The Power of Testimony & Prayer.

On some Saturday nights I feel very anxious.
I'm usually anxious about the approaching Sunday service that I will have to attend.
On Sundays I feel very refreshed in God's presence because, throughout the week the "busyness" of life seems to just take over.
So, on Saturdays I try to ease my anxiety by evaluating and recalling all the things I had done during the week.
I use my Saturday nights to commit all the pastors in my local church congregation into God's hands.
I ask God to allow the preacher's message to be directly influenced by the Holy Spirit. Whatever it is that God may need to say to someone in the church or even myself...I ask God to send down a rhema word from heaven!

Now...Ever since I admitted to God that I was lost and declared my Declaration of Dependence, God sent me a word through the testimony of a very loved sister in the church. The Lord answered my prayers.....

I  really shouldn't be shocked that God answered my prayers but, sometimes I just feel that I don't measure up and that God may not even want to answer my prayers...

Well...That is a lie from the devil!

It's never wrong to pray..In fact, the scriptures say that men should always be praying! (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

Anyway, the Sister's testimony was about direction and how God had pulled her out of the wrong direction and into the pathway of His divine plan for her life.

I was stunned because this was exactly the testimony that I needed to hear!

My number one plea in this season of my life is divine direction from God. I want to follow after His leading and I want to stay in faith...

I had thoughts of giving up on God answering my prayers and I noticed that my love for Him seems to be growing cold...

I thought my eyes were opened up to the love of God and now it seems like I never knew it.

Reading the scriptures nowadays feels like I'm reading an old magazine...When in fact the word of God carries mighty power. The words of God are spirit and life! (John 6:33)

Lo and behold, my pastor preached a message on love...

But, I've realized that I don't need just preaching on love...I need to experience it, for myself.

I need to ask God to open my eyes so I can understand His love for me!
Why David was a man after God's heart?
Why was Stephen so joyful as he was being stoned for his belief in Christ?
Why was Paul so passionate about preaching about God's love and grace, even from prison?!
Why are martyrs (even present day martyrs) so willing to die for Christ?

The love of God is very powerful!

In fact the scriptures say that love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:8).

In 1 Corinthians 13:13 it says:

"Three things will last forever--faith, hope, and love--and the greatest of these is love."


Love is the greatest. Love should be the force that drives a believer's faith and hope in God. Because, God is love (1 John 4:8).


On this journey, I want to increase my faith in God but most importantly, I want my love for God to be stronger with each passing day.

Where Am I Going?

As of right now, my main struggle has been direction. For most of my life, the places I've gone have usually been determined by some source of authority (i.e. parents). I entered college with the pressure to pursue a career in which I had the slightest interest in. However, because I had no idea where I was exactly going, I decided to stay in the course even though I was failing. There was also a huge lack of motivation and NO peace. If I'm placed into a situation in which I lack peace then I know that I am out of God's will. For the believer that is Christ, peace is ALWAYS available no matter the situation (John 16:33). A person could be going through a hard season in life but, if it is God's will, then unexplained peace will almost always be available.

   Unfortunately, I ignored my feelings of peace, despair and lack of motivation and continued on in this major. After I received my results, I was most defiantly devastated. I realized that I was on the wrong course of the life God had planned out for me. And now I feel lost. I felt more lost than I ever had in life. I don't know where I am going. And I know that this feeling of being lost and insecure is not an accident. My Heavenly Father knows exactly what He's about to do and this season of my life is not a surprise to Him!

   I've realized that in my relationship with Christ, I've called Him my Lord and Saviour and sang all the hymns proclaiming it. But did I really surrender everything to Christ? Did I really depend on Jesus?
  I think God had to take me to this point of my life to test my trust in Him. To show me the areas in which I have not given Christ Lordship over. It's funny how I was oblivious to the fact that I have blocked Christ's Lordship over certain areas of my life!
  When we say we surrendered all to Christ.....Do we really mean that?
  When we say that Jesus Christ is our LORD and Savior.....Is He LORD every everything?
Let's examine ourselves and totally dig down within ourselves to see the areas that we are blocking God's presence from entering. You may be surprised at what you discover....

Throughout this process of trying to figure out where God is taking me...I have struggled.

I've struggled with identity, and I've struggled with my faith.

I've been frustrated, and frustration occurs when we decide to plan out our lives without the help of God when He is the author of our lives.

It's been a struggle. In the struggle my faith began to get shaky, my future seemed dark, and I stared to slip up as a believer.

In the midst of all this frustration and lack of peace, I turned to the Word and to music.

One of my favorite bands, Kings of Convenience have this beautifully crafted album titled, "Declaration of Dependence."

I never noticed the title before but, this time it really stuck out to me!

This season of my life is my Declaration of Dependence to God, my Father.

I'm lost and God knows that exact path I need to take in order to be found.

I need not rely on any man and place my TOTAL faith in God alone.

No one has the right to tell me how to live my life except for God. I cannot continue to live under the fear of man and the conformity of this world.

NO.

As followers of Christ, we are not called to conform but be transformed! (Romans 12:2)

I have to live out in faith no matter how crazy I may look.
Most of the people who lived their lives out in faith were looked at like fools, when in fact, they were teh true geniuses!

My prayer to my Heavenly Father is:

Heavenly Father,

Save me from myself!
Don't let me walk in my own way but, guide my steps.
Allow your glory to be lived out through me.
Let all fear be cast out as you perfect me in your love through the Holy Spirit's work.
Give me a discerning heart to know when I've stepped out of your will.
Allow the Holy Spirit to give me courage and boldness to do things in faith.
Help me to to see the glorious future you have in store for me no matter how dark things may seem.
keep me surrounded by those who trust in you and have surrendered their all to the cause of the Kingdom.
Give me a heart that loves YOU more than anything in this world.
Allow me to accept the person you have made me and to accept the people you have created.
Strengthen me on this journey of life and allow my life to be a testimony of your amazing grace and mercy.
In Jesus name I pray, amen.

Proverbs 3: 5-6

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths."  

              

                NKJV

Holiness is beautiful...

There is a standard of beauty in the world that will quickly fade away but, the true inner beauty that comes from a person who fears God will remain forever : )

Proverbs 31:30
"Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing,
      But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised."
                                                                               (NKJV)
                                                                           

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uor3TPX0of8

You inspire me to be the higher me...♥

Wait for you...

In society today, cheap hook-ups and one night stands are seen as the "norm." For young women, the pressure to be in a relationship is very intense to the point that women are settling for just any guy. However, the beautifl lyricist known as, Janette Ikz graced the women in the body of Christ about the beauty in waiting and relying on God's special timing.

                                                                         <3

Luke 15:7

"I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance." -NKJV

In the Bible, Jesus makes it clear that heaven celebrates the repentance of a sinner! I find it awesome that as satan wins many on his side; satan also LOSES many followers. It excites me to witness people that are deeply involved in the secular world open up their eyes to light that is in Jesus Christ. No man can come to the Father unless the Spirit draws him so we should all engage in prayer for those that the enemy has blinded.

"Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God."- NLV

How do you feel about those whose eyes have been opened?
Is there anyone that you know that has strayed?

*Remember God does not wih for anyone to perish but to have everlasting life! If  you or anyone you know has strayed away from God, the good news is you can come back! God awaits you with open arms all you need to do is repent of your sins!

Also know that there is nothing that the blood of Jesus cannot cover except rejecting the gift of Jesus.
Know that there is nothing that can ever seperate you from God's love.

"For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."-NKJV

2011

This year is MY YEAR : )

This is my year of unlimited breathrough.
This is my year of favor.
This is my year of many accomplishments.
This is a year that GOD has ordained blessed for me.

I am so excited for what GOD has in store for me and many other people in the body of Christ. I believe that God is going to work in a mighty way and there will be growth in the lives of many people. A wave of maturity and wisdom will zoom our way and I am very estatic!

However, a way for us to greatly mature is to stay connected in the Word. The Word of God is very strong and unfortunately many people do not know how to read it. I've had the same problem because, I am a growing Christian, and I sometimes get stuck on 'where' to read 'what' in God's Word.
So I found this amazing short guide on the way you could possibly read the Bible:

(ALL CREDIT IS GIVEN TO http://www.surfinthespirit.com/ :) )

The Bible is its own best teacher. The Bible however is not arranged like an encyclopedia. You cannot go to chapter 1 and read everything about God and go to chapter 2 to read everything about Jesus, etc. Remember when reading the Bible the verses and chapter breaks are placed in the scriptures by man. It is better to read by paragraph, these too are man-made but they do conform better to the original language than verses. Some ground rules need to be set up first:

• Pray first before opening God's word. Ask for guidance and to be able to accept what is written and to be able to apply His will to your life.
• Never, never read the Bible trying to prove your belief on any subject. It is only human nature to take ideas out of context.
• When you are reading and come across something that does not make sense, reread the paragraph or chapter again. If you still do not understand, write down the problem area and continue onward. You may discover the answers later in your reading.
• Do not read large amounts of the Bible in one setting. Take breaks often. Or stay with about 4-6 chapters a day.
• Start with the New Testament, people who start with the Old Testament almost never read the Bible all the way through. The New Testament is what is binding on us today not the Old. We need to follow God's will for us today not what was intended for the Jews.
• Forget everything you have ever heard about Jesus, God and the Bible before you start reading the Bible. Don't take what you want it to say with you first.

Now with those in mind, let's lay out the way to read the Bible to let it build on itself:

1. Read "Mark." (It is written in chronological order.)
2. Read "Matthew." (It goes into better detail of some events and adds more about Jesus.)
3. Read "John." (It contains a lot of the life of Jesus not before read, especially his last two weeks before the crucifixion.)
4. Read "Luke" then "Acts." (Both written by Apostle Paul's traveling companion Luke. Acts is a continuation of Luke. It describes the early church and contains the examples of New Testament conversions.)
5. Read "Galations." (It deals with the reasons why we do not follow the Old Testament Laws in a more simplified way than does Romans or Hebrews.)
6. Then read the rest of the New Testament starting at Romans and going to Revelation.

Your voyage through God's Word will take about 5 weeks. It will be the best traveling you can ever take. You will laugh and you will cry. It has everything that makes a very good book, and lots more. It can teach you the most important things for this life and the one to come.

(ALL CREDIT IS GIVEN TO http://www.surfinthespirit.com/ :) )