“There is neither Jew nor Gentile,
neither slave nor free,
neither male nor female,
for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
Tag: Christ
WF: Bouncing back
This song that I chose to share today says it all. It’s not falling that makes us a loser, it’s staying down that does. We have the choice of getting up and keep on fighting and why not when we have God on our side.
Philippians 4:13
I can do all this through Christ who gives me strength.
Romans 8:31
If God is for us, who can be against us?
WF: Worship Friday
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- WF: Lifting the name of God (therisingmuse.com)
- WF: Through the eyes of God (therisingmuse.com)
- WF: Listening to the right voice (therisingmuse.com)
- WF: All Jesus did for us (therisingmuse.com)
Just for today
Since creation God has been trying to relay our purpose and how our life was
designed to be lived and enjoyed. Our pride, trusting issues and misuse of our freedom are the root of our inability to grasp this concept, in my opinion. From the beginning God intended for us to live in the present. Yes, our past can teach us lessons to not repeat and the future gives us hope, but both are intangible and out of our hands and all we have promised is what’s in front of us, this moment.
This doesn’t mean to be reckless with out present as the next moment is not promised. If history has taught us anything is that our daily decision impacts how our future would look like. At the same time, if our past has impacted our present, then we still have a chance right here and right now to make the necessary changes to affect where we are and where we are going.
I was listening to someone preaching about the concept of one day at a time. The person said that God only provides for us for one day at a time and it just resonated with me the emphasis that God had placed into this to show us the order that our life should have.
Let’s look at some examples in the Word where God is trying to teach us the concept of “One day at a time”
- Creation
During the passages of creation the first thing that God did was separate the day from the night and call it a “day”. He could have allowed us to live in lighted days or darken days for eternity, but from the creation he wanted us to have designated blocks of time to deal with.
- The Dessert
When Moses was in the dessert with the Israelites God gave them provision for just one day. Manna and quail was provided for them, with the instruction to not save any for the next day and just take what they needed. Did they listen? Of course not, and the next day the food was filled with worms. The only exception was on the sixth day to save for the Sabbath, which in our modern times would be: run your errands one day, but do take a day to rest and meditate on the Lord.
- The Savior himself (Jesus)
All over the New Testament we hear Jesus telling us not to worry about tomorrow but to focus on the day at hand.
- “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow (Matthew 5:33)
- And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life” (Matthew 6:27)
Personally, I have been challenged by this concept. I tend to be a planner. I like to have plan A,B,C and D just in case. In my walk with Christ I’m learning that only JC plan works. Yes, the plan that Jesus Christ and his Father have laid out for me and that trying to work against that concept is not only contra productive, but very exhausting. I’m not going to claim that I have mastered living just for today, but I get better as I see that things work so much smoothly when I do nothing but trust God and let him lead the way.
So I invite you to join me in casting all our worries about our future to our Lord Jesus Christ and start living like God intended for us to live from the very beginning. Isn’t it wonderful to know that we are cared for and that God’s way is the best way?
As always I like to hear from you, have you had experiences with having to change your perspective on how to live your life? Come and share with us…
Until then, be blessed!
Speak to your fears…loud!
Have you ever been in a difficult situation that becomes a part of your life and tends to stay with you? The event, place, person or circumstance may not be a constant in your life, but when it does appear you feel that knot in your stomach, the lack of breath. It just drives you right back to the original place.
What to do?
- Acknowledge the feeling- Denying that is there will not make it any better. It will not make it go away, in fact it may creep its ugly head more often as it is has not been dealt with.
- Look for its root-The feeling of uneasiness is more than trauma. What is it really that this experience causes you? Is it a sense of impotence, rejection, lack of control, etc.
- Is it real?- Yes, is the feeling coming from a real imminent threat or just something that trigger a memory, but you’re not in real danger at this time.
- Take action-Yes, once you acknowledge out loud what you’re feeling and you determine if your danger is real or not, you have to do something. If you’re in real danger you may need to remove yourself from the situation or call authorities or something of that nature to keep you safe.
If you’re not in immediate danger and it’s just your feelings bringing you down, speak to them!
Yes, remind yourself and your enemy that you can do all things in Christ who strengthens you; that no weapon formed against you shall prosper, that you are a prince or princess as children of the most high King and that the enemy has to flee.
- Move- Once you’ve spoken to your feelings of fear, don’t stay in place marinating in your thoughts. Go do something, turn the music on, worship the Lord, call a friend, move out of that zone that is trying to keep you prisoner of your thoughts.
Hope this helps, it has helped me too!
Blessings,
Seeking directions
At times we are presented with situations that force us to make difficult life decisions with little to no information. We look to God for direction but can find it difficult to read His signs. We seek solutions while being keenly aware that the enemy is standing by, providing detours to guide us in the wrong direction, but even with this knowledge it is still difficult to discern which way to go.
Then there are times when we have gotten the clarification we need from God the neon lights are blaring showing us the route, but our flesh wants more details. We feel like we need more information that’s not being revealed to us. So we keep searching and digging deeper, finding nothing despite our best efforts. I know I’ve been at fault for that.
Let’s agree today to pray that whatever revelation we need be given from God, that “there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known” (Luke 12:2 NIV) At the same time, let’s allow God to give us the information he wants us to have and stop digging ourselves deeper into a pit of unnecessary pain and confusion.
WF: All Jesus did for us
Jesus death and resurrection should not be something we just remember just when the church tells us to commemorate it through a holiday or when we are in trouble. Every day new mercies are given to us. Let’s worship the Lord remembering what he did and does for us.
Enjoy
WF: Worship Friday
Brief announcement to all my twitter followers
If you’re following me on twitter. My account was hacked last night. The problem has been solved, but some of you may still have the malware message in your direct message box. The message states that I found a picture of you. Please, Do Not Open that message. Delete it immediately or your account will be hacked as well. If you accidentally opened it. I sincerely apologize. Please change your password and any application that you didn’t authorize to have access to your twitter account from your profile page. Then notify twitter of the transgression.
I have followed these steps and no further illegitimate messages should be sent from my account. I appreciate all your support and following.
God Bless You!!
Naty
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At this moment…
With the day to day of life, sometimes we don’t see the forest from the trees. I try to make a stop at least twice a year to evaluate my course. I see where I’ve been, what I’ve done and where I’m headed. I usually do those things on my birthday and at the end of the year. Fortunately for me they are six months apart giving me exactly a review within the same time frames
The last few months have been kind of slow in every sense. I’ve had low energy to do much, no major events have happened and I sit here grateful for that. My life has had enough rollercoaster episodes for what a quiet sense of peace, as strange as it feels, it’s been very welcome.
This time has allowed me to finally slow down and look at my projects in a different light. I needed to give some first steps but now it has been time to build the foundation, physically, emotionally and spiritually and without even noticing that’s what these last six months have been about. It has been about the journey of finding me and being newly defined in Christ instead of the world. It has been about being comfortable in my own skin and around others.
It has also been a push to come out of my shell. With fear and trembling I placed my name on this blog, it was about time you guys knew who was behind all the rambling. I even placed my picture for all to see. That’s Kristen Lamb’s fault, but I love her for it. I’ve joined a crazy world of writers in twitter called #myWANA, which stands for “We Are Not Alone”. It’s been an amazing experience to share the struggles and the victories of the journey.
I joined a grammar class that I didn’t finish. I plan to enroll in it again. I’m reading books in writing craft. I even found out there’s a manual for Christian writers. I want to be better, for God, for you and for me.
So as the candles dwindle in my cake, I don’t think I have a wish this year, because I’m happy with where I am, with who I am and with the things God is making happen in my life.
Blessings
WF: Resting in his peace
I don’t know about you, but on Fridays I feel tired. You start Monday with the energy to take on the week. Each week brings challenges of their own and when it all ends all you want is to rest and have some peace. You don’t want to hear about the bill that is due, the report that needs to be finished, the double game that the children have over the weekend, the grocery shopping, the house cleaning or the car cleaning, all you want to do is rest.
In the times when routine is overwhelming, but also when life gives us unpleasant surprises we want the world to stop for just a minute to help us catch up.
He says in HIS Word in Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest”
Take five minutes which is the duration of this video to worship the Lord and rest in his peace.
Be blessed!
WF=Worship Friday
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Christians getting tattoos
I had an interesting conversation the other day about tattoos. Like any form of art, they are quite interesting, some are really nice, and some are not. But the discussion was, Are Christians allowed to get tattoos? This discussion does not relate to those who come to Christ already with tattoos, we are talking about those who are already saved, didn’t have one and are now getting them or contemplating them.
For the longest time I was one of those raising the hand with Leviticus 19:28, “Do not cut your bodies for the dead, and do not mark your skin with tattoos. I am the Lord.” (NLT), but is not as clear cut as that. First of all there’s the judgment part. If I am judging other people for getting tattoos, piercings or men wearing earrings, then I’m the one in trouble for judging. I’ve met true worshipers with all of those or some, these are Christian leaders who I truly respect for their spirituality and who have been mentors in my life. I admit that at the beginning I was conflicted. So I decided to do some research.
First of all I discovered that we need to read things in its context This rule and many others in the Old Testament were placed by God to avoid pagan rituals amongst the Israelites. He wanted for his people to be set apart and he still does. So does getting a tattoo makes you conform to what the world is doing? There are two schools of thought, some that say that the rules in Leviticus still apply to us, some that say they don’t. Well, I agree in Leviticus 19:29 when it says “Do not prostitute your daughter…”, but it also says two verses before, “Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard” (19:27) and we know that men have haircuts and shave everyday.
From the majority of the articles I read that do not attack the tattoos (meaning not necessarily approve of them, but don’t have the notion that they will send you to hell) I gather that it’s all in the motivation and heart. Even tattoos are a matter of the heart. Why do you want to get a tattoo? Is it to fit in within the culture? Will the tattoo bring more attention to you than to Christ? Remember that our ultimate goal is that He becomes greater as I become less (John 3:30)
Some people even claim that God has tattoos using the scripture of Isaiah
49:16 “I have tattooed you on the palm of my hands” Others have said that Jesus has a tattoo as well referring to what is said in Revelations 19:16 “On his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords”
At the end, more than the focus of is it right for a believer to have or not a tattoo look at where your heart is. If you don’t have one, “are you looking at the sawdust in your brother’s eye while paying no attention to the plank in your eye? (Matthew 7:3) If you are considering one, why do you want one? Have you talk to God about it? Will getting one affect your relationship with God or make others stumble?
Personally I’ve looked at some and they are quite interesting, I could never get one and it goes beyond any religious convictions. I don’t see myself sitting for any extended period of time to be voluntarily poked. Also, I don’t think I could commit to a design. I don’t think I could agree to one color as my favorite color for my entire life, it used to be red, and somehow my mom says it used to be yellow and if you ask me now it’s blue. Can you imagine?
As always I’m interested in hearing your opinion. Let me know your thoughts and hope you have a blessed day.
Could Jeffrey Dahmer be in heaven?
Every time someone thinks of Jeffrey Dahmer the first thought is that of a serial killer. He raped, killed and kept the parts of some of his victims. He buried some of them. It was known that he killed around 17 men and boys.
I was looking into my usual crime stories and amazingly enough I had heard the name but didn’t know the story. To my surprised I read not only about the despicable disgusting things he did, but as I kept reading I found out something that it’s not talked about much.
While in jail, after being apprehended while his last potential victim was able to escape and alert authorities, Dahmer did something amazing… He gave his life to Christ. Yes, my mouth dropped and I couldn’t believe it, he repented and got saved and accepted Jesus as his Lord and savior. He even got baptized.
The bible says that in Mark 16:16 “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned” and it also says in Isaiah 1:18 “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool”
Dahmer was attacked twice in jail, once coming out of a church service and late
r on while cleaning floors and that’s when he was killed. I think this is an inspirational story. I believe that in the eyes of God there are no sins bigger than other. A lie and a murder carry both the same weight; maybe not in our eyes, but in God’s eyes. (1 John 3:4-5 Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness)
If I follow the Word of God then yes, Jeffrey Dahmer could be in heaven. I can’t be certain as only God knew his heart. We believe in a God that can forgive it all. Isn’t that great? If you have not raped and murder anyone, guess what? if you repent, what you did can be forgiven. But there’s more, even if you have… if you repent you can be forgiven too. We all can.
I thought that was a deep concept to process and wanted to share. I would love to hear your thoughts.
Blessings!!!
