"NEW TESTAMENT SALVATION - BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT"

Good Evening to All!

Before we get started on this post, I just want to make sure that you understand that while this is completely Biblically based, it is my intention not to teach, but to give you something to think about. Maybe it will bring some questions to your mind that makes you want to start looking scriptures up in your Bible, or even ask your own Pastors about them. It is not meant as a lesson as I don't have the teaching credentials let alone the degree or knowledge to do so. The things I post are taken strictly from the reference section of my Bible and the Scriptures.

The baptism of the Holy Spirit. The baptism with, by, in or of the Holy Ghost (Holy Spirit) is part of New Testament salvation (John 3:5) Jesus said unto them, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, unless a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. Romans 8:1-16; (1 Corinthians 12:13) For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. (Ephesians 1:13-14) In whom ye also trusted after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, (14) Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. (Titus 3:5) Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.

The phrase describes how the believer is immersed in and filled with God's Spirit. In Acts, the terms "baptized, filled, received, fell on, came upon, and poured out the give on" all describe this experience (Acts 1:4-5) And, being assembled together with them ,commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which saith he, ye have heard of me. (5) For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. More reference verses for this include Acts 1:4;10:44-47; 11:15-17; 19:1-6). It is promised to all who believe on Jesus and obey His Word.
(John 7:38-39) He that believeth on me as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believed on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)More reference verses are Acts 5:32; 11:15-17; 19:2; (Galatians 3:14) That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. (Ephesians 1:13) Already quoted.

The bible records five historical accounts of receiving the Holy Spirit or (Holy Ghost) in the New Testament church: the Jews, the Samaritans, the Gentiles, the apostle Paul, and the disciples of John at Ephesus. This record actually establishes that this baptism of the Holy Spirit is for EVERYONE, and is accompanied by the initial sign of tongues. (Mark 16:17) And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues. speaking in tongues means speaking supernaturally as the Spirit gives utterance, in a language the speaker has never learned. (Acts 2:1-11) (Luke 11:14) If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? (Acts 2:39) For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

Three of the accounts explicitly describe speaking in tongues as the initial evidence of receiving the Spirit. On the day of Pentecost, a sound of wind signified the coming of the Spirit and tongue-like flames signaled the availability to each person, but speaking in tongues "as the Spirit gave them utterance" was the initial sign of each individual filling (Acts 2:1-4). Tongues convinced skeptical, astonished Jews that the Gentiles had just received the Holy Ghost; tongues alone sufficiently identified this as the pentecostal experience (Acts 10:44-47; 11:15-17). The Ephesian disciples also spoke in tongues as the first sign of receiving the Spirit (Acts 19:6) Tongues are implicit in the other two accounts. An unnamed miraculous sign indicated the exact moment the Samaritans received the Spirit; its prior absence denoted they did not already have the Spirit despite joy, belief, and baptism, and it was so spectacular that Simon the Magician coveted the power to bestow the Spirit with this sign (Acts 8:5-19). Acts 9:17 mentions Paul's experience without description, but 1 Corinthians 14:18 says he spoke in tongues often.

The baptism of the Holy Spirit is the normal, basic New Testament experience with God, the birth of the Spirit. The Spirit is the rest, guide to all truth, adopter, intercessor, seal, earnest of the inheritance, and the sanctifier (Isaiah 28:11-12; John 16:13; Romans 8:15, 26; Ephesians 1:13-14; 1 Peter 1:2).

The Bible is the sole authority for salvation. The basis of salvation is Christi's death, burial, and resurrection. Salvation comes only by grace through faith in Jesus Christ; and the application of grace and the expression of faith come as a person obeys Acts 2:38, thereby receiving the new birth of John 3:3-5.

Someone can receive the Holy Spirit by repenting, having faith in God,k and asking God for Hisw gift. when a person receives the Holy Spirit, he receives power to overcome sin and live a holy life (Acts 1:8; Romans 8:4, 14). IF he LETS the Holy Spirit CONTINUALLY FILL (control and guide) him, he will bear the fruit of the Spirit and become Christ-like (Galatians 5:22-23).

The Answers to last night's Bible Challenge "Plagues and Afflictions" are as follows:

1. c ) speech impediment (Exodus 4:10-16)
2. d) leprosy (Exodus 4:6-7)
3. b) leprosy (Numbers 12:1-10)
4. a) a bronze snake on a pole (Numbers 21:4-9)
5. d) he was lame (2 Samuel 9:3-6)
6. b) Asa (2 Chronicles 16:12-13)
7. c) falling through an upstairs lattice (2 Kings 1:2-4)
8. b) the pool of Bethesda (John 5:2-4)
9. a) Ananias (Acts 9:17-18)
10. d) James (James 5:14)

Good Night to All and May God Bless!

"ASK, SEEK, AND KNOCK"

Good Evening to All!

Jesus said "(9) So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you. (10) For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. (11) If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give her a serpent instead of a fish? (12) Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion (13) If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"

This passage is misunderstood often. People tend to "skim over most of it except for the part that says "ask and it will be given to you". Then they get aggravated if the answers to their prayers are no, or wait awhile. This passage is referring to the Holy Spirit, which is the BEST GIFT God could ever give to us. After all, God gave up his "earthly body, His life here on earth to be a sacrifice for us. By Him saying "how much more will your heavenly Father give: If people, who are evil (by nature) can give good gifts, imagine the value of God's gift of the Holy Spirit. If anyone does not have the Holy Spirit, that person according to Romans 9:9, does not belong to Christ. In the Godhead, the Holy Spirit is the divine distributor of the good things purchased by Jesus and ordained by the Father.

This is speaking of the "gifts of the Spirit". There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. (5) there are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who words all in all. (7) But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit (or benefit) of all. (1 Corinthians 12:4-7)

I like to refer to the Holy Spirit as "God In Action". It is through the Holy Spirit that we are taught the meaning of grace. It is through the Holy Spirit that we are taught HOW to live for God. This precious gift IF we will listen to it and abide by what it is telling our spirit to do, will help us to be successful in our walk with God.

As well as that, it also helps us to discern which of the "gifts" which God has given to us such as the word of wisdom , the word of knowledge, faith, , healings working of miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, different kinds of tongues, and interpretation of tongues.

Now, before you get too confused, the "gift of tongues" is different than the tongues which is the evidence of receiving the Holy Spirit according to Acts 2:4.

Knock - and the door to Jesus will be opened to you. Jesus wants us to call upon Him. He stands the the doors of our hearts and knocks but He will not force His way in. He wants to be part of our lives, yet we must accept Him first. Not only that even after we ask Him into our hearts and into our lives, we must show Him that we want Him to stay by living for Him. Doing according to His Word.

Look at it this way. God cannot allow sin in heaven, and God cannot dwell in sin. Therefore when we ask Him to move into our spirit, we have to "clean our spirit up" by repenting which means turning away from it and not doing it again. Saying "I'm sorry", is just not good enough. We must cleanse our spirit in this way of sin and be baptized which is God's command to "wash away our sins". This is not optional for salvation. It was a command from God for Salvation as well as abiding by His Word.

Seek- We need to seek Him daily. Pray. Talk to Him. Read His Word. Love Him. Do no less for Him than you do your earthly family. He is your creator, He deserves your love and respect. I wonder how our spouse and children would feel if we only allotted them a couple of hours twice a week for attention. I doubt if that would go over too well. Why should we do that to God when He deserves as much or more attention? Not only that, if we are good examples and include our earthly families into our search for God's Truth and His face, then our families will be that much better for it. It will teach our children good habits, and strengthen our marriages if we include God in everything we do.

I know this is not the "popular" or "well-liked way of looking at the truth, but I feel the need to be completely honest about this because there are "so many "watered down versions" that want us to believe we can do anything we want and because God loves us we will go to heaven no matter what. If that were the case, He would not have said ,"Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in by it. (Matthew 7:12-14).

Good Night to All and May God Bless!

"PROMISE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT"

Good Evening to All!

If Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you.


Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation--but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. Romans 8:10-14 NIV


The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.

For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, that He might he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, He also called; those he called, He also justified; those He justified, he also glorified. Romans 8:26-30 NIV

I absolutely love these scriptures. Yes, the first one definitely tells me that I have an obligation to God. To love Him, to Live for Him. This proves to me without a shadow of a doubt that we were bought with a price. Jesus died for us, therefore we are His. This also means that we are to OBEY His commands, and live the way He tells us to if we want to be saved. So, there is more to Salvation than "saying, I believe that Jesus is my Savior, and going our merry way. We are to follow God's Word in our way of life if we hope to have an eternal home with Him. He has sent us the Holy Ghost to dwell within us to help us do just that. If we will allow it to, and if we will abide by what it is saying through Him speaking to our heart, nudging us to do certain things, or NOT to do certain things, if we will read AND STUDY His Word, we will definitely end up with Him in heaven. If not, well, I'm not going to say it because I KNOW someone will think I'm being judgmental even though I'm just saying what they already know deep down.

I have always heard that God is not logical, but if you think about it, everything about acquiring Salvation and KEEPING it is logical. Why would someone Spirit or human, die for no reason? Why would they die and not expect something in return. Now He is not asking us to die, He's not asking us to pay Him, He just wants us to love Him and prove our love by doing what He asked. Much like our spouses do or parents do.

He also LOVES each and everyone of us, but that doesn't mean that we will all be going to heaven. If we can't do a simple thing like abide by His commands, why should He allow us to live with Him? It kind of reminds me of our earthly homes. When children are living at home (even as adults) they should show enough respect for their parents and abide by their rules, such as if your parents ask you not to drink in their home, don't do it and don't come home in the wee hours drunk. If they ask you to get a job, then do so. In other words, "if you're going to live under MY roof, you will obey my rules. If not, then find another place to live. I told my step son that when he came to stay with us, and also my husband cousin. No alcohol, (because we don't drink and I don't like being around drunks) no drugs (for obvious reasons, and no loud racket. We're quiet people and like the quiet, as well as our neighbors being elderly. For some reason, neither stayed very long, but you get my point. When I went out to our little trailer where they each stayed at different times, there were beer cans everywhere, not to mention them pulling up into our drive at one or two in the morning. Needless to say, I confronted each one and restated my conditions for them staying here, so they left.

No sin can enter heaven, therefore, if we do not repent and live for God we cannot enter either.

Good Night to All and May God Bless!

"PROMISE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT"

Good Evening to All!

But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: (27) And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning. (John 15:26-27)

Never the less, I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. (John 16:7)

I think this is so neat. I love it when God's plan comes together! I had no idea of what tonight's devotion was going to be about until I opened it up.


Yesterday in Sunday School our Pastor was teaching on the Holy Ghost.

Before I get to the meat of my post, let me share something my Pastor shared with us. He stated the 3 most prominent manifestations of God:

1. God - the Father (creator)
2. The Son - who sacrificed Himself for our sins, was crucified and while on the cross span the gap and brought us together with God.
3. The Holy Ghost - God in Action

I thought that was a really neat way to explain it.

I am hoping I can express the thoughts I am having without sound "doctrinal" because I am not trying to convert anyone.

I think we all understand that the Comforter being spoken of is God's Spirit, (some people say Jesus), but they are one in the same according to 1 Timothy 3:16 --And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

Anyway, when the earthly body of Jesus died God's Spirit which had been in Jesus ascended into heaven, then came back to earth to dwell within us. This is why it is so important to receive the Holy Ghost. He is our guide to living for God. He teaches us how. The Holy Spirit helps us and nudges us to get back on track if we start to veer off the path. To be saved, it is essential that we receive the Holy Ghost. Not just because God told this to Peter and Peter relayed it to the people in Acts 2:38, but because He (the Holy Ghost) helps us to keep from sinning if we will listen to Him and abide by His instructions.

Think about it. When Jesus was here on earth, He taught, healed protected and kept people on the path to the Kingdom of God. He told His disciples before He was crucified that He would send ANOTHER comforter to them. Which tells me He is the Original comforter. I love the way all of this unfolds.

There was much more to it during Sunday School, but as I said, I don't know if it would start sounding "doctrinal" or that I am trying to push my views or beliefs on others, so I will leave it at this. I just think that this is a very interesting subject.


The answers to last night's Bible Challenge "Husbands and Wives"are as follows:

1. d) Leah (Genesis 29)
2. d) 14 YEARS (Genesis 29:15-30)
3. True (Genesis 41:45)
4. c) Moses' (Exodus 2:21)
5. Nabal (1 Samuel 25)
6. b) Michal (2 Samuel 6:16)
7. d) Merab (1 Samuel 18:17-19)
8. c) they were all princesses (1 Kings 11:3)
9. c) Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-10)
10. b) Christ loves the church (Ephesians 5:25)

I hope you enjoyed this Bible Challenge and I hope you did well.

Good Night to all and May God Bless!

"TO WHOM DO WE LISTEN?"

Good afternoon to All!

I am looking forward to telling everyone about our vacation, but my hubby hasn't gotten around to putting all the pictures he took on my flash drive so I can put them on my computer, and I don not want to do a post about our vacation without his wonderful pictures. He is definitely the photographer in our family.

For today, I will continue in God's Word.

This is Paul, speaking about the "law of sin" in our members (or flesh).

For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. (21) Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
(21) I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
(22) For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
(23) but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
(24) O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
(25) I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
Romans 7:21-25 KJV

This passage always had not only my mouth tongue-tied when I tried to read it, but my mind tongue-tied trying to understand it. I understood what he was saying when someone else read it and explained, but to read it myself made my head spin. Below is the NLT Version of the same passage.

Opposition

I want to do what is good, but I don't. I don't want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But, if I do what I don't want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.

I have discovered this principle of life--that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God's law with all my heart, but there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 7:190-25 NLT.

When we are trying to make the right decision or even just to figure out what the right decision is can cause so much inner turmoil. We all have opposition within us. No matter how devoted we are to God, we are "spiritual beings in a fleshly body" which are at war with each other.

Now Paul was writing to the Romans to give them a clear picture of faith, but he also honestly shared his own shortcomings to help them understand how faith helped him in his personal struggles.

Admitting our problems and weaknesses is the start of overcoming challenges. When we go to God and admit to Him that we are weak and need His help, then we open ourselves up to allow His advice, and help. Sometimes He will help us Himself, and other times He will direct us to share our problem with someone else we trust that can help us.

Just loving God's law doesn't make us live it. We are sinful by nature and will naturally choose to do wrong UNLESS we have the Holy Ghost. When we accept Jesus into our hearts, and truly want to repent of our "old self", then we can receive the Holy Ghost. It is He who teaches us how to live for God and make the right choices. Even with the Holy Ghost to guide us and nudge us in the right direction, we at first will tend to turn toward the wrong choice, but if we listen to the Holy Ghost and abide by His nudging, we will turn away from the wrong choice and make the right decision.

The more we allow this to happen, the easier it will become to allow the Holy Ghost to guide us and help us make the right decisions. Of course we are not perfect, so from time to time even with the Holy Ghost we will allow ourselves to make the wrong choices. We are human and will be tempted by the opposition until the day we die. This is why God's forgiveness is so wonderful.

This is a battle of all battles. It is the constant thing in our lives. We will always have choices between right and wrong, good and bad decisions. We just need to keep in mind that there is someone out there who knows a lot more than we do, and He is ready to help us with any choice or decision we have to make.

I know this is Wednesday and I don't usually post on Wednesday, but I thought since I didn't post last night, I would make up for it today.

God Bless You ALL.

"BE SPIRITUALLY ALIVE"

Good Evening to All!

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:2 NKJV)

I truly believe that we can get so wrapped up in trying to keep all of the laws of religion, we lose sight of our main purpose of following them in the first place. John 14:15-17 says "If you love Me, keep My commandments. (16) And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever (the Holy Spirit)--(17) the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

If people would just read and study God's Word all the way through rather than "picking and choosing" what they want to preach, what will get people in the pews and read what sounds good to them and obey what sounds easy to do, They would see that it's not as hard as it sounds or looks. Especially if they have received the Holy Ghost (or Spirit). That is the whole purpose of Him coming back to live within us, to help us learn to live our lives according to the way God wants us to so that we can enter the Kingdom of Heaven when it is time.

If we will pray, and listen to what the Spirit is tell our spirit, and abide by it, we won't go wrong.

That is not to say we won't fall. Even in God's Word it says we all fall short of the glory of God, but we get back up, REPENT, (turn away from our old ways) and try again. It's when we deliberately keep doing the same thing over and over again that we will have to worry about it, because in that situation, if we keep ignoring the Holy Spirit's guidance, we will get to the point where we don't hear Him talking to us, and then we will be in trouble.

The more we rely on God's guidance, the more we pray to Him and study His Word, He sees that we are serious about wanting to get to know Him and live for Him.

The more we listen to what the Holy Ghost is saying to our spirit, the more we obey what He tells us to do the easier it becomes and the happier we become.

The closer we come to God the easier it is to live for Him because His desires become our desires.

I've heard people say "but you have to give up so much". This isn't so. I used to love to dance, now I may not go out to clubs to party and dance, but I dance for the Lord. I don't drink anymore, but that has helped me to feel better healthwise and helped me realize I didn't have to drink or get drunk to have fun. I don't smoke anymore, but that means I have more money to spend on other things. God has been so good to me to deliver me from all of these vices. I couldn't have done it on my own. (the smoking and drinking). I asked Him for help and He gave me the strength to do it. It was my choice to stop doing these things I didn't have anything or anyone standing over me saying "YOU HAVE TO STOP, THIS AND THAT".

All I'm trying to say is that when you love someone doing things for them is not a sacrifice, it is a joy. That is the way I look at living for God. It is a joy.

The answers to the Bible Challenge are as follows:

Old Testament
1. Abel (Genesis 4:2)
2. c) judge (Judges 3:31)
3. c) Nimrod (Genesis 10:9)
4. an Israelite (judge (Judges 4:4)
5. a) shepherd (1 Samuel 16:11)

New Testament
1. a) priest (Luke 1:8)
2. c) fisherman in the Sea of Galilee
(Matthew 4:18)
3. d) doctor (Colossians 4:14)
4. b) religious leader (John 3:1)
5. b) beggar (Mark 10:46)

Good Night to All and May God Bless!

An Unfolding Relationship-We Wait; God Speaks

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Good Evening to All!

But the path of the just is as the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.
Proverbs 4:18 NKJV
The complete passage is talking about the two paths one in the "light"or wisdom, and one in the "darkness" or wicked. This particular verse was just speaking of the path in the light and speaking about walking in the "wisdom of the Father".

From of old no one has heard nor perceived by the ear, nor has the eye seen a God besides You, Who works and shows Himself active on behalf of him who "[earnestly] waits for Him
(Isaiah 64:4)

I was going to go into detail about these scriptures, but I would have gotten off topic, so I thought I should leave them alone.

I was reading one of my devotional books tonight and I read two that seemed to weave right together. The two titles were "An Unfolding Relationship," and the other, "We Wait; God Speaks". The reason I say these two should be together, is because truly, you can't have one without the other. Just as in a human relationship, to be successful at it you HAVE to communicate and a deep relationship takes time to cultivate. Communication and love has to be a two way street. Just like we want to show love to our spouses, girlfriends or boyfriends, we want them to listen just as much. Just as much as we want our loved ones to show us love, we must do the same for them. If we don't our love and understanding of each other cannot grow. The same goes for our relationship with God.

As far as communication goes I'm sure my husband sometimes (well, most of the time) feels that I never hush. I talk all of the time. Mainly because I'm afraid I'm not getting my point across. The problem is, he probably got it the first time and I didn't give him a chance to respond, and kept talking, so he tuned me out. I'm not saying that God would do that, just that we need to stop, and listen to Him if we really and truly want answers.

I've often wondered what thoughts run through God's mind when we pray, and pray and pray....and pray some more. Never taking a breath. We have to listen to God if we expect to hear what He has to say, and be able to do what He asks.

Communication makes for a very good relationship both in our human lives and our relationship with God.

To be saved, we have to have an intimate relationship with Him. Therefore, we must know what He expects from us to be able to Give to Him as well as Accept from Him.

The words "praise and worship " and very important in this developing relationship, but He wants us to do more. If we truly feel these emotions for Him, we show Him by our actions. We abide by His Word. In it, He says "if you love me you will keep my commandments. I don't remember anywhere in the Bible where Jesus "requested that we do anything". He tells us straight out. This way there can be NO DOUBT what He expects from us.

The more we listen to the Holy Spirit and abide by His instructions, the easier it will become to hear His voice. He will nudge us in certain directions, tell us whether we should or shouldn't do something, or help someone in need. It's really an amazing feeling when I listen to my spirit, and do what it tells me to do. I get such a rewarding feeling.

Have you ever felt uneasy about something, bored, or just that nagging feeling that something wasn't right with your fellowship with God, maybe even distracted? Most of the time it most likely is the Holy Spirit trying to nudge you into doing something different, something more. Maybe He's trying to tell you that you need to develop a stronger prayer life or take you Bible reading more seriously. Get to know God better through prayer and His Word.

He wants to b e more than an acquaintance. He is your Heavenly Father, and deserves actually MORE attention than your earthly family. According to His Word, He even says He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. (Matthew 10:37). I don't think He could have put in more plainly that He wants a DEEP RELATIONSHIP with us, but it takes more than just words to prove our love for Him. After all, our spouses can tell us all day long that they love us, but if their actions don't show it, what good are the words?

Words are not a "free pass" into heaven. We must put actions and effort with them. God has given us all the "help" we need if we will just listen to what our spirits are saying. If we have the Holy Spirit within us, He will guide us on the path to heaven. If we take the path more traveled then we will be lost. This is one instance where "popularity" is definitely not a good thing.

^{Matthew 7:13}Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:¹⁴Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

Good Night to All and May God Bless!

"DWELL IN ME O' GOD"

Good Evening to All!

Dwell in Me, and I will dwell in you. [Live in me and I will live in you.]
(John 15:4 AMP.)

I wondered that myself for a long time. It just didn't make sense. After all, I was a sinner. I was unworthy. Why would He want anything to do with me? I had gone to Sunday School constantly when I was a child, so you would think that His reason would have been pounded into my head.

Yes, they told me all about Jesus, and how He loved me, what He did for me and on and on, but I guess it didn't soak in. Either that, or as I got older I realized how "unworthy I really am."

We are ALL unworthy of Jesus' sacrifice, yet He saw something in us that we don't see in ourselves. We must remember that God sees from the "end to the beginning". Therefore, He has seen us at the end of our journey. This is why it is so important for us to repent of our sins so that He can live within us and guide us, because He knows the future. He knows what will happen if we make the wrong choices.

He wants to be included in our everyday lives and decisions. He definitely wants to be invited into our marriages, and child rearing. Believe me, they won't be successful without Him.

It must be remembered though that He has to be invited. He won't force His way into our lives and hearts. That is where the first part of being saved comes from. We must invite Him into our lives and our hearts. We have to accept Him as our SAVIOR.

That's all well and good, but, it's not ALL. Just to mouth the words or have "good intentions" isn't all that it takes. We have to LOVE Him and LIVE for Him. Those two should go hand in hand. He said if you "love" Me, you will keep My commandments. In other words, "if you love Me, you will do as I say and Live for Me".

For Him to live in us, that is what we need to do. Live for Him and love Him. Keep His commandments. Prove your love for Him by doing this. He said "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, then whatsoever you ask, it shall be done unto you. All through the Bible it talks about obedience and love. Where one word is the other isn't far behind.

The more we show our love toward God, the closer He will become to us. I guess the Bible verse for that would be "Draw nigh unto God and He will draw nigh unto you". How much closer can He get to you than "inside you"?

Good Night to All and May God Bless!

Monday's Message, "THE NATURE OF THE DOVE"

Good Evening to All!

This post is part of Serve One Another in Love's "Monday Message"

I truthfully couldn't make up my mind what to post on. I enjoy the Sunday School Lessons and the Worship Services. Maybe I can break this into two parts and talk about both. I really enjoyed our Sunday School Lesson because our Pastor got down to the nitty-gritty and ask us some questions that, I don't know about anyone else that was there, but it made me stop and examine my attitudes.

"The Nature of the Dove"

Text: James 3:17: But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. This is why the Dove is a symbol of the Spirit of God.

Our Pastor explained how after the flood, Noah sent out a raven first to see if the waters were going down, but the raven never returned. The reason for this is because he found food and rest by hopping from the corpses floating in the water. The raven is a known scavenger and also a symbol of darkness. The dove, however, is to birds as the lamb is to animals. This bird equates to gentleness.

I have said all of the above to get to this point. The symbol of the Holy Ghost is a dove. Which included the attributes of the fruits of the Spirit, "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. When we receive the Holy Ghost, the "old man is cast off" and a new creature is "born". (paraphrasing). The thing is, too many people think just because they received the Holy Ghost, these things will be automatic. They are not. A person can receive the Holy Ghost, and remain the same. This happens because we have to cultivate the Holy Ghost attributes. God gave us free will, so if we let our flesh over-ride the unction of the Holy Ghost then we will remain the same. This is NOT A GOOD THING. We need to nurture our new man. Read our Bible, study to see what God truly wants us to be like. Let Him mold us. Tell Him not my will, but THY's will be done, and then follow through. Start practicing on implementing the attributes in our lives.

We have to change to be able to fellowship with God. Just like His Word says that NO SIN is allowed in Heaven, He cannot live where there is sin. Therefore, we must change what's in our hearts so that He can in-dwell us and live within us.

My Pastor also asked us a question: "What are some things that can destroy the 'Peace of God' in our life"? Of course we all started naming things off, but after the first couple, someone mentioned "pride". That's a biggie that encompasses a lot of things, some of which we may not even realize as being bad.

Pride is more than just being "boastful". There is also good pride ( pride in Serving the Lord and giving Him the glory for everything you do) and there is bad pride. This kind of pride will "send you where you don't want to go". This type of pride can separate you from God for ever. What "some people" call being self-sufficient, to God is pride. NO one but NO one is self-sufficient. Believing we can make our way "all on our own" will get us nothing but heartache.

I've had people tell me "I worked hard to get where I am". I did this and I did that! Boy! Does that get to me! God gave you the brains to get there! He provided the opportunity for your schooling, He provided the opening for the job! Get over yourself!

Getting upset because you don't get "credit" for everything you do, is also a type of pride. In everything you do, do it in the name of the Lord.

God is behind all that is good, yet we tend to forget that. Kind of like the "big bang theory" it just happened! No such thing as the big bang theory, or if there was, God made it happen! LOL! I choose to believe God's Word about how the earth was formed, thank you very much.

Needless to say, we spent the majority of the Sunday school time talking about pride. He plans on continuing the rest of the lesson next week.

The Worship service was awesome. That is why I decided to change my prayer at the top of my blog for a while.

For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.

He created us. He breathed His breath into us to give us life. Without Him we cannot move, think, or do anything else.

If we are not in focus with God, then everything else in our life will be out of sync.

In Exodus it talks about the extent of the love for God the people had. From the sounds of it, they wanted all the good things that God had to offer, but when it came to showing Him love and living for Him, that is where it stopped. the picture to the side reminds me of the "old saying" when the cat's away the mice will play. When Moses and Joshua went up Mount Sinai to see God, they were gone for 40 days. During that time, the people became restless and started to fall back to the ways of when they were in Egypt, worshipping an idol. In a sense we tend to do the same thing. Not with golden idols of course, but it other ways. For example, if we don't go to church regularly then we tend to start making excuses why not to go. We need church to learn about the ways of God, and to keep our thoughts upon Him, because the "world" has a tendency to try and crowd Him out of our lives by doing its best to "replace Him with other "stuff". We need to do something with God In mind EVERY DAY and remember God sees everything we do, just as He saw what the Israelites were doing.

We need to stop and re-evaluate our own lives and way of thinking about this subject. How much love are We actually willing to show God? Saying it is not showing Him love. Only our actions will show Him how much we care for Him. We can go to church seven days a week, but if our Christian attitudes stay in church, then that is not showing love. I remember a verse which talks about "doing for the least of them", is doing for Christ. That is love, studying His Word, that is showing that you care enough to learn about Him. That is love. Being humble to God, that is love. Being infilled with the Holy Ghost and showing forth the fruit of the Spirit, that is showing love for Him.

I learn so much every service I go to. Whenever I hear someone say, "I didn't get anything out of the service", I always tell them, "you must not have been listening with your heart".

The Answers to the Bible Challenge are as follows:
1. d) swifter than leopards (Habakkuk 1:8)
2. d) Micah (Micah 5:2)
3. a) Isaiah (Isaiah 7:14)
4. b) Habakkuk (Habakkuk 2:1)
5. a) Isaiah (21:9)
6. a) Hosea (Hosea 1:2)
7. b) love his wife (Hosea 3:1)
8. c) Christ's entry into Jerusalem on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9)
9. fire (Matthew 3:11)
10. d) Revelation (Revelation 6:1-8)

Good Night and May God Bless!

"A WELL-BALANCED LIFE IS A HEALTHY LIFE"

Good Evening to All!

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. 1 Peter 5:8 KJV

The Amplified Version states it this way: Be well balanced (temperate, sober of mind), be vigilant and cautious at all times; for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion roaring [in fierce hunger], seeking someone to seize upon and devour.

According to the Message Bible it states it like this: Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up.

**********

Just like our temporary physical bodies need the right kinds of food, the right amount of sleep and plenty of exercise to stay healthy and balanced, so our does our spiritual and natural side. For it to be balanced, it needs the Holy Ghost, it needs to be fed from the Word of God, and it needs prayer in it. Without these very
important elements in our lives we will be lost.

There are a combination of ways to stay balanced in EVERY area of our life. Several of them are to read God's Word, to Pray, and to allow the Holy Spirit to guide us. The First two are very important in the respect that by reading and studying His word, and Praying, we will get to know God better and become closer to Him. Then we develop an intimate relationship with Him, we will receive the Holy Ghost within us. When this happens, Hew will keep us in balance (if we let Him by letting us know when we are spending too much money whether what we are spending it on is
worthy of our hard earned cash, or whether we are throwing it away. He will tell us if we are not speaking up enough or volunteering to much information. The Spirit will tell us if we are resting enough or too much. He will tell us if there is too much of one thing in our life or not enough of something else.

The point is we must stay balanced. If we allow ourselves to get out of balance, this gives Satan the chance to take advantage of us. This is where our troubles start. For example, he whispers in a mother or daddy's ear, you didn't have this when you were a child, your dad couldn't make enough money to buy you this or that. So, you say to yourself, my child isn't going to have to do without like I did. Therefore, you start working harder, longer hours and at first it's one night a week then 2, before you know it, your working on the week-ends all in the name of "giving

your child what you didn't have. The thing is, your children would probably rather have you spend time with them much more than the "substitute" toy that you work so hard to be able to give them which is more than likely over-priced anyway. Ok, I got on a rabbit trail. let's see if I can rein this back in.

Just as you can be out of balance with work and family, you can easily get out of balance with your physical and spiritual life.

When you take time away from God by watching tv instead of having prayer time, or play computer games instead of reading your daily Bible reading, that's being out of balance. (Yes, I'm using my downfalls as an example) I'm definitely going to start working on them tonight after this post. I am definitely feeling conviction. LOL! (Which is a good thing). Like I said in last night's post, I like getting my "toes stepped on" and feeling convicted, because that means God is working on me.

I am so thankful for the Holy Ghost. I know that without Him it would be impossible for me to "keep my eyes on the Prize" let alone change into person God wants me to be. I'm a far cry from it, and I know that I will not be completely changed until He takes me up with Him, but at least with the Holy Ghost I can continually work toward it.

Staying balanced is the key. Many years ago, I worked for a company that dealt in professional weight scales. We sold scales to truck weigh stations, grocery stores and many other places. It was also our job (the service tech's) to do regular checks on them to make sure they weighed correctly or were calibrated.

We are the same. We must keep ourselves calibrated and in check so that our lives will stay in balance. We need to keep ourselves tuned in to the Holy Spirit so that when His still small voice speaks and tells us what we need to work on, let go, or add to, we will hear Him and obey. Yes, I said OBEY. Hearing Him will do no good if we don't OBEY.

As I'm sure you know, sacrifice is very high on God's list, but obedience is even more important.

I know that in today's world, we have so much going on, it's easy to run out of time. In my case, it's easy to procrastinate, since I only clean a few houses, I really have too much time, so I procrastinate. I keep thinking, I 'll do it after this tv show, I'll do it after I finish supper, I'll do it after my bath, and my favorite, I read my Bible after I finish my post. I do read it after my post sometimes, but by then I'm tired and I can't concentrate, so I need to find a better time. Yes, I do read some before my post, as that is where my posts come from, but I don't count that as my "daily Bible reading". I'm trying to read my Bible through in a year, and if I don't get with it, it's not going to happen. I keep procrastinating. I'm out of balance, and I need to dig my heels into the ground and obey the Holy Ghost and start reading my Bible BEFORE my post. I can't help but wonder how much richer my posts would be.

I would like to make a kind of challenge for each of my readers. Think about your daily schedule, then find 30 minutes during the day (0r night) to dedicate to God. In an ideal world, I would say spend 30 minutes reading your Bible, and thirty minutes in prayer, but I fear that would be too much for some who aren't use to doing either, so I just ask that you dedicate 30 minutes to God, in prayer, or reading or both.

This will help us in so many ways. It will put God's Word in our hearts, so that when the devil comes sneaking up we can make him flee. After all the Bible says he trembles at the mention of God's name. Reading God's Word will help us to know when someone is deceiving us by quoting false scriptures. It will bring us CLOSER to God because it will help us get to know Him better.
It will also help us to realize why we need the Holy Ghost in our lives and what all

He will do for us if we let Him. He and ONLY HE can help us to stay in balance. Without Him, our lives would be chaos.

I hope you will take this challenge seriously, because I feel so strongly that we all need a little more balance in our lives in this day and time. It gets away from us so easily.

I know by doing this we will feel more peace, and will definitely get a blessing from it.


Good Night to All and May God Bless!