We Married Young

      Sometimes people who marry young feel as though they have missed out on something. Maybe they may have had a dream to do something like pursue a career that takes them away from home, have a successful band, travel, etc. Others may feel like they missed out on part of their childhood or early twenties, perhaps going to bars, partying, and being free to do whatever they choose is important to them. But the truth is if you found love at a young age with someone, you have found something sacred,  rare and beautiful that some people look for their whole lives. Some people never find their other half. They never find someone who will love them completely and unconditionally, the good parts of them and the bad, and help them become stronger in the Lord and live their best life.

     When people decide that they have missed out on something or want to pursue something that they didn't do because they got married young they do their spouse and their marriage an injustice. Perhaps this is you and you squandered your marriage on adultery, drugs, partying, pursuing a dream, or reaching a childhood goal. You may have even done unrepairable damage and not be able to rekindle the love or bond you once had. Rest assured that God will forgive you of your sins and with repentance and putting on the mind of Christ you can get back in fellowship with God.

     For those of you who are thinking about it, toying with the idea of being free, living your own life, committing adultery, or finding out what you 'missed out' on, don't. Appreciate what you have and trust that God has you where you need to be. God gives us joy, peace, and the desires of our heart granted our desires  are right according to what is right in his Word, the Holy Bible. God isn't going to bless sin or evil desires.

     Put God first in everything and above everyone. He deserves our reverence and attention. He will bless you honoring him, worshipping him and pursuing him. Love your spouse. Keep your marriage holy. Don't let lust, evil desires, or dreams that didn't come from God destroy the bond you have with your spouse. Hold onto your husband or wife and love one another.

     The Bible says in Ephesians 5:22-33 KJV

'[22] Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. [23] For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. [24] Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. [25] Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; [26] that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, [27] that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. [28] So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. [29] For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: [30] for we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. [31] For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. [32] This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. [33] Nevertheless, let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.'

     Talk to and pray with your spouse. Talk to a trusted man or woman of God. Seek Christian marriage counseling. Sometimes just hearing yourself say the words out loud is enough to bring a person to repentance whereas things done in secret eat away at our faith and distort what we believe in. 

Written By Lisa C

What Do You Believe

Jesus, the son of God, came to this world (Matthew 1:23) that we may have a more than abundant life. (John 10:10) He who never sinned took all of our sins on himself so that we could become righteous. (2 Corinthians 5:21) We can't earn righteousness. (Romans 3:21-31) We can only become righteous through Jesus Christ. (John 10:9-11) We are saved by faith. Ephesians 2:8-9) To become saved we only need to confess with our mouth the Lord Jesus and that God raised him from the dead. (Romans 10:9-10) Regardless of what you've done, regardless of what you need to overcome, regardless of how damaged, sinful or unlovable you think you are Jesus died to set you free because he loves you. (Galatians 5:1) Won't you give your heart to Jesus today and let him set you free from slavery to sin?

***Scripture: 

📖 Matthew 1:23 NIV

[23] “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

📖John 10:10 NIV

[10] The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

📖 2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV

[21] God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

📖 Romans 3:21-31 NIV

[21] But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. [22] This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, [23] for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, [24] and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. [25] God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— [26] he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. [27] Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. [28] For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. [29] Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, [30] since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. [31] Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.

📖 John 10:9-11 NIV

[9] I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. [10] The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. [11]  “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 

📖 Galatians 5:1 NIV

[1] It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Try Him and See

I praise God that in the worst of circumstances I can with a grateful heart praise him and honor him. In times of loss, sickness, pain, disappointment, and grief I can raise my hands and find a song of praise in my heart to lift up to him. Why don't I blame God for the horrible things I've experienced? I don't blame God because I know that during the hard time he's been with me. I know that during the difficult things that I have faced he has given me his strength to get through them. How do I know he's with me? Because I can feel him. I can feel the peace, the comfort, the joy of the presence of his holy spirit within me. Our true nature is a spirit being. We are spirit, created in his image, and these bodies are suits that we wear. When we invite him in his holy spirit lives within our body with our spirit. So you see we are never alone. We are never rejected or lost. And although the loss of a loved one shatters our heart, his holy spirit is there with our spirit comforting us. When all seems lost and the world says there's no reason to hope for anything better, his holy spirit is with our spirit building us up from the inside. The fruit of the holy spirit inside of our body is joy, self control, peace, kindness, love, faithfulness, gentleness, goodness, and so much more. There's no limit to the benefits of the indwelling of holy spirit and worshipping him, praising him, doing all things to his glory, honoring him by sharing our testimony with others. Is there evil in this world? Yes. Does God go through everything with us? Yes. Is this world our home or where we will spend eternity? No. Our home is a better place where there is no sickness, no sorrow, no pain or death. We don't have to know everything to believe. We just need to trust God and let him be a father and God to us, protect our minds and hearts, heal us when we're sick, comfort us when we're suffering loss, build us up when we've given up, and lift us up when our enemies seem to have won. Does God sometimes say no or wait? Yes. Do we wait alone? No. God is the master chess player, the healer of our spirits, our spirits guide back to being in sync with him, like him and back home in glory with him. But don't take my word for it. Do the things he asks us to do and see if you can feel him. Believe on and confess Jesus the son of God whoshed his blood and died on the cross for our sins, was raised from the dead and now sits on the right hand of God making intercession for us. Invite holy spirit to come in to your heart, dwell in your body  and lead you to him all while shaping you and molding you into a better person. Raise your hands in praise and worship to God, giving him a wave offering even when you don't understand what's going on or why something happened. Pray until your heart feels light. Worship him until you have a break through. Sing praises to him until you feel joy in your heart. Try him and see, he is everything. 

You Can Walk on Water

I am so glad I'm not who I used to be. I'm not perfect but I'm better then I was. I'm not unflawed but I have learned and grown from flaws that I have had. I've been through things that would have broken a lot of people but instead learned who God is to us through the hard things that I have faced. I learned how to be strong in Jesus Christ when things were impossible for me to do on my own. You don't know what you can overcome and accomplish in spite of everything that's stacked against you until you've leaned how to walk on water. By that I mean do those things through Christ that are impossible for you to do on your own. You can do all things through Christ. It is true. Move you out of the way, look at Him and see Him instead of the problems you are facing. Just to name a few, 1. My cervical spine. There was so much damage, so many problems in my cervical spine that a doctor thought my MRI couldn't possibly be mine because I appeared so strong and unphased by it. I shared with the neurosurgeon what God was doing for me and he did his own test which showed there was more wrong then the MRI showed. God can and will keep you and your body functioning, going, doing the things you need and want to do. He will sustain your body and your strength. I thank God for sustaining me and not allowing me to have to physically and emotionally contend with the full brunt of the damage to my cervical spine. I very minimally experienced the consequences of the extreme damage but only enough to say I had... But God. 2. Memory loss. I was on disability for my memory. I thank God for completely healing me. God healed me and I went on to college to get a Bachelor's of Science in Leadership Communications with a GPA of 3.4. Would have been better but between COVID, a hurricane that dislocated me my family, and college algebra (thank God for tutors) I had some challenges. 3. Mental abuse, sexual molestation and rape. I have overcome the emotional and mental ramifications of mental abuse, child molestation and rape. God cares about us as a whole person and he came to give us life, an abundant life. And he heals us as a whole person; mentally, physically, psychologically, spiritually and emotionally. There's nothing that God can't do. These are only a few of the mountains that I've faced and overcome. There are more. I have so many praise reports. Some ask, where is God when bad things happen? Why does he let things happen? I say, he's right by your side. He's going through it with you. He will never leave you nor forsake you. 4. Controversy. At times I haven't had it easy being a Christian; living it and acting Christ-like due to daily controversy with a dad and a spouse who didn't is tough. Having grown up with a mentally abusive dad who was an alcoholic and then being married to a mentally abusive alcoholic I was always on the defense. Deciding to put God first and serving God while living with someone who does not and is constantly putting you down and giving you grief is probably the hardest thing I've ever learned how to do. 5. Smoking, alcohol and addictive behavior. God also helped me overcome addiction and addictive behavior. I quit smoking and drinking cold turkey without any withdraw or side effects, to God be all the glory, honor and praise. I had smoked for 29 years, usually a pack to two packs a day. Alcohol was a part of all of my childhood and adult life in some shape, form or fashion except for a few years my husband and I didn't drink. When we were dating and decided we would get married, we put God first and vowed to keep him first and not let alcohol be a part of our lives or the lives of the children we would have. Unfortunately for us and our children that didn't last. We let alcohol become a part of our lives. No one sets out to be an addict or alcoholic. Alcohol and drugs are often used by people trying to cope with something. Maybe drink this or smoke that to relax. It progressively grows into a problem little by little. A better way to cope is learning how to use what God gives us to cope. Learning to depend on God for everything including to make you feel calm inside when ordinarily you would reach for a cigarette or drink or whatever you use is not only possible, it is awesome. I can pray, 'God please make me feel calm inside, please envelop me in your peace', and he does. He cares about and is attentive to all of our needs. He is always present. Self-control is promised to us. You can do it. Besides no longer depending on alcohol and cigarettes I had to learn how to not react when I was verbally attacked. Due to daily controversy I had to defend my faith, and fight urges to argue and fight back with my words. Bitterness and anger so quickly welled up inside of me. Praise God this too is now part of my past. Praise God for teaching us how to bear the fruit of holy spirit and how eventually it becomes part of our nature and who we are. Peace can become a part of your nature. Peace is promised to us. Praise God we can live in and experience peace and joy even while living in controversy, heartache, under pressure, facing complications in life, and dealing with sickness, injury or disease. I could go on and on with more things I've faced and overcome, to God be all the praise, but then this post would never end. God is my everything and everyone to me and he will be to you also. You don't have to do anything to be in God's grace or to receive his promises and divine favor except believe what Jesus accomplished for us on the cross and worship God. That's all. Faith and worship. That's where you'll see God's power transform your life. Believe you are righteous through Christ and receive God's blessings. Sounds easy but a lot of of us have to overcome strongholds from our past before we are truly set free to experience the goodness of God not because it's not there, but because we can't see it. People resist God because they can't visualize a life without pain, heartache, loss, loneliness, sickness, where they don't deserve to be treated badly, drugs, alcohol, promiscuous sex, control (control is an illusion), legalism, or anything that keeps them from feeling close to God. Put yourself in godly situations. Put yourself in places you can experience and grow in your faith. Pray. Read the Bible. Listen to preaching. Listen to Christian music. Go to church. Make friends with other Christians. Serve in your church. Replace habits that have a negative impact on you and your life with habits that have a positive influence on you and your life. Make praying at a certain time every day a habit. Make reading a devotional a certain time each day a habit. Make reading the Bible a certain time each day a habit. If you had all the food you would eat in your lifetime in a room you'd be completely overwhelmed. It's better to eat a little at a time to sustain your health. Eat a little at a time in your daily feedings of prayer and reading the Bible. A song here, a teaching there. It all adds up fast. Stop all the stinking thinking and dwell on godly, holy things. 

Written by

Lisa C

Be Aware of Biblical End Time Prophecies

https://youtu.be/MnXtuUmHdLU?si=L5-SLoFXb0LFmyxn

Faith

In ‭Philippians 4:6-7 KJV‬ Bible we read 

'Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.'

When we are in need we are to earnestly ask with thanksgiving. We are to make our request known to God. And then expect the peace of God to keep our minds and hearts. 

The Greek word for the phrase 'shall keep' in verse 7 is φρουρέω. It means to protect. God gives us peace to protect our minds and hearts. What do our minds and hearts need protecting from when we're petitioning God for something? 

Faith is believing in things we cannot see with the physical eye. The enemy will attack that which he needs to in order to diminish our faith. What is your weakness? Is it faith in God? Is it believing that God really wants to give you what you're asking for. Is it self worth? Do you question in your heart that you deserve or have earned God's favor? Thankfully we do not need to earn God's favor, love or attention. He is already a loving, merciful, forgiving and attentive Father. We only need to have faith and to receive. That's it! He does the rest. Isn't God great? Isn't his love complete? 

When you are struggling to have faith ask yourself why and talk to God about it. Ask God to give you faith and wisdom. God loves you and his grace is sufficient for everything. Just go to God and make your petition with thanksgiving.

Sometimes we will receive the answer no because what we request isn't God's will. He sees and knows things that we do not. Like a parent who can see potential danger for their child God sees all things for us. He knows best. Trust him. Lean into him.

Sometimes we will receive something but in God's timing not our own. Sometimes we will receive something right away. In any case, be thankful in all things. Be conscious of what you have received. 

Written by Lisa C 

Prodigal

If you've ever been the prodigal son and rededicated your life to God then you know what an amazing feeling it is. You're engulfed with peace by holy spirit and you get a heart squeeze. You don't forget it because all the weight you carried from guilt, shame, or just knowing you needed to do better and didn't is gone. 

We define prodigal as wasting money, living lavishly, wasting time, profuse liberality, and living in sin. Mainly, it is separation from God. We have gotten caught up in something, allowed ourselves to be distracted, and separated ourselves from God. God wants a relationship with us.  We're his children. He wants to hear about our day, our thoughts and feelings, our needs and our desires. He wants for us to trust him, lean on him, and rest in him.

In Isaiah 41:10 of the King James Bible we read, '‭Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.' 

God isn't waiting with a belt to beat us when we come back to him to regain or gain that close relationship with him that he desires. He's a loving Father full of mercy and grace and compassion for us. All you have to do is talk to him and tell him how you feel in your heart, ask him to forgive you, and move forward with the knowledge and wisdom you've gained. That's it. God will forgive you and wipe the slate clean. It's forgotten. God doesn't remember things you did in the past and bring them back up, ever. Your sin is blotted out. It's a new day. God's got you. You're his kid. What are you waiting for? 

Written by Lisa C.