Oh dear, I'm ... years old, I'm going to start falling apart...

Have you ever said that to yourself? Or heard someone say it about themselves?

I heard a friend of mine say it about herself! I was left wondering about what she believes about her god! Is he too lame to look after her in her "older age"? Surely he wouldn't leave her high and dry in her latter years! I think that on some strange level, her god is different to the God I am getting to know!

Where on earth is her belief system at? What lies and false reaching does she believe to question if God will look after her! After all we are worth more than sparrows! Jesus said so!

Not to mention that she hasn't come to the realisation that there is power in the spoken word! If that isn't so then God must have created this universe some other way! Its clearly stated (somewhere) in the bible that the tongue can bring life or death! Depending on how you wield it!

So, just because you've reached that "magic" age, does not mean that you will start falling apart!

Here's something I've found. Your body listens to your every word! And when you start telling it that your skin is going to get thin, so it splits very easily, that's what its going to do! It will listen to your words and it will do as you say! Granted, this doesn't seem to reverse the aging process, everything gets old and dies at some point in time, that's the world we live in! But we don't have to get old before our time!

I don't know about you, but I want to be able to play with my great-grand-children when they come (I have heaps more years to wait for grand-children!)!

I'm not about to start telling my body that I'm getting old! While sometimes I feel old, that is a feeling and not reality!

I think we need to be a little more careful in regards with what we say! We need to pay a little more attention to what we say about ourselves!

People tell me that they have such shocking memories! Of course, they've told themselves to have shocking memories! And they are not paying attention to what Jesus tells them! "I have come that they may have life, and life in abundance" comes to mind! What part of abundant life is a shocking memory? What part of life in abundance is a prematurely falling apart body? Psalms says that He (God) will satisfy them with long life! Satisfy with long life! From my understanding, that means that a falling apart body doesn't have to happen! Yes we get old, but we can still do stuff!

I watched a documentary thing on gold miners in America or Alaska or Canada - somewhere over there! One on the miners was 91!!! And he was still able to keep up with his grandson! Granted, he did have a heart attack - but 91! I know people who are younger than me who keep telling themselves they're old! (and some of them are starting to look it!)

My suggestion, for memory issues, age issues, health issues and generally anything else ... sit regularly at Jesus' feet and have Him constantly tell you what He thinks of you, how much He loves you, why He made you, and His plans for you! Let it sink in and start telling yourself what He is telling you! You might just be amazed at the difference it makes!


May Gods blessings shower down upon you. And may you be coated in the dust of your Rabbi!

Ailments, illnesses and attitudes!

Have we ever stopped to consider that there is a possibility that our ill health has been brought about simply because of our attitudes?

I have heard many stories of people with inoperable cancer being healed suddenly after they forgave a friend or family member! They held onto their bitterness and when they finally let go of that, and let God heal the wound, they were physically healed!

Now I'm not saying that every cancer is caused by unforgiveness! We live  in a fallen world! Sometimes, bad things happen!

I'm just saying that next time you have a headache that won't go away, instead of kicking the devil for it, maybe you should seek God in regards to its root cause! It could just be that your head is saying that you've done enough and its time to rest, or that you're dehydrated, or that the devil.is kicking you a good kicking, or that you have an issue that you need to deal with!

I had a headache for well over a week. I prayed about it, but with having pain, I couldn't really think straight! I sent a message for prayer specifically asking for clarity about this headache - I wanted to know ita root cause! Sure enough, a couple of days later, I'm praying about this headache and I felt that I had an issue to deal with! I rolled over and went back to sleep! After all, it was 3am, and I'd had this thing for over a week, a few more hours wouldn't make much difference! Later that morning, I set about talking about this issue with God, and strangely enough, the headache went!

Not everything in this world is the fault of the devil! He's not that smart!

So, next time you have a physical health issue, go seek God about it! You may be surprised at what He says!

May Gods blessings shower down upon you. And may you be coated in the dust of your Rabbi!

Open your eyes... be discerning... Learn the Word!

Watch who you enjoy reading messages from!!

I was browsing through Facebook this morning and came across one of my friends who had shared a recent quote from Joel Osteen’s page. Osteen’s post went like this:

Philippians 1:28 says, “Do not be intimidated by your enemies.” You may be up against a giant obstacle now, but put your shoulders back and hold your head up high. You are not weak. Those for you are greater than those against you.

The Bible passage he quoted didn’t ring a bell, so I quickly got out my Bible and looked it up. Sure enough, the passage was taken grossly out of context in the worst way. Here is what the context says:

27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, 28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. 29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, 30 engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have. (ESV)

In this passage, Paul is encouraging the Philippian Christians to stand firm in the true gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul knew there were false teachers (the “opponents” or “enemies” mentioned in the above passage) that were trying their best to lure them away from the true gospel and to win them over to their camp for personal gain. Paul also knew how easy it was to fall into false doctrine that sounds great, but will turn them away from the truth to their own destruction. He warned Timothy of the same thing.

3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. (2 Timothy 4:3-4 ESV)

So what’s the big deal? After all, one might say, Joel Osteen’s teachings are very encouraging and inspiring.

True. And I might have even passed by this blatant misuse of Scripture with a simple roll of the eyes had I not seen a comment someone made to my friend’s post. This is what she said:

I love reading this man’s updates. I get more out of him than any church I’ve ever attended! His themes focus on loving and believing in yourself and treating others the same……

This comment is what hit me between the eyes like a brick. I knew then that as a minister, indeed, as a Christian, I couldn’t stand by and just let this go. What if you had a friend who was a doctor and he or she saw you about to consume something that she knew was poison to your physical body? Would she be acting in a loving and caring way if she simply sat back and let you consume it? No. Because of what she knew, she has a moral responsibility to say something. More than that, if she truly loved you, she would definitely say something to you about the danger you are faced with.

So what did Osteen say that was so wrong?

First, let me say that the above quote represents the norm for Osteen. The proverbial “pull yourself up from your boot straps” message pervades his teaching. People are encouraged to see themselves in a better light, to remember their strengths, to dig down deep to find the goodness within them. His books teach us how to “become a better you,” and that our “best life is now.” So what’s wrong with those messages?

What’s wrong, to begin with, is that they are completely opposite of what the Bible teaches. And the biggest thing that is wrong is what is missing. The gospel.

The Biblical gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ, first tells us the truth about our condition. All of us are hopelessly and helplessly lost in sin.

None is righteous, no, not one;
11 no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.” (Romans 3:10-12 ESV)

I realize many may see this and say, “You see. Nothing but doom and gloom and telling me how bad I am. I’d much rather listen to Joel Osteen who is positive.” But wait a minute. There is good news, but we can’t appreciate the good news without first realizing the truth of our condition.

You see, because of sin, we are all separated from God. We are spiritually dead and the Bible says we are already condemned because of it. This is a condition that does not call for humanistic self-encouragement. This is a condition that does not call for teaching that tells us to pull ourselves up from the boot straps and hold your head up high. We don’t need to be told that we aren’t weak. We need the truth!

And the truth is, we all need Jesus Christ! God, the One who created the heavens and the earth and can do as He pleases, gave us a Remedy for our sinful, lost condition.

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:17-21)

It is through Christ alone that we are rescued! It is through His death and resurrection that we are set free and find hope and freedom from the sin that bound us, and it is through that same resurrection that we will one day be forever free from the sorrow, shame, sickness, and death that is a part of this present life we now live in.

So, my friends, if I seem to be overly passionate about false teaching, it is only because that false teaching is blinding people to the only truth that can truly set them free from their true sinful condition, and keeping them from the only One who gives them true hope for eternal life where the curse of sin will be no more.

So then, when determining who to listen to, remember this. If the message points you to trust in Jesus Christ and His completed work on the cross, it is the true gospel. If it points you to yourself and becoming better by your own strength, run the other way! You might just be encountering a false teacher!

Written by Rosemary Amy!

Did God Say That?

The following is a re-arrangement from an article from Jack Kelley's page........www.gracethrufaith.com

he posts a new article every Sunday and he also has a Q&A! (I wasn't the one who did the re-arrangement!)

Did God Say That?

Everything else you may have heard about salvation is man made, not God breathed. For example;

The Bible does not say we have to agree to stop sinning in order to be saved. It does say we have to change our mind and agree we are sinners, because people who don’t think they sin don’t ask for a Savior.

The Bible does not say that before He created any of us, God selected some of us to be saved, left the rest to suffer the second death, and there’s nothing any of us can do to change that. The clearest verses on the subject tell us that God doesn't want any of us to perish (2 Peter 3:9) but instead wants everyone to be saved (1 Tim. 2:3-4). Both the Old Testament and the New Testament tell us that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved (Joel 2:32, Romans 10:13).

The Bible does not say we can only be saved if God deems us worthy of such a blessing. It says we aren’t saved because of righteous things we have done but because of His mercy (Titus 3:5).

The Bible does not say we have to contribute our own effort to the salvation process. Is says we are saved by grace through faith and not by works (Ephesians 2:8-9).
The Bible does not say we can be saved by simply joining a particular church or denomination. It says we have to be born again (John 3:3).

The Bible does not say we can be saved by obeying God’s Law. It says no one will be declared righteous by obeying the Law (Romans 3:20) but that we have a righteousness apart from the Law that comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe (Romans 3:21-24).

The Bible does not say we will get another chance to be saved after we die. It says we’re only given one life and when it ends we’ll face our judgment (Hebrews 9:27).

The Bible does not say we need to be baptized in order to be saved. While baptism is important, it serves as the public declaration of our private decision to join the family of God, not as a prerequisite for doing so.

The Bible says we were included in Christ when we heard the word of truth, the gospel of our salvation. Having believed we were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance, until the redemption of those who are God’s possession-to the praise of His glory (Ephesians 1:13-14).

Who Can Be Saved?

The Bible tells us God wants everyone to be saved (1 Timothy 2:3-4, 2 Peter 3:9) and that whoever believes in Jesus will not perish but will have everlasting life (John 3:16). In fact it says believing that God sent Jesus to save us is the only thing God requires of us (John 6:28-29).

It also says the decision to be saved is ours to make. In Matt. 7:7-8 Jesus said everyone who asks will receive, everyone who seeks will find, and to whoever knocks the door will be opened. Paul said if we confess with our mouth, “Jesus is Lord” and believe in our heart that God raised Him from the dead we’ll be saved (Romans 10:9).

He said everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved (Romans 10:13). The only condition is that our decision has to be made during our lifetime (Hebrews 9:27). After we die our destiny is sealed for eternity.

What Does It Take To Be Saved?

Understanding what the Bible says (and doesn’t say) about salvation is obviously our number one priority. Let’s begin by defining the term.

The Bible says we are all sinners (Romans 3:23). This means we've repeatedly violated God’s Law. How we got into this situation is a long story but the end result is that our sins have gotten us into big trouble with God. In fact the Bible says our sins are punishable by death (Romans 6:23).

Being saved means to be rescued from the death penalty due us for the sins we've committed.

The Bible mentions two births and two deaths. The first birth and the first death are physical and relate to our physical body, which usually wears out and ceases to work after 70 or 80 years. The second birth and the second death are spiritual, and relate to our soul and spirit, which live forever.

Salvation was not intended to save people from their physical death, but from their spiritual death, which the Bible defines as being consigned to a lake of fire to be tormented forever. In Rev. 20:14 and Rev. 21:8 this lake of fire is called the second death. So in the most literal sense, being saved means escaping the second death.

We are saved from the second death by experiencing our second birth. In some circles this is called being born again and it’s absolutely necessary in order for us to be saved from the penalty due us for our sins.

Here’s how it works. Knowing it isn't entirely our fault that we’re in this predicament, God promised to send His Son to pay the penalty for our sins by dying in our place. His name is Jesus, and in the eternal sense, His death has saved our lives, if we’ll let it.
In John 1:12-13 we read the following;

“Yet to all who received Him (Jesus), to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision, nor of a husband’s will, but born of God.”

Our first birth made us a child of our earthly parents, but our second birth makes us a child of God. It’s our second birth that qualifies us for entry into the Kingdom of God, for without it no one can enter therein (John 3:3). In John 3:6 Jesus said flesh gives birth to flesh (first birth) but the Spirit gives birth to spirit (second birth).

These verses tell us our second birth takes place when we receive Jesus and believe in His name. Receiving Him means taking Him to ourselves or making Him our own, and believing in His name means believing Jesus is the one through whom God brought our salvation.

In Hebrew, the name of Jesus is Yeshua, a contraction of the phrase that means “God is salvation”. His name explains what He has done, so by believing in His name we are believing in what He has done for us.

To summarize, if we’re only born once we’ll die twice, but if we’re born twice we’ll only die once. (Some of us won’t die at all, but that’s a topic for another discussion.)

God is good - is that just a "good times" statement?

I hear people telling me that God is good! They have a smile on their face and their outlook is cheery!

However, will they still be telling me that God is good when their world has turned to poo?

So, God is good when you have a good job, the car works, the children are behaving themselves and you are generally happy!

But, is God still good when your boss suddenly fires you, when the car just won't start and its gonna cost thousands to have a look at it (and probably thousands more to repair it), the children have driven you insane with their constant nagging and general mis-behaviour!??

In reality, God is always good! And our circumstances should not dictate His good-ness or not-so-good-ness!

"Oh, but my life is hard, you don't know what its like to be in my shoes!" Well, of course, I don't!

Lets take a look at David, King David of the bible, that is!
He did something not-so-good! Had a man murdered so the Kong could have the wife! She has a kid... David is confronted in regards to his sin. He is pardoned, BUT, there is a nasty little side-effect... The child gets sick. David gets on his face and pleads God to spare the child. The child dies! God is still good! What does David do? He cleans himself up, changes his clothes, and goes where? Into the house of God to worship? Why? Because Gods goodness has not changed just because David is mourning the death of his child!

Just an old outdated example you say!

Here's another one that is only maybe 10 years old...

A young woman has a conversation with God, where she asks Him for a child. He grants that request, with a condition. A few weeks later that young woman finds that she is in fact pregnant. Stuff happens, a relationship ends, and the young woman moves to a new country, with the baby and her mother! They live happily! The young woman and her baby move out of the young womans mothers home, into her own... Then, one day the child (now just over two years old) starts teething! This is normal! The young woman doesn't think much of it, until she makes the attempt to get the temperature of the child down - its getting way to close to 40degrees! Then she tries to get the child to stand, the child can not stand! The young woman freaks out, rings a friend, who comes over and rings an ambulance! The child is super sick. Prayer requests go out left right and center to here there and everywhere... The child dies...

What does the young mum do now? While she does not feel that God is good, she does her best to trust His word! He said in the conditions right at the beginning "you won't have this child for long". The young mum, hoes yo church feeling somewhat empty inside, but, she tries to worship God! She talks to Him, she pours her heart out to Him. After the funeral, someone asks the young woman how she is coping. Her response blows them away... "Without God I would be dead. If it wasn't for my relationship with Jesus, there would have been two coffins not one at the funeral!" Why was this the answer? Because somewhere in her heart that mum had the understanding that God is bigger than her circumstances, as painful and gut wrenching as they are, and He has a plan that is bigger than her, and somehow He is still good!

Where is that young mum now? (A little clue - you're reading her blog!)

What I am trying to say is the God is good no matter what our circumstances are! He is bigger than us. He is our creator! Crap happens, God is still good! When you get a hold of that, the crap that happens is easier to handle! The Holy Spirit is not called our comforter for nothing!

May Gods blessings shower down upon you. And may you be coated in the dust of your Rabbi!

Religion or freedom, hollow promises or the freedom to be who you were created to be...

I was thinking about a conversation I had with a friend the other day. We'd been singing a couple songs at church and they had words like "everyday", "I'll do..."! Not a bad thing, but in some cases, not humanly possible either! And the conversation was around the fact that in some cases we sing lies to ourselves in the hope that one day these things will be a reality!

Ooh - did I just say that we sing lies to ourselves? Ok, from a different perspective we are "speaking it into being"... Yeah right! Sorry, I don't hold to that! To me, certain things are simply wishful thinking! And thus, a lie! And I don't particularly care if you agree or disagree!

In the real world I am not going to read my bible everyday! Its a fact! In the real world I am not going to pray for hours on end everyday! Its a fact! God gets that I am human, its how He created me! While He wants me to change and be more like His plan for me, He's not into ramming it down my throat with a ram rod! He's a gentleman!
Whats more, He will enable the change! If one is needed!

Oh and I haven't yet found a verse that says we need to read several chapters of the bible every day! While it will help! It is not absolutely necessary! There are verses that say to meditate on the word, which is chewing over, thinking about and dwelling on pieces of Gods word!

Here's something that might just shock some... When I sit down and read the bible "because I have to", it is dead boring, meaningless nonsense, that sends me right off to sleep! Ooh, did I say that out loud? Yes! However, when I read a verse or chapter or whatever that God has  stuck in my head, it has meaning and life and actually makes sense, and I can read it without falling asleep!

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to give you an escape clause for not praying, worshipping or whatever! I'm just saying that its best if you sit down with God, discuss yourself with Him and come to an agreement (this is not bargaining or haggling with God, this is simply hearing His terms and agreeing to them!) He made each of us in a different way!

Over this last year (2013), I've had people tell me I pray "wrong", because I don't babble, cry, wail like a banshee, moan, groan, roll around on the floor, pray/speak in tongues, stomp my feet, pray for 15+ minutes at a time (out loud), or pray from a sheet the same thing each day! God has been telling me that I will know when to pray and who to pray for, I just have to shut up and listen to Him! He told me to "toss out the lists"! "Toss out the typed up prayers, they become meaningless repetition, and follow My lead!"
Awesome - I can do that! The rest of that stuff, can't do! And trust me, I've tried it!

Your life is a relationship with God! Tell me something. When you go have lunch with a friend, do you pull out a list and go over the same old crap? Ask the same old questions? Do you roll around on the floor? Do you cry and wail like a banshee? If not, then why, when you spend time with God (who should be your best friend) do you do that? Oh, no - that's being spontaneous and spontaneity is scary! Rubbish! Let go and fly by the seat of your pants every once in a while - see just how exhilarating life can be!

Granted, if you're a list person, and lists come naturally to you, then spontaneity probably will freak you out! It could be how God made you! Discuss it with Him!

If you're a night owl, what on earth are you doing awake at 5am? You've been in bed, what, two hours? Go back to bed! (God did make some us to function in the dark hours!) If you think that you should be awake at 5am reading your bible and praying (between naps), maybe you should discuss it with God! See what He says!

Here's something... Humans can give us advice - we don't have to listen! However, if God gives us advice - we really should listen!
Just because that TV evangelist tells you to be awake at 5am, pray for three hours and read 6 chapters of the old testament and 6 chapters of the new, doesn't mean you should half kill yourself attempting that feat of human endurance! You're putting yourself under mans rule! Throw that stuff off! Talk about you with God! He should have the final word! After all, it was He that made you, not that TV evangelist on the other side of the planet, who doesn't even know you exist!

Go call a family meeting, request that the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit all be present. Have a good chat with them! See what they say about you! Discuss that weird stuff with them! Tell them that you really can't do something, and see what they say! Maybe, just maybe, they might be able to help you in your relationship with them far better than you ever dreamed possible!

If you get to know how you were made, then you will learn that you have things you're brilliant at, and things you probably should stay away from!

If you're like me, can't sit still to pray for more than maybe 15 minutes at a time! My prayers are spread throughout the entire day (going to an actual prayer meeting is somewhat hard, but I do try).
When I read the bible, literally 3 or 4 verses in, I'm falling asleep! However, if God gives me a verse or two (sometimes an entire chapter or more) I can strangely stay awake! Because its not by my effort! The Holy Spirit has stopped by, enabled me to read and understand! (He is simply amazing at that!) When I pray, I mostly write it down (helps me keep track, not forget and I can write answered prayers later)... The ones I get to pray out loud are usually short and to the point! 30 seconds to a minute at best! (I've been told I have a way of putting things...) I think the longest out loud prayer I've ever prayed was a minute and a half to two minutes! I don't pray in tongues! I don't (normally) cry, though I have gotten a little teary occasionally, showing emotion is not my thing! Unless I am absolutely overwhelmed!

My point is, you gotta sit down with God and work out what is best for you!

If you have a car, you're not going to take it to a pastry chef to get it serviced! You need to take yourself to your creator for regular services, check ups and advice! He knows best for you!

You can moan all you like about songs that are filled with empty promises that become nothing more than lies! Its not going to solve the problem! Get off your butt, go discuss it with God! And I'm not meaning complaining about the songs sung in church! I'm meaning that you need to have the guts to say to God, "I'm here to discuss me with You!" He'll possibly say something along the lines of "about time"! Well, at least, He did with me!

Oh, and this discussion thing - its not a once off thing! Its a every however often thing! The however often bit depends on you, how He made you, how often you feel you need or want a check up, how often you want to hear what He has to say about you! No pressure!

Remember, religion has rules to tie you up! Jesus came to set you free!

May Gods blessings shower down upon you. And may you be coated in the dust of your Rabbi!