Saturday, October 29, 2011
The World is The Mission Field
JESUS CHRIST commands His disciples, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
-- Matthew 28:19-20.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
HOPE in a broken world
Do you ever find yourself on a spiritual high when life is all sunshine and roses (perfect as can be), only to crash into the pits of despair?
I found myself in a pit recently and had to think, "How did I get here?"
So as I often due when upset, I went surfing (not in the ocean, online ;) only to find myself looking up old songs I used to hear on the Christian radio station I grew up with and the song "Home Free" by Wayne Watson resonated with my soul.
It was then that I realized that indeed, I had fallen prey to an attack by the enemy. You know that when you're thinking turns negative and you don't see hope or how God's helping you in troubling situations, that it can be an attack from the devil. He works hard to take our minds off of God and the promise of eternity for God's faithful followers and today he had me held captive by thinking about the negatives in life.
But through study of God's Word (The Holy Bible) and listening to this beautiful song by Wayne Watson, I realized that what happened was a distraction and a lie woven from the temporary trappings of this world.
Life here on Earth is not the final chapter to our life stories-- heaven and eternity await for those who are faithful followers of Jesus Christ.
Now I say "faithful followers" because the Bible says in the Book of Hebrews, Chapter 11, verse 6, "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." The reward, dear friends, is Heaven. The Bible tells us, "But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him" (1 Corinthians 2:9).
God has great plans for our future (Jeremiah 29:11) so let us not forget that HE is in control and may we not be distracted by the temporary trappings of this world. These trappings that have the power to consume our minds are just tactics to keep us bound to worries and our connections to this world which is not our home. While we are to live in this world and occupy until Jesus comes, the hope in the midst of our troubles is God's promise that He will return and take the people He finds to have been faithful to Him, to heaven. As the song by Wayne Watson says, "We will be home free."
Before I share the song "Home Free" with you, I would like to direct you to the current post on (in)courage ministry co-founder Holley Gerth's blog where you can take a "Thoughts Quiz" to help you determine if the thoughts you are having are truth from God or lies from the devil. Here's the link to the quiz and article by Holley- http://www.holleygerth.com/heart-to-heart-with-holley/2011/10/23/thoughts-quiz.html
In closing, I would like to share this Bible verse with you: "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer." -- Psalm 19:14.
Be blessed!
Love,
Alexis
P.S._ Here's the song:
I found myself in a pit recently and had to think, "How did I get here?"
So as I often due when upset, I went surfing (not in the ocean, online ;) only to find myself looking up old songs I used to hear on the Christian radio station I grew up with and the song "Home Free" by Wayne Watson resonated with my soul.
It was then that I realized that indeed, I had fallen prey to an attack by the enemy. You know that when you're thinking turns negative and you don't see hope or how God's helping you in troubling situations, that it can be an attack from the devil. He works hard to take our minds off of God and the promise of eternity for God's faithful followers and today he had me held captive by thinking about the negatives in life.
But through study of God's Word (The Holy Bible) and listening to this beautiful song by Wayne Watson, I realized that what happened was a distraction and a lie woven from the temporary trappings of this world.
Life here on Earth is not the final chapter to our life stories-- heaven and eternity await for those who are faithful followers of Jesus Christ.
Now I say "faithful followers" because the Bible says in the Book of Hebrews, Chapter 11, verse 6, "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." The reward, dear friends, is Heaven. The Bible tells us, "But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him" (1 Corinthians 2:9).
God has great plans for our future (Jeremiah 29:11) so let us not forget that HE is in control and may we not be distracted by the temporary trappings of this world. These trappings that have the power to consume our minds are just tactics to keep us bound to worries and our connections to this world which is not our home. While we are to live in this world and occupy until Jesus comes, the hope in the midst of our troubles is God's promise that He will return and take the people He finds to have been faithful to Him, to heaven. As the song by Wayne Watson says, "We will be home free."
Before I share the song "Home Free" with you, I would like to direct you to the current post on (in)courage ministry co-founder Holley Gerth's blog where you can take a "Thoughts Quiz" to help you determine if the thoughts you are having are truth from God or lies from the devil. Here's the link to the quiz and article by Holley- http://www.holleygerth.com/heart-to-heart-with-holley/2011/10/23/thoughts-quiz.html
In closing, I would like to share this Bible verse with you: "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer." -- Psalm 19:14.
Be blessed!
Love,
Alexis
P.S._ Here's the song:
Saturday, October 22, 2011
An Invitation :)
Dear friends,
I would like to pray for you.
If you have any prayer requests, make a comment below this post and I will respond. You can either ask me to pray for you on my website in a written note or ask that I keep your request personal during my quiet prayer time without publishing my written prayer response to you for the world to see on my blog.
Either way, I promise to pray for you. :)
Here's a song for the prayer ministry:
"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." -- James 5:16 (New International Version)
I would like to pray for you.
If you have any prayer requests, make a comment below this post and I will respond. You can either ask me to pray for you on my website in a written note or ask that I keep your request personal during my quiet prayer time without publishing my written prayer response to you for the world to see on my blog.
Either way, I promise to pray for you. :)
Here's a song for the prayer ministry:
"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." -- James 5:16 (New International Version)
Be blessed!
Love,
Alexis
Monday, October 17, 2011
Sunday, October 16, 2011
God pursues you!
PURSUED - Book Promo Video (Final Version) from Shawn Brace on Vimeo.
For more about Pastor Shawn Brace, visit his official blog-
http://newenglandpastor.blogspot.com/
Sabbath is Saturday
Dear friends,
God designed Sabbath to take place on the 7th day of the week. How do I know? Because The Bible says so. Here's the key verse:
Exodus 20:8-11 (www.biblegateway.com)
New International Version (NIV)
“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but 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."
Sabbath is not meant to be a mere concept that people toss around to any day or time of the week, creating a time when they decide to be in communion with God. God made holy the 7th day of the week after creating the world in 6 days. Our calendars have not changed. The 7th day is Saturday which is as the Bible indicated, the true Sabbath.
If you don't believe me or are curious to know more, you may want to research the history behind Sabbath. Jesus Christ's disciples and followers who lived in Bible story times kept the seventh-day Sabbath and it wasn't until Constantine (A Roman Emperor) changed the day of worship from Sabbath to Sunday that people started keeping Sunday holy instead of Saturday. The problem with that is that Sabbath on Sunday is man-made law under the authority of the Catholic Church (officiated by Constantine). God never said that Sabbath is Sunday nor did he give a human the permission to change it.
Here's a great presentation about the history behind how Sabbath was changed from Saturday to Sunday--http://studies.itiswritten.com/new_beginnings/video/myth_12.html
I've been hearing a lot in the past few months about the need for us as humans to have a "Sabbath" rest and how it doesn't matter what day you choose to have your "Sabbath" rest, as long as you have it sometime during the week. Apparently, there are even books you can buy in the bookstore about the need for Sabbath rest that's up to your choosing and designation.
This idea, if not movement, of Sabbath rest on any day of the week is a nice thought but it's not correct according to God's Word (The Holy Bible).
God designed Sabbath to take place on the 7th day of the week. How do I know? Because The Bible says so. Here's the key verse:
Exodus 20:8-11 (www.biblegateway.com)
New International Version (NIV)
“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but 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."
Sabbath is not meant to be a mere concept that people toss around to any day or time of the week, creating a time when they decide to be in communion with God. God made holy the 7th day of the week after creating the world in 6 days. Our calendars have not changed. The 7th day is Saturday which is as the Bible indicated, the true Sabbath.
If you don't believe me or are curious to know more, you may want to research the history behind Sabbath. Jesus Christ's disciples and followers who lived in Bible story times kept the seventh-day Sabbath and it wasn't until Constantine (A Roman Emperor) changed the day of worship from Sabbath to Sunday that people started keeping Sunday holy instead of Saturday. The problem with that is that Sabbath on Sunday is man-made law under the authority of the Catholic Church (officiated by Constantine). God never said that Sabbath is Sunday nor did he give a human the permission to change it.
Here's a great presentation about the history behind how Sabbath was changed from Saturday to Sunday--http://studies.itiswritten.com/new_beginnings/video/myth_12.html
Growing up, I was always told that we are to "Study the Word of God to show yourself approved." God doesn't want us to take what anyone- parents, teachers, preachers, friends and family- says about Him and His Laws to heart without checking what our fellow humans say with what God says to us in His Word (The Holy Bible).
So dear friends, don't believe anything and everything you hear. Study God's Word to show yourself approved.
Sincerely,
Alexis
Thursday, October 6, 2011
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