All There Is

      Have you ever come to a place in your life where it was so hard and you were so worn down and tired of everything being a struggle and a fight that you just sat down in the middle of the road and said to God “Is this it? Is this all You have for me?  Because if this is all there is, if this is Your best, I don’t want it.” 

      I have, I’ve been there more than once.  Did Jesus come, do all that He did to give us salvation so we could then be miserable, stressed out, weary and worn down?

      No.  The Lord began to teach me, and show me how to have now, no matter what is going on around me, His freedom, His healing, His peace, His joy, His strength and His power in my life.  Jesus came to not only fulfill the Old Covenant, but to bring the New Covenant, and my friend, there is way more to the New Covenant in Christ Jesus than salvation.

     Jesus does not intend for us to be saved and miserable, broken bound up and powerless.  Isaiah 9:2 speaks about those who walk in darkness, then in Isaiah 42:7 the wording shifts, the people have gone from walking in darkness to sitting in darkness.  To me walking shows some hope, when you are walking in darkness, the movement shows at least you are moving around, trying to find a way out, but when you give up hope and sit down, its almost like acceptance….  Both of these scriptures lead into speaking of Jesus, and what promises He brings, not only of salvation, but of light in the darkness, joy, increase, broken bonds, freedom.

     God promises to protect and support and heal, not just mental and emotional, but also physical.  Look at Jesus’ ministry, He set people totally free, no matter what their situation.  In fact, situations were on the bottom of His priority list, He loved people where they were.  Now I don’t think that means He does not care about our situations, what I think that means is we need to root our faith in HIM, not in our situations!   Do you know God’s promises?  Do you really believe God is who He says He is?  Or have you allowed the lies of the enemy to bind you up? 

      I believe that Jesus is tired of His people who know Him as Savior sitting in the dark in chains!  I heard a wonderful teacher and prophet say any area of your life that you do not have glistening hope, there is a lie.  My dear friend, ask the Holy Spirit to start not only showing you the lies you are believing about yourself and about the Lord, but also what His truths are!  Jesus said the Truth will set you free!  Come on that journey with me and learn to live in the joy and peace and strength and freedom we have already been given.  Jesus said it is finished. 

      Learn to be so rooted in Him, that circumstances don’t control you, you live above them in the promised land He has for you today….and all eternity.  Eternity started on the cross more than 2000 years ago. Life in the Light, walking in increasing freedom, joy, amazing peace and power, above what ever situations I find myself in, I’m experiencing God’s best! Are you?

The Kings Daughter

Going Deeper (Part 3) Sharing Jesus

Matthew 28:16-20 (The Message)

 ^16-17Meanwhile, the eleven disciples were on their way to Galilee, headed for the mountain Jesus had set for their reunion. The moment they saw him they worshiped him. Some, though, held back, not sure about worship, about risking themselves totally.
 ^18-20Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge: "God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I'll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age."

  Well that is the great commission that Jesus gave his disciples. So get to it!!!!

  If it were only that easy.........it is really.

  What if I am rejected?? Ok, who are they rejecting? You or Jesus?

     It is not "all about me".

     When you share your faith you are successful 100% of the time. Don't think so?? Think about this. When you plant a seed to grow it needs several things to help it grow to maturity. Water, fertilizer, sunlight. Sometimes we are the ones planting the seeds of salvation and sometimes we are watering a seed left by someone before us. Does it matter which one is our job as long as we do our job?

  I don't know what to say. 


   It is not "all about me"

    Jesus will speak thru you, you just have to trust Him. Start simple. Share your testimony of how you came to Jesus. I have found this to be very effective in getting me to relax and open up to who I am speaking with at the time. Questions begin to flow in the conversation. Surprise you are sharing your faith my friend.

  Who do I talk to? so many out there.


Acts 8 26-40


   This is the story of the Ethiopian and Philip. The Lord told Philip to go and meet him around noon, south of Jerusalem. Sometimes you just know it is right time with the right person. The Holy Spirit works in awesome ways to lead us and help us.
   Maybe it is the person next to you in line, maybe sitting next to you on a plane. It could even be your neighbor you helping with a project. If you are open to sharing your faith, you will have no problems finding opportunities.

  Ok, now what?

  Pray with the person to accept Jesus into their heart. That means they will trust Him. It means they understand that even as a sinner He loved us. Died for our sins, (took our punishment) and was resurrected three days later. They need to understand that this is only the first step. The relationship building with Jesus starts now. 

   Building my relationship with Jesus has been amazing. I have always heard other people say they felt this or saw that. I couldn't understand why I didn't feel the same way. They seem to have a joy and a love that seemed to be manufactured right before they walked into the church. My friend..it is real!! I find that each day I grow closer to Jesus and learn more about Him that I am smiling more and feeling the joy that everyone was talking about.

Please if you have any questions or comments send them our way.

iamforgiven-ministries.com has a page on salvation and answers some of the questions. It is a new website that is under construction. The salvation page on the site is complete. 

  

   

Going Deeper (Part 2) stronger relationship with Jesus

  How do we develop a stronger relationship with Jesus. 

Pray

Get in the Word! (The Bible)

What you put in is what you put out.

Did I mention....Pray.

Pray:

We cometh before thee so we shall'eth be'th sanctified in your most glorious presence'th.

....and bless my dog, my cat and my fish Fred...oh and the ants in the front yard...

Oh Lord I need a million dollars....Amen   ...  tax free??

Sound familiar? Maybe it is you. maybe you have heard prayers similar to these. What is prayer really??

   Prayer in its most simple form is a conversation between you and God. Spoken as you would to a friend sitting next to you on a bench. It's honest and from the heart.

   I have always had a hard time praying out loud. I have found that I am not alone in this phobia either. We need to remember that we are praying to God and not to impress those around us. 

   Start small and go from there......

  I want to go deeper. Amen

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The Bible, the Word! Get in it!! :

  Choices, choices and more choices..... Which translation? Do I need a Life Application Bible or a parallel Bible? 

  Here are just a few choices and their strengths.

The Message - Easy to read in todays language. Reads like a book from a library would.

King James Bible - Tradition literal text. 

New International Version (NIV) Like the King James Bible but in todays language.

Parallel Bible - 2 or more translations on the same page for comparison.

Life Application Study Bible - variety of translations. Study notes emphasize how to live out the principles of scripture instead of the more traditional historical details of that period.

  Which ever you choose, start with the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) at the beginning of the New Testament. Then build from there.

   Read Proverbs in the Old Testament.  Read a proverb a day for 30 days.

   Find a good Bible study.

  Personally I like The Message. It flows like a good story. I have also downloaded different books of the Bible in different translations. I can listen to a book while waiting in line or when out riding. DVD's about the Bible are good also for those of us who need the visual as well as audio.

  Be sure to pray before starting your Bible reading. Ask for understanding.

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  "Garbage in, garbage out" Most of us have heard this expression. It is amazing how true this is in todays life. The movies we watch, the music we listen to and the people we associate with all influence our thinking and our decisions.

 It Is Time For A Change!!

  Have you ever found yourself in a group of people at work or even at church and the conversation starts becoming uncomfortable? Maybe it was gossip about someone, or maybe just every word was dripping with negativity. We are uncomfortable for a reason, something is not right. "If you lie down with dogs you will get up with fleas"

  How do you feel when you watch a good movie. A good moral story about life, a feel good movie. You feel good right? not negative and depressed. Think it is an accident???

  What about the music you listen to or our children? Just take a look at the Billboards top 5 songs for the week of 2/5/2011. 

  Music can set our moods and how we feel about ourselves. The theme to the original Rocky. Listen to it while working out or working on a project and you feel like you could tackle Mount Everest.

  This was not as hard as I thought. It started small and grew from there. People I associate with on a regular basis are a strong Christian influence. What I watch on TV or when we go see a movie, I think about what I want out of this entertainment then ask for guidance and make the right decision. I love music, all types. There are so many different Christian groups that whatever your favorite genre is, it is out there!  By the way, Petra is one of my favorites.

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Did I mention prayer?  Pray!

 The power of prayer can not be measured. Doctors are amazed by it, scientist can not explain it. The power is REAL!

  Here is a challenge. Do the following for 30 days.

1. Read a proverb from the Book of Proverbs each day.

2. Each day pray before you read your Bible, ask for understanding.

3. Before making even the smallest decision ask God for his guidance.

4. Thank God for a glorious day before you go to bed.

5. When you wake up, tell God good morning and ask for his guidance.

Doing the four steps above and the challenge will get you well on your way to developing a stronger relationship with Jesus. I know it works because it is the same steps that I took and I still work on. It is not perfection but progress. If you slip or stumble...don't worry Jesus has you in His arms and will help you on your journey. I'm still traveling on my path and I can say it keeps getting better and better.

Going Deeper (part 1)

  What prevents you from going deeper in Christ?
  What is stopping you from developing a stronger relationship with Jesus?
  What is holding you back from sharing what Jesus has done for you?

  Maybe the questions should read.....

  How do I go deeper in Christ?
  How do I get a stronger relationship with Jesus?
  How do I share Jesus and what He has done for me?

  The best way to answer these questions is taking them on one at a time. Starting with "going deeper in Christ"

  The reasons for not going deeper are almost as many as there are people in the world. "Life is just so busy right now"," I will start when my life slows down","Just too much stress, I don't want more"," I'm as deep as the next person"," I would have to stop doing some of the things I'm doing now". The list continues on and on.
  What we tend to not understand is that going deeper in Jesus, solves many of these problems. I can honestly say this because I am a living testimony of what He has done for me in the last year alone. A life that was spinning out of control, stress coming from every direction and me not wanting to give up some of the things that I knew were wrong. All it took was a little bit of commitment from me and support from my wife. I had to let Him inside my heart before the outside would change.

  How did I start on the path to going deeper? It started with one simple request lifted up in prayer......Jesus I want to go deeper, show me what I need to do..amen
  Sounds almost laughable, so simple and so short. The difference was I wanted it. My prayer was sincere and honest, I did want it. I wanted my life to change and I wanted to live for Him.

  Next I made a few other life changes. I found a person I could trust to hold me accountable. Someone I could talk honestly to about what I was going thru. I even changed the music I was listening to. I had to forgive myself to experience God's love.

  Those were the easy steps, the next one was a little tougher. I committed time. Time to be in church, time to be in a Bible study and time for ministry. In the past, time was a commodity that was in short supply in my life. Work, hobbies and time to rest. Add in the everyday things like upkeep on the house and vehicles, there wasn't anything left. The secret to getting the time I needed to keep to my commitment was........prioritizing. I put God first. I started spending more time with other believers in church and out. I committed to spend time in our ministry. Surprisingly there was enough time for all the changes.

 The past year has been an amazing ride and I thank Jesus for everything, most importantly for not giving up on me.

  Today I have the time. Today all the stresses that I had before are still there but I'm not worried about them now, Jesus has them covered.

  Have i gone deeper...well let's just say I'm not in the wading pool anymore and I headed to deep waters and loving it all the way.