Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Do you REALLY understand what being a CHRISTIAN is???

Anyone that knows me, knows that my posts are here to provoke you to think. 
If you are offended by what my posts are about, stop and pray about it and ask HIM to open your HEART and EARS.  God may have something to say to you.


When I was young, I accepted Jesus as my Saviour. I do not ever remember a time that I did not believe that. I remember just "knowing" that HE loved me and that HE protects me. I thought that by believing that HE was my Lord and Saviour, that I was a Christian.  Yet, as I got older, I realized that my understanding of being a Christian, was NOT clear.  So in Fall of 1999, I said to my best friend (now husband), that for my birthday, I would like to find a church that we could attend consistently and become involved with.  I was thirsting for more of GOD and knowledge of HIM.

We found a church in January 2000 & after the first Sunday, I KNEW that it was the place for me. I spoke with the pastor and told him that I wanted to be baptised. I could feel the Holy Spirit moving in my heart. So, I was baptised February 4th, 2000. 

After I was baptised, I changed.  Not immediately.  Not quickly.  But from that day forward.  God has continued to work on my heart and mind and change me.  I am not saying that I am perfect or that I don't make mistakes and say or do stupid stuff, at times. . . . .  but what I AM saying, is that God continues to change me, for the better. When I read my Bible and pray, I feel Him continuing to change me. I feel closer to God every day and when I go through difficult times, I use those memories to keep ME close to HIM.

I am not the same person that I was 13 years ago.  I am not even the same person I was 5 years ago. So, when I see other people that claim to be Christian, saying or doing things that are so obviously "unchristian-like" I become saddened and pray for them.  My heart breaks for them. Because, not only are they misleading others and turning them AWAY from Christ, but they are NOT experiencing the TRUE JOY of knowing Christ and living according to God's word! 

Are YOU perfect? Have YOU never done anything stupid? Have YOU never screwed up something? 

If YOU can't give grace and mercy to others, what makes you think that YOU have GOD's grace and mercy? He expects us to GIVE the same that we RECEIVE. I know that at times, it can be overwhelming when things in life seem to go completely haywire. But, we need to step back and check ourselves, friends.  If someone has wronged you or upset you, go to that person FIRST and talk about it.  If something irritates you or makes you angry, talk to a fellow believer about it and ask them to pray with you.

Go to God and ask for peace and understanding. Ask HIM to help you "let it go", so that whatever is bothering you, does not eat away at your heart.  One of the things that I ask God for DAILY is to let me FORGET things that others have said or done to me that have hurt me, so that I may not hold that against them.  I want to remember ONLY the good things that people have said and done so that HIS peacefulness is always with me.

Before you tweet or facebook or "vent" about another person - STOP and think before you do.  It is NO different than GOSSIP.  You REALLY need to say to yourself "Is this what MY Jesus Would do?  Would MY Jesus make snarky comments about someone that made HIM angry?  Would MY Jesus "vent" about someone who did something stupid?  Would MY Jesus make posts on facebook about how someone screwed up something? 

OR

Would He grant them MERCY and GRACE and pray for them?

~ Something to think about.



Monday, November 4, 2013

Praise HIM in The Storms of LIFE!

I believe that God is good ALL of the time and that we simply just need to ASK and BELIEVE. If it is in HIS plan, we will RECEIVE! 
 
He has blessed me with LIFE!

I know I am not perfect. But every day I ask God to change my heart and mind into what HE has planned for me and bind my tongue so that I may not hurt someone with my words. I want to be ALL that God has planned for me and wants me to be....
I want to be the mom, wife, sister, friend, daughter, etc that he MADE me to be. And the only way that is going to happen is by my constant prayers, repentance, and staying in HIS word.

I know that I am blessed and God has shown that to me again and again.
Evidence of that can be seen in just the past two weeks.

~ I went to pre-op appointment & the Dr found a heart murmur. I went to the cardiologist & he diagnosed it as a benign murmur, but is going to put me on a monitor for 4-6 weeks to check it out anyway.
~ When I was being prepped for surgery, they found that I was anemic. My Hemoglobin was 8.0 Not a good number before surgery, so I had to sign a consent form for a transfusion, but NONE was needed.
~ When I came out of surgery, I had some type of a reaction to one of the meds and could not stop scratching my face. They gave me something for it & it helped.
~ When I was in Recovery, I stopped breathing several times and scared the nurse so bad that she stood over me & every time I would start to fall asleep she would say "Breathe" "Breathe" . . . finally was told that I must have sleep apnea. So will be checking into a sleep study soon.
~ The polyp that was removed from my sinus was so large that it was pressing on the back of my throat and caused a constant tickle in my throat and changed my singing.  Now that it is gone, I have had NO pain from the surgery AND I can BREATHE and SING once again!!!


So friends, do NOT be disheartened when stuff happens in your life. TRUST God to take care of what needs to be taken care of and ask HIM for revelation as to what HE wants from YOU! I know that looking at things this way has changed me tremendodusly!
 
Praise HIM in the STORMS of life!!!!!
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