There is a Place For You Too

Ministry is given in stages, all one gospel but broken down into stages. There is a word, the Word, that can only be understood by a certain sector, in a certain way, in a certain season. Some ministries are tailored for the newbies in Christ. Their message is rather foundational, to the point, and very strict. This message has its place and given the chaos that newbies have recently transitioned from, better known as the world; a strict, easy, and no nonsense message may be applicable to help shift this new believer from their old destructive lifestyle into the abundant life afforded to them in Christ. This stage is necessary!

Deuteronomy Chapter 4 &5

Then there are ministries intended to help believers mature in Christ. These words, derived from the Word, reveals God in a more inclusive realm, presenting to the believer options on how to live out their faith, in Jesus Christ, totally empowered by Christ, so that they are able to filter the difference between God’s plan for their life individually and God’s plan for their teacher/minister's life individually or the direction of the ministries life of which they sit underneath.  There is an intended difference however this difference can only be recognized and put into effect properly by a mature believer.

Romans 7:7-24 Romans 8:1-14 1Peter 2:11-25

Then, well figuratively speaking first, there is a ministry for those who feel that all of these words, the Word, in their eyes is a bunch on nonsense. There is a Word for them too, a word, the Word which has a stage for them, complete with teachers who are equipped to go into the world & make Christ attractive to the non-believer. This ministry may not be valued by the other ministries,(most easily recognized as religion) despite the fact that it should , nor will the target audience for this ministry value the other stages of ministry, because spiritually speaking they can’t at this stage. 

  1 Corinthians 3 1Peter 2:1-9  

This dynamic of stages in ministries shows how versatile God’s Word is and how many believers misunderstand it and resort to segregating God’s most holy and valuable gift, His Word.  Stages build upon each other to reach an appointed end; segregation separates the whole, promoting competition, with hopes to make it to the end. God’s Word should be understood and valued in stages instead of promoted and enforced as segregation. 

We are all in this together!

WANTED: JUST THE WAY YOU ARE

The enemy does not want to see you win. That is why he fills your head up with what you perceive as logical reasoning as to why you can’t give your life over to Christ. Some of his major hitters are:

1)      “You need to be right before you come to Christ”. – That’s a lie. The only way you can get right is through Christ; you were not equipped with the ability to get yourself “together” alone. Case and point, consider your fluctuating moods and emotions? If everything were up to you, you would never fully make up your mind to surrender to Christ 100%, its impossible. Those fluid feelings and emotions would overrule that decision the moment something, in your eyes, didn't go as you'd "expected". So don't allow your actions to dictate your decisions......  give yourself to Him ASAP and trust Him with the rest. John 14:6

2)      “You have plenty of time”- That’s a lie. We all know how unpredictable death can be—to US that is. God knew when you’d be born and He knows where you are going to check out of here. Why not surrender to The One who holds all the cards, why wait until you die to take a gamble whether or not you will get a chance to live the good life. Accepting Christ now guarantees you the good life on earth and after you die! Ecclesiastes 3

 

3)      “God is too restrictive”- Whoop another LIE! I can tell you this: God has your best interest at heart, that’s what He does!! Once again God knows everything; so has it ever crossed your mind that perhaps the things He doesn’t want you to do is for legitimate reasons? Perhaps because He is actually privy to the FINAL AFFECT it will have on you! God wants us to have life and have it abundantly…..that doesn’t seem restrictive to me! John 10:10

4)      “All church people are hypocrites”- So what if they are!?!? Their relationship with God should not color the way you see Him. Thank goodness He gave you your own set of eyes to see and your own   ability to filter mess when you hear it….. so why not use the resources He gave you?? Understanding that people are people and everyone does things in a way that makes sense to them, will carry you far in life! Read the Word for yourself and know what God wants you to do. Mark 7:6-13

Do not allow the enemy to hold you back any longer with his lies. God is ready and waiting for you, He wants you to WIN….Come to HIM......Trust HIM!

Now That's Life

Fact: The notion that life is this wonderful experience where everything goes our way, everyone agrees with one another, and everyday problems are nonexistent is a fairy tale that should only be looked forward to by kingdom builders(a placed called Heaven).

 God in no way promised us a stress-free, problem-free life on earth but take heart He did promise each of a life full of abundance. This abundance includes everything you need to stand against the tactics of the enemy, make the best decisions for your life, be successful, and accomplish anything you put you mind to in Him. Everyday will not be Sunday and thank God because the fulfillment of your desires may lie on a Monday afternoon or Thursday morning, and the repetition of Sundays only impairs your likelihood of reaching fulfillment. 

With that practice thanking God for everything, praise Him for every single day, worship Him for the good and the bad, and lastly respect His faultless decisions. He truly has the best for you; a plan so awesome, your human mind could never process a viable explanation for the places He will take you, or the plans He has already established for you. Be it a trail of peace and harmony designed to encourage you as you continue living, or a bout of hardships and challenges that will forcefully develop your strength and character........ it all works together, ultimately for His good and your benefit!

Be Encouraged

Its backed in the Word

2 Peter 1:3-10 Romans 8:28-39 Hebrews 12: 1-6

Doing Right Is Beneficial

Have you ever made the “right” decision and the result of your decision did not quite pan out the way you wanted it to? For example, have you ever decided not to cuss out your arrogant and belligerent boss all to end up fired in the end? Or walked away from a potentially negative relationship all to find that person you walked away from now dating someone new? Did you tithe and still get your lights cut off? Have you ever felt that the good always finish last? It is important that we do not get caught up in the quest for immediate gratification or the seemingly grandiose benefit of earthly rewards and treasures. As believers our focus should be on the future glory that is only promised to us believers, and on the contrast made very clear that all who do not believe will not have access to the inheritance.

As a spiritual realist I will go ahead and address the thought that may be in your head. “All that sounds great but what about now”? Well honestly speaking the result may not seem favorable at the moment but one thing I can promise is that regardless of the outcome God has your good in mind. All things work together for the good of those who love the Lord AND are called according to His purpose. Do you love the Lord? I am sure you do, one of the reasons why you made the right decision in the first place. Next ask yourself are you called according to His purpose? Who are you living for? When you truly love the Lord you will begin to seek the purpose He has for your life and walk in that purpose alone. Are you fulfilling your God given purpose or are you pursuing your own vision and dreams?

Be confident in your decisions regardless of the unwanted results. Know that due to your obedience God will prove, not only to you but to the unbelievers around you, that righteous living yields lasting results as opposed to the results of fly by night, emotionally imbalanced, and selfishly lead decisions.

Read Acts 16:16-40 about how Paul and Silas were persecuted for pursuing their call according to God’s purpose……how the worse possible penalty was applied to them who did nothing wrong. But the best part is when their persecution yields praise instead of complaining which heartens God to show up on the scene and blow the minds of everyone involved,  literally, including Paul and Silas. 

Be Encouraged

Happy Father's Day....The Confessions Of A Fatherless Woman

This is a journal except from our author on June 17, 2012

                                                        

Dear Dad,

I am so excited that today is Father’s Day. For a little girl who grew up without a father in the home I am honored, as an adult, to be in the mist of great fathers daily. I commend every man who has taken their leadership role, by first disciplining themselves to put family before their needs, committing themselves to the call of fatherhood, and whose determination is to see their children succeed as a result of their guidance. I am so proud of every father, including those I do not know, because they represent true men (whether they are saved or not), following in the footprints of my Father, Jesus Christ, and leaving a legacy that can be traced long after they are gone. For any father who is not saved I pray for him today, that he receives the wonderful gift You have afforded Him, that is available to provide that comfort he needs when things get tough; or Your perfect guidance when he needs help/support; and lastly the assurance he needs when he feels unappreciated. Thank You God for Your perfect plan, how You created the roles of men and women, how You designed men to be leaders and women to be supporters in the home. Today, I realize and appreciate Your perfect plan. Thank You Lord, for wonderful men all over the world who are celebrated today because of all they do. And on today, as I do every day, I celebrate You, for being the best father that any girl, woman, boy, or man could ask for. I love you.

Love you Mucho Gusto,

Kristen

Word on the Go: Matthew 6:9-14 (NLT)

⁹Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.¹⁰May your Kingdom come soon.

May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. ¹¹Give us today the food we need, ¹²and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.¹³And don’t let us yield to temptation,

but rescue us from the evil one. ¹⁴“If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you.

Stop Playing the VIctim

You have received victory in Christ so don’t walk around always playing the victim. Simply put- life happens, everything may not go your way, your money may not always be right, and the people closest to you may not always be in sync with you -- so who’s to blame for that? First and foremost stop blaming yourself, sure there are some things you probably could have done differently but guess what the decision has been made, and as some may say the damage has already been done. Don’t start blaming anyone else either, don’t even give room to the enemy by blaming him….things happen, its life and you have the victory!! In the most bizarre”est” of times, in the mist of death, while your car is being repossessed, or your checks keep bouncing you still have the victory! It’s hard to see a victory during a fight, but the person determined to win, the one who has done away with the defeated mindset, has dug deep within to pull up the favor they have in Christ Jesus, and made the choice to project that favor outward….. Has indeed made up their mind to win and will win!

 Stop playing the victim and be the victor! 

When Boredom Strikes

When boredom strikes destructivity often begins.

Destruction does not have to mean physical demise it can include mental demise, emotional demise, relational demise and so forth. If you think back to the times you felt most lonely, it was typically when no one could be accessed and you were unable to find anything else to distract you. Another uncommonly recognized moment of loneliness is when one is in a room full of people and still feels by their self. Understand that distractions are not limited to people they may include things, jobs, etc and for the moment may appear fulfilling but ultimately leads to an overwhelming feeling of lowliness. We often recognize this sense of lowliness when we are bored, resulting in feelings of sadness and an all of a sudden bout of emotional imbalance.When all this surfaces what happens next???

Watch how subtly destruction strikes!

Typically the next thing we do after we realize we are bored is find something to do, right? Whether its go through our phone contacts and call a whole bunch of randoms, or pick up the phone for endless hours of Candy Crush or our game of choice, Instagram, Facebook, gossip sites, etc, deciding to dwell on the negative, and so forth the enemy delights himself in  invading our head space when we are bored, and using various distractions to nurse our negative emotions.

Defeat the enemy by calling on the strength of God to channel that energy in another direction; begin to deposit uplifting material into your spirit. Speak to your boredom and find something constrictive to do with your time. Start working on your passion or the business idea you have been putting off, pick up some inspirational material to help you reach your goals or that encourages you to deal with past hurts. The Bible is also a great resource for godly living. Work outside yourself by picking up some volunteer opportunities, or become involved in a ministry in your area. Ministry is not limited to a church buildings: homeless shelters, battered women’s programs, food banks etc are all active ministries that need your talents. Don’t allow the enemy to have a field day in your mind; there are positive alternatives to engage in when boredom strikes.

Its backed in the Word

1 Timothy 5:13 Ephesians 6: 11-18 1 Corinthians 9:24-27