WF: The Desert Song

On September 21, 2012September 18, 2012 By Naty MatosIn WorshipLeave a comment

In life we go through struggles and sometimes all that keeps us going is our faith.

One of my favorite passages in the bible is the exit of the Israelites out of Egypt and how God saw them through. Sometimes we are in our personal dessert and have to trust that since we serve the same God, he too will see us through.

WF: Worship Friday

In Growth Lessons, I was reminded of this beautiful truth: Our walk with the Lord is a process of growing up into the image of Christ. P. Yates

I would recommend this book for anyone who would like some common sense and light added to their life. C. Cunningham

Great for meditations and daily devotions. N. Thames

WF: My Own Little World

On August 31, 2012August 2, 2012 By Naty MatosIn Worship1 Comment

How often do we really notice what goes around us? We live our little Christian lives, with our Christian friends and our Christian activities. How many times do we really live the life that Jesus called us to live.

Listen careful to this song, it will give you a lot of food for thought. This weekend while having fun and rest with our loved ones, lets think about what else we can do with the time we have available.

WF: Worship Friday

Do you want to read about real life lessons on how to do this thing called Christian Life? Pick up a copy of my devotional Growth Lessons

In Growth Lessons, I was reminded of this beautiful truth: Our walk with the Lord is a process of growing up into the image of Christ. P. Yates

I would recommend this book for anyone who would like some common sense and light added to their life. C. Cunningham

Great for meditations and daily devotions. N. Thames

Places in the Body of Christ

On August 27, 2012August 26, 2012 By Naty MatosIn Inspirational Thoughts1 Comment

I ran into this scripture the other day and let out a chuckle. Not because it’s funny but because we all know someone who needs to be reminded of this part of the bible. Have you ever ran into someone who says, but I’m (insert churchy title and their name)? My thought is always, is that the name your Momma gave you? So let’s go ahead and make sure that we are all reminded.

Romans 12:3

[Humble Service in the Body of Christ] For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.

As leaders in the body of Christ we have to remember that we should be the first ones to be of service and not to be served. That the leadership position is just a call to serve and it’s really more responsibility than prestige. A title given to organize our responsibilities doesn’t give us status. Jesus being God humble himself washing the feet of his disciples.

Jesus said in Matthew 23:1-13 “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.

“Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others.

“But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Yes, we are to respect, follow and honor our leaders. But for those of us who are leaders, we need to remember that we are all part of the body and nobody is more important in the eyes of God than other.

Until next time, Be Blessed.

“Aimee is a constant positive influence in Desiree’s life, gently demonstrating God’s love and mercy. ”Mary Anne Benedetto

“Very well written. ”Emme

“I would recommend The Road Home to any romantic, any lover of books, anyone struggling with forgiveness, anyone. ”Cynthia

Promoting in a Christian World

On August 22, 2012August 21, 2012 By Naty MatosIn Writing Happenings5 Comments

I’m not sure who it was. I was listening to the radio and there was a Christian artist who was being interviewed. He said that he struggled with promoting his work because people would be looking at him and crediting him for his work and not necessarily God. He said that through prayer he realized that this was his business and that not promoting it would not be wise, but that he had to make sure of two things:

1) Keep his focus on the Lord

2) Give God the Glory for his success

I read the following scripture and it reminded me of this…

2 Corinthians 10:17-18

But, “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.

That was the main messages that Tim Tebow tried to impart on people, that yes he had great abilities but they were given to him by God and any success he had was given by Him and him only.

I know at the beginning of my journey as an author I thought I should not place my name on anything. I should not promote anything and let God place my things where they should. Like the singer, whom I wish I could remember his name, I realized that if I hid under a rock nobody would find the message that God had entrusted in me. I would be just like the man who hid the talent that God gave him in the parable. However, although my name is there, I make sure that when people cheer me on, to tell them that it was all God. That I am just using what I was given for the Glory of the Kingdom and He who called me to proclaim His message. All the honor, glory and accolades belong to HIM.

Christian Authors, Artists, Business Owners, have you struggle with this? How have you reconciled this concept?

Until then, Be Be blessed!

In Growth Lessons, I was reminded of this beautiful truth: Our walk with the Lord is a process of growing up into the image of Christ. P. Yates

I would recommend this book for anyone who would like some common sense and light added to their life. C. Cunningham

Great for meditations and daily devotions. N. Thames

Keeping the Sabbath

On August 15, 2012August 14, 2012 By Naty MatosIn Inspirational ThoughtsLeave a comment

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work,¹⁰but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Exodus 20:8

In the passage above we read that we are supposed to rest. Our modern life goes totally against this principle. When God created the world including humanity everything worked inside a principle of balance.

Do you remember that ecosystem science project in school? You needed certain elements for everything to function properly. The same way our lives were designed to work, to have fun but also to rest. The Word of God doesn’t call us to exhaust ourselves and wait for a week vacation once in a while to recuperate, it says that out of every seven days we need one to rest.

Society works against this principle. Our “days off” are usually the weekends, and what do we do with those? Some people work, some people spend both days running errands, doing housework. And like a good friend of mine would say, How is that working for you? How is your body functioning on little rest? How is your relationship with God when your mind is cluttered with business? How is your relationship with those around you when they don’t have down time with you?

Like I said before, everything in God’s perfect plan has an order and a purpose, so aside from obedience conserving the Sabbath is about the balance in our lives to fulfill God’s purpose.

Be blessed

If you want to read about some of my own life lessons in my walk with Christ, check out my book Growth Lessons.

In Growth Lessons, I was reminded of this beautiful truth: Our walk with the Lord is a process of growing up into the image of Christ. P. Yates

I would recommend this book for anyone who would like some common sense and light added to their life. C. Cunningham

Great for meditations and daily devotions. N. Thames

God First

On August 6, 2012August 2, 2012 By Naty MatosIn Inspirational Thoughts1 Comment

When God spoke to Moses in the desert about the things he required from us, the first thing he sais was for us to always consider him first. God wants our love and our affections without competing with anything else in our life.

The scripture says, “You shall have no other gods before me” Exodus 20:3 We may think that as Christians we are already serving the right God, therefore this is already covered. Think again.

Jesus tells us in Mark 12:30 ” Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”

David shows us in Psalms 73:25-26 what that love would look like. When we realize that God is all we need. “Whom have I in heaven but You?
And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

A love so powerful sometimes is hard to comprehend. Do not give up. If we allow God to take over our lives he will show us how to live that love.

Let’s pray today that we can have our heart after God, that we can surrender from our selfish ways, shedding all our other passions for a passion for him.

Talking about passions. Check out my new book, The Road Home and learn how Desiree went after the wrong passions in her life and her struggles to find the right passion to follow.

“Aimee is a constant positive influence in Desiree’s life, gently demonstrating God’s love and mercy. ”Mary Anne Benedetto

“Very well written. ”Emme

“I would recommend The Road Home to any romantic, any lover of books, anyone struggling with forgiveness, anyone. ”cynthia

Man on Purpose

On August 1, 2012July 31, 2012 By Naty MatosIn Articles1 Comment

As a woman I can only write from the women’s perspective, but today I have a treat for all my brother’s in Christ, especially those in the state of Georgia. Today we have Richard Rice here with us to discuss his event Man on Purpose.

Richard, welcome to The Rising Muse. Tell us what is “Man on Purpose”?

Man On Purpose is a Ministry created to empower men to become the man God has created us to be with purpose, on purpose. To help men see their greater potential and become intentional on finding that purpose God has for them. Society has taken man created in God’s image and transformed him into a lesser than version, watered down with little or no substance. We have let society tell us what a man is supposed to look like and be like instead of diving into God’s word and finding the answers.

Man On Purpose is all about change. Change in ourselves and then making right what we have let society do to us and the world around us. We are supposed to be new creations in Christ. Man On Purpose is to help men become just that. We have to learn to deal with whatever it is that is hindering us in receiving the fullness of what God has for us.

Man On Purpose is a vision given to me on Saturday morning, April 18, 2012. I received the name of the ministry as well as what to teach about and a page full of ideas. Shortly after that day is when I was told that I have to do an event with the teaching I prepared out of my John Maxwell Certification.

Very interesting and so necessary. I know you have the first event for this ministry coming up. Tell us about it.

The event is on: August 4, 2012 8:00 am – 1:00 pm World Outreach Church for all Nations 1294 Braselton Highway Lawrenceville, GA 30043

This event is the first of many to come. I will be teaching on The 15 Laws of Personal Growth. This is a teaching geared to help men see themselves in a different light; to help them grow and develop so they can receive what God has for them. We will also be talking about accountability. Accountability is very important in any kind of growth situation. We need to be held accountable for what we do or are not doing, that’s how we can grow. There will be praise and worship as well as prayer time. The goal by the end is to break into groups and men sharing something they have hidden in the dark and bring it into the light. The Man On Purpose event is based on Jeremiah 29:11, 2 Corinthians 5:17, and James 5:16.

If out brothers in Christ would like to know more about this ministry or contact you, where can they do that?

Our website is : www.amanonpurpose.net

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Man-on-Purpose/396676617030072

TWITTER: @amanonpurpose

I can be reached by phone at: 678.522.4170

Who is Richard Rice?

Richard Rice is the founder of MAN ON PURPOSE. This ministry was birthed out of a desire to help men become the man they are intended to be with purpose, on purpose.

Richard surrendered his life to Christ in September 2005 and he got baptized in 2006. Searching for men in the church to help him in his walk, he found very little help. What he did find were men that needed the same kind of help he did. In 2007 Richard and Carrie dove into wanting to help others and they became part of the Mercy Team serving in downtown Atlanta ministering to the last, the lost, and the least; namely the homeless.

In 2009 Richard and his wife Carrie helped start a ministry in their church called Celebrate Recovery, during this time Richard was able to come face to face with a lot of his issues and overcome many of the hurts, habits, and hang ups. Through this process of growth and obedience God was able to give me the vision of Man On Purpose on April 18, 2012.
Through MAN ON PURPOSE it is Richard’s hope that he can challenge men to live an intentional life on fire for God.

Richard has been married for 6 years this month and has 7 children. Carrie, his wife came into this marriage with 4 children. Morgan 23, Trey 22, Nathan 19, and Joshua 17. Richard has 2 children from his previous marriage. Christian 20 and Darijan 15. From another relationship Richard also has Stefen 10.

WF: In Christ Alone

On June 22, 2012June 20, 2012 By Naty MatosIn Worship4 Comments

This has been a challenging week. I can say that this song represents everything that I feel and that has been true for me. In Christ alone I find the strength to move on regardless of the obstacles in life because I know Christ alone can help me. In Christ alone I find peace, because he’s the only one that can give peace in a way that the world can’t give it. In Christ alone I find joy, because the joy of the Lord is my strength and I can testify to the truth of that.

Join in me in praising God and acknowledging that Christ alone can be everything to us. Happy Friday!

WF: Worship Friday

Looking for a weekend read, pick up your copy of The Road Home available on Kindle and Nook

Perseverance

On June 20, 2012June 19, 2012 By Naty MatosIn Inspirational Thoughts5 Comments

I heard the word persevere yesterday and it really stuck to my spirit. As a believer it is very easy to stick to God’s plan when things are flowing and going well. When things are not working and not moving in a positive direction we want a way out. We want to try something different and if we’re not careful we may stray for the right path.

I’ve been working out for a month (yes, miracles do happen!) and have seen great results, but the last week there have been no changes on the scale. I’m frustrated about it to say the least. I’m looking at other areas in my life where my expectations had placed things moving in a certain way; after all I’m doing all the right things and have submitted them to God. Now God has brought up this word of perseverance.

My friend Webster, whom I had not talked to in a while, defines perseverance as a steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement. Did you read that? It says in spite difficulties, obstacles or discouragement. C’mon, sigh with me!

So then I went to the Word of God and I found a promise. Revelation 3:10 says, “Because you have obeyed my command to persevere, I will protect you from the great time of testing that will come upon the whole world to test those who belong to this world.” Wow, perseverance is actually a command and we will be protected during our test for being obedient. To me this means that the test is precisely the difficulties, the obstacles and the discouragement.

What are you struggling with today? What has you discouraged? If you don’t mind, share it with us so that we can pray together. If you want to share in private, do so at my email: therisingmuse@gmail.com

Hold on to the promise; good things are to come.

Be blessed.

Don’t forget to get your copy of my new book “The Road Home” available on Kindle and Nook. If you want an e-autograph, just place your request on kindlegraph.com

WF: The Motions

On April 13, 2012April 8, 2012 By Naty MatosIn Worship1 Comment

Guest Post by Joshua Bedford

The Motions

I don’t want to go through the motions
I don’t want to go one more day
Without Your all consuming passion inside of me
I don’t want to spend my whole life asking
What if I had given everything?
Instead of going through the motions

Song by Matthew West

That’s the problem with our world today. Most people who call themselves a Christian are simply going through the motions. They have said the prayer, they go to church, and they even read their Bible occasionally. The majority of “Christians” have become complacent in their walk with Christ.

In the song this post is named after, Matthew West makes a statement. This statement is that he does not want to be one who simply goes through the motions. He doesn’t want to only get through life, but excel during it. He wants the passion of God in him so he will not just “go through the motions.” He also says he does not want to spend the rest of his life wishing he had actually tried, instead of just “getting through it” or going through the motions.

We (Christians) should have this same mindset. We should strive to fulfill God’s will, and not simply try to get by with as little as possible. Christians should neither want to be lazy, and do as little as possible, nor just go through the motions and be pleased with what they are. We should not just do the same things weekly because it is comfortable for us. Be ready to step out of your comfort zone, out of the motions you normally do, and into something new or bigger that God has in store for you.

Include these things when you pray. Pray for the passion needed to want to strive toward accomplishing God’s Will. Pray for strength you need to carry out His Will and to use the passion given to you. Also pray for courage, so you will not fear using the strength God has given you. Last, but definitely not least among these, pray for wisdom, so you will be able to determine when and how to use the strength God has given to you.

Joshua Bedford is a 16 year old young man, and the owner of 1LightforGod.net. He studies web design, and enjoys building websites such as the one listed above. In his spare time he loves to read a good book, study God’s word, and write devotions.