CHEERS - Where everybody knows your name....

When the show 'Cheers' used to play, it reminded me that some bars were doing a better job at families than churches have. Their slogan, 'where everybody knows your name,' is what churches are supposed to be doing. But sadly, many churches are just looking to have a show, and entertain you, and accept your money.

In the New Testament, read in Acts and the following chapters what their 'church' looked like. They met in homes, they prayed for each other, they helped each other. They WENT OUTSIDE THEIR FOUR WALLS to talk to others about this awesome Jesus who was crucified and rose from the dead, and beat death and hell. It was a far cry from most of these dead churches in the US, but also all over the world.

May I offer the True Messiah, Jesus to you? He still saves, He's still on the throne, He still knows your name. He has a plan for your life. May I suggest that you go to a Spirit-filled church that preaches the ENTIRE Bible, nothing more and nothing less. So many churches cherry-pick the verses from the Bible that sound appealing (like 'God is love') and leave some verses out because it's not what they want to hear.

If you search, you can find a church that loves God more than money....that isn't just trying to tickle your ears so the pastor will be popular. A church (not the building, but a group of true believers) that has a heart for hurting people. A group (not just the pastor and elders) that want to get outside those walls and tell people about someone that can rock your world. Can give you peace. Can heal your body. Can save your marriage. Can pull you out of the gutter. Can not only give you heaven later, but kingdom living here on this planet.

"If you seek Him, you will find Him, if you seek Him with all your heart."

Worship Him in Song

Music.... oh, how it moves us. How it sets the tone for events. How it's critical to celebrations. I've read that studies have shown, if they play soothing music in airports, it relieves lots of stress. Music unites citizens of the world, when we speak different languages. And music can lift you up or bring you down.

One of the everyday miracles to me, is all of the new songs for thousands of years. And new ones happen every day. There are only so many notes to use, and still, all those songs... amazing.

God loves it when we worship Him in song; His word speaks volumes about this. When people get the Holy Spirit inside of them, they can even sing in tongues. God gives them the words and the notes - it is beautiful. Some can hear heavenly choirs sometimes at church. There's just something about singing that seems to get it deep in our spirit.

The bible says that Lucifer was in charge of the music. And I believe he has always used music to lure people to him. His 'music' is a very gutteral, ugly sound, straight from the pits of hell. Look at some of these terrible bands these days, influencing those that listen. Telling them to kill themselves. Or kill a cop. Or do terrible perversion. Or look at women as objects. It gets that in their spirits. It's the polar opposite of what God wants.

God wants us to live in His kingdom here on earth, and later in heaven. He loves us to worship Him and in return, He blesses us beyond measure.

Be careful what music you feed your spirit.....

Time travel

In the New Testament, Phillip is explaining to someone on how he can be saved, and after he baptized the man, it says that he instantly was miles away at another location. Most people don't know what to think about that, but it was time travel (see Acts 8:26-40.)

I have a friend, who is a strong believer in Jesus, and he says this happened to him too. Granted, this friend is one of the Godliest men I know, and would certainly not lie about this. He was driving across the country to go and get his twenty-something daughter, and said, "Lord, I really don't enjoy driving so long." In the next moment, he was several hundred miles down the road... in the 'twinkling of an eye.' Completely awesome.

Yes, life is an adventure with Jesus. A SUPERnatural adventure...

To Have and To Hold...

When God made humans, he could have made them all the same, no male or females, but He didn't. He could have made us all the same age, but He didn't. He could've made us all adults (never young) but He didn't. He made man and woman in His image - together in His image. And he created marriage, I think, to show the special, special love that He has for us, since Jesus will come back for His bride.

God created marriage between one man and one woman. He designed a man and a woman's body to connect in such a way, that procreation is possible. And He designed it as an expression of love - it's the bond that gets you through the hard times. God made it so that it causes endomorphins (pleasure.)

To me, one of the most awesome things that God created is to take a man and a woman, and mix them together to make a child - a child that has looks and traits from each side of the family. God created families and lineage.

Why do I think He designed families? God created families for us to feel connected and close to a group of people that we are related to. It's a secure feeling to know that. And the love of family is a wonderful thing. Most of us know that if something really bad happens, then we have our family to fall back on.

In these days, many aren't seeing much of a reason to get married. They think it's just a 'piece of paper.' But it's certainly not to God. Jesus' first miracle was at a wedding where He turned the water to wine. Weddings were a great time for celebration during that day, and still are!

God puts His blessing on married people. It is a holy ceremony. Marriage is a sexual covenant - to be FAITHFUL. It's a covenant between two people, just like God makes a covenant with us. The Bible says that when a man and a woman have intercourse, that their spirits blend. It mentions that men shouldn't be enticed by 'women of the night,' as they are mixing their spirits together. God is a jealous God when we are unfaithful like a spouse is jealous of an unfaithful partner. Marriage is a foreshadowing of God coming back for His bride.

"So they are no longer two but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." Matthew 19:6

"For the Lord will be your husband."

Climate Change

I believe that God uses nature to get His point across. It mentions in the Bible that nature cries out. When Jesus was crucified, the world went dark for awhile and there was an earthquake. There was also an earthquake that set Paul and Silas free from jail. When God got mad at how evil the world had become, he caused a flood to cover the earth for 40 days. (By the way, this is one of His favorite numbers - check it out in the Bible.) I once asked God to give me a sign that I was pregnant, that it would thunder but no storm would be outside. And He did! Elijah asked God that it not rain (and it didn't for 3 1/2 years), and later that it would rain.

And God uses these things to be outward parables of what He's doing spiritually. Droughts will be both literal and spiritual. Floods will be both also. Tornados represent judgment. He caused 'hellfire and brimstone' to Sodom and Gomorrah for judment. I'm not sure what happened there physically, but they were wiped off the map (literally.) I heard prophecies to New Orleans to repent, or be cleansed the year before Hurricane Katrina. And He uses wind. There are many scriptures where wind represents the Holy Spirit.

I'm not saying that every disaster is judgment on a group of people. I'm saying that God often uses nature to say things. And that the Bible says in the end days there will be earthquakes and climate signs.

I think we're there....

Hope and Change

The election last year was eye-opening in many ways, but the thing that shouldn't surprise anyone is that people are looking for something different. Something new. They are looking for a leader to take them to the Promise Land....

In the election, one of the candidates was called the Messiah, and gave speeches like it was a revival. This candidate ran on Hope and Change.

May I offer Jesus as the True Messiah, and the ONLY one that can bring real hope and real change. Change for the better starts with each and every one of us. It has to come from the heart, which is what Jesus will do for you.

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1-3

Yes, we need hope, but we also need faith, which comes from hearing the word of God.

"So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ." Romans 10:16-18

And we have faith, knowing that God promises many things in His word (the Bible) and that, as His children, we can claim those promises. God is truth and He cannot lie. God's children can stand on His promises. By FAITH.

"Without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him." Hebrews 11:5-7

Only God can truly change a person. Our personalities are molded by age 6 and by 6th grade, there's little change in most people after that. Except Jesus. Jesus can totally change a person's heart. I know because I'm one of them. I had no remorse when I was younger. I only got upset if I got caught, but I wasn't sorry. It wasn't until I hit rock bottom that I sought out a Bible study leader that I didn't even know. I thought I was going crazy. I literally was driving a car on an interstate and thought about driving into oncoming traffic. That day I called this person I didn't even know, and they told me how I can ask Jesus in my heart. I had to think about it overnight. I knew when I made that decision, that I would be ending my previous life. I thought about that, and decided to let Jesus 'take the wheel' of my life. And I did. I got on my knees and said I couldn't do it anymore. I needed Him to take control. I've never regretted it. It's the peace I enjoy the most. Yes, bad things still happen because satan is in charge of this world, but "Greater is He who is in me, than He that is in the world."

I finally had real change. A change to my heart. And my heart changed my actions. And then my life changed for the better. And the more I grow in Jesus, the better it gets.

"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold new things have come." 2 Corinthians 5.

Try Jesus for REAL Hope and Change

Running the race of endurance....

A Christian's walk with Jesus through this life is compared to running a race - a test of endurance. There are so many similarities but we've first got to decide if we're even going to run the race. And if we decide yes, we have to be disciplined with our bodies. We have to SAY NO to being lazy and not running each day. We've got to eat the right foods and get enough sleep. We can't indulge ourselves and get fat or out of shape. We've got to hydrate ourselves along the way and wear the right clothes & shoes. We've got to manuever around the others in the race and not let them distract us or get us off course. We've got to have a plan on how we're going to do it. We've got to keep our eyes on the finish line, and winning the race.

And we have to ENDURE the pain for the final prize.

"Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us" - Hebrews 12:1-3

"Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win." - 1 Corinthians 9:23-25

Trifecta

In a different city I used to live in, I had a male hairdresser one time who told me his story. Actually he told everyone he could his story. He had fought in Vietnam, and through an injury got addicted to drugs. When he was discharged, he said the drug dealers are there to get you hooked on their stuff, and he did. He eventually started doing so much heroin, that he said the amount he did daily would kill people twice his size. He was a bus driver and drove a group to a revival. As he waited outside, the pastor inside heard from God to go and get him. He was reluctant, but was also desperate, and so he went and sat at the back of the church. At the end, the pastor asked if anyone wanted to come forward. This man was one of them. They laid hands on him and he was immediately healed, saved and delivered! Only 10% of people can ever get off of heroin! And he immediately was healed! He was rejoicing! His addiction had him in terrible slavery to this drug and he was delivered!
God is the God of the SUPERnatural!
He is our healer!

Jesus is coming back soon....

The Names of God

El, Eloah - mighty, strong, prominent

Elohim - Creator, Mighty and Strong

El Shaddai - God Almighty

Adonai - Lord

Yahweh, Jehovah - Lord

Yahweh-Jireh - The Lord will provide

Yahweh-Rapha - The Lord Who Heals

Yahweh-Nissi - The Lord Our Banner

Yahweh-M'Kaddesh - The Lord Who Sanctifies, Makes Holy

Yahweh-Shalom - The Lord Our Peace

Yahweh-Elohim - LORD God

Yahweh-Tsidkenu - The Lord Our Righteousness

Yahweh-Rohi - The Lord Our Shepherd

Yahweh-Shammah - The Lord is There

Yahweh-Sabaoth - The Lord of Hosts

El Elyon - Most High

El Roi- God of Seeing

El-Olam - Everlasting God

El-Gibhor - Mighty God

More names of God:

Abba, Advocate, Almighty, Alpha, Amen, Ancient of Days, Anointed One, Apostle, Arm of the Lord, Author of Life, Author of our faith, Beginning, Blessed & Holy Ruler, Branch, Bread of God, Bread of Life, Bridegroom, Bright Morning Star, Chief Shepherd, Chosen One, Christ, Christ of God, Christ the Lord, Christ, Son of the Living God, Comforter, Commander, Consolation of Israel, Consuming Fire, Cornerstone, Counselor, Creator, Deliverer, Desired of All Nations, Door, End, Eternal God, Everlasting Father, Faithful & True, Faithful Witness, Father, Firstborn, Firstfruits, Foundation, Friend of Tax Collectors & Sinners, Gentle Whisper, Gift of God, Glory of the Lord, God, God Almighty, God Over All, God Who Sees Me, Good Shepherd, Great High Priest, Great Shepherd, Guide, Head of the Body, Head of the Church, Heier of All Things, High Priest, High Priest Forever, Holy One, Holy One of Israel, Holy Spirit, Hope, Horn of Salvation, I Am, Image of God, Image of His Person, Immanuel, Jealous, Jehovah, Jesus, Jesus Christ Our Lord, Judge, King, King Eternal, King of Kings, King of the Ages, Lamb of God, Last Adam, Lawgiver, Leader, Life, Light of the World, Like an Eagle, Lily of the Valleys, Lion of the Tribe of Judah, Living Stone, Living Water, Lord, Lord God Almighty, Lord Jesus Christ, Lord of All, Lord of Glory, Lord of Lords, Lord of Righteousness, Love, Man of Sorrows, Master, Mediator, Merciful God, Messenger of the Covenant, Messiah, Mighty God, Mighty One, Nazarene, Offspring of David, Omega, Only Begotten Son, Our Passover Lamb, Our Peace, Potter, Power of God, Prince of Peace, Prophet, Purifier, Rabboni (Teacher), Radiance of God's Glory, Redeemer, Refiner's Fire, Resurrection, Righteous One, Rock, Root of David, Rose of Sharon, Ruler of God's Creation, Ruler Over Kings of Earth, Ruler over Israel, Savior, Sceptor out of Israel, Seed, Servant, Shepherd of our Souls, Shield, Son of David, Son of God, Son of Man, Son of the Most High, Source, Spirit of God, Star out of Jacob, Stone, Son of Righteousness, Teacher, True Light, True Witness, Truth, Vine, Way, Wisdom of God, Witness, Wonderful, Word, Word of God.

The Bible says the Lord will be your:

Husband

Master

Best friend

Abba (Daddy)

Lord

Healer

Messiah

I Am

'Jesus' in Hebrew is Yeshua which means 'salvation'

He is my everything - He can be yours too....

Life is hard

Have you ever thought about why we're here? I think God was lonely so He made Himself some company to be with. But He didn't want to make puppets or robots. He gave us FREE WILL so we could CHOOSE Him. It's more special for Him that way. If you made yourself a bunch of robots that you programmed, what fun is THAT? Even the angels had free will and one third of them went with Lucifer (now called demons.) And it's actually more difficult because we cannot SEE God; it takes faith. Again, not near as much of a choice if you can see everything...

Life is hard. Satan rules this world. As Christians, we're swimming upstream the whole time. That's why God says (in the Bible) "if we ENDURE" then we get to spend eternity (forever) with Him in a wonderful place (heaven.) That's our REWARD. There's a word you don't hear much anymore... Years ago when someone died, you would hear people say, 'They're going to their reward." You never hear that now.

Life is HARD. It's built into the template. Satan attacks those people doing God's work. If your life is easy, you have to ask yourself, why? It's a struggle to be a believing, striving Christian. But if you ENDURE, your reward is great - it's forever - to be with God forever. His word says the way is narrow. "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it." Matt. 7:12-14. It also says, "I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So CHOOSE LIFE in order that you may live." Deut. 30:18-20

It's YOUR choice...

Lover of my soul

The Bible says, "for the Lord will be your husband." Jesus mentioned many times that when He comes back, it will be for His 'bride.' He likened it to the (Jewish) tradition of when He walked the earth, when the groom surprised his bride, and came to get her in the middle of the night, and she had better be ready. I personally believe that God created marriage, to show the special kind of love He has for us. He could have made us all the same, no males, no females, no marriage, but He didn't. I've heard many people say that romantic love is like heaven on earth; those wonderful feelings you get when you're in love.

I think it's awesome that God created sex as the bond between a man and woman in marriage. I think it has overtones of what happens when we get the Holy Spirit in us at salvation. It is a blending of two spirits, they become ONE. When we get the Holy Spirit, we blend with God, and we become one with Him. He is the lover of our soul. The Old Testament has many examples of God saying He's a jealous God, and thinks of the 'church' (His people) as His lover. He doesn't want us 'messing around' with the world - He gets jealous. He wants us to Himself.

When everyone else on this planet lets you down, and they will because they are human, God will NEVER let you down. He promises to never leave you or forsake you. As a true Christian, Jesus is your fiance right now. And He's coming back for His 'bride' soon - and you have to be ready, because it will be in the twinkling of an eye....

and when you least suspect it.

God's not dead, He's alive!

Today at my Spirit-filled church, we had a guest speaker who has been a preacher for 40 years. He gave a great sermon and finished saying he would like to prophecy over the people God told him he had a word for. The last person he pointed to was me to prophecy over. It is completely awesome to have this experience.... God cares about each one of us, and has a plan for our lives, "a plan for welfare and not for calamity, to give us a future and a hope." I had never met this man, and have only started going to this church a few months ago, since we are out of town very often. The point is, no one there knows my personal story. Only God could know my heart and deep yearnings, and this prophecy hit the nail on the head! They were things only God could know that have been personal between the two of us. I started crying. It was a meeting with the Almighty! I'm not going to relay the prophecy, but will tell you that it was 100% accurate about where I've been, and where I'm yearning to go.

If you haven't met God, He's here, waiting for you. He knows how many hairs are on your head, and He cares about every detail of your life.

He wants to be your 'Abba,' which is the affectionate term, like Daddy, in Hebrew.

Call upon Jesus.....

Money

"For where your treasure (money) is, there will your heart be also."

"For the love of money is a root of all evil." 1 Tim. 6:10

"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'" Heb. 13:5

"Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless." Eccles. 5:10

"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money." Luke 16:13

"not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money" 1 Tim 3:3

There is a verse in the Old Testament that the writer says a prayer that he not be too rich that he will think he doesn't need God, or too poor that he will curse God. I know in the New Testament that God first trusts people with a little and if they can do that, then He will trust them with more. It's for our own good, since He wants us to spend eternity with Him.

All the money is God's. Christians are commanded to tithe 10%. The Bible is very clear that it's not a suggestion. That money is His, and if we keep it, we are stealing God's money. And if we give it to our church, then He will bless us so that the 'storehouses overflow.'

It's a win-win situation.

"For our God is a consuming fire" - Hebrews 12

In the last days the Bible says that churches will 'tickle our ears.' Well, that's been happening for many years now, although it is worse than it used to be. The word 'hell' has all but been removed from most churches. So has the word 'sin,' and now they're taking the word 'Jesus' out.

Well, read the Old Testament. God is a strict God. He means what He says, and He says what He means. There IS a hell, and if you are not a believing, obeying Christian, then you are heading there. It's not what God wants, but He leaves it up to you. Maybe more 'hellfire & brimstone' sermons should be preached. No one is convicted any more. Everyone is out for themselves which is the opposite of what Jesus taught. Read the list of who's not going to heaven. "Or do you no know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God." - 1 Corinthians 5:9-10

Somewhere in my lifetime, the churches started preaching 'once saved, always saved' but this is NOT what the Bible says. This is not to say that your salvation changes from yes to no daily, but it does mean that if someone accepted Christ in their heart 20 years ago, and then later in life started disobeying God's commandments and turned away from Him, that he's no longer in right standing with God. I could list many, many scriptures to prove this, but will list just a few here. I've been to many funerals where the preacher said that the deceased accepted Christ as a child, but then there was no evidence in later life. "Faith without works is DEAD."

"For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain terrifying expectation of judgment, and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries." - Hebrews 10:26

"Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall through following the same example of disobedience." - Hebrews 4:12

"Therefore, let us fear lest, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you should seem to have come short of it." - Hebrew 4:1

"Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience." - Hebrews 4:6

"For we have become partakers of Christ, IF we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm UNTIL THE END." - Hebrews 3:14

"Take care, brethren, lest there should be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart, in FALLING AWAY from the living God." - Hebrews 3:12

"He became to all those who OBEY Him, the source of eternal salvation" - Hebrews 5:9

"My brethren, if any among you STRAYS from the truth, and one turns him BACK, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will SAVE HIS SOUL FROM DEATH, and will cover a multitude of sins." - James 5:19-20

"And the world is passing away, and also its lusts, but the one who DOES the will of God abides forever." - 1 John 2:17

"If anyone does not ABIDE (keep His commandments) in Me, he is thrown away as a branch, and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire (hell), and they are burned." (Jesus) -John 15:6

" to those who by PERSEVERANCE in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life..." - Romans 2:7

"Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity but to you, God's kindness, IF YOU CONTINUE in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off..." - Romans 11:22

"Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things; for as you do this you will INSURE SALVATION for yourself and for those who hear you." - 1 Timothy 4:16

"And He said to him, "Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, KEEP the commandments." - Matthew 19"|: 17

"But the one who ENDURES TO THE END, it is he who shall be saved." - Matthew 24:13

satan is a counterfeiter

For everything God does or is, satan has a fake.

Light vs. dark

Truth vs. deception/lies

Prophecy vs. fortune telling

Miracles vs. magic

Martyrs vs. suicide bombers that murder innocents

Proselytize vs. killing those not of their faith

Marriage sex vs. filthy perversion

Jesus was a Jew

Let's not forget that Jesus came first to save the Jews (His chosen ones) and when most of them rejected that He was the Messiah, Jesus then opened it up to the Gentiles (non-Jews) as well. He said Gentiles were adopted (not bloodline.) Gentiles are not part of the original plant but are 'grafted in.' We are let in by faith.

Romans 11:17-23 says, "But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, 'Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.' Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, and you stand only by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; for if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will He spare you. Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God's kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off. And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in; for God is able to graft them in again."

The Big Bang Theory

Really?? You REALLY think the universe just exploded into being without an intelligent design by a higher being? That takes more faith than believing there is a God who created it all...

Some people just don't want to believe in God because then they feel convicted about their lifestyle. And then they would have to change if that were true. How can you look at the beauty of the earth and not see the hand of God? How can you look at the human body and how wonderfully it is made and not see intelligent design? The power of the ocean, storms and hurricanes? A new born baby? The earth's design with gravity holding us down? How can you look at the sky and not see that it is God's canvas each day, like a chalkboard with a gorgeous chalk drawing? How can you look at all the stars at night and try to fathom the size of the universe, and not see God?

For all those out there who call themselves Athiests or Agnostics, I say they are either mad at God because they don't understand Him, or it is too much to fathom, so they decide not to think about any of it.

Either way, one day we will all die. We WILL meet our Maker. Will they shake their finger in God's face and say, "I don't believe in you!"

The Bible says one day, "EVERY knee shall bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord."

Do it now before it's too late...

No Fear

Wouldn't it be great to go through life with NO FEAR?? That's what God wants for us. His word says, "For God has NOT given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love and of a sound mind." It also says, "Perfect love casts out all fear." When we truly trust Him, we know that He 'has our back' at all times. We need not be afraid.

This is not to be confused with the (reverent) fear of God. His word says, "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." This means that we are to treat God, our Father, with respect. We will obey him out of respect and it will grow to obeying Him out of love. It is similar with your earthly dad. When you're a child, you obeyed him often because you were afraid of the punishment. Later, as you matured, you obeyed your dad because you loved him and didn't want to disappoint him. It is so cool that God is our real Father, and that He created earthly families for us to understand that kind of love.

Did you know worrying is actually a sin if you're a Christian? Sin means 'missing the mark, the goal, God's goal' for you. He says, "Don't worry about anything, but pray about everything." When you worry, you're not trusting Him. You're having fear. So, put it in His hands. He's the creator of the world, the master of the universe.

"With God, NOTHING is impossible."

Try it - you'll like it

When you truly ask Jesus to 'take the wheel,' and take over your life, then you will ALWAYS see a change. And you will feel a change. You will feel clean. No matter where you've been, He will accept you where you're at. The bible says He wipes the slate clean at that time and no longer remembers your sins (bad things you've done.) Then ask Him for His Spirit to fill you. Ask Him for His spiritual gifts. He will not ever force Himself on you. He will knock on your door, and you have to answer. You will be FREE! Free from the bondage that you have from sinning. In the spirit world, choosing to do wrong things puts you in bondage. God will break those chains at that moment. You'll feel a love for other people that you've never had. You'll feel a peace you've never felt before; a peace that passes all understanding. For me personally, I felt some of this when I asked Jesus in my heart in college. But it wasn't until 10 years ago, when He filled me with the Holy Spirit, that I got most of this. That's when you get the POWER - His power...

And life will never be the same again - but MUCH, MUCH BETTER!!

Healings Break Out in Disneyland

The following was posted on 6-22-09 on www.openheaven.com

Bethel Church ANAHEIM, CA - I went down to see my best friend, in Los Angeles, just to visit for a week and hang out—and who knows what adventure the Holy Spirit might lead us into. Jay and I love to do street evangelism together. On the way down, I saw a Disneyland sign, and I remembered the times of lying on my bed dreaming with the Holy Spirit of revival inside the theme park. I thought, “Wow that would be cool if that ever happened for real.” I had the privilege of speaking at my friend’s church on Wednesday night, and after the service, a lady asked me if I wanted a free ticket to Disneyland the following day. Yippie, Jesus. I thought, Wow! Those tickets are $94! Jason Tax, Hanna Ford and I went to Disneyland to have a great day in the sun with the Son—and God set us up through one key miracle of a young man’s shoulder that was in a sling. We approached him and asked if we could pray for healing. Jesus instantly completely healed his shoulder and he removed his sling and began to test it out. He started crying from God’s goodness, and he told us how he could not raise it at all because of a fresh torn rotator cuff injury. He then started raising his arm over his head and moving it as freely as the other one. His friends explained how he is the star football player at their school and he would have had to take the entire year off from football after his scheduled surgery, so we explained the gospel of Jesus Christ and the miracles to the group of eight or so, and they all got saved and filled with the Holy Spirit, and two of them got healed—one of scoliosis. The other had Jesus grow out his leg as his friends all looked on. They all started freaking out, and the heavenly momentum hit and it erupted into an all-out Holy Spirit healing miracle service in the Disneyland food court for four and a half hours as groups of young people got their friends and brought them back to us for healing. They would come to us and say, “Can you heal this?” as they would point to a lump on their knee or a bad ankle. We would answer something like, “We can not heal anything but Jesus can heal everything and that same Jesus is in you now, so everyone put your hand on this person and say, ‘Be healed in Jesus’ name! Now test it out.’” Really, that’s how we prayed: “Be healed! Now test it out.” Almost every healing was instant as the looks of shock appeared on the faces, then praise and cheers to Jesus would erupt from the crowd of youth! Flat feet were healed as arches formed in front of everyone to witness. One girl was so scared as her friends dragged her up to us. She was almost crying from fear. We told her, “Hon, you have nothing to be afraid of. This is Jesus and He loves you very much.” She had extreme scoliosis and a dislocated thumb that was in a hand brace. She was still very much afraid so we told her, “We won’t even need to touch you because the glory is here. Just remove your brace and move your thumb around.” She did and her thumb was instantly healed. We asked her to touch her toes and then check her back out. She did and her friends lifted up the back of her shirt to check out her spine. They all screamed because it was now perfectly straight. Jesus! We asked her if she knew Jesus, and she said no. We told her it was Jesus who just healed her and asked her if she would like to know that Jesus? She said yes, so she got saved and then we explained to her about being filled with the Holy Spirit and she said she wanted Him, too! So we asked her to put her hands out in front of her and say, “Holy Spirit, come and fill me up. I give my life to you.” She started shaking under the power of God. God is soooo good! We witnessed bone knots dissolve from knees, asthma healed, crooked knees straightened out, and eyes healed. Some protruding ribs were pulled back into the chest. Even gold dust showed up on many and three youths experienced supernatural weight loss as their once tight pants got looser and looser. Screams erupted as one man grew an inch taller while everyone looked on. A super cool thing was how each kid got saved and then we prayed for them to be filled with the Holy Spirit and almost every kid felt a strong manifestation of the Holy Spirit like electricity, heat, tingling all over their bodies or a heavy, weighty presence. They would then ask us questions like, “Can you make the sadness I feel leave the inside of me?” All their friends would say, “I feel that way, too,” so we started praying in large groups, commanding depression to leave them and joy to come. Kids were crying, laughing, yelling “Jesus,” saying things like, “I can’t believe this! This is way better than any ride here!” Those kids were getting set free. We prayed for healing for the first few kids only. Then we taught the youth that the same Spirit dwells in each of them, and then we watched Jesus heal through their hands! We witnessed around 120-140 healings, most of them instant and about 100 or so decisions for Christ, of which 50 or so were first-time decisions, asking Jesus to forgive them of their sins. Yea, Jesus! One young man came up to me and said, “I never knew that Jesus died for me,” and he yelled at the top of his lungs: “Jesus!” Link Source: IBethel.org © 2009 Bethel Church

Predicting the future

When you read the Bible, you will read about all of the prophets, both in the Old Testament and in the new - prophets such as Elijah, Samuel and John the Baptist and Peter. And it's not like a fortune teller, who gets most things wrong and an occasional thing right. To be a real prophet or prophetess, you must have 100% accuracy, because it is God Himself that gives you the prophecy.

The gift of prophecy did not die. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are still as much alive as they ever have been. I remember before September 11, 2001, there were a lot of prophecies about a coming shaking in America. And I remember reading about prophecies about New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina, where God was saying the people there should repent or face a cleansing. And prophecies don't have to be about really big things. Prophets come to Spirit-filled churches all the time and give them to churches, and groups, and even individuals. A lady prophet prophecied over me a few years ago, that I would reach people in an unusual way. I believe this blog is going to be just that.

God is still alive! He's still here! He's still talking to us, we have to listen. And He will confirm His word to you, if you are unclear. If you just ask Him, He will repeat it to you. He cares about you personally. His word says He even knows the number of hairs on our head. He is a caring, loving God that "has a plan for your life, a plan for welfare, not for calamity; to give you a future and a hope." He is your loving Father, not a cruel master.

Won't you give Him a chance?

In the sky....

After many years of being a Christian, I've come to agree with Billy Graham that some of the UFO's are demonic in nature. I read this in a Billy Graham book, and have thought about it a lot since then. Over the years I've read several accounts of people who had encounters with UFO's and the thing that struck me was that some could see them and some could not. One that I read was a man from my hometown, and even from my neighborhood, being around the junior high age on the monkey bars on a school playground, and the UFO was very close, but his best friend could not see it. This would seem to me that it is spiritual in nature, as some can see, and some cannot. There are higher power spiritual beings, some are in God's army and some are in Lucifer's. We call them angels and demons, but they are spiritual by nature. I recently read that Jerusalem has the most UFO sightings of any city in the world. This is no coincidence... I also found it fascinating that the most recent U.S. presidential inauguration in 2009 had a UFO sighting overhead, that no one could explain, and it was a no-fly zone for security.

As a true believer in Jesus as my Messiah, we need not have fear over this. We are covered with the blood of Jesus Christ, and He is protecting us. In the Bible, Jesus had sent out His disciples and when they returned were excited that the demons were subject to them. Jesus told them to rather marvel that their names are written in the Book of Life....

"For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

The Wow Factor

In the Bible, in Mark 16:15-20, it reads, "And Jesus said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach (proclaim) the gospel (good news) to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. And these signs (attesting miracles) will accompany those who have believed; in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it shall not hurt them; they will lays hands on the sick, and they will recover.' So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and CONFIRMED THE WORD by the signs (attesting miracles) that followed."
God is truth. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life..." Every word in the Bible is true, and unless it says otherwise, is literally true. As a matter of fact, Jesus said not to add to or take away from the Word. It also said Jesus is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. And God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are one God, not three. It's like humans are body, mind and spirit. Water is liquid, ice and steam. It's called the Holy Trinity, but it is one God. These words are for today just as much as they were for 2,000 years ago. Just before Jesus ascended into heaven, he commanded (not requested) them to GO and PROCLAIM the good news - that He beat death. And if people will believe this and be baptized, then they can beat death too.
And the cool part on this planet is when you truly believe, you will be accompanied by miracles to confirm God's word is truth. You will have God's power to cast out demons. You will get the power from the Holy Spirit and speak with new tongues. You will have God's power to lay hands on sick people, and they will recover. At the end of the above verse, it says 'while the Lord worked with them.' It is God's power with them that allows them to do these things.
Notice also that Jesus did not limit the power to just a few. He said these signs (miracles) will follow THEM THAT BELIEVE!!
Meditate on this. Get it into your head. This is powerful stuff. This is truth.

God is Love

God is LOVE. What more do you need to hear? God IS love. There are 3 different kinds of love translated from the Greek in the New Testament - friendship (phileo), romantic (eros) and unconditional (agape) love. Agape is God's love. Without condition. You didn't earn it. You didn't deserve it. It goes hand-in-hand with grace, which means undeserved.
I've heard that we imagine God in our own father's image, and my dad wasn't very loving. Consequently I was always afraid of God, that, like my dad, would get in a bad mood and smack me. But neither is God a wimp. Just because He is love, doesn't mean He's some pansy. By the way, in Genesis, it says God created Adam AND Eve in His image. So man and woman together is how God is. (He created Eve from Adam's rib.)
Is God still strict? Yes. Is He still just? Yes. But He is LOVE. Some people don't even know what love is. God's word says love is patient, kind, long suffering, doesn't keep a record of wrong doing, doesn't envy, doesn't brag, isn't proud, isn't rude, isn't self-seeking, not easily angered, doesn't delight in evil, rejoices in the truth, always protects, always trusts, always hopes and always perseveres.
(God) Love never fails...

God the Father

Here's another explanation of how God's love is. There's a true story about Roy Riegels, a football player years ago who played in the Rose Bowl for the national championship. During the game, Roy got the football, but ran towards the wrong end zone and had to be tackled by his own teamate, so he wouldn't score for the other team.

At half time, he was inconsolable, embarressed, humiliated and crying. The coach announced that all players that started the first half would start the second half, and they all started filing out. Roy stayed in the locker room, and the coach came over and said, "Didn't you hear me Roy? I said everybody that started the first half can start the second." Roy said he didn't deserve to go out there, and didn't think he could ever live it down. He said his football career was over. The coach told him to get out there and play his heart out. So, Roy did. He got out there like his life depended on it. He played the second half with all his might. And he was the most valuable player, and because of him, they won the game and the national championship.

'Wrong way Roy' redeemed himself. And there is a deeper lesson for us all. That coach was just like God is with us. We may have really messed up, but God is saying, 'Get out there and and play as hard as you can.' We may have gone the wrong way for a while, but God says, Get up and get out there and fight. Hard.

He LIVES!!!

I suppose this is a hard concept to understand if you're not a Christian. Jesus died on the cross and 3 days later was resurrected. He BEAT death!! He ascended into heaven and sent His comforter, the Holy Spirit, to help us. To LIVE in us. Yes, if we accept Him and allow Him, He will actually live in us.

He's not some pie in the sky. He's your loving father. He's your best friend.

He's not dead; He's ALIVE!!

I can't think of a better way to demonstrate God's love on this Easter day, than this video. Here is an example of Jesus' love when He gets inside of your heart. You want to help people because you love them.

Last night this college basketball player got a career-ending injury. Watch as his coach shows him the most precious love. He dropped his pride, and in front of millions helped this young man...

Our world needs this kind of love... Have a blessed Easter

The Choice

Years ago Hal Lindsey had a book out named, "Satan is alive and well on planet Earth." It is even more appropo today than it was in the 70's. Most Christians believe that we are indeed in the last days, and God's word says more demons will be unleashed towards the end. We must be diligent in our walk with God, because satan is pulling out all his stops to distract us from what's really important. Looking around at our world compared to how it was 40 years ago, and even 10 or 20 years ago, there is a huge difference, and it's not good....

God's word says, "Greater is He that is in me, than he that is in the world." We cannot do it on our own. His word also says, "Apart from Him, we can do nothing." It says in John, that when we are attached to the vine (Jesus) and abide in Him (follow His commandments), then we will bear fruit. If we do not abide, then we are thrown away as a branch and dry up, and are cast into the fire... Yes, satan is alive and well, and trying to get your soul so you can be in hell with him someday. And God is also alive and well, and also trying to get your soul so you can be in heaven with Him forever.

Choose well...

GOOD Friday

Today is 'Good Friday' but it's the best Friday of the year, of the history of the world! God sent His son to die on the cross and take your punishment for you. Your punishment of eternal hell for the sin that we all do. The sin that started with Adam and Eve, when they disobeyed God and got kicked out of the Garden of Eden, and then Lucifer was allowed to rule this world. We were born into sin after that. Only God could fix this situation.

It is apparent to me that many people just don't care. They don't see God, so they don't believe God. They don't give Him a chance. While they have their health and a job/money, they don't really feel like they need Him. Brad Pitt comes to mind. He recently did an interview with an interviewer in Germany who asked if he believed in God, and Pitt replied, "Noooooo, Noooo, Nooo," in a tone that said that was ridiculous for even asking. Here's a guy who has almost all that the world has to offer, and feels no need for God. He seems all about satisfying himself with indulgences, and only living in the here and now.

Personally, I have always looked to the next thing. At some point in your life, you say, what's next, and then, and then? It was graduate from high school, then go to college, then get a job, then get married, then have children, and then and then and then... You eventually get to death, and then? And the eternity thought is so deep, it's like thinking about all of the galaxies and universe. It is just too big of a thought to comprehend. But we try, because eternity if Forrrrr-eeeeverrrrrrr... As I say, too much to comprehend.

But we can comprehend that God is our Father. He could've just been our boss, our master, our acquaintance, our doctor... but He is called 'Abba' - which is Daddy. It's not just father, it's Daddy. It has affection and emotion tied to it. It's an endearing term. Your Daddy sent His ONLY son to pay a debt you could not pay. Ever. And today is the day we remember that. It's the worst death that can be. Slow and painful.

He did it for you... and me...

Yes, it is a Good Friday...

SUPERnatural

There's a song we sing, "God's not dead, no He's alive," so I would like to start relaying stories about this. I know God is a spirit and you cannot see him, but I assure you He's alive and just as much as He was 2,000 years ago in the Book of Acts. He is SUPERnatural - still breaks natural laws, with His miracles.
I know of a lady and her grown daughter that live in the town I work in. The daughter was sick and had gone to the doctor for a shot of some short. She had an immediate severe allergic reaction and stopped breathing. The doctor and nurse did CPR and tried and tried to revive her to no avail. At some point, they then called the justice of the peace to declare the death and the funeral home to pick up her body. They also called her mother (in her eighties.) The mother instructed them NOT to let the funeral home take her daughter's body, and that she was coming to the office. By the time she got there, her daughter's body was stiff, as she had then been dead for several hours.
The mother, a Spirit-filled Christian, had been speaking aloud and decreeing God's promises. She said, "I do NOT accept this, in the name of Jesus." and "I speak LIFE to my daughter and command her to be healed in Jesus' name." She laid her hands on her, and her daughter's eyes opened, and color came back to her pale, gray face. She slowly sat up, and came back alive.
Yes, SUPERnatural. Not the usual laws of this planet. Healings are as much for today as 2,000 years ago.
God's not dead... HE'S ALIVE!