This blog is created to share and spread God's word. I wanted to be God's Advocate that is why this blog came to existence.I hope to inspire other people through this blog.Who knows? This blog might change lives and save souls.
One rainy afternoon I was driving along one of the main streets of town, taking those extra precautions necessary when the roads are wet and slick.
Suddenly, my daughter, Aspen, spoke up from her relaxed position in her seat. “Dad, I’m thinking of something.”
This announcement usually meant she had been pondering some fact for a while, and was now ready to expound all that her six-year-old mind had discovered. I was eager to hear.
“What are you thinking?” I asked.
“The rain! ;” she began, “is like sin, and the windshield wipers are like God wiping our sins away.”
After the chill bumps raced up my arms I was able to respond. “That’s really good, Aspen.”
Then my curiosity broke in. How far would this little girl take this revelation? So I asked… “Do you notice how the rain keeps on coming? What does that tell you?”
Aspen didn’t hesitate one moment with her answer: “We keep on sinning, and God just keeps on forgiving us.”
I will always remember this whenever I turn my wipers on.
In order to see the Rainbow, you must first endure some Rain.
Malachi 3:3 says: “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.”
This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.
That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn’t mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver.
As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.
The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot then she thought again about the verse that says: “He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.”
She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.
The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, “How do you know when the silver is fully refined?”
He smiled at her and answered, “Oh, that’s easy - when I see my image in it.”
If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has His eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.
Author Unknown
When God spoke out of the burning bush in the desert to Moses, Moses asked who he should say had instructed and sent him .
And God said unto Moses, “I AM THAT I AM:”
and he said, “Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.” (Exodus 3:14)
When you are sharing God’s love with another
you must remember who you are. You may respond to the question, “Who are you?,” as follows:
1. I am a minister of the Gospel of Christ (2 Cor 11:23, Romans 1:16)
2. I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ (Romans 1:16)
3. I am a witness (1 Thessalonians 2:10)
4. I am not my own (1 Corinthians 6:19)
5. I am not of this world (John 15:9)
6. I am not under the law (Galatians 5:18)
7. I am not a slave (Galatians 4:7)
8. I am not inferior (Job 13:2)
9. I am not alone (John 8:16, 16:32)
10. I am bold (2 Corinthians 11:21)
11. I am not ashamed of who I am (2 Tim 1:12)
12. I am an ambassador for Christ (1 Corinthians 5:20)
13. I am jealous for the saints with a godly jealousy. (2 Corinthians 11:2)
14. I am an intercessor who stands in the gap (Ezekiel 22:30)
15. I am Christ’s (1 Corinthians 3:23)
16. I am the friend of God (John 15:15)
17. I am a servant of God (1 Corinthians 9:19)
18. I am a part of the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27)
19. I am one of the saints in Christ Jesus. (Romans 1:6, Galatians 3:28)
20. I am the Bride of Jesus Christ (Revelations 21:2-10)
21. I am a fellow citizen with all the saints in the Kingdom of God (Ephesians 2:19)
22. I am the temple of the Lord and the Holy Spirit dwells within me
(1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19, 2 Corinthians 6:16, John 14:7)
23. I am redeemed (Revelations 5:9)
24. I am bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:20)
25. I am Blood bought (1 Peter 1:19, Revelations 5:9)
26. I am valuable to God (Matthew 10:31)
27. I am one in which God has an inheritance (Ephesians 1:18)
28. I am reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:18)
29. I am made clean (John 13:10)
30. I am saved by the Gospel (1 Corinthians 15:2)
31. I am born again of incorruptible seed (1 Peter 1:23)
32. I am a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17)
33. I am in Christ Jesus (1 Corinthians 1:30)
34. I am complete in Him (Colossians 2:10)
35. I am free from the control of man (1 Corinthians 9:19)
36. I am free from sin (Romans 6:18,22)
37. I am free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2)
38. I am free from the curse of the law (Galatians 3:13)
39. I am free indeed (John 8:32-36)
40. I am called according to His purpose (Romans 8:30)
41. I am called into the fellowship of His Son (1 Corinthians 1:9)
42. I am called to peace (1 Corinthians 7:15)
43. I am called to liberty (Galatians 5:13)
44. I am called to His eternal glory (1 Peter 5:10)
45. I am God’s field (1 Corinthians 3:9)
46. I am God’s building (1 Corinthians 3:9)
47. I am a branch connected into the Vine Jesus Christ and His life flows through me (John 15:5)
48. I am healed from my infirmities (1 Peter 2:24, Isaiah 53:5)
49. I am immune from every sickness and disease (Exodus 23:25, Deuteronomy 7:15)
50. I am an epistle of Christ, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God (2 Corinthians 3:3)
51. I am Abraham’s seed (Galatians 3:29)
52. I am an heir according to the promises made to Abraham. (Galatians 3:29)
53. I am part of a chosen generation (1 Peter 2:9)
54. I am a member of a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9)
55. I am a citizen of a holy nation (1 Peter 2:9)
56. I am one of His own special people (1 Peter 2:9)
57. I am an heir of God a joint heir with Jesus Christ (Galatians 4:7)
58. I am member of the household of God (Ephesians 2:19)
1. Your thumb is nearest to you.
So begin your prayers by praying for those closest to you. They are the easiest to remember. To pray for our loved ones is, as C. S. Lewis once said, a “sweet duty.”
2. The next finger is the pointing finger.
Pray for those who teach, instruct and heal. This includes teachers, doctors, and ministers. They need support and wisdom in pointing others in the right direction. Keep them in your prayers.
3. The next finger is the tallest finger.
It reminds us of our leaders. Pray for the president, leaders in business and industry, and administrators. These people shape our nation and guide public opinion. They need God’s guidance.
4. The fourth finger is our ring finger.
Surprising to many is the fact, that this is our weakest finger; as any piano teacher will testify. It should remind us to pray for those who are weak, in trouble or in pain. They need your prayers day and night. You cannot pray too much for them.
5. And lastly comes our little finger; the smallest finger of all.
Which is where we should place ourselves in relation to God and others. As the Bible says, “The least shall be the greatest among you.” Your pinkie should remind you to pray for yourself.. By the time you have prayed for the other four groups, your own needs will be put into proper perspective and you will be able to pray for yourself more effectively.
You Have AIDS
“Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” – Matthew 25:13
The doctor looked at her favorite patient, a wonderful woman with AIDS.
The doctor knew that this woman had a husband who adored her, very young children who needed her and kindergarten students who loved her so much they gave her bits of their sandwiches every day.
“We’ll do everything we can,” she assured the woman. “I want you to go on living for the next 20 and 30 years.”
The woman smiled, and touched the doctor’s hand. “You know, that’s the same wish I have for you.”
The doctor at first puzzled, and then finally smiled.
Because the truth is, whether or not we have cancer, or AIDS, or a perfectly trimmed body, we still don’t know the actual day when we’ll be called Home.
So we may as well squeeze each moment we have here on earth and live each day like there could be no tomorrow.
Because one of these days – at a schedule known only to our Father – that will be the truth.
- Aileen S.
“…not even seven times but seventy times.” – Matthew 18:22
“You’re lying,” I told my best friend. We were having an argument and that was all I could say. We didn’t talk for a while after that because I couldn’t forgive her for not telling me the truth.
Cathy and I have been best friends since high school and our friendship hasn’t been a smooth one. There have been numerous bumps that we have hurdled together. Somewhere along our arguments and misunderstandings, forgiveness comes. It isn’t easy to forgive, especially if it hits where it really hurts. After all, we are but human.
Not long after that, at a candle affirmation activity in our community, I said sorry and hugged her. I forgave her because she was my best friend and she was important to me. Even if it was difficult, I humbled myself and let my pride down.
Having my best friend back was all worth it.
- Pia U.
“Courage daughter! Your faith has saved you.” – Matthew 9:22
The phone rang and a frantic voice informed me that my son had met an accident and was taken to the hospital. He was readily rushed to the lab room. On the way, I began to pray fervently. When I got to the hospital, I learned that my son, while waiting for a cab, was hit by a soft drink delivery truck. Results of the tests: multiple fracture of the pelvis, hematoma on the left side of the head, several body bruises, with his right thigh visibly boring the marks of the truck’s wheel. Doctor’s advice: possible surgery and/or casting; complete bed rest for a month and three months physical therapy thereafter.
Results: my son was up on his feet after only a week, no hematoma, no surgery, no casting and only three visits with his physical therapist. Twenty days after, he was discharged!
The doctors were all amazed and to their questions of “Why” and “How,” my answer is: faith, backed with prayers!
- Rica A.
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”
10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
14 So the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,
“Cursed are you above all livestock
and all wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
and you will eat dust
all the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring[a] and hers;
he will crush[b] your head,
and you will strike his heel.”
16 To the woman he said,
“I will make your pains in childbearing very severe;
with painful labor you will give birth to children.
Your desire will be for your husband,
and he will rule over you.”
17 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’
“Cursed is the ground because of you;
through painful toil you will eat food from it
all the days of your life.
18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field.
19 By the sweat of your brow
you will eat your food
until you return to the ground,
since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
and to dust you will return.”
20 Adam[c] named his wife Eve,[d] because she would become the mother of all the living.
21 The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. 22 And the LORD God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” 23 So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side[e] of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.
Footnotes:
- Genesis 3:15 Or seed
- Genesis 3:15 Or strike
- Genesis 3:20 Or The man
- Genesis 3:20 Eve probably means living.
- Genesis 3:24 Or placed in front
A young teen who was constantly getting into trouble always apologized when his parents confronted him. No matter how much he hurt his parents with his previous wrong-doing, he would soon turn around and do something else wrong — knowing he would be forgiven.
Finally, his dad took him out to the garage to talk. Dad picked up a hammer and pounded a nail into the garage wall. Then he gave his son the hammer and told him to pull out the nail.
The boy shrugged, grabbed the hammer , and yanked out the nail.
“That’s like forgiveness, Son. When you do something wrong, it’s like pounding in a nail. Forgiveness is when you pull the nail out.”
“Okay, I get it,” Said the boy.
“Now take the hammer and pull out the nail hole,” his dad replied.
“That’s impossible!” the boy said. “I can’t pull it out.”
As this story illustrates and King David’s life proves, sin carries consequences. Even though David was forgiven, his adultery and murder left scars and led to family problems (2 Sam. 12:10). This sobering truth can serve as a warning for our lives. The best way to avoid the lingering damage of sin is to live a life of obedience to God.
- Dave Branon
When a microbe enters the body through a wound or an infection, white blood cells (the soldier cells) are deployed in great numbers, and even though they don’t have eyes, they can distinguish which cells “belong to the body” and which ones are the invaders that they were sent out to destroy.
New mother dogs can tell if the puppies in her care are hers or someone else’s. In school or at work, people somehow gravitate toward other people who have like personalities.
I once heard a preacher say that some Satanists confess: “Whenever we see a real Christian walking towards us, we cringe and move away.” They couldn’t describe what these “real Christians” looked like - but whenever they saw one, they just knew, because they became so uncomfortable they wanted to flee.
If we who call ourselves Christians would walk towards a Satanist today, would he say, “Ho hum, it’s just you”? Or would he just cringe and move away?
-Aileen S.
