, don't give up hope! Place your hope in Jesus.

Coming from someone who has experienced, is experiencing,-and by God's grace-will continue to experience all that is described above, I can honestly say, that you will not be disappointed.


Let all glory, honor, and praise be to God;
Forever & Always!

Amen.

The Lord Will Provide!

Have you ever felt excited about something that hasn't happened yet? That feeling of anticipation, excitement, anxiety, and joy all wrapped up into one bewildering sensation in your gut?

Well, today I'm feeling something similar to it. Except it's not in my gut; it's in my heart. There's this inexplicable reassurance in my heart, that the Lord will provide for my every need. And it's such a good feeling to have! Well, for the sake of coherence, this so-called "feeling," (a.k.a. faith), is not exactly that to begin with. In other words, faith is not a feeling right from the get-go; it is rather a choice to believe in what cannot yet be seen. It is a seed planted within one's heart, that when nourished and allowed to germinate, can grow, become stronger and stronger, and develop deeply grounded roots within one's heart. So much so, that this faith, actually becomes tangible.

I can't claim that my faith level is where I would like it to be as of yet. But for now, I'm clinging to this reassurance within my heart, with all of my might. Believing in it with all of my heart, all of my strength, all of my soul, and with every fiber of my being.

And I humbly ask you today, to choose belief over unbelief. To make a genuine and heartfelt choice. A choice to believe in the fact, that Jesus Christ, is indeed the Son of God, who came to earth to live as a common man, lead a blameless life, and give Himself in Holy sacrifice for the redemption of our sin. 

Oh, but don't forget: It doesn't end there. He rose from the dead on the third day, by the power of the Holy Spirit. So, now He lives, and sits in the place of highest honor; that is, at the right hand of God, the Father.

If you choose to believe with all your heart in these words of life-giving truth, you shall be rewarded with the gift of eternal life, have your name written in the book of life, and be forgiven of your sins.

It is my most sincere and heartfelt prayer to the Father that you do so. May those who read these words of truth, be convicted of the truth by the Holy Spirit of God, and saved by the blood of Jesus Christ. It is in Jesus' name that I pray,

Amen.

All glory, honor, and praise to God.
From everlasting to everlasting!
Amen & Amen!

Trust...

Trust. What a fragile concept that is. Trust can be destroyed in less than 30 seconds-either by deception, lies, or betrayal-and yet, it may take a lifetime to be built. While fragile, this five-letter word is an essential building block to a healthy, and long-lasting relationship of any sort. Some, may even consider it the very basis, or foundation of a sound relationship. Nevertheless, many of us may find it very difficult to trust others. Especially nowadays, when the majority of individuals will stop at nothing to get ahead in the game. Even if it means stepping on a few people along the way.

I don't know about you, but I have a slight problem with trusting people. I'm not quite sure of what caused it. Perhaps, I was not properly cared for during infancy, and developed the idea, that this world is unsafe and untrustworthy. At least that's how Erikson's theory of psychosocial development, (Stage 1: Trust vs. Mistrust), would explain my trust issue. Although, I have to say, I do not believe that to be the case. In fact, my mother watched me like a hawk during my infancy, and cared for me like a loving-and even slightly overprotective mother bear-I dare say, cares for her cubs. No, I think the root of the problem lies elsewhere. Maybe it was a result of her constant parental deception during my middle childhood years. But hey, that's just a hunch. Either one or the other.

(P.S.: I love you mom. No, really, I do. No sarcasm here.)

Whatever the case may be, the bottom line is, I have finally found someone I can genuinely trust. Someone who will never deceive me, or feed me lies. Someone who will always tell me the truth; no matter how much it hurts. And that someone is... yes, you've guessed it: Jesus Christ. And today, as I write the content of this blog post, I choose to believe what Jesus says about me. I choose to believe what God's word says about me. And refuse to believe the lies and accusations of the enemy. By faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and by God's grace, I am His adopted child. I'm redeemed, forgiven, and made new. All, of course, through Christ Jesus.

And as a child of God, I shall place my trust in Him, and Him alone.

I shall cling to every word He says;
And every promise given;
For He is my One and Only hope.
But most importantly, I shall cling to Him always.
For every promise must pass the test of time.
And in order to endure such a test, one must cling to the One who made the promise; rather than to the promise itself.

And that's what I intend to do.

And I would encourage you-the reader-from the bottom of my heart, to do the same. Trust me, or better yet, trust Him; you will not be disappointed.

All glory & honor to God.
Forever & Always.

Amen and Amen.

Interesting Links

Here are some links that I thought you guys might be interested in:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZvK4hdIzIU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UEoR8uWiVU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zr915N3ThuU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8ZZpRWLgqQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfVNfLljSlI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdQ8D-wXmw4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmoN7ZvwI6Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBjPIH6fApM

All glory and honor to God Forever & Ever!

Amen.

God's Grace

Today is another one of those days in which I feel completely and utterly unworthy, and unfit to face God. I feel completely inadequate to even talk to Him; let alone to serve Him. This feeling of inadequacy and the guilt that comes along as a resulting "perk" of my sinful nature, can be quite overwhelming, and even draining to my soul. Suddenly, this guilt, can be a considerable threat to my spiritual growth. That is the case, because guilt gradually destroys my confidence in God's promises for my life.

Additionally, I often tend to second-guess God's purpose and plan for my life. In other words, when I allow guilt to penetrate my heart, without dealing with it properly, before it takes root, I am also allowing the enemy to invade my mind, and feed me a whole bunch of lies in regards to my character, my motives, my love and commitment to God, and so on.

Now, don't get me wrong; guilt isn't always the "bad guy" in the story. In fact, it can be a warning sign. Letting me, (and you), know when something is wrong, and needs to be fixed. Like say, when I talk a little too much, without thought to the words that I use, and end up hurting people whom I care about. (Deja vu anyone?) But the trick to properly handling sin, and guilt for that matter, is not to deny it; but rather to admit it. Both to those involved in the matter, and to God. By doing so, we (you and me) humble ourselves before God-through prayer-and the individual related with the incident, through effective and time-sensitive communication. In plain English, wait until things cool down before you go talk to the people involved. And apologize when appropriate. Receiving forgiveness from the human party(ies) is not always a guarantee; but the good news is, once we admit before God that we have sinned-and genuinely repent from it-God shows us His mercy and grace. He forgives and restores us.

Remember: God comes near to those who seek Him wholeheartedly. He never turns a deaf ear to those who are willing to humble themselves before Him. He listens to them attentively, and is eager to show them His love, mercy, and grace.
 
God's

Reassurance (of)

Affection (and)

Comfort

Everlasting.

All glory and honor to God forever & Ever!
Amen.