Growing in Christ

Prayer of Affirmation

2012-09-06T16:10:00.000-02:00

Lord, though I may fear and doubt myself; though I may consider myself insignificant, I must look not to my feelings but observe my reflection in your Word. Your Word tells me I have been created in your image. Furthermore, your Word lets me know that when you formed me you said, "it is good". I lack nothing! I am made in your image and likeness. I am a creator as you are the Creator. I am blessed because you have blessed me from the beginning of time. I am fruitful and prosperous because you have decreed this for me. I will proclaim the decree of the Lord: He said to me, "you are my child, today I have become your Father. Ask of me and I will make nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession". I will serve the Lord. May he glorify his name in my life.

Why do we fret?

2009-11-22T14:40:00.000-02:00

Romans 5:1-3
Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

We pray and we cry out to God to deliver us from our trials and tribulations. We do not want to be exposed to the pain; to the suffering or even worse the length of our trial. If it were up to us, we would immediately find a solution to our issues. It is obvious when we rush to the aid of our children as soon as they cry. We do not want them to suffer. If it is in our power; we quickly rescue them from their miscomfort. Yet, God does not rush to our aid. He steps aside. He lingers and waits. We get desperate and wonder why he is not quick to respond. Are we not loved enough? Is he too busy? Have we not asked correctly? Confusion sets in!

But we know one thing! God is not a God of confusion! Why then are we confused? It is because we have not understood his character and his purpose. He is not like us; seeking affection and acceptance by quickly responding to the needs of others. No, he is God and it is his will that prevails! Whether we understand it or not, whether we accept it or not; he will do what he has planned. You see, he is the Potter and we are his vessels. He will break us, put us through the fire and make us new. Many times we fail to pass the test and we must undergo the procedure once again; because he will work in us as he planned. When we stand before him in judgment we will not have an excuse; he will present his plan and the many times he tried to mold us over and over.

What then are we to do? According to Romans 5, we must rejoice! Yes, we must rejoice knowing that tribulation produces patience. He does not rescue us, because he has a lesson for us to learn. Whatever the trial, it will come to pass! When we have gone through the trial we will come forth better, if we have taken the time to learn; otherwise we will probably face another similar trial. Let us then ask him, what he wants us to learn. Let us stop crying and whining and start praising him for taking the time to mold us and shape us; to prepare us for his glory! Whether we live or die, the trial will take us a step closer to his glory! Why then do we worry? Why do we fret? Let us rejoice, knowing that he is standing back, waiting, pausing simply because he loves us and is preparing us for His Glory!!!

Exodus 24: 9-11

2009-09-27T17:43:00.000-02:00

As I was reading the book of Exodus, I stopped upon this passage. I was intrigued! You see, I am jealous! I want what others have had. The Bible is full of so many who experienced the Presence of God. I am so thirsty, so hungry, so obsessed with having the same experience that I continually read His Word to find out more about Him. I have admired Moses, so humble, so blessed to speak to God face to face. No other being has enjoyed this closeness; but at the same time many have enjoyed seeing the Glory of God.
I too want the Glory of God! There is nothing I desired more!!!

I was perplexed to find that in the time of the Exodus, others had a glimpse of the Glory of God. The seventy elders, Nadab, Aaron. Abihu and Joshua along with Moses experienced a brief sight of God's glory and they ate and drank. They had a party in the Presence of God! O, how I long for such an experience!!

Why? How? When? I wanted to scream, "I want that, I want it!! They were so blessed, so fortunate to see the Glory of God. They saw the throne under his feet; they were not afraid, they had peace and comfort in the Presence of God and ate and drank. It was such a beautiful beginning; such an amazing experience; but they did not understand or value what they had enjoyed!

They were chosen because God had a purpose, to ratify his treaty with the people of Israel. He was about to give the Ten Commandments and well so as to avoid any doubt he allowed them to see a preview of what could become. Because of the hardness of their hearts, because they could have created division among the people if Moses simply came down the mountain with commands and no approval; God assured that the testimony of Moses would be ratified by his Presence before the elders.

God allowed them to see him! They ate and drank, but they did not really understand the blessing. Their hardened hearts did not allow them to comprehend. Once alone and away from Moses, Aaron made a golden calf and they allowed the people to worship this idol. Nadab and Abihu offered strange fire before the Lord after being ordained and were killed because of their disrespect. It had the beginnings of a beautiful story a beautiful beginning, but it did not create the change one would expect from seeing the glory of God.

God wants us to see his glory, but we have not learned to appreciate such a blessing. We take it for granted! I do not want God to be hurt because of my disobedience. I want to see his glory, but I want to value such an experience in the same way that Moses did. I want to be humble before him!

All I can say is God, cleanse me, make me righteous before you, humble before you! I want him to work daily in me; so that when he does show me his glory, it is because of the intimacy we have developed and not because of a hardened heart!

My Testimony

2009-09-18T18:57:00.017-02:00

I would like to share a special testimony. I guess I won't feel free if I don't share it. I want to shout it from the top of the mountains. I want to scream it to everyone I see. I am in Love!!

When I became a Christian it was the most wonderful experience. I felt enveloped by the love of God. Me, a little, tiny person in this vast universe had reach the heart of God. I was so excited by this that I wanted nothing more than to love him back. I wanted to please him. I learned about prayer from a Spanish Evangelist. Actually, I had heard of him since childhood. I went to his revivals and many were healed. I was so amazed to see God work in such an amazing way, that I longed to know the secret of that.

My sister, was part of the ministry of this evangelist for a summer. She was part of the intercessory team. She shared how there was a group of people praying at the back while the evangelist preached. She mentioned that this group would rise early with the evangelist to pray during the week of revival. They would pray two or three hours. These stories remained in my subconscious! The name of this evangelist is Yiye Avila.

He wrote a book about prayer and when I became a Christian, a took a hold of that book and read it and re-read it and put it to practice. It was the most amazing experience! I quickly learned to pray for an hour or even longer. I learned to speak to the Father!

I was so in love with God that it did not matter that I was only 14 years old. I would speak to my friends about God. They knew I was a Christian and they respected me. In a dangerous city and in a dangerous public school, the hand of God kept me safe!

In retrospect, I see how the hand of God was with me everywhere; including my mother! You see, I don't have a father. He left my mom when she was pregnant. I only met him for a month when I was eleven years old. After that month he disappeared, not a phone call, not a visit, not a letter, nothing! It was hard for me to deal with that at first. I had to learn to get over it, so I found refuge in my Heavenly Father.

When I got older I learned that my mother had asked my dad to stop coming to see me, that he did not have any rights on me. The thing is, he wanted to take me away from my mom and raise me with his family because apparently I needed more discipline. I am glad my mom told him that, because my dad was not a Christian. My mom is not just a Christian, but a woman of prayer. She prayed so much that sometimes it scared me! I thank God for this woman of prayer who inspired me and whom I deeply admire! If I had grown away from her, my life would not have her mark on my life. I like her imprint on my life, it gives me a pattern to follow after.

While in Junior High God placed me under the tutelage of a very special teacher. He was also a man of prayer. Mr. Herrera, he would spend his planning time praying. We all in knew it, so whenever we had drama in our lives we would go to him for help. He was so understanding and so kind, I was blessed to have him as my teacher.

Even younger than that I remember reading books about David Wilkerson. A Southern pastor whom God called to minister among the gangs of New York City in the 1970's. He wanted so much from God, that he got rid of his tv to spend more time in prayer with the Lord. God worked amazing things among gang leaders, one of them Nicky Cruz, accepted the Lord and became a preacher himself. This Southern preacher was not an overwhelming presence; but through the power of God he accomplished many things among gang leaders. He now has a mega church on 42nd street in NYC; the area where many prostitutes and drugaddicts find a niche. God is still doing mighty works through this man of prayer.

I share all this to say that throughout my life, God has pointed me to that direction, prayer. I was surrounded by people who prayed, I read about people who prayed, I heard about people who prayed and I wanted to be a woman of prayer. In college, I would pray. In our marriage we would pray.

Suddenly, having kids and other responsibilities robbed me of my prayer time. I still prayed, but I knew I had to pray more. I felt left out, unfulfilled in my desire to become that woman of prayer!

My prayer life had begun to fade. I then took prayer to the road. I would pray while driving. I would always pray but I never stopped to actually worship the Lord and seek his face. I was always asking, speaking, saying but never listening to God. I was bringing requests and petition, but I was not looking for his guidance and presence.

I needed God!!! I needed my love! I needed my center, my reason, my all!!

Overtime, stress and my desire to be someone overwhelmed me. I wanted a job that would give me meaning. A job that would value my degree, my skills, my personality; but I did not find it. I found a job yes, but it left me empty. I still felt confused between having a career and having significance as a woman, or staying at home and being with my family. I tried them both and neither brought me satisfaction. While staying at home, I got bored, anxious and downright depressed!

This search continued and I did not know what I was missing! I knew prayer would help and I revitalized my prayer life only for a brief period and then it was back to a mental prayer life.

I was lost! I did not know who I was or what I wanted! I knew God was missing me, calling me and I could not remain faithful. I was hurt, longing, but unable to commit to the one I loved!

Then it happened! The darkest period in my life! I became suicidal. I hated me! I was done with me. I found myself so useless, so empty; without purpose. I sought to die! I begged God to kill me! I wanted an accident. I was a dead-woman walking! I tried to take my life, but I was too scared to carry on with it. So I decided simply that if I saw me dead, then I would die! So one day I told myself, you are dead! You have no purpose! You do not make a difference! Let it go!

I was so angry and depressed that during a visit to the doctor, she sent me to a mental health provider. I had to go seek counseling! I was embarrassed, devastated; but again, I could not care less! I went and the doctor put me on medication. He even put me on high risk list. That woke me up! What? Me? Shamefully I followed the doctors instructions. I took the medicine. My husband had a careful watch over me and I came to the point where I just said to God, "well God if you want to help me!" It was all up to him! I did not have a will or desire to help myself.

God who knows all things ahead of time had me scheduled for a Ladies Retreat. It was a gift! If they had not invited me to this retreat I would not have attended. I would have missed my appointment! During the retreat I really did not know what I needed or what I wanted. I was just there! The Speaker gave her testimony. She spoke about those who prayed while driving! She said that is not really praying! I hum sound went on at the back of my head; I woke up! I listened! She spoke about her prayer life. I said that was me! I used to spend time with my Master!

I wanted this time to be real! I needed to revive my prayer life for God. I was not seeking to revive my prayer life. I was seeking to revive my relationship, my love for him! The Speaker prayed for me. When I returned, I felt obliged to fulfill my promise to pray again as I used to.

As I began to pray, it was difficult to say the least. I asked God for help! I read the Bible, I read the Bible, I read the Bible. I was thirsty for him! Still, I was barely awake! I wanted God, but he seemed far from me; that is until one night. I had a dream, a most beautiful dream!

I dreamt that I was being accused of something and I was given the death penalty. The only way I could be set free was if a lamb would take my place. I was a little perplexed by that, but no reaction. Then I saw the lamb! It was beautiful, so white and pure and it was barely old enough. It was a baby lamb! I cried! No! No! You cannot kill that beautiful lamb in my place! I woke up only to realize that the lamb of God had died in my place. The precious blood was shed for me! That pure, beautiful lamb had indeed taken my place.

I knew it then! I was in love again! I could not but love he who loved me so much!

I continued slowly awakening to my old flame! I read the book of Job. I read the passage where God challenged Job. Where he described his might, his dominion, his power; I read it and fell before his presence. I knew something else at that moment! The Father, the Almighty with all his dominion and power held back his power, had to turn his face away for a while and allowed his son to be crucified, so that I would have life! I could not comprehend such love! I would not allow my child to suffer! I would do anything to protect him! Yet the Father, who could do all things, did not spare his son because of me!! I could not but humble myself before such discovery! I was fully awake!

I knew that my search for significance, my bachelor's degree, my skills had no value. I had nothing compared to his love, his mercy! I laid everything at his feet! I got rid of my presumptions and humbly offered it all to Him, knowing that it was all nothing compared to how much he loved me!

It was then my search for him began in full force! I studied the law, I studied Moses, I studied his Word. I wanted to know who He was, what he liked, what he had said. I wanted to please him!!

Here I am back again, just living to please him! Now I love him more than before! "Before I had heard of him, Now I know Him!"

I indeed died! I died to my sins. I am alive but in Christ. The things I do and say are not for myself or by myself. They are done because of him and for him! I do not want you to see me. I have nothing to give. I am not worth a second look. I want you to see me through my Father's eyes. I want you to see me under the blood of Jesus! I want you to see me alive in Christ!!

It is all about HIM, if I should glory, I glory in him and in the love he has for me!! Praise you my Lord and Savior Jesus! Praise you God my Father! This one goes to YOU!!

2009-09-15T17:14:00.000-02:00

When you read the story of Jonah you find him running away from God. It is not God he was running from; it was God's mercy he did not wish to share. God had told him to warn the Ninivites of impeding doom. He did not want to do this! He wanted God to punish the Ninivites. They had been cruel to the Israelites. They had ravaged their land and had taken many captive and skinned them alive. He was enraged that God would even consider sending these evil people a warning.

He ran as far away as he could! Hoping that destruction for that nation would come before God could find him. It did not happen! God found him with still three days for Niniveh to repent. Reluctantly he spoke the warning, quietly he hoped they did not hear him. Perhaps he was monotone, perhaps he spoke fast, or perhaps he spoke low. It did not matter, to his dismay the Ninivites heard the message and repented from their sins.

Angry still he ran under a bushel to wait for their destruction. Maybe their conviction was not sincere, and certainly God would not hear an hypocritical repentance. Unfortunately for Jonah, God did forgive them! The bushel under which he waited died; but the Ninivites lived!! The irony! He knew this would happen and had hoped so much against it.

God's response? He said you are worried about a bushel and you do not want me to worry over many innocent women, children and animal who live in that city?

What can we learn from this? Well, sometimes we might think that some people who have hurt us deserve God's punishment. We believe that in this way we will be avenged! However, soon we learn of God's kindness and love toward them and secretly instead of rejoicing we get angry! We feel taken! As if God and our predator had somehow formed an alliance. When instead all that God wants to show us is that our enemy is not the person is the devil. He sees the person and he loves the person. The blood of Jesus is also available for that person. We need to see the way we view others and see them not as our enemies; but as the person whom God loves and is deceived by Satan. We must pray that they are saved from their doom and rejoice if they do come to salvation because the precious blood of Jesus has once again conquered over evil!!

A Chosen Generation

2009-09-14T17:12:00.000-02:00

Exodus 14:11,12

Then they said to Moses, "Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt with us in this way, bringing us out of Egypt? "Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, `Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians'? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness."

I have been reading the book of Exodus and while reading chapter 14 something dawned on me. On hindsight, and realizing that God knows all things, I was speechless!

On this chapter the Israelites are leaving Egypt and instead of leading them through the short route, God leads them through the long route and to a dead end. They are in the dessert, with nothing but the Red Sea in front of them. Why did God lead them this way? Well, because he was not done with Pharaoh's pride. He wanted Pharaoh to chase the Israelites and so ambush the army of Pharaoh.

Now this was God's plan. I guess Pharaoh's pride challenged God and so God wanted to glory over Pharaoh. The Israelites did not see God's will. All they saw was the Red Sea and immediately complained to Moses as seen in verses 11, and 12 which caught my attention. When they complained they revealed the true nature of their heart to Moses. God already knew what they were all about! They preferred to stay in Egypt rather than follow God's deliverance.

This is where I am speechless! God who knows all things did not have plans for a future and a hope for these rebellious people. God did however, provide countless opportunities for them to change their ways. He continued to perform miracle after miracle; showed himself before them but still the hardeness of their hearts would not allow them to submit to Gods' plan. Only the two who trusted him, Joshua and Caleb actually entered the Promised Land. The rest of them, one way or another God killed in the dessert and did not enter God's blessing. He cleaned out that rebellious generation and a new God fearing generation received the blessing.

I wonder how God works in our days? Are we rebellious? Does he need to clean house to glorify his name? He will do it! Where are we? Are we with the stubborn, unbelieving people who after seeing miracle after miracle and receiving blessing after blessing still cannot submit to God? Or are we the New Generation, the ones for whom he has promised a Future and a Hope? Where do you stand?

Exodus 14:11,12

Then they said to Moses, "Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt with us in this way, bringing us out of Egypt? "Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, `Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians'? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness."

The Bread of Life

2009-09-12T10:00:00.000-02:00

It is just wonderful, amazing, exciting to learn more and more about God. So often we overlook simple phrases and we don't realize the fullness therein. Today I am thrilled to stop at this phrase, "Jesus, the Bread of Life." So many things come to my mind when I think on this!

Jesus is our daily nourishment, he is the manna that came from heaven. He comes to us as pure unadulterated food for our souls. We do not need to count calories, worry about cholesterol or wonder if it supplies all the nutrients. Jesus is it! He is the perfect balanced meal for our soul. We know this, yet many Christians go days without eating from the Bread of Life.

We do not seek him or hunger after him. We take for granted that he is there and we simply pass him by and allow our souls to be nourished with other things. We allow greed, anxiety, doubt, fear, pride and all other things to fill up our souls, our thoughts and we don't leave room for Jesus to nourish us. Think about it, if we actually ate Jesus daily, we would be healthy. We would not envy, fear, feel threatened, or worry about anything. We would see things as he sees them, we would love as he loves, we would wait upon him. We would not only be healthy we would be strong. We would trust him and not be afraid or anything or anyone.

How do we detoxicate our souls so that it craves the true unadulterated Bread? Deuteronomy 8:3 tells us how: "So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD." This is where fasting to seek God's face brings us to that process.

Let us procure to fast weekly to remind our flesh that we do not live by bread alone and detoxify our souls from impurities so that we may hunger after the true Bread; and so live a life full of the Spirit of God.

Leviticus 27

2009-09-11T05:50:00.000-02:00

For today I read Leviticus chapter 27. This is an interesting chapter because it has to do with our vows and promises before the Lord. God taking into account man's disposition to make rash promises, he provides a way for man to buy back what he has promised.

In the case of an individual a set price is set, in the case of animals and property a 20% charge is added to the set price. This alludes to man's inclination to make hasty decisions and then regret it. In either case God accepts the vow, but he does not release us from it. We must pay for it one way or another.

Not keeping the vow or promise becomes a sin before the Lord. The price set for the redemption of the promised item or person is a reminder that we should be careful when we make vows to God. It becomes costly; therefore we must carefully consider what we are promising to do and know that whatever the cost we will be held accountable before God.

Jesus reminded us of this in Mathew 5:33 "You shall not make false vows, but shall fulfill your vows to the Lord.’ False vows are those that are not kept. Moreover Jesus says in vs. 37 “But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’” .

God expects us to be trustworthy individuals people who speak words of value. Before deciding on something or agreeing to something we must carefully weigh the cost of it and our ability to do it; or else we might be held accountable before the Lord for not keeping to our word.

This is a good lesson for all of us to learn. We are not expected to say yes to everything; but we are expected to keep to what we agreed to . Scary thought!! Let us carefully choose our yesssess! (if such a word exists)

Psalms 23

2009-09-10T07:43:00.001-02:00

One of everyone's favorite Psalm is Psalm 23. We all grew up with this Psalm and most of us know it by heart. We repeat it like a parrot not fully grasping its content. Suddenly, as I was repeating this Psalm God showed me something so special about this Psalm.

"The Lord is my shepherd I shall not be in want". I stopped and repeated, "I shall not be in want". I saw myself as a little sheep being cared for and protected by the shepherd. The words resonated..."I shall not be in want". I understood the message. I have no need to covet, to long after, to worry about things because the Lord is my shepherd and my needs will be supplied by Him.

I repeated it again: "He makes me lie down in green pastures". We have heard the expression, "the grass is greener on the other side". This is not the case with our shepherd. He places us in the best, the greenest pasture. We do not need to look elsewhere for satisfaction! Actually those on the other side should be the ones looking in on us and desiring the blessings we have.

As I kept reading this Psalm a sense of peace and joy overtook me. The Lord, the God Almighty is my provider, my guide, my comforter, my protector. I came upon verse 5, "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies, you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows".
Enemies? Don't worry my God will take care of them by blessing me so much more than they can stand it. He will make me shine in front of them and will put his anointing upon me. They will know I have a God who saves me and who justifies me not in secret, but publicly so that they will look and be silenced!!

Wow! To be loved and honored by God! There is nothing better than that! But ah? There is a catch!
How can I, receive these things from God? Really it is very simple, but so difficult to do.
Deuteronomy 26:3 tells me what God expects of me. I must follow his decrees and obey his commands.

What joy! What opportunity, to be blessed and cared for by God, to be his beloved, the sheep of his pasture! Oh my God!! I cannot lose that! I want, I want, I want not what the world offers me, but what God in his infinite wisdom has prepared for me.

What if...

2009-09-09T18:42:00.000-02:00

What if we obeyed God's commands? What if we learned his commands and daily applied them? What if we fully believed in what he says even when we don't agree?

I wonder what will our life be like if an entire nation, population followed the plan established by God. Will we be healthier? Wealthier? Happier? Even in the midst of a sinful world we could actually obtain all these benefits if we obeyed him! Unfortunately pride gets in the way! We do not want to follow everything the Bible says. We make it specific to a time and to a group of people and do not apply it to us. We find ways to part from what he so gently tells us to do.

I was reading in Deuteronomy chapter 24:5 and I found the most wonderful command!
"If a man has recently married, he must not be sent to war or have any other duty laid on him. For one year he is to be free to stay at home and bring happiness to the wife he has married"

Can you imagine that? Wouldn't that be something? To spend a year long honeymoon! Getting to know each other at the time when we are most in love! I think this will allow for more compromises, more satisfaction! Man will actually listen to their wives, because they would not be pressed with outside circumstances. Their whole desire will be to please their wives. We could have nice clean homes! We could agree on so many things! They will tell us what they want and we would actually do it because they are being so loving to us; we could not deny them anything. If would be such a wonderful beginning!

But wake up! This does not happen! Sin, pressure, worries, stress pulls from every angle and the perfect things God intends for us; cannot take place because we are too in a hurry to do otherwise. We must work, make money do stuff and don't give time to each other and this creates conflict and division! The pride of humanity takes over and disavows God's will and then we find ourselves deep in trouble! It is then we call upon God, and we wonder then why he takes time to answer.

Just wondering!!

The Work of the Trinity

2009-09-08T05:33:00.000-02:00

Today I was reading from the book of Leviticus. I was reading chapter 21 and would like to reflect upon verses 16-23.

It is a very demanding passage. It seems rather harsh. God, the Father is very stern. He wants perfection. He will not accept things half-way or poorly done. He wants excellence! However, we often fail to fulfill all the requirements he places before us. The Father quickly tires of our infirmities, weaknesses and failures. I think he has probably thought of doing away with us many times.

This is where we can compare Isaiah 53:1-6; the Son. He is the only perfect sacrifice. He is the only one acceptable before the Father. Upon the cross he took all our infirmities, our weaknesses, our failures and he became sin for us. So much so that the Father in his holiness could not even look at his Son and for a moment took his eyes from Jesus, while upon the cross. But when the precious blood of Jesus flowed it washed away our sins, its covered our infirmities, it made us whole before the Father. The blood of Jesus perfect and pure became a pleasing aroma before the Father.

Now the Father does not see us! He sees us through the blood of Jesus. The blood of Jesus has become the veil that allows us to stand before the Father in a manner that pleases Him! We cannot try to ignore Jesus, or his sacrifice and pretend to stand before the Father. He is a jealous and mighty God and if we dare to disrespect the precious blood of Jesus, there is no escape for us.

Therefore, we can only be right before the Father through the Son! What then? Standing right before the Father he commands us to spread the Word and have authority in the name of Jesus! How are we to do this? On our own? No, God the Father and the Son know we cannot accomplish this in our human state. The Holy Spirit which dwells in us, will help us to accomplish the will of the Father through the overcoming power and authority of his Son Jesus!

Praise God for his perfect plan!! I hide under the blood of Jesus!

Peace and Joy

2009-09-06T15:15:00.000-02:00

Romans 5:1-5. The title of this passage is very interesting; considering that verse 3 speaks about sufferings. It aims to describe a peace and a joy that is unknown to most of us. What do you mean peace and joy together with sufferings? Is this an oxymoron? Does Paul know what he is saying? Is he contradicting himself?

Most of us cannot combine the idea of suffering with peace and joy. When in the midst of pain, we are not joyful; we are definitely not at peace. We seek every opportunity for release. We seek a way out of our pain. We seek advice, pain killers, rest and relaxation. We seek to run out of a state of anomaly. How then can we possibly read this passage and nod our heads? Do we know what we are agreeing to? When we assent to this passage; we probably have an erroneous view of what Paul is saying.

We might imagine ourselves, fighting against our feelings, struggling to sing and praise God, and overall trying to say to others when they ask how we are doing, that we are "blessed". Is this what Paul wants? Does he want us to deny where we are? Does he want us to feel insecure as Christians if we live out our pain?

In reality Paul is not speaking at all about the circumstances or the situations that surround us or affect us. He is not focusing on our feelings in the midst of the storms. He is focusing on our relationship with God before the storm, during the storm and after the storm. How are we related to God? We are related to him through Christ. He says that we are justified through faith. Faith in Jesus Christ! Faith that he died for us and rescued us from condemnation and are now able to stand blameless before the throne of God.

We do not stand before God on our own merits. We cannot call ourselves good based on our actions; because without Jesus, even our good deeds are tainted with sin. We therefore must simply accept that only through Christ and him alone we are able to stand righteous before God. But what about my feelings of fear, unworthiness, and uncertainty of my salvation? We can have peace to stand before Him no matter what our perception of ourselves is. We need only claim the covenant of the blood of Jesus. We can stand before the throne clean and washed by the blood of Jesus. In that certainty we can count our self-perception null and void, when we view ourselves through the blood of Jesus. When we see ourselves under the blood, we can have peace before God.

We can rejoice that our hope is not in what we have done or accomplished, but in Christ alone. We can set aside all our pretentions or claim to holiness. We will no longer measure ourselves by our standard; by our feelings. We will hope only in the love and mercy of Christ. Can we rejoice in this thought? Yes, we can! Does it lift a burden from us? Yes it does!

Does this mean that it does not matter what we do? Au contraire, if we live under the knowledge that Christ is our justifier and our hope the spirit will guide us to reverence and acquiescence daily the mercies of God and live in a manner pleasing to him.

Having the knowledge of who we are and where we stand before God, helps us to walk through the storms knowing that ultimately, He who loves us is in control!

Therefore if the enemy wants to accuse you and make feel uncertain of your place in God, run and hide under the blood and claim sanctification through His blood and the enemy will have no claim upon you!

Rejoice and be at peace with God through Jesus!!

The Cost of Following Jesus

2009-09-04T05:00:00.003-02:00

Let the dead, bury the dead.. Luke 9:60. Many times we have read this story. It seems only natural to read it and pleasantly understand its meaning. Yes, Jesus told a potential follower to follow him and not worry about burying his father. This example lies among other examples of people who wanted to follow Jesus, but first wanted to take care of something else. As we read the whole thing, we feel we grasp the concept and easily nod with our heads appearing to understand that we must follow Jesus above everything. But do we really understand the concept of cost?

Perhaps we can speak to someone who emotionally and personally experienced the cost of letting the dead bury the dead. I speak of Aaron. He had just been consecrated to serve God. He waited the seven days with his sons, before actually entering into service before the Lord. They could not go to their homes. They waited at the entrance of The Tent of Meeting. On the first day of their entry into service everything went well; but on the second day tragedy struck. His two sons made the choice of offering a strange fire before the Lord and without opportunity for repentance they were both consumed by the fire. When Aaron and his two other sons saw this, they were not allowed to cry, to touch them, to mourn for them. They stood still, silent for fear of God. Can you imagine the pain? He was probably so happy to work and serve side by side with his children and now he must stand back and see them lifeless consumed with God's vengeance. Was this not a time to say, I don' want this? Was this a time for him to run and hide? He could not! He feared God! His sons feared God!

They had to swallow up their pain and continue working for the Lord while others buried their beloved ones. God is the same today as he was yesterday. Many years later Jesus expects the same response to him from someone he calls into service. The cost of following Jesus is still at the same price. We must not consider anything or anyone above serving God. He is first and foremost!

2009-09-03T19:41:00.003-02:00

I learned an amazing thing today. I have been studying the books of Exodus and Leviticus. There is so much to learn! I inquire of God to show me to teach me. I want to be like Moses. I want to see the glory of God. I have asked God about Moses. What did Moses have that caused God to love him so; to show himself to him. I want to see God manifested not just in me; but in his people. I want to pray for people and have the faith that it will come to pass. In other words, I want to have the faith that I can move the heart of God. Moses did that! How? I don't know! I want to learn. As I was reading Leviticus today, I felt so sad. I felt sorry for Aaron and his descendants. What did he do, to be selected as a High Priest? His role was not one of glamour and of joy. He suffered so much pain and in the midst of it; he had to remain faithful to God or else. He lost two of his sons and he could not mourn for them. He almost lost his other two; but thankfully he did not. He was held by God to such a high standard. He had to depend on God for everything. He had to eat what God had given him to eat in a specific place. He had to stay in a place for a time as directed by God. He had no rights to himself; not even a property to call his own because God was his inheritance. I can only imagine as a human being how difficult it must have been to want to move about and do your will; but yet fearful of the wrath of God which could easily consume you as he did with Nadab and Abihu. I bet many times he wished he had not been called for such a purpose. I think he must have lived in fear, knowing that he or his sons, especially, would not always live up to expectations. What about his needs? God was to supply them through the people. But what if the people did not feel like supplying the needs of the priest? What then? How would he live? What would he and his family have? I cried and it hurt so much because I can relate so much! All I could ask was.. God who can ever please you? I prayed seeking an answer and I found it! The answer was.. "no one". No one can please God. So I thought of Jesus, his perfect sacrifice, his precious blood. I ran toward the blood of Jesus. I hid under the blood of Jesus. I said oh God I can never please you. I am subject to your wrath oh Lord I am unworthy and unable! I can only stand and come before you through the precious blood of Jesus. I prayed, save me Jesus from the wrath of God. Make me holy and acceptable to him! Sanctify me, make me righteous before him; through the covenant of the blood of Jesus I can become blameless!! I thought of Zephorah when she circumcised her son so that the angel of death would not kill Moses for not having fulfilled the vow of circumcision. I thought of her quick action to save Moses from a certain death. She covered his toe with the blood of her son. I said oh Lord if I am found failing, short, unworthy run and cover me with your blood, come to my rescue and cleanse and make me pure and holy before you. Without you I can't be holy; but through your blood oh Jesus I am made righteous before you! Purify and sanctify me!! This was my prayer and act of total and absolute humility and dependance upon the mercies of God and his beloved son, Jesus! Amen!!

On being a Christian

2009-09-03T19:37:00.003-02:00

Every day I stand before you God. My thoughts and my actions are shaped by you. I love to stand in your presence. I have so much to learn. You teach me so many things! I want to share your teachings! Let this blog be a blessing to others!