The Presents of God

I love this time of the year.  The smell of cinnamon tea filling the air, and the trimmings on the tree.  It has been feeling a lot like Christmas....when I can stop and enjoy it.  The month has come quickly to an end, well close to an end.  We still have two more days left of the beautiful madness.

 As I look around at the tree, the cinnamon tea, the stockings, the nativity, I realize one thing; how much I have forgotten the basics.

In a few days, I will be putting all the decorations away and moving on with my life.  As I stare at the nativity, it kind of hurts to think of the idea of it being in a box, stuck in an attic, and waiting for another year.  I never realized how simple this little treasure was.  After years and generations, poor Mary was a little scratched, and at one point there were three Wise Men.  It brings a little chuckle to my face as I remember all the years of celebration I have had with this simple nativity. 

With the cracks and the chipped paint, I think of life a little bit clearer.  Not only are there bumps in the road as we walk on, another year past and new one about to begin, but also the beauty of Christ.  This year has been filled with a lot of bumps, chips, and lost Wise Men, but it all comes down to that baby in the middle of it all.  Christ didn't come for us to be perfect, for us to have an easy life. 

As Christmas leaves for another 360 days, not that I'm counting, I have peace in the joy and hope of the baby Jesus who died for my sins; died because of those bumps and cracks in the road. I wish I could have that simple reminder of that child placed on my shelf all year round. Sadly, I can't, but I can have the promise tattooed upon my heart. 

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6 NKJV

Say Whaaat? London's Recap

Say What?

Well, PardonWritersforChrist will be doing a session called “Say What.” Mostly the concept is personal accounts that caused you to think and reflect on the Lord. If you want to submit a Say What, please message us here at PardonWritersforChrist.

My Say What happened on my birthday. A few days prior, one of my coworkers at PardonWritersforChrist asked me how I planned to spend my birthday. My response was, “Sadly, in the dentist office.” We both laughed a bit and had a light conversation. The day I originally scheduled the appointment, I was huffing and puffing about the need to come in to have my two teeth fix on a day that was meant to celebrate, well, me. The red pen scribbling out the words, “Dentist Appointment” on my calendar seemed like a punishment, or even worse, a glob of ink symbolizing my pain.

I woke up the day of my appointment excited for my birthday, but then remembered what I had to do. After brushing my teeth about three times after eating a banana, and managed to remember the floss, I braced myself for a needle to my gums. Now, I am making it sound like I was knocking on death's door, but honestly, they were only two, tiny cavities needing to be filled.

But after the shot to the mouth, and a couple of playful comments to the doctor, the Lord decided to remind me how blessed I truly was and how this was a true gift to be sitting in a dentist chair. Sounds almost silly when you think about it! After a moment, I was really humbled. I was actually able to have my teeth fix to fit within my work schedule, and have insurance to take care of a chunk of the charge. Besides that, I was blessed to have such loving dentists who love the Lord and take good care of me! What I was dreading for about 2 weeks, quickly became a blessing in disguise. I had taken for granted what I always had.

This event reminded me of a recap event at my church about a month ago. A group had ventured off on a mission trip and came back to tell us about their experiences. The one story that truly blessed me was their time to offer medical help to the local people. One of the pastors mention a young boy, around the age of eleven, who was having a few teeth worked on. He sat there happily because he was able to experience what many take for granted. As the pastor was telling this story, the Lord reminded me of how blessed I am to live in the environment He has placed me. This young man found joy in what I was spending weeks complaining about.

My Say What caused me to reevaluate how I respond to situations in my life and to people. I have used this moment to minister to people in joy and glorify Him in the process. After it all, I can honestly thank the Lord for my cavities because it made me realize a lot about my heart and the heart the Lord wants me to have.

I encourage all of you to share your SayWhat's with us and recap those little things in your life. You never know. What you could be upsetting you today, could be your Say What tomorrow.

Have a blessed week,

London

Are you staying fit?

The majority of the people I know love spending their time working out. No shame in fellowshipping while lifting weights. But I started thinking the other day, while I was running, about fitness. Spending time with people who are fit, makes you wonder how fit people are in the Lord.

Last week, I read an article about obesity.  What often causes obesity? Well, there is malnourishment which often causes those who are lacking money to spend what little they have on a junkfood diet. Of course, this explains the popularity of chips, fast food burgers, and cheap restaurants popping up every street corner. I had a coworker who would ask me every Friday if I wanted a, “Fat and Nasty” for lunch. He meant, of course, a juicy, fast food burger. Now, sometimes I would say yes. Funny, every time I said yes, my body would feel slow and sluggish after indulging on a thick cheeseburger. At the moment, I didn't regret it. The grease was heavy and the cheese was just overwhelmingly yummy. Then, of course, I ate the fries with it. Every bite made me happy. But later on, I felt less than 50% my normal, happy self. I didn't have the same amount of energy, and my body was rejecting the grease I had eaten.

Malnourishment in life is the same. When we don't feed ourselves with the Word of God, we choose other options to satisfy our hunger. Often we seek the ways of the World. Sin becomes our Dollar Menu, lust looks like a fatty cheeseburger. After awhile, we are so heavy into the world, that it takes a process to give up that lifestyle, pick up the Word of God, and start walking. Just like being overweight can kill you, so does sin.

Romans 6:23- 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Become fit in the Lord today, so you will have the strength to reject those painful fillers that tempt us.  The more you lean on the Lord, the stronger you get.  

Fitness is not just skin deep.

L.J. Christian 



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Fire

One of the most dangerous things in this world is words.  I know, I know.  Words? How can something so insignificant be dangerous?  People don’t realize just how much words can affect us.  Whether it’s words of praise, wisdom, anger, love, sadness, or just rude and mean. Words can create these deep, festering, painful wounds in our hearts.

The tongue can be considered like a match.  With just one strike, it could set a fire that completely ravages a person’s mental, emotional, and spiritual life. In James 3, we are warned about the strength that the tongue truly has.  It can light a fire in our hearts and it can tear us down or build us up.  Now, I have heard James 3 being portrayed as scary and depressing almost, but when I read it, it brought a smile to my face.  

“Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts.  Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark." NIV James 3:5

This one line, just screamed at me.  Almost as if it was jumping in my head saying, “Hey! Look at me!”  Words are like the spark that sets a forest ablaze.  What if that forest was a heart?  What if that spark was words of God?  Now it’s a whole new type of fire.  It’s not the destructiveness of sin, but words of God’s love.  That’s the fire that I want to set, just as it was set ablaze in me.   “9...His word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones....””(NIV Jeremiah 20:9)I don’t know about you, but I want that fire to consume me and pour out of me into those around me.  I want that fire to spark a fire in them. I want them to burn with the same fire that I feel in my bones!  For me, that first spark started coming to life, starting with the example of those around me.  Steadily, it was fanned by music, by little things I’d see around me, by the words of the friends closest to me.  God spoke to me through all of these things and I finally let that fire take hold of me.  To be consumed by that fire (love) is one of the greatest feelings I’ve ever experienced.

That fire I have in me is a positive fire, but it could have just as easily been a destructive fire had I not heard the right words.  When it comes down to it, the tongue is one of the more dangerous aspects of the flesh.  It truly can be a double-edged sword.  Be careful of the things you say.  While you can use your words for good and for the right reasons, it is just as easy to tear someone down with negative words.  More often than not you may not even realize you’ve done so.  Always think twice over what you will say, lest you start the wrong kind of fire in a person’s heart.

Harmony

Today is Liveable

I haven't written lately.  The Lord wouldn't allow me. Let me share what has been on my heart lately.  My eyes haven't been completely on Christ lately. It took me awhile to realize how quickly I was falling.  Some days I would go without even picking up the Word of God.  Other days I didn't even find myself praying longer than over my food or when I caught myself in a jam.  The Lord has slowly brought me out of it. I remember when it was too; this morning around 5:30 am. My heart hasn't been growing lately.  He has brought many people around me to push me back on track.  The push was more of carry me back to the proper track of God.  So, thank you for being patient with me.  Thank you for the prayers and understanding that I needed some time to grow in Him before I could actually be apart of this ministry again.  I have missed you all. May this new post bless you because it has shaken my life completely.
 April 23, 2013

Let me honest and quite frank, I am pretty darn emotional.  Those who are closest to me know how well I can easily talk about the stupidest thing for quite some time, and then forget about what the original conversation was dealing with.  Lately, this has been happening more than usual.  I get emotional; I say something or dwell on something that just doesn’t keep God in the middle at all. 

This morning, I sought out the answer to my emotional cry out.  The Lord told me that I worry too much about my future, my working situation, and everything in between.  I have been convicted of this for a couple of days.  Why do I worry so much?  I can’t blame the world around me because I’m not of this world, I am only the Lord's.   I can’t blame the Lord because He states not to worry.  The only one I can blame is myself for walking towards a path that causes me to constantly worry about what is going on around me.  The world makes you forget what He wants of you in life.

Don’t let the trees hide your vision of the forest.  Look at the big picture.  Matthew 6:31-34 states, ³¹ “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

Whenever your mind goes off onto dwelling on the things of tomorrow, seek the Lord and your heart.  Pray that it doesn’t cause you to worry about what you don’t have control over.  Today is before you.  You don’t even know if you are going to see the sun set.  I know that this reminder has brought forth my own selfishness and frustration with those around me. 

Spend today looking towards pleasing the Lord with your words and your thoughts.  Leave it on the thrown and you will find peace.  I’m glad I am finally forced to realize what could have saved me so much heartache. 

Seeking the Lord, sisters,

L.J Christian

Preaching: True Beauty! (Part 2)

Our guest writer has returned.  Please enjoy Part 2 of Keysi's devotion on True Beauty.
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Today’s Devotion

Topic: True beauty! (Part 2)

Scriptures:Proverbs 31:30, Proverbs 14:12, Philippians 1:20, John 3:30, Matthew 6:33,Matthew 7:6, etc.

Good evening brothers and sisters!

Today we are on the second part of this preaching, may our Lord Jesus Christ pour out His understanding and guidance upon you, so that you’ll know what to do with all the gifts and talents He has given you, using your time wisely, encouraging and teaching others about these verses and doing everything in reverence, building up a good testimony not only before men but most importantly before God, since the days are evil.

Let me ask you a question my friend, what’s true beauty for you? True beauty for me is:_____________________________________________

As you fill in the blanks, I’ll give you this passage :

Proverbs 14:12 “There is a way that seems right to a person, but its end is the way to death.”

Ok now, can you compare what you wrote down with this verse? Are those things right before you but they’re actually notfrom the Lord? Do they sound pretty normal/good to you but are they kind of worldly? Or are they  based on what you’ve read in the Bible and what God has taught you throughout the years?

We are seeing all sorts of wickedness when it comes to beauty nowadays my beloved brethren, all the way from unnecessary surgeries to not eating, and all of this is done just to look“good” 

Speaking of that let me show you something:

For no one ever hates his own body, buthe nourishes and tenderly cares for it, just as Christ does for the church. Ephesians 5:29

So if you love your body you must eat, not in excess because that’s a sin, that’s a whole other Bible study but if you want to read about if go for it my beloved brethren, it’s found in Proverbs23:20-21 And also you must take care of your body because it is not yours but God’s, you are His Holy temple!

With that in mind let’s jump to the following verse:

Philippians 1:20

“It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be put to shame in any way, but that by my speaking with all boldness, Christ will be exalted now as always in my body, whether by life or by death.”

How is Christ exalted in our bodies? Ok we're getting to the point of True Beauty here, pay attention my friends!

“Therefore, do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions. No longer present your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.” Romans 6:12-14

How can God be exalted in your body if you are for example in fornication? Or doing things that you shouldn’t be doing you name it, or taking in substances like someone who doesn’t know Christ? If you want to Grace is not a pass to sin, so if you’re a Christian who thinks that just because God is so graceful with you & you can do whatever you want, then you truly need to repent!

How can you pursue outwardly “beauty” if your inside is messed up? Don’t be a Pharisee!

‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees,hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may become clean. Matthew 23:25-26

Cleaning your heart & thoughts with the precious anointing of the Holy Spirit, this is an invitation to the real deal, HEAVEN!! Not to a religion or a church! it’s better to be judged, warned and rebuked by the Lord TODAY than later on when you’re standing before Him by the white throne, because that’s going to open your eyes and make you turn to Him. You might be saying, “man but if God is love then how is he going to judge me? That’s why!!! He is your Father! He wants a relationship with you, but you need to submit and let excuses out! Sin is death, and if you aren’t pursuing the ETERNAL BEAUTY then what are you waiting for? God wants your name to be written in the book of Life my beloved brethren, let Him cleanse whatever needs to be cleansed! You can go and take a shower in holy waters if you want, but that’s not going to remove your sin! Only Jesus with His precious blood!

Isaiah 1:18

“Come now, let us argue it out,
says the Lord:
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be like snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.”

That’s True beauty my beloved brethren,no man can do this! Once everything’s fixed inside, no doubt it’s going to overflow and shine your face!

Speaking of that, don’t you remember whenMoses was praying and after he finished, everyone who saw him was astonished because Moses’ face was so bright and radiant!

The same happens in your life, give it toJesus and the outside beauty won’t be as important as your inward beauty! Matthew 6:33 says “Seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added on to you.”

God won’t give you something that will separate you from Him, or make you forget about His Love, so think about it andpursue greater things than appearance or what not, it applies to relationships as well.

Lord Jesus please guard every heart that is reading this, fix their eyes on You, show them the beauty you did on that cross, by Your bruises we are healed!

K. Cordero

www.devotionskc.blogspot.com

keysi31@hotmail.com

Preaching: True Beauty!

 ( Keysi is a guest writer and a wonderful friend/sister in Christ! I pray you will be blessed by her posts.)

Today’s Devotion

Topic: True beauty! (Part 1)

Scriptures: Proverbs 31:30, Proverbs 14:12, Philippians 1:20, John 3:30, Matthew 6:33, Matthew 7:6, etc.

Good morning beloved brethren! May our Lord and Savior be with you today, giving you wisdom and showing you decisions and radical steps that you are going to take this New Year! Regardless of the outcome and the things that are happening in this world, we are still here, for God’s plan! He needs servants with hearts that are ready for the battle! And here we are, empty-handed, we just need to bow our knees and give Him our goals! He will transform them and give us back what we really need! A new list with things that will edify not only you but those who are in need for Jesus!

Today we will be discussing about True Beauty!

Beauty does not refer to women only; we find in the scriptures that even men were also recognized for their appearance such as David, the beloved husband in the Book of Songs of Solomon, Joseph, etc.

The concept of beauty has been twisted by the world, it is sad to see both men and women affected in a very negative way regardless of their ages. We see young girls pursuing a fake appearance, pride and recognition from other people in the wrong way. First of all because it is not God’s will that you become a “Praised person” because of your beauty, second because you will become a prideful being, no different than Lucifer when he rebelled against God! Remember that the devil was the most beautiful angel, and that was the very reason why he wanted to be worshiped among the other heavenly creatures.

Let’s see what God’s precious Word says about this:

Luke 14:11 “for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.’

Proverbs 6:17-19 “There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him:
haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
and hands that shed innocent blood,
a heart that devises wicked plans,
feet that hurry to run to evil,
a lying witness who testifies falsely,
and one who sows discord in a family.”

James 4:6 “God resists the proud,
but gives grace to the humble.”

Proverbs 31:30

“Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.”

If you stop and think for a moment, there are so many people right now, some faces might start popping in your head as we speak. There are people who become so vain in their own physical appearance where it’s all about them, and what they have, and they forget God. The riches go together with this as well, once you’ve got “everything” you start forgetting the very fount of blessings!

Beloved brethren, do not be deceived!

Let’s take a look at this verse which is absolutely impacting:

For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love become slaves to one another. Galatians 5:13 Wow! By the way, becoming slaves to one another in this verse simply means serving! Being there for your friends, family, people!! Don’t get confused with 1 Corinthians 7:23, this other one is talking about the freedom that Christ has given us.

Going back to what we were saying my friends, don’t waste your time on the flesh! Don’t use that beautiful freedom Jesus bought for on things that aren’t worth it! This flesh will fade away, it’s just flesh! And the worse thing is that this flesh is against the Spirit! So there’s no way we should be more involved in temporary things, and again it goes beyond the physical, it’s a heart issue! It comes from our human nature, it all starts in the garden of Eden, but remember that Christ paid the price for that sin! Therefore we should turn away from it, we are no longer living in the flesh but in the Spirit! Yes we still have this body, but by the Holy Spirit of God our desires will change, let’s repent from our pride, and pray fervently! Satan cannot intervene when you are talking to your heavenly Father! Hallelujah!  It’s Daddy and son/daughter time! God will remove pride from your life my beloved brethren, but you need to present it before Him!

This will be a long study, but it is very important to understand where we are, we’ve all been through things like these, some of you are very hurt by the whole concept of beauty especially in this kind of society where you feel pressured to do things and to look like certain people, worldly fashions come to place, even at church, and it is a disaster! But the heart is what counts! And the change will take place from the inside out; our outside will reflect what the inside looks like!

We will continue with part 2 beloved brothers and sisters, let’s reread the Bible verses we listed so far and pray over them, let God show you His heart about what a true woman of God looks like, what a true Godly guy looks like, both in and out. We are to honor the Lord in everything we do remember? So let Him speak to your heart! He loves you with Eternal Love!

K.Cordero
Keysi31@hotmail.com

Yahweh M’Kaddesh
(The God who sanctifies)