BACK TO THE BEGINNING

A lot of people go "back to their roots" to find themselves. Another way of explaining "back to your roots" is...going back to the beginning, where you started. In a sense that is what I'm going to do...

I read something today that struck a chord with me. Something that another blogger wrote that got me to thinking why I started blogging. Blogging is what I believed that GOD wanted me to do...write about my life experiences before becoming a Christian and after becoming a Christian. Things that happen on a day to day basis in my life and how GOD works through those things. Most importantly to me...how GOD helps me to work through my past and present experiences and how only GOD can heal. Heals not only the body but also the heart, mind and emotions. Not only for myself, but also that my testimony, and what GOD is doing in my life, may somehow help someone else to find answers to their life through GOD.

Somewhere over the last few months I lost my focus. Because I lost my focus it became increasingly hard to do what I know GOD called me to do...blog and tell people about HIM. I believe that when ever you are doing things that show how awesome GOD is that the devil will be there to stop you if he can. The thing is...we need to be strong enough in the LORD to know it is him and to be able to fight him off. The way you get and stay strong enough is to read HIS WORD and talk to GOD all the time. I have also read a lot lately how it is important to have fellowship with other Christians. How you draw strength from each other. I fail in that area big time. If you don't do these things you run the risk of letting the devil get a foothold in your life. You start falling back into your old habits and way of thinking. Each time you start going down that path it's harder to get back to where you need to be. At least it is for me. So...

With the LORD'S help I am going to try to put aside the things that keep me from doing what I know I should. An important thing to remember is, if you have asked JESUS to forgive you, you really don't have anything to fear. GOD is always with you. Don't listen to the devil who will tell you that you are not good enough and never will be. He will tell you that you can't move forward and the things of your past are just too bad for GOD to really forgive you for. It's all lies! The devil just wants to get you back and he will use whatever he can to do so.

Remember; GOD is always on our side and HE fights for us! GOD doesn't let us go...we leave all on our own. HE always has a hold on us, don't let go of HIM.

Isaiah 41:9-10 (New Living Translation)

 ⁹ I have called you back from the ends of the earth,
      saying, ‘You are my servant.’
   For I have chosen you
      and will not throw you away.
 ¹⁰ Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.
      Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.
   I will strengthen you and help you.
      I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

Isaiah 41:13 (New Living Translation)

 ¹³ For I hold you by your right hand—
      I, the Lord your God.
   And I say to you,
      ‘Don’t be afraid. I am here to help you.

AS IT WAS...

Last night I watched Noah's Ark the Musical and found that times then were a lot like it is now. Growing up in church naturally I heard the story of Noah and the ark many times. So many times that I thought I really didn't need to read it again since giving my life to the LORD. Well, as I am finding out about so many things...I have been wrong about that also. You have more than likely heard the phrase...as it was in the days of Noah. Well...pretty much life is today as it was in the days of Noah.

In Noah's day satan was just as alive as he is now. His goal has always been to defeat GOD'S people and take them down. He is the master of temptation and will use what ever it is that you have a weekness in to entice you away. Just like in Noah's day.

Genesis 6:1-8

When the human race began to increase, with more and more daughters being born, the sons of God noticed that the daughters of men were beautiful. They looked them over and picked out wives for themselves. Then God said, "I'm not going to breathe life into men and women endlessly. Eventually they're going to die; from now on they can expect a life span of 120 years." This was back in the days when there were giants in the land. The giants came from the union of the sons of God and the daughters of men. These were the mighty men of ancient lore, the famous ones. God saw that human evil was out of control. People thought evil, imagined evil—evil, evil, evil from morning to night. God was sorry that he had made the human race in the first place; it broke his heart. God said, "I'll get rid of my ruined creation, make a clean sweep: people, animals, snakes and bugs, birds—the works. I'm sorry I made them." But Noah was different. God liked what he saw in Noah.


In Noah's day people were out of control. All they thought about and did was evil. The only righteous people were Noah and his family. When everyone else was partying and living for the devil, Noah and his family were worshiping and living for GOD. So...when GOD destroyed the earth HE made a way of escape for them.


Today, throughout the earth, many people are living for the devil. Doing the same things they did in Noah's day. Just like HE did then GOD has given people chance after chance to come to HIM and live for HIM. Once again people are not listening and GOD is going to rid the earth of all that is wicked. GOD loves all of HIS creation and doesn't want anyone to be part of HIS next clean sweep. But...it's all up to us as individuals if we will be destroyed or if we will live with the LORD forever.



To me it seems like it's a no-brainer. I have read about the Rapture and Heaven, the Tribulation and Hell. There really isn't a lot of comparison. When the Rapture...(meaning to be caught up)...happens, all who have accepted JESUS as their LORD and SAVIOR...the dead and the living...will be immediately taken off this earth and be with the LORD. That is the only way to go.



1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (New Living Translation) 


¹³ And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. ¹⁴ For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.  ¹⁵ We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. ¹⁶ For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. ¹⁷ Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. ¹⁸ So encourage each other with these words.


Get a Bible and look up the word Heaven. You can find a lot of scriptures about Heaven in the Bible. You will see that you would much rather go there than Hell.


If you get left behind you will live a life of hell on earth and then chances are you will end up in a real hell for eternity. Don't be fooled by satans lies. Read the bible and find out for yourself. A good book to read is...23 Minutes In Hell by Bill Wiese. It is full of scripture that you can look up and read for yourself.


If you want to read more about things to come on earth and Heaven and Hell, grab a Bible. If you want to make sure you go "TO" Heaven and "NOT" Hell...pray and ask JESUS to forgive you of your sins and start living for HIM. Find a Bible believing church and tell them you just gave your heart to the LORD. Then go to church and learn about HIM...grab a Bible and start reading.


Don't wait...JESUS is coming back soon!!!

DO IT!!

Psalm 46:10 a

 ¹⁰ “Be still, and know that I am God!

Sometimes that is a hard thing to do. To sit and "be still" and trust that HE has everything under control. We have to remember that no matter how we feel, or how we see circumstances in our life, GOD is ultimately in control. We have to trust that no matter what satan puts in our minds, or brings up from our past, GOD is bigger. GOD loves us, has forgiven us, and will always be with us! If it means you have to talk to GOD with every breath you take...do it! If it means that every spare minute you have you are reading HIS WORD...do it! If it takes something as crazy as writing a blog to get your focus back...do it! Whatever it takes to keep GOD your main focus...do it!

WILL YOU CHOOSE LIFE?

Choices...we all have to make them...all day...every day. 

The trick is, to make the right ones. For a few weeks I have been struggling with freely giving my time to GOD. I say freely because it is a choice I have to make daily to spend time talking to GOD and reading HIS WORD. Doing those two things are essential to a Christians life. For me talking to GOD and reading from HIS WORD are what keeps me going. It's "lifeblood". When I fail to do those two things, on a regular basis, I find myself having to fight things from my past. Fear, depression, loneliness, worry, just to name a few. A lot of people have these issues, but...there is relief from these things. In fact many of them can be completely done away with. You just need to spend time with the LORD daily...everyday!! Not just when you want to make time.

A quote from C. S. Lewis--"Either the Bible will keep you away from sin, or sin will keep you away from the Bible."

So for the last few days I have chosen to spend more time in the WORD and talking to GOD. When you make those kinds of choices the devil will be right there to try to trip you up. Way to many times I let him win and cause me problems that I don't need. Today, being Sunday, was no exception. As soon as I started to drive to church a feeling of dread and fear came over me. It was feelings that I always used to have when going to church. When church started I wanted to leave but I knew I had to stay and not let the devil win. It was hard, but the devil lost that battle and GOD won.

We all face battles every day. Yours probably aren't the same as mine. However, yours are just as hard for you to conquer as mine are for me. You just have to stick to what you know is the right thing to do and ask GOD to help you. When I got home I started reading a devotional I have. It's about "Going places with GOD". It talked a little about how GOD gives us a choice each day from which tree to eat. The tree of life or the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Eating from the second tree would eventually bring death.

Deuteronomy 30:19-20a...

¹⁹ “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! ²⁰ You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life.

No matter where we are in life we have to make choices. Choices to do the right things and live like we should. Ultimately, when you do that, you are making a choice between life and death. When you choose GOD and choose to live for HIM, you are choosing life. If you don't choose GOD, and the things of GOD, you are choosing death.

Where we live is the stage of our life. Who you allow to be in your life, and how your life plays out, is really up to you. Are you going to make your life count for GOD...or are you going to let the devil play you and win?

Choices...it's all up to you!

BE CREATIVE

There has been a lot in the news lately that really makes me think about the LORD'S "soon" return. I receive e-mails from friends about it and read a lot of things on Christian news sites, including sites from Israel. There is a lot of debate in the Christian world about whether or not Christians will be here for the tribulation or if the rapture of the church will take place before. Personally I believe the LORD will come back and take us out of here before the tribulation. But that is really "not" what's important. What's important is that you have done everything you can to tell your family and friends that HE is coming and that they don't want to be left here! That's our job...to let the world know that JESUS loves them and HE wants to save them!

Believing that JESUS is going to return soon we may need to be creative in how we get the message out. The computer is a good way to do that. You might not want to write a blog but you could try something else. One of the "social networks". People use these to share things that are happening in their lives. Besides blogging I also have a Facebook page. What I do mostly is allow other ministries to post their things on my page. By doing this all of my unsaved family and friends are exposed to the Gospel, various Christian sites, and End Time events that are taking place now. There is also one that people can put prayer requests on. Someone may not want to ask you to pray for them but...they just might ask someone that doesn't know them for prayer. You also have to realize that some of your family and friends may say or put something out there that isn't always good. When this happens just get rid of it and look at the upside. You see their stuff that is on the dark side but...they see our things that are of "The Light". What's more important?

Ask the LORD to give you ways to get HIS message out. Then read the WORD and pray everyday. Ask for the HOLY SPIRIT'S help to lead you to people that you can talk to and to give you the right things to say when the opportunity comes up.

Remember...

Philippians 4:13 (New International Version)

I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

IN HIS STRENGTH

We don't always understand
the things that happen here.
But we'll do well to never forget
how the LORD is always near.

I read it in GOD'S Holy Word
how HE'S with us everyday.
To help us to the other side
of what life brings along our way.

One verse we must remember is
Philippians 4:13.
It tells us how GOD gives us strength
to walk through everything.

It's up to us if we choose
to follow in HIS steps.
Or turn the other way and live
a life full of regrets.

If we walk after JESUS
HE tells us in HIS Word.
How HE will never leave us
or abandon us on this earth.

We all must fight the pain
that comes at us in this life.
But we'll never fight alone
for The LORD is by our side.

So we must choose today
whom it is that we will serve.
The LORD our Mighty Conqueror
or the evil one of this earth?

THREE WORDS

God uses all kinds of different things to talk to us. Tonight, for me, it was a video. The video was some very mellow music, pretty scenery and scriptures fading in and out. Some of these are from that video.

Jeremiah 31:3 (New Living Translation)  ³ Long ago the Lord said to Israel:
   “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love.
      With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.


Isaiah 43:18-19 (New International Version)

 ¹⁸ "Forget the former things;
       do not dwell on the past.
 ¹⁹ See, I am doing a new thing!
       Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
       I am making a way in the desert
       and streams in the wasteland.


Isaiah 55:10-16 (New Living Translation)
 ¹⁰ “The rain and snow come down from the heavens
      and stay on the ground to water the earth.
   They cause the grain to grow,
      producing seed for the farmer
      and bread for the hungry.
 ¹¹ It is the same with my word.
      I send it out, and it always produces fruit.
   It will accomplish all I want it to,
      and it will prosper everywhere I send it.
 ¹² You will live in joy and peace.
      The mountains and hills will burst into song,
      and the trees of the field will clap their hands!
 ¹³ Where once there were thorns, cypress trees will grow.
      Where nettles grew, myrtles will sprout up.
   These events will bring great honor to the Lord’s name;
      they will be an everlasting sign of his power and love.”


Matthew 11:28-30 (The Message)
 ^28-30"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."



Jeremiah 29:11-12 (New Living Translation)
¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. ¹² In those days when you pray, I will listen.



Titus 3:4-7 (New Living Translation)  ⁴ But—“When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, ⁵ he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.⁶ He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. ⁷ Because of his grace he declared us righteous and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.”



John 3:16 (New Living Translation)
 ¹⁶ “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.


Sometimes, you don't have any one close to tell you three words...I love you. Sometimes, you just need to know that someone does. That is what GOD is telling us in HIS WORD...I Love You!! If you need to hear those words today, pick up the Bible...read it...and talk to GOD. You'll hear HIM say...I Love You!!