What's Your Testimony?

 It's one of the greatest experiences a person could ever have; if not the greatest. One of the most life-changing, path altering, eye-opening things that could ever happen in one's life. You can call it a "game-changer" to say the least! Oh the peace, hope, and joy that one receives when Love comes down. This most awesome occasion takes place when a person gives their life to the One who gave it to begin with. This most amazing moment occurs when a soul invites the King of Heaven, to be the "King of their heart." A radical transformation follows as you are brought from death to Life; and out of darkness, into His marvelous Light. What Joy to the world?! The Savior has come; and He came to seek and save that which was lost. Our God is Mighty to save, hallelujah! When a Soul is saved by the Savior not only are the Angels rejoicing in Heaven, but we sometimes forget how that Soul is rejoicing on Earth! The invigorating feeling- of seeing, hearing, breathing, and living for the first time. He gave us life when He knit us together in our mother's womb; but we were born into sin, and we all know "the wages of sin is death."  Thanks be to God, that the Gift of God is Eternal Life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Many of us were drowning in sin in desperate need of rescuing, when the Savior rescued, resuscitated, and restored us. We were the "walking dead," (not zombies) spiritually lifeless beings chasing the wind; dead in our sins, when He made us alive.

AND YOU HE MADE ALIVE

 

 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,  in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,  among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. Eph 2:2-3

 Do you still remember what it was like when He called your name? Do you still remember how He saved you? Do you remember the darkness, the hopelessness,the emptiness; the fear that you experienced in your life before Christ? If we are going to live out our faith and have fruitful,  productive lives on this side of Heaven, then we have to remember what God has done for us. We have to remember what Jesus endured for us. We have to remember the life we once lived, and how really dead it was. We have to remember that He made us alive; we're no longer children of wrath, but now we are His children, the very children of God. 

WHATS YOUR TESTIMONY?

NOTHING CAN SEPERATE US

HE LOVES YOU

 

^{In this fallen world where nothing seems secure, and nothing seems to be bullet proof... There's one thing that can be banked on... God's Love. His love towards us is the Agape (unconditional) love. People fall in and out of love everyday; but I tell you this:  there is nothing that can separate you from the Love of God. No matter how lewd the act, no matter how grotesque the sin; the backbiting, backsliding actions we make; the worst sins imaginable- His Great love for us covers the spectrum. No matter where you've gone, or what you've done; what you've thought about doing, or better yet, what you've thought about Him... He loves you. Yes, God hates the sin; but He loves the sinner. Part of living out our faith, is "resting in His love." We have to share likewise faith with the Apostle Paul in this regard: he was completely convinced, or persuaded that nothing, absolutely nothing, was able to separate Him from the Love of God. If we are going to live out our faith, we have to know and rely on the love God has for us; God is love. For God so Loved- YOU (John 3:16). He has such a sacrificial, unconditionally great and awesome love for you today; His Love towards us is too vast to comprehend on this side of Heaven. So listen close my dear Brother and Sister... He loves you, and there is Nothing that's going on in your life that can stop that. Amen.} 

^{ROMANS 8:39-39}
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

YOU ARE NOT ALONE

Imagine if something terrible happened to you. Something so terrible that your life would be altered in a moments time. Imagine, in this worst case scenario, all your friends, and even your flesh and blood family abandoned you, turning their backs on you. Suddenly, you are completely alone. You looked up, and everyone was gone, they forsook you, abandoned you, and now you are completely and utterly alone. The agony of total isolation is unbearable. Being left to deal with, or cope with the feeling of being in a world all by yourself, emotionally cut-off from everyone; you are all alone.
Sadly, this imagined- worst case scenario of being "alone" is a reality for thousands, maybe even millions of people in the world today. The overwhelming sense of fear they must feel; the thick cloud of depression looming over their heads; the anxiety or numbness of feeling so isolated and alone, that even when they're with other people, in essence they're by themselves.
Brothers and Sisters, it saddens me to learn that this isn't only a worldy epidemic of loneliness. It has reached the pulpit, the pews, and even the choir. There are many Christians in the world today who war and struggle with chronic loneliness.

YOU ARE NOT ALONE

If you, or a friend, or a loved one, are feeling "alone" or lonely; or maybe you see a random stranger on the street, or a co-worker, or neighbor who are more often then not alone, let them in on a little secret: YOU ARE NOT ALONE! In our anguish we fail to see the simple truth, that we are not alone. He is with you! As the dust settles from everyone leaving, we take notice- that we are not alone, He is with us. Even if you have forsaken Him, He will never leave you nor forsake you. Even when you feel so alone; He is with you. All your friends are gone; He is with you. Your family has abandoned you? He is with you. Your husband or wife left you; He is with  you. Your car breaks down, He is with you. You lost your job? He is with you. You lost a loved-one, He is with you. Your best friend has betrayed you, He is with you. Everyone has given up on you? He is with you! You feel so isolated, so alone; He is with you!! YOU ARE NOT ALONE; He will NEVER leave you nor forsake you! 
PROVERBS 18:24
 A man of many companions may come to ruin,
    but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
                      🎵🎵    OHHH WHAT A FRIEND WE HAVE IN JESUS  🎵🎵


 
 

HIS GRACE IS ENOUGH

 Are you are struggling with something right now, going through hard times or trouble; or are you having any problems, in other words- are you burdened with "trials of many kinds?" If that is the case for you, or a friend, or a loved one; PLEASE remember this one thing:

GRACE:     the free and unmerited favor of God, as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings. 

2nd Corinthians 12:9 
⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
  "So take your eyes off of your problems, and fix them on the One who can solve them."

WHY DID THIS HAPPEN TO ME?

Everyone at one point of time or another have asked themselves: "Why did this happen to me?"
I've never claimed to be wise beyond years, or claimed to have secret insight on life; but one thing I do know- is the Word of God. I rely on it,  and consider it's truths absolute, 100% reliable, and trustworthy. So part of living out our faith, in essence "living  by faith and not by sight," is we have to know and stand firm on the Words written in the Holy Scriptures (the Bible). So if you have ever asked yourself the above question, there are several different Bible based answers; I found one of them for you to consider today:                                                                                                           2nd Corinthians 1;8,9.
  ⁸ We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. ⁹ Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.
So I want to inform you today my dear brothers and sisters: that though sometimes the problems (troubles and trials) we go through seem so overwhelming that "we begin to despair even of life itself" ,they more often then not can develop into a "blessing in disguise." We shouldn't be trying to rely on our own resources when we have such an awesome and Sovereign God in Heaven right?! So remember this today: OUR GOD IS RELIABLE; so take your eyes off of your problems or the obstacles you are struggling with in your life;and fix your eyes on Jesus, for you will start living out your faith, the moment you start focusing on Him. Amen.

"OUR GOD IS RELIABLE"

"I CAN FORGIVE, BUT I WONT FORGET".

"I CAN FORGIVE, BUT I WONT FORGET."
A fifty-something year old Christian woman told her friend at lunch one Sunday afternoon after church. Little did she know she was in direct conflict with the Word of God and her Christian life was a walking contradiction. She wasn't at all experiencing the peace or the joy that Jesus has to offer us. She had unknowingly allowed her "unforgiveness" to be used as a method for being sifted and in turn it was used by the enemy to put a cloud over her head, and stifle the would be blessings that should be flowing onto her life. You see, the bitter root, which kept going on growing, went unchecked till the point it sprouted leaves. Leaves of resentment, frustration, fury, inner turmoil and aggression etc.. It's safe to say there wont be much "fruit of the Spirit" on that tree right?! We can't be ignorant or unaware of Satan's plots and schemes on the children of God. Recognizing the simple truth that one of the enemy's greatest schemes is "unforgiveness." The bitterness stemming from harboring unforgiveness gives the devil a major foot hold, and even a stronghold in a believers life. By His amazing Grace, we have to allow the Holy Spirit to break the chains of unforgiveness. If we are going to live our lives by faith, we have to start living out our faith by making sure that we are diligently following the commands or exhortations by the Apostles in the Word of God... in this case:          Colossians 3:13  "Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you."                    

also consider the Apostle Paul's words in 2nd Corinthians 2:9-11. It reads:

⁹ Another reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything. ¹⁰ Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, ¹¹ in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes. 

Remember: ONE OF THE ENEMY'S GREATEST SCHEMES IS "UNFORGIVENESS."

FORGIVE AS THE LORD FORGAVE YOU.

In the light of these trues from the Word of God, let us prayerfully be willing to extend complete forgiveness; since we ourselves have been forgiven.  

STANDING FIRM IN THE FAITH

The realest thing I could tell you, is that this life is a mist or vapor, very brief and momentary. We have waiting for us an eternal glory. It's no surprise that when a person gives their life to the Lord, they go through some hard times, trials and tribulations. The Lord is with you though; do not be discouraged or even surprised when things don't go your way - look at His way; the Lord Jesus went through terrible things on this side of Heaven. Are we any better than him? Are we exempt from suffering? When we signed up for being a Christian did it mean that we automatically signed a waiver for excluding us from any hardships in this life? I'm not one of those preachers who preach- health, wealth, and prosperity; even though I know my God is a Healer; even though I know my God is a provider; and although I know and experience His favor- the favor of God on my life... In the course of this brief life, this side of heaven, we come to the faulty assumption of a "peaches and cream" attitude (everything should go perfect) in life. Maybe deliberately forgetting the words of the Lord of glory, the King of Heaven, when He told us "in this world we will have tribulation." We have to live out our faith today by acknowledging and recognizing that the Lord is with us, and that he is for us. No matter what schemes Satan may have to hinder us or to deter us from our faith, we have to be alert and know he's on the prowl, if we are going to stand firm in the faith, in essence living out our faith, no matter what comes our way or what he throws at us, we will praise God in the storm; we will still bless His Holy Name, for He is worthy of praise. Amen.

FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD

Ephesians 2:8 " for it is by grace that you have been saved, through faith- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God
                                     VS.
James 2:14 " what good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? (Faith without works is dead)

Does the word of God contradict itself? Is it completely reliable, is it completely trustworthy? You better believe it is! And you better believe and know that in no way does it contradict itself whatsoever!! His Holy Word is just that: absolutely holy, absolutely pure, absolutely true - 100 %. So let me give you the insight of a good breakdown of the good word:
With a healthy fear of sounding simplistically ignorant I want to say this, to where I, a simpleton in my own ignorant state of being, can understand it: 

Faith without works is dead - but it is some of the hardest work you can and will ever do (living out your faith, that is.) Living out our faith is an internal action with eternal significance to our reaction. It takes place on behalf of one's heart, to react and respond in a manner of "faith." To see the things in your life which take place, the situations or circumstances that you face, and to know that they are all filtered through the hands of the Almighty. Faith without works is dead, it is some of the hardest work you will ever do when faced with trial or faced with struggle, or opposition or obstacles: to know and respond in a faithful manner toward our great God and Savior. Knowing without any doubt in your mind that he is in control and that he is sovereign and that he reigns over the trivial affairs of men. Faith without works is dead, if I say that I'm a believer yet I don't believe he is in control, if I say that I'm a believer yet I don't believe that he knows all things, if I say that I'm a believer yet I don't see things filtered through faithful eyes and a heart full of faith, with a mind that conceives the very work of God; my faith isn't working and it is dead. Faith without works is dead. Simply said: it's an action on one's own heart to see and believe, to see and respond, to praise God and give thanks in everything.
For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, not by works. At the moment when your "saving faith" became active, you were such a true believer in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, that you received salvation by His grace in that moment. It is by His grace that you have been saved through faith not by works. You didn't become right with God by helping all the old ladies cross the street or carry their groceries, or help your neighbor when his car broke down or mow his lawn or by taking his garbage cans in for him, or even by when seeing that old folk on the side of the road in need and you helped them. It was by 100% grace, unmerited unearned favor of our great God and Savior that you have been saved. It most definitely didn't have anything to do with any action, better yet outward action on your own behalf. But it had everything to do with an inward reaction; you responded to his grace in a moment of faith and your heart acted upon it, and you looked to him who saves. He is mighty to save, its by grace we been saved through faith, not by works, but faith by itself or "faith without works" is dead, useless. Your heart has to see and believe he is at work, your heart has to beat to a new drum and know that its beat comes from him who created you. I want to exhort and encourage you to start living out your faith, because Faith without works is dead.

PURE GOODNESS

God is Good - He has compassion on those who are unworthy; Patience and nurturing love towards the undeserving; Gentleness and warmth for the brokenhearted; Peace and contentment for the lost; a Healing and Helping-Hand for the hurt and downcast soul. I'm head over heels, drowning in His Love. He covers over a multitude of sins, and works effortlessly as our Shelter in this stormy and cold environment which we have made for ourselves, at times to live in. His Presence gives us a genuine peace, which we frantically strive for throughout our existence. He gives us chance after chance, opportunity after missed opportunity, to praise Him to glorify Him; for the repeated opportunities to live and maintain in this thing called "life." Majestic and Divine and slow to anger - in His response to our dreadfully selfish and sinful ways. He is everything that is good, everything that's good comes from Him. He is responsible for everything that is good in our lives; while we, on the other hand, are more often then not responsible for those things that are bad. He is compassionate and loving to us, so much so that He often lets the mistakes that we make in our lives transform into "blessings in disguise". Our God is good and works in mysterious ways. We need to show God, that in light of His goodness towards us, we will allow Him to transform us to His Image; to the glory of His goodness; which is working within us - due to the goodness that He so generously showers us with on a daily basis. He is pure goodness, God is love. He's the epitome of what love is, and what it means to love; Sacrificial love, unconditional love , agape love. I'll say it again, He is the epitome of what love is, and what it means to love.
We often commit sin after sin, rebellion after rebellion, due to our dreadful sinful and selfish nature, and in a split second reaction; we can go from being His loving servant, bondservants of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, (which is peace and togetherness with God) to all of the sudden spiritually dead in a sense, living in spiritual loneliness or isolation, full of darkness, bitterness and even hate toward our fellow man. Possessed or better yet oppressed by demonic spirit in a sense, reduced to the status of a meaningless, better said: lifeless- puppet of a being controlled by the devil or our own sinful nature. This temporary emptiness leaves our hardened hearts calloused and even clueless to the point of their own hollowed shell. But thanks be to God, the God of Israel, the Almighty- He is almighty in the attributes of His nature, an accumulation of perfection; perfectly perfect and forgiving. With Him there is forgiveness; He instantly forgives us all our iniquity, transgression, and the  sin which so easily ensnares us; then shelters us from the turbulent and ugly "storms of life" which we've created for ourselves for the most part. Sometimes it feels like we are literally drowning in our own self pity or ignorance, "dog paddling" in a sense in the ocean of emotions so to speak - right before being lost into the abyss of our own sin. Then, all of the sudden, He saves us, rescues us, redeem us, and restores us; He puts us on solid ground. He resuscitates us, after nearly drowning in our own ignorance in this "sinning pool" that we've created for ourselves, with its deadly currents underneath- He rescues us! Our God is Mighty to save. He holds our fragile earthen vessels in the cracks of His Hands and I'll say it once again: He saves us! Not on impulse or by anything we've done but out of His goodness toward us (by Grace), God is good, Pure Goodness.

ROAD BLOCKS

The Narrow and Wide Gates                                                                                                          

^{MATHEW 7:13}  

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

In my insufficient experience in this "rat-race" called life- there are two things that stand-out to me: The narrow gate (trying to please Him, serve Him and in all essence live for Him) and The wide gate (the easy way of living, doing whatever I please, serving myself; in all essence living for me.) 
Oddly enough, when I was young- His Sovereign Hand was with me. Although I was a believer and I had faith, I was most certainly Hell bound, disregarding God and His Way, never taking the time to acknowledge my desperate need for a Savior. I didn't walk by faith; and as a result I wasn't living out my faith to say the least. It's only natural though... going with currents of life, doing whatever you please or whatever you see fit. Of this aspect of life- the Proverb is true: "There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end results are death." Kind of an inconvenient road block in your life's path right?! So in other words, all our natural pursuits, and hunting and gathering tendencies (which are embedded with underlined selfishness from selfish ambition) I can personally see, know and understand why we live this way. It's literally natural, a part of our nature; coded into our sinful D.N.A strand. It wasn't until the Good Lord saved my life on that fateful day interrupting or better yet disrupting the natural course of "life" then death. To then death and now life. What I mean is "as for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world..." Leisurely walking down this broad road that leads to destruction some of us aren't as blessed as I was to encounter a Road Block.  Now that I've entered the narrow gate I can't help but notice there are hazards and road blocks on this road as well. Two big ones are sin and doubt. We have to earnestly and diligently seek Him, so that when these road blocks come up in our lives- we'll let Jesus take the wheel; and drive us home. Amen 

THE ART OF USING THE PROPER PERSPECTIVE

                        
I recently preached a sermon on "Perspective." To sum up about 30 minutes of hot-air, obnoxious gesturing, and passionate- persuasively spoken broken English, I have for you one thought. In regards to "Perspective" ... our Christian perspective to life on this side of Heaven: FAITH, FAITH, FAITH. Nothing more, nothing less. Now here is a Chapter from the unpublished "Book of Spirituality" that I wrote a while back- with hopes you find it encouraging. #REALdisciple

  I have been politically locked down for a little over a year now in a sense. A strange thing happened to me over the course of my soon to be wife's pregnancy; an epiphany if you will. I had came to this conclusion: "I DO NOT CONTROL MY  DESTINY." This conclusion troubled me deeply due to the simple fact that my "destiny" or my life's path- whatever you want to call it, was something that I presumed I had control of.
Well, I guess we do have control over or better yet- reign in our destiny's scheme of things, when it comes to our actions or reactions in daily situations or circumstances. But the fact of matter is: there is a bottom line, which I know now; and probably have subliminally or subconsciously by my spirit understood since my upbringing. The bottom line is this: EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON. Such a simple statement yet holding profound significance in meaning! Everything happens for a reason- such a simple-minded outlook that only a simpleton can stand on without falling into the abyss of twenty-one questions. Everything happens for a reason, such a controversial and lame saying that somebody came up with as an ideal to cope with misfortune. Oddly enough though, "everything happens for a reason" goes hand-in-hand with... FAITH. I have a belief, I believe that everything happens for a reason. In this chaotic rat-race we live called "life", I believe (or more accurately said- I know) that there are cleverly  orchestrated schemes to say the least; Divine Appointments in each of our existence plural. Everything happens for a reason, and God is at Work, Divine Work on our behalf; in every "one" instance of our existence. He is at Work. Maybe these things are written in the Heavens; or maybe only God Knows. What on Earth is gonna happen next? Who knows?? He Knows. What we do know: God has blessed some of us with an exceptional amount of "Spiritual Intelligence", and "Goodwill" which in turn creates: PROPER PERSPECTIVE. I have had the opportunity to tell so many people that there is an ART TO USING THE PROPER PERSPECTIVE; it's an art. My definition of Proper Perspective is simple: Have FAITH, that EVERYTHING in your life : heartache, hardship and adversity; death, life, or sickness; happiness, sadness, even depression; horrific or even scandalously shocking situations- EVERYTHING is filtered through the Hands of God and can be used to His Glory. He is in Control and He reigns. During horrible times even the strongest of us question FAITH, but I am here to boldly tell you, " EVERY single incident which occurs in your life- (which He is completely aware of- it didn't go under His radar, if that were even possible) EVERY SINGLE INCIDENT which occurs in your life- from the good, to the bad, to the ugly; are steps toward the Master Plan of our Divine Creator. He is in Control. So we give thanks in EVERYTHING in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Like the Apostle Paul writes in His letter to the Ephesians:
Ephesians 5:20- always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. You see, you CAN rest easy in the Word of God spoken through Jeremiah the Prophet:   Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.               
And you CAN know- He'll work it out:
Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works together for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose.
Do you Love Him? Is your FAITH in Him? Because you can have Peace in knowing He is in Control, but there is an Art in Using the Proper Perspective.                                                                              

READING Between The Lines

Philippians 4:4-6 (NIV)

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.


In the above passage you'll find a very well-known and relevant few verses from the Holy Scriptures. The Apostle Paul was writing this epistle (letter) to the church in Philippi. This morning as I was reading these verses, which I've read and recited hundreds of times, an awesome thought popped into my head. It dawned on me that in the chaotic business of day to day living... we don't take the time to read between the lines. Although many of us have read and memorized these verses and even applied them to our situational circumstances, we may have rarely or even never took the time to read between the lines. I was enlightened with a different perspective or angle, seeing this most wonderful passage from the Word of God in a different light- in turn blessing my Soul and bringing my restless mind great comfort.
This is how most of us view the Word of God: verse for verse, line for line; allowing grammatical codes and numerical verses to stifle or better yet distract us from the simple truths of God's Word (putting up walls between verses and isolating sentences) instead of seeing it for what it is in this case: an intimate letter from an Apostle to a church. From the "book" of  Philippians-
Most of us read and see the above passage of Scripture like so:
4[Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!] stop
5[Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.] stop
6[Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, with prayer and supplication present your requests to God.
Let us take the time to read between the lines. This morning I was able to analyze this verse and be blessed by an entirely different perspective. I understood, by the Grace of God, that there should be no pause between verses 5 and 6. So starting at the 2nd part of verse 5 and continuing on through verse 6 the Word of God reads: The Lord is near. Do not be anxious for anything. 
Perspective:  
The Lord is near! Don't be anxious. You are not alone... so many of us feel so isolated and we feel like we're alone so we get overwhelmed by worries or anxiety, but the Word of God tells us plainly- THE LORD IS NEAR. When we feel anxious, stressed or wearily worrisome, we have to remember to read between the lines: the Lord is near, you're aren't alone, don't be so anxious... you don't have to worry about a thing- God's got your back.