Good enough

Be still, and know that I am God. My grace is sufficient or you. (Psa46:10 / 2 Cor 12:9)

Do you ever feel plagued with failure and defeat? So consumed in trying to be ‘good enough’ that you smother yourself in grief because, no matter how hard or how diligent you are, you’ll never BE good enough? Come on… you know what Im talking about! When every victory is turned to loss – when every slip-up becomes a personal Mt. Everest. It wears you down! You wear yourself out, doing and going and trying, and the harder you go – the more you feel like nothing you ever could do will ever amount to you being good enough!

Well, guess what! The secret is that you dont have to be good enough. You dont have to be perfect, or beautiful, or any of those other things. God loves you regardless of how messed up, damaged, flawed, and broken you are. He created you, He understands you, and regardless of the good, the bad, and the ugly, He accepts you and He desires, more than anything, to have a relationship with YOU. He absolutely, whole-heartedly loves you without condition or cause. It simply does not matter what you have done – He loves you anyway.

Sure, there are things that we do or say, or ways we act, that He doesnt like; but that doesnt stop Him from loving us! That is His gift to us. Its free! All we have to do is accept it!

John 3:16… For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Break time is over

Just a quick note to re-acclimate myself to writing.

The past few weeks (if you have noticed), Ive been ‘no where to be found’. Well, truth be told, Ive had my plate quite full – between daily life, editing several hand-written notebooks which are being converted into a book, and ~ low and behold ~ I faced up to one of my biggest fears, speaking in front of others, in a very large scaled fashion at that, by accepting an offer to be a special guest on a ministry network television show! Yeah! Talk about jumping in with both feet! And talk about being a nervous wreck, too! I definitely fit that bill. But, by the grace and courage of God, I overcame my fear and actually even had a little fun in doing so. I can’t rightfully say I didnt entirely mess it up, but for that, Im now very thankful for the person who invented the options of editing telecasts. :-). Otherwise, I havent watched the episode, and Im not entirely sure that I want to, LOL. But, however it turns out, I am positive that God will take control of it all and will turn it into something that will be used for (literally) ‘Touching Lives For Jesus’, for His glory!

Anyway, I am very grateful for the vacation we had. Spending time with my husband and family is such a blessing! I still have some editing to finish up, for the book thats going to be released, and then it will be back to life as usual. :-). So, without too much more delay, I will be able to return to my blogging, here.

(Happy-Happy-Happy-Joy!!!)

Stand In Faith

Have you ever felt “stranded in the desert place”? At one time or another, we all go through ‘dry spots’. It’s sort of likened to the feeling of being swallowed up by a black hole. It’s a lonely place to be! Isolation often becomes a good friend when good friends are hard to find.

During these times, we must be on guard! Satan wants us to stay there, to convince us that no one cares, to become weak and grow weary, and to tempt us into giving up on God. If we allow him entrance into our minds, his strongholds will grab us by the throats and slowly squeeze until theres no air left in us.

Our faith in God is what carries us through these times. If we stand firm on Gods Word – His promises and instructions – we will find, every time, that our wondering through the desert will end. He will direct us back onto the path of righteousness – His path. As we journey along, if we put all of our trust in Him, he will strengthen us. He will hear our cries, as our faith reaches up to Him, He will strengthen us, giving us power and covering us in His love.

The best way to increase our faith is by feeding on (reading and knowing) what Gods Word is; keeping it flowing through us like a fresh spring of living water (John 7:38). Then, we will be able to stand firm on His Word successfully – and in doing so, we will be able to defeat Satan’s schemes. By praising God through all things and continually quoting the Word over every situation, not wavering in doubt, un- belief, or dis-belief, we will be able to overcome the enemies strongholds and He will deliver us.

We are told, in Isaiah 40:28-31(amp)…”Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, does not faint or grow weary; there is no searching of His understanding. He gives power to the faint and weary, and to him who has no might He increases strength [causing it to multiply and making it to abound]. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and [selected] young men shall feebly stumble and fall exhausted; But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] shall change and renew their strength and power; they shall lift their wings and mount up [close to God] as eagles [mount up to the sun]; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired.”

introducing Eva Wells – Weekly Prayer Submission

Praying

Praying is how we talk to God. It is our eternal, wireless telephone line. No matter where we are or what we are doing, we always have reception, there arent any ‘dropped calls’, and He is always there for us. Its our essential, unlimited, free access to our Father, in Heaven.

Prayer is our strongest means of having a relationship with Christ. He loves us unconditionally and that is what he wants from us – to love Him unconditionally, and to have a true relationship with us. He wants us to be blessed. He wants us to be healthy and of good cheer. And yes, He does want us to prosper – as we read in Jeremiah 29:11, Jesus says “…for I know the plans I have for you, to promote you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” He wants to be our un-failing life line… our source of support, comfort, peace, rest, strength, and joy. He does not want us to have to suffer, but knowing that we will, He strongly urges us to rely on Him for all things.

Jesus tells us, many times, through scripture about prayer. He tells us how to pray (Matthew 6: 9-13, Psalms 66:17, 1Corinthians 4:15, and James 1:6). He tells us when to pray (Ephesians 6:18 and 1 Thessalonians 5:17). Then we are told who to pray for (1 Timothy 2:1, James 5:13-14, and Romans 15:30). And He even tells us what to pray for, in multiple passages in the book of Psalms (50:14-15, 118:25, and 122:6). To put it bluntly, if the instructions have been read, theres just no way to ‘not know how’ to do it. Otherwise, no fancy words are needed. No formal training is required. All we have to do is (Psalms 34:7) cry out to Jesus, from our hearts, for each other and our selves. We are told to do it without ceasing, boldly, in faith, with thanks given. Even when we are really in need, we also are told how to pray then; as by our combined efforts strengthening our quest before the Lord, Matthew 18:19 says when two or more gather together, in agreement, that which is asked for will be given, for the glory of God.

The most important thing we can do for each other is to pray. It builds our faith, and the faith of those we are praying for. It gives encouragement and blessing, and its a way to manifest our love for each other, as brothers and sisters in Christ. And by doing this, we are following one of Gods’ highest laws… To love one another, as Christ loves us.

In closing… I leave you with this:

Every week, requests are being accepted, replied to, and prayed for at:
soulblindministry

I would like to encourage each and every person reading this to go to the link above. Bookmark it, and visit it often. And please take a minute to add your own prayer requests there, as well as to join in our mission of praying for each prayer request that gets posted there. Also, please feel welcome to share the link with anyone else you may know. ~ Thank you!

May God bless each of you, and give you the peace, comfort, and rest that only He can give.

The Big Test

Life isnt fair! We were never promised a fair life either. In fact, if such was the case, there wouldnt be any inner-growth. Most people, by one means or another, have learned how to cope with daily struggles…which we’ll call daily pop quizzes. The bigger, weekly test however, comes when we get grand-slammed into the middle of next month by unavoidable catastrophes. No one likes going down those bends in the road, but the journey must continue. How we act, and react, during these times is what determines our character – our personal growth – the end result – being the big, final test… Life!

Theres no way to cheat on this test – life. We will always have choices though. Sometimes the options are painful, sometimes obvious, and sometimes they require us to dig down to the depths of our souls while getting prepared to do battle. The end results of our characters, determined by such victory and defeat, simply is what makes us who we are, while preparing us for the next round. And the only way to complete this test is to finish this life, being released through death.

Sometimes we win the battles and claim amazing victories. During these times, we feel quite invincible; acquiring our own “SuperMan Status”, if you will. But, at one time or another, no matter how hard we try, we fail. These failed tests are required to be repeated, too, until we finally do “get it right”. That can cause us to feel lonely, vulnerable, worn down, and often broken in emotion and spirit.

There’s not a person alive, whether they are willing to admit it or not, who isn’t constantly seeking some form of validation, acceptance – love. Regardless of age – new born, toddler, teen, adult, and elderly alike – we all want it, seek it out, and are desperate to have it. That is simply how we were created and in essence, we slowly starve to death without it. Regardless of situation or circumstance, we all have a deep seated desire to be wanted -accepted- and loved.

Ahhh! To be loved! To be so validated and accepted to the point of being loved. Its what we all thrive on. All the money in the world cant buy it. There is no better feeling in this life than to know that no matter how bad our choices have been in the past and no matter how chained up we have became, there is someone who is willing to look past all of it. There is someone who actually, honestly, literally, cares! Someone who not only accepts us, but truly wants to be with us and wants us to be with them. There is such rest and peace to be found in that. To have such forgiveness, such compassion… it free’s us!

This whole entire human existence is based on this. Its the one thing we all have in common; touching each others lives in such grand, unforgettable ways. Its what we were born to do, and to have. We hunger for it. It is the purpose of our existence. To love, and to be loved, simply because we exist. No matter what life throws at us, no matter how easy or how hard the journey is, every joy and every trial comes down to love. Every action, every reaction, each step we take, and each word we speak – the lesson we are intended to learn is how to accept being loved and how to freely give love away.

The ultimate goal -the big prize to win – is pure, unconditional love. Many diligently work towards claiming this prize. Yet, in all of history, I know of only one man who righteously could and did claim this crown! His name, as he walked this human life, was Jesus of Nazareth. His name now is Jesus Christ, Lord all-mighty, Son of God.

We can all have (receive) never-ending, unconditional love by validating Jesus, accepting Him for Who He is. But, the only true hope any of us has to giving ‘unconditional love’ is to trade every single thing we are, and every tiny thing we have. In order to gain a spirit so magnificent as His, we first must love Him as He loves us. Only by total self-sacrificing submission and surrender to Him, then can we fully, purely, love others as He loves us. And, until we can experience being loved in that manner, we will not be able to give that kind of love to anyone else.

….and this, my friends, is thee greatest law -commandment- that there is, has ever been, and ever will be:
Matthew 22:37-39 … “Jesus said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like to it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. “

Interpretation of Tongues

The gift of interpretation is used in conjunction with the gift of speaking in tongues. It is the term used when someone explains what has been said by the person speaking in tongues (a supernatural, unknown language – or a prayer language). Since such language can not be actually “translated”, as a foreign learned language can be, the term is “interpretation.” The reason this is done is to edify (spiritually encourage) the church.

We are warned in the Bible that there are times to and not to operate under these gifts of speaking and interpreting tongues. 1 Cor 14:27-28 says “If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret. 28But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God. …”

Think of it this way, if a business man goes to a meeting with a banker in search of a loan and they both speak different languages and have no one there with them to explain each others words to the other, then nothing in that meeting will be accomplished. These two people may as well be talking to a wall. But if someone else is there who can “put the meaning behind the words”, then they can come to an understanding, and the deal can be closed.

Speaking in Tongues

The manifestation of speaking in tongues, as part of the Gifts of The Spirit, is of the most controversial spiritual gifts that are given.

The gift of speaking in tongues has -sadly- divided many churches, and friendships!
#1 … some say manifesting this gift “its not scriptural”.
#2 … some say “thats Old Testament only”.
#3 … some say “that is paganism”.
#4 … some say “it goes against” what they were taught.
#5 … some say “thats just fake gibberish.”
I could go on and on here, with reason after reason, but I wont. Generally speaking though, it is common that people fear what they do not understand! Its human nature. We all do it. It will cause one of two things to happen, no matter how you dice it up! Either a person will shy away from and/or completely not want anything to do with it, or it causes a persons curiosity to be piqued and as such, draws them closer to wanting to understand (and/or experience) it. Here is a tip though; you will never learn new things unless you are willing to *understand* new things.

By definition, “speaking in tongues” simply means to speak in a language that is unknown. Biblically, there are two references to speaking in tongues. One is in the meaning of cultural language (which began during the time of Babel, in Genesis 11) and the other is in the meaning of a dialect that is used for edifying and praying to God. I am not going to dig into extremes, but the point is that both meanings are given scripturally. These scriptures are found in the Old & New Testaments. The type involved in controversial debates are detailed, time and time again, in the New Testament.

The first (nt) description is given in Mark 16. Here, the Lord is saying (as an outward sign of) a ‘believer’, such persons will be able to do 5 things:
#A… Cast out demons
#B… speak with new tongues
#C… pick up serpents
#D… drink deadly poison
#E… heal the sick.

Other verses are also given in Joel 2, Acts 2, and then 1Corinthians 14:39 – which specifically tells us “…So, dear brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and don’t forbid speaking in tongues.” Now, for the Bible to specifically say to not forbid such thing to be done, then why is it so hard to understand that since, as its written that it is not to be forbidden, then it also stands to reason (as in being common sense) that it should not be something that divides the church body? After all, does the body of Christ divide over believing whether or not Jesus walked on water? – or turned water to whine? No! Do christians even debate the fact that Jesus did these things? No! Why? Because the Bible says He did it and so it is accepted in that manner, as Holy and true. Therefore, dividing over what gifts are operational should not be an “issue” either. That also goes without saying that the body of Christ dividing over any such thing actually does go against the greatest commandment given… Love! If love was involved, a solution to peace would be found, and there would be no division to start with.

While some believe that speaking in tongues is the only way to prove you ‘have the Holy Spirit’, others will deny that tooth ‘n nail. Personally speaking, I will not debate the fact either way. The Bible does say speaking in tongues is the evidence of having been baptized in the Holy Spirit, though I have yet to see it *specifically written* that if you dont speak in tongues, you cant have any of the other Gifts of The Spirit. Therefore, this is my personal take on the situation. The Holy Spirit is a “gentleman”. He does not force any gift on any person. Instead, any and all of these gifts are given to those who seek them, whom He sees fit to have them! Having or not having them is based upon each individual, and regardless of whether that person speaks in tongues, or not, is not what is going to determine whether a person has eternal salvation – which, hands down, is the ultimate goal. And, need I mention, that arguing over the the relevance of such gifting not only grieves the Spirit, but also IF such dispute causes you to harbor hard feelings towards another person, that also breaks the Law of Forgiveness, which in turn may also cause you to be not forgiven on judgment day! Is the degree of your opinion on the matter really worth that? No! That is just pride getting in the way…which is also spoken against in the Bible.

I personally know, very well, a wide variety of very upstanding christian people who are on both sides of this fence. (Take note here) Some are very accurately prophetic – but do not speak in tongues, yet others speak in tongues – but are not prophetic. Do these make either of these persons dead-wrong, or should it cause them to be “accused” of not being Christ-like (which is the meaning of being a Christian)? No! However, when push comes to shove, the Bible ‘does’ say that the body of Christ ‘should’ (not *must*) seek out ALL of these gifts, but that unless interpretation is available for a Word spoken in Tongues, then the gift of prophesy is a “better gift” to have. (1Corinthians 14:5).

The next point I want to make is this: while the Bible also does say (1 Corinthians 13) that these gifts will pass away, meaning they will no longer exist, it needs to be directly pointed out that the Bible also clearly states (Acts 2:17 & Joel 2:28) that these gifts will be “poured out” on all flesh in the last days. Therefore, does it not make common sense to summarize this to mean since such a great pouring out (an over-flowing portion will be flooding over His people) happens during the end of days then, once those days have been fulfilled, *that* would be the time in which such things would pass away?

So, the bottom line here comes down to this: do you truly believe *every*thing* that is written in the Bible? Either you do – or you dont. Theres no middle ground. {Remember here, the Bible also says (Matt 24:35, Luke 21:33, Mark 13:31) that Gods Word will not pass away.} And really, anyone who is a true believer should not even hesitate when answering that question. The answer should be an astounding yes! But, IF the answer is yes, then how can one “pick and choose” particular parts of content that is written within the Bible as being not correct? Righteously speaking – you can not! As such, we need to also be mindful that we are told in Rev 22:19, Duet 4:2, and Prov 30:6 that we are not to add to -or take away from- His Word! So, for that reason, if no other, a belief in the purpose, relevance, and origin of speaking in tongues should not be questioned any more so than the fact that Jesus died to keep us out of Hell!

Miracles

A miracle is, by definition, something that happens super-naturally, which goes against the law of nature, to reveal the mighty power of Christ Jesus.

Miracles are always strongly connected to faith, and often times in regards to healing. However, the difference between a healing and a miracle is that miracles happen instantly, where-as healing takes a slower or more gradual approach to result in success.

The Bible is chock-full of examples of miracles. Jesus commanded nature (Mark 4:35-41), cast out demons (Mark 5:1-13), walked on water (Mark 6:45-51), turned water into wine (John 2:1-11), and fed over 5,000 people with one boy’s lunch (John 6:1-14). The apostles did many miraculous signs (Acts 2:43), Stephen did great miracles (Acts 6:8), and Paul did extraordinary miracles(Acts 19:11). Furthermore, there were many miracles involving Moses and others.

By paying attention to the above referenced verses, we can see that, through and by the power of God, “people” were able to ask God for miracles and have those things come to pass. Therefore, since Acts 10:34 tells us that God us no respecter of persons (theres no teachers’ pets), we ‘should’ also know that any thing that was performed by those men, thousands of years ago, are the same things that we can do today; if not even more-so now, proving there was no ‘time or geographical restrictions’ as to when miracles would stop existing since we are also told in Acts 2:17-21 that Gods’ spirit will be “poured out” upon His people in the last days.

A person who is blessed with the Gift of Miracles has the utmost faith, in knowing – without doubt – that God will show His might when its asked of Him to do so, in agreement with His written Word, and for His Glory. Such people also do not “search for” miraculous signs and wonders that have happened, because instead they whole-heartedly wait in full expectation, trusting in the fact that miracles will happen. They have no doubt what-so-ever that God can do ‘the impossible’. They often will share stories of miracles that theyve witnessed or been apart of as a means to reach non-believers (aka- sinners) and each miracle they witness also causes their own faith to grow.

Healing

There are many who believe that the Gift of Healing is something that was only practiced in the Old Testiment, that it no longer happens, ,and/ or that its just not possible. The truth is, that statement is about as far off from being correct as what the east is from the west.

While it is very true that not everyone prayed for is healed, the reason is not because “God just doesnt do that anymore.” There are actually several reasons why healing does not happen. Here are the most common reasons.
Rule #1: To be healed, you must not doubt the healing, in faith. Many people who are seeking healing do want to be healed, but be it through means of fear, doubt, or un-belief, they allow negative thoughts and/or words to enter into their spirit. All of these things will and do cancel out the faith that is required to receive healing.
Rule #2: The person seeking healing has some degree of harboring some form of un-forgiveness against another person. This may even be some “trivial” thing that happened many years ago that isnt even remembered. The key to discovering that can be found by prayer; asking the Lord to reveal such offenses to you, and then repenting of that. As odd as it may sound, in order to fully receive the results of the power of Christ, forgiveness can often play an important role. As we are told, if we do not forgive others, we will not be forgiven. (Eph 4:32, Matt 6:14, Col 3:13). With such being the case, it stands then to reason that if we dont restore others (by forgiving them), then why should God restore us?
Rule #3: This one is vital! In order to be healed, we must *receive* the healing. It works the same way as salvation does. To have salvation, we must receive it… Accept it… Claim it as being given to us by and through the shed blood of Jesus!

Furthermore, James 5:14-15 specifically tells us what to do if we are sick.
“….Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”

A person who is blessed with the Gift of Healing has complete trust in God, knowing that not only can He heal the person being prayed for, but fully believing that He will in fact provide that healing. This person stands strongly on scripture, quoting such verses as Ezekiel 6:16 and Mark 16:18. They are characteristically described as being also a “prayer warrior”, as they have reputation of knowing how “to get Gods’ attention” when they pray. This person tends to have a deep urge to pray for those sick or hurting, they “know” without hesitation that God can heal any illness, diease, and injury, and they always get very excited when God is revealed to others through the experience of healing.