Introvert

Most people whether they are Christian or not view those who are introverted as weird and sometimes scary. As a Christian most people expect you to be outgoing, socializing, going on mission trips and starting conversations with people you don’t know and being an all-around outwardly bubbly person.

There really isn’t much of a shift when someone who was already introverted becomes born again, it doesn’t automatically make you peppy and outgoing like what some expect it to be. However this is not a flaw it doesn’t mean the person isn’t saved or depressed.

One of the most awesome things about living in this world is that we are surrounded by different people with different personalities, interests and pursuits and some people who seem like your twin and share a lot of things in common.

It’s hard to understand what it’s like to be inside of the mind of an introvert and it’s equally as hard for an introvert to express their experience as one.

I am an introvert and always had been, so now as a Christian I have noticed that there has been push from other Christians, mainly the older saints, to do things that are further beyond the person’s scope. There is nothing wrong to encourage someone to go outside their comfort zone, but don’t keep pushing it. I had experienced this more so as a babe in Christ than now, however it was on my heart to share this topic now.

Introverts feel socially awkward because we typically go over what we’re going to say over and over again in our head until we feel like we are ready to say whatever it is. We usually are interested in just listening to other people talk and observe rather than interact. But we are always connected to whatever is going on, the main difference is how we communicate that we are connected.

To be continued…..

Moving On

My family recently experienced a loss in the family and the thought of death has been ever present in mind, not of doom and gloom but how everything comes together in the end.

Revelation 21:4

King James Version (KJV)

⁴ And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

Death to the living is so permanent because we have no other concept of what living is other than what we see with our eyes and experience on this earth. We forget or simply don’t know that we are all spirit beings and our spirits can never die or disintegrates it simply moves on to be with the Lord, assuming you have made Him your Lord and Savior.

2 Corinthians 5:8

King James Version (KJV)

⁸ We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

Knowing that your loved ones have accepted Christ, don’t be worried or sadden about their departure because they have simply stepped away from their “earth suit” as Pastor Drew would say, and have gone to be with the Lord in Heaven. Although the pain of not having that person with you on the earth anymore, know that you will see them again when it’s time.

Believe and Be Free

Matthew 17:14-21

New King James Version (NKJV)

A Boy Is Healed

¹⁴ And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying,¹⁵ “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic^[a] and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. ¹⁶ So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.”

¹⁷ Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.” ¹⁸ And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.

¹⁹ Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?”

²⁰ So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief;^[b] for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. ²¹ However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”^[c]

Unbelief is a dangerous combination when dealing with demonic spirits. Never attempt to cast out a demon if you have any doubt in mind or spirit about anything pertaining to faith in the word of God. However it doesn’t take much to believe; you had to believe in order to become saved so with that same faith you could move mountains. Imagine the power your faith has on things/circumstances when you have built up your faith.

Faith can remove a demonic spirit out of a person, place or thing. This is why some people struggle to believe, because they haven’t witnessed demonic activity that they have been able to recognize as such. For example most everyday people would describe demonic activity as something that resembles something out the exorcist or any older paranormal movie. Fortunately and unfortunately movies are depicting real common demonic activity, however those who are ignorant to the things of God and how Satan works, just see it as something fun to watch.

Believe in every single word in the bible and you’ll have all the authority God has available to you, as a believer who walks in righteousness.

Have What You Say

Matthew 8:5-13

New King James Version (NKJV)

Jesus Heals a Centurion’s Servant

⁵ Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, ⁶ saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.”

⁷ And Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.”

⁸ The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. ⁹ For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

¹⁰ When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! ¹¹ And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. ¹² But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” ¹³ Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour.

The power of words spoken is beyond what most people can comprehend. An employer, your parents or even you yourself can tell someone to do something and they do it. Like the centurion, his words come to pass.

This is a prime example of how we have what we say. If the centurion can have what he says he surely knew that Jesus will have what He says.

Having what we say is an amazing gift to have!

Someone is sick or injured-speak health over them and have them recover. Faced with debt that seems out of control-speak financial prosperity over your debt and have it go away sooner than projected.

*The key as a believer is to actually believe what you say, it may sound silly, but how often have you said something but didn’t really believe it… “Yeah, I’m going to win the lottery someday”, “I’ll get a new mercedes, just watch.” Don’t tell me you or someone you know has said something along those lines and know that they or you don’t really believe those things will come to pass.

Say it and mean it! That’s the only way you can have the good things you speak forth. 

Coming Out Of Darkness pt.1

John 11:10

King James Version (KJV)

¹⁰ But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him.

*If you never were a goth or punk rocker this more than likely isn’t for you.

I know what it’s like to be completely wrapped in darkness and enjoying it thinking it was a shield from the “cruel” world. As a young teen all the way up to the age of about 19 years old, I loved the those things that were considered “dark”, I enjoyed learning about witches and spells, I only listened to satanic music from artist like Marilyn Manson, Black Sabbath, Lacuna Coil, Slipknot, Korn and MUCH MUCH more. The idea of being able to learn spells and control things with your mind was appealing to me and some of my friends. Communicating with all types of spirits/ghosts was exciting and I did it daily for a short period of time along with a friend.

To some people all these things are scary and seem really weird, however there are many people, especially teens that partake in all the same things I did. The difference between when I was a teenager and today is that ghosts and the things involving the dead are now socially acceptable as well as talking to mediums and psychics are common place when back when I was teen this was something you did in private and were looked at as crazy.

Because of these new social norms I can only imagine how hard it is for those who are trying to get out of the darkness to be able to do so.

I basically had to go through a “Darkness Detox”: (in no particular order)

·         Say the sinners prayer:

“Dear Lord Jesus,
I know I am a sinner, and I ask for your forgiveness. I believe you died for my sins and rose from the dead.  I trust and follow you as my Lord and Savior. Guide my life and help me to do your will.
In your name, amen”

·         Go through your CDs (if you have ANY) throw out ALL the CDs that don’t glorify the Lord,which usually is just about everything. Some CDs you can take to places like Rasputin to sell them for a little bit of cash-it helps take some of the edge off of the idea of getting rid of your music.

·         Delete mp3s off of MP3 player and computer, even those that you love! Those have to go to.

·         Do the same with ALL of your movies/DVDs as you did with the Cds. Do not hold on to those horror movies, live concerts or suggestive themed movies/shows such as homosexuality (comedy or otherwise) or sexually graphic,etc…

·         Throw out random items such as concert tshirts, dream catchers, anything that deal with deities like “lucky” cats, Buddha, Shiva and other indian gods, Celtic symbols like the trinity symbol, peace signs, skeletons and so on.

** I will list items in more detail in the next post.

Acts 26:18

King James Version (KJV)

¹⁸ To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.

Strife

Just recently we discussed the topic of strife in church.

Strife

noun

angry or bitter disagreement over fundamental issues; conflict.

"strife within the community"

synonyms:

conflict, friction, discord, disagreement, dissension,  dispute, argument,quarreling, wrangling, bickering, controversy;

Strife is something that we all thrive on in some form whether it’s on a reality show, scripted sitcom, friendships, news or with strangers. It’s sad to say it but it’s true. When was the last time that you watched a reality show like Real Housewives or Entertainment Tonight? They always have some part of strife included in their programming, but we watch it. Even I have to admit that I watch these shows.

Pastor Drew has even pointed out how some people like to have strife with others, that it’s something they can’t function properly without it.

As long as we live in this world, there will always be some sort of strife in the form of a disagreement or friction because we all don’t have the same personalities or ways of doing things/living.

The point is to try to put it off as much as possible, don’t let strife cause you to fall into unforgiveness or other sin.

I understand that it can be hard to not get snippy with someone that “rubs” you the wrong way or with a relative that you know is trying to get under your skin so that you get out of “character”, however we have to pull back and think “what will me firing back at them do?” ‘Is it really worth it?” Most likely the answer is “No”.

Take a deep breath and don’t even bother answering back to the negativity. It takes practice.

Welcoming The New Year

It is officially 2014!

This time of year most people are setting their new year’s resolutions, which usually consist of losing weight and starting new relationships.

Instead of those cliché resolutions, sit and think about the things you expect in the new year, the positive things that you expect. Such as declaring that you will be debt free in the new year, that you will have promotion, increase in financial flexibility and so on. Also those things that you want to happen with friends and family, like building a better relationship with your son or your mom.

Make declarations for the new year and pray about them. These are those things that will not fall by the wayside like a failed diet. This is a declaration to yourself and God that you will fulfill.

I pray that you all will fulfill all your declarations for the new year and continue to be blessed even more so than last year!

This is not a prerequisite for the year just something for you to help push you forward into a better position than before.

God Bless