Life Changers pt.1

Did you know that the quickest way to change your life is by...............changing your words?!


The very thing that we have been taught to ignore if we are told something we don't want to hear, or to use to express ourselves are the same words that will either break down or build up obstacles in your life.


We have to make what we say a priority. We have to teach the younger generation to be MORE than just mindful of their words, not just for the sake of hurting someone's feelings, but to prevent them from placing curses on those around them and making their own lives miserable-at times.


When we say....
  
    "I suck at this..."
    "There is nothing harder than...."
    "I must have ADD because I can't seem to focus...."
    "You are the worst at doing...."
    "I always have trouble with...."




and so on.


When we say things like that, we make it true in our lives. What ever you say-you believe, therefore if you say that you always have issues with a particular person in your family, circle of friends, co worker or in your neighborhood, you have turned it into the truth.


Every time you speak you are either speaking life producing words or life killing words. Like what Pastor Drew always says, you are only saying what you believe, if you didn't believe something was true you wouldn't be repeating it.


You will have what you say, in all aspects, not just when you are hoping for something. 


So when you are wondering why you go through ups and downs constantly, think about all those things you have said and continue to say whether in passing or by joking around.






to be continued.....

Denominations

Up until recently I have never noticed just how many different denominations there are just within Christianity. You would think that self-professing Christians would have realized that we need to all be together as one body and not separated by varying doctrines. I believe that I have spoken about this topic before, but it still baffles me as why we STILL separate ourselves as Christians.

I think that now these varying doctrines have been so engrained in many people’s lives that it’s hard for them to see what is in front of them…what God’s word actually says rather than just the interpretation of what man thinks it says.

There key things that should be a deal breaker when thinking about what type of church to go to, consider the following reasons for going to the church:

They….

Follow scripture (God’s Word)

Believe in the New Testament.

Have the infilling of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. (Scriptural)

Believe in the leading of the Spirit through His body, not just through the pastor/priest/etc…

Believe in a personal relationship with Christ.

Believe that people can hear and talk to God.

Exemplify the love of Christ.

Express the fruits and the gifts of the spirit.

Have authority through Christ.

Believe in Healing.

Believe in deliverance from foul spirits.

Use your best judgment and seek His face first. Prayer will help you make the decision.

We shouldn’t have to choose between several different doctrines within our own faith! 

There should not be any denominations that separate the body of Christ, there should not be arguments as what parts of the bible should we embrace!

We are His body and we must get in line with HIS word and not with our own man made ideas.

Five-Fold Ministry

Ephesians 4:11-12

King James Version (KJV)

 ¹¹And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

 ¹²For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

We were given the five-fold ministry to help believers and non-believers develop a closer relationship with Christ, guide us through along our walk and inform us of what we need to know to live a righteous life.

Some may argue that they don’t need to go to church or need the guidance of a pastor or teacher…However if you did not need any of those things, why would God waste His time and people on a frivolous idea??

If we were all meant to do alone-we would not need our parents, school teachers, or even laws because we would already have everything we need to know.

The Jesus wants us to be amongst fellow members of the body, to strengthen our faith, learn from others and to come together with great power and combined authority to do miraculous things in our community and in the world!

I always think about what Pastor Drew Harris says to those who say that they do not know if they need to be in a church or feel like they need to be at a particular church, he says regardless of where you are your mail is being delivered to your address. This means that whatever God has for you to hear and learn from is being delivered at the church that you are supposed to be at.

….

Mercy

Ephesians 2:4-5

New International Version (NIV)

⁴ But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵ made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions —it is by grace you have been saved.

There are no other words than “Love” and “Mercy” that can move your emotions from one point to another.

Know that our God is a merciful God! Do not believe the people who always claim that God is just a vengeful God and wants everybody to jump through hoops and go through trials to defeat them.

For all things that we have done or are continuing to do that we know are not what God says to do, we cannot turn around and point our fingers towards God and blame Him for things not going right in our lives…our experiences and circumstances are based on our choices and God gives us grace and mercy to keep us from self-destructing.

Thing is, that just because we have love, mercy and grace, that we can do whatever we want and just “pay” for it later. We have remember that we have mercy because we are not perfect, nor are we fast learners, so we are going to make mistakes here and there.

Mercy and grace won’t cover us if we blatantly sin and mess up on purpose, His love will remain.

His love and mercy is enough to clean us up and turn us from our wicked ways. We become a new creation in Christ and become what we were pre-destined to be. 

A Gift

Ephesians 2:8-9

New International Version (NIV)

⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith —and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast.

What an amazing gift!

To be loved and saved by our Lord Jesus Christ.

Unfortunately there are people in the world who believe otherwise. Many people in the world believe that they don’t deserve to be saved because of the things they have said and done in their past or the lifestyle they are currently in. Others believe that they have to be “good” in order for God to accept them.

If only everyone knew that it does not matter how they look, what they do or what they have done, that they are covered by the grace of God and the He openly welcomes you back into His arms.

…even those who once knew Him but had turned their backs on Him…He STILL loves you and will gladly accept you back into His arms again!

Do not think that just by being a “good” person that you get a pass in to the Kingdom, it’s accepting Christ’s love and allowing His will to be done through you…nothing more nothing less.

He loves every one of us, regardless of our circumstances, regardless of how broken we may be inside, He STILL wants YOU!

Will you accept Christ into your heart today??

One

John 14:6

New International Version (NIV)

⁶ Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

This is the scripture that will contradict all of those who believe there are many paths to God, that all faiths share the same god.

I have heard it many times, that all faiths refer to God, so that it must mean they are all essentially worshipping the same god…unfortunately that is not true. Unless you recognize Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, you cannot be worshipping the same god, not the one and only true God that many of us know and love.

I believe it is the fact that we see people who are nice, generous and personable that it’s hard to picture them not being in Heaven. If I were to repeat that same statement on television or in the newspapers, I would get pressured to believe otherwise and told that I am closed-minded and so on.

I have to say, that I use to be on the other side and had argued with family members as to why it doesn’t make sense for those who claim other religions and other gods to go to hell…but I could never prove as to why they would be able to go to Heaven…For most of the reasons that worldly people would use, are the same reasons that do not matter to Christ, after everything is said and done He will only see if you have accepted Him and repented of your sins.

This is why it is so important to reach everyone in the world who have been led astray into believing false doctrine or false religion, there are those who claim to be Christian who have been led astray as well.

We have to first and foremost, reach them through love, we cannot just come up to them tell them they are wrong and what they believe are lies! No! We have to love them and listen as to why they haven’t allowed Christ into their hearts and lives.

First Will Be Last

In a world that is obsessed with rankings whether it be for education, popularity, beauty or finances, people lose sight of what is actually important.

We live in a society that puts a number on anything and everything.

Every day there is someone being praised over all the hard work they have done to achieve millions. I wonder how they feel when people who haven’t done the same amount of work all of a sudden come upon millions for a simple unintended invention or inheritance.

Matthew 20:12-16

New International Version (NIV)

¹² ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’

¹³ “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? ¹⁴ Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you.¹⁵ Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’

¹⁶ “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

All of those who have put themselves at the top will be pushed to the bottom, because they have either lost sight of what was important or they chose to ignore it.

We have to remember what is important…is it our status in life or all the works we have accumulated? Or is it that we placed Christ as our number one and just lived our lives according to the leading of His Spirit and His word?

I believe it is the latter. Just because someone has the wealth that you wished you had, so you could help others and your family, does not mean you have to go out and “break your back” , pretend to be something that you are not, lie to people or even start out with a lot of money in the bank. All it takes is faith, prayer, living a righteous life and following the leading of the spirit.

If all the wealthy people in the world had all those qualities they would not have to worry about their dirty secrets coming light, manipulating people to keep the money flowing or selling their soul to have/keep their wealth.

The wages that God has to give can be given to anybody at any time, regardless of all their accomplishments, sacrifices or setbacks, as long as they did what they were told to do and lived right, those wages will be given.