Your Faith Is on Front Street

Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen. Hebrews 11:1  But what is front street you ask?  That is where the christian faith is showcased.  Let me give you some examples.  As a Christ follower, we should stand out like a sore thumb around those who do not follow Christ.  I'm not saying that we should go around giving people a sore head by knocking people upside the head with our bible so calm down.  But we should be allowed to do that every now and then too.  I'm just sayin because I know some hard headed people that probably wouldn't even feel it the first few times. 
My point is, our actions should speak louder than any sermon.  We don't have to tell people that they should know better when they act like a fool but if we don't join them, they will  begin to wonder about you.  When your co-workers complain, how do you respond?  If you join them which I am guilty of doing when I am in agreement, but what kind of faith am I displaying when I do that?  None, you are exactly right.  But when you don't join the complaining or if you say something encouraging, they might think you are crazy at first but thats ok because it will spark their curiosity.  What makes Miss Starla Sunshine think that things will get better?  What makes her avoid assuming that our employer won't listen to our ideas?  I use work as an example because that is where I spend a lot of my time.  But what about your friends and family?  Your actions can show them the high road too.  When you express your gratitude for answered prayers that is such a good witness to them.  Now people, please learn the difference between bragging and sharing what the Lord has done for you lately.  Every conversation gives you the opportunity to shine God's light in you.  The next time you have a conversation about the economy (because that is the topic of daily conversation) how can you give God glory? 
Example:
Someone says, "The government is going to shut down by midnight.  The last time that happened, the democrats were in office so what does that tell you?" 
You respond, "All my blessings come from above and God can use anything or anyone to bless you, including the government.  It really doesn't matter whose in office politically because if God is in office for you personally you don't have to worry about what the government is doing and when they are going to do it."

I really overheard someone at work say this the other day but I didn't respond because at the time I was quite annoyed because this person is my friend who knows my political views so my reaction would have been more like this, "Why do you have to be so negative and loud?"  Besides, no one else responded so maybe they were thinking the same thing.  Or maybe it was because most people try to avoid discussing politics or religion at work.  The other day someone told me that they don't talk about religion at work and my response to them in a very loving way was, "I don't talk about religion either but I do talk about God."  No response but I do think they got the point.

Actions really do speak louder than words and sometimes it's what you don't do that can be a positive witness.  So by not complaining and saying negative things that says a lot right there. God has been working with me on my complaining for years and years.  I'm not where a I should be, but I'm also not where I used to be.  You see, I'm a talker and I wear my feelings on my sleeve.  I always thought it was good for people to see all your emotion's but I'm learning that it's good to hide them sometimes to avoid hurting people.  You can be saved and act like the devil, trust me.

Lost and Found

My daughter lost her brand new jacket on the second day of the school year.  She went to the lost and found to see if it was there but it wasn't.  A few days later she saw a girl with the exact same jacket but since there was no way to be sure that it belonged to her, we counted it as a loss.  You see, clothing and material possession's can be replaced.  We all know that right?  But one thing that you don't ever want to lose is your soul.  Yes, you read this right. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul.  For what will a man give in exchange for his soul?  Mark 8:36,37 NAS

Some of you may wonder how can a man lose his soul?  First, we need to understand exactly what your soul is.  In the bible, when used as an action word (verb), your soul is often mentioned with and after your heart.  Your soul is that between your body and spirit.  It is controlled by your spirit and it uses the body to carry out the thoughts of the Spirit.  Maybe that's why God instructs us to hold our bad thoughts captive.  Just thinking the wrong thing is a sin because it can cause you to eventually act on your thoughts.  He who guards his mouth & his tongue guards his soul from troubles. Proverbs 21:23 NAS  You know what they say?  If you speak it, so it shall be.  Well at least that's what I tell my girls.

To me it sounds like our soul and our feelings are one in the same.  What the eye sees is better than what the soul desires.  Ecclesiastes 6:30.  Your soul sobs and weeps, troubles and grieves, longs and loves, delights and angers.  I think in order to truly grasp what the soul is, you must understand your spirit (heart).  It seems that they are both intertwined and both can be involved in what pleases and displeases God.  Your Spirit must speak to your Soul which uses your body to carry out your thoughts or put your thoughts into action.  Your Spirit mediates between your body and Soul.  I think of our soul as our feelings and our spirit as our thoughts.

Now that we hopefully have a better understanding of the soul, we can find out how it can become lost.  If a person has never accepted Jesus as their savior, they can be considered lost spiritually.  Some examples of lost are having gone astray or ending in defeat.  If you do not have a real relationship with God, consider yourself to be forfeited, gone, ruined, distracted, distraught, desperate, hopeless, missing, confused, perplexed, squandered, doomed and condemned to hell.  If your soul is lost and you want to find it say this simple prayer:
Dear God, I am a sinner and need forgiveness. I believe that Jesus Christ shed His precious blood and died for my sin. I am willing to turn from sin. I now invite Christ to come into my heart and life as my personal Saviour

Just like the song Amazing Grace, you once were lost but now you are found, was blind but now you see.

There is Treasure in our Trials

This thing actually costs $899.99, whoa!
Woodchests.com

I don't know about you but when I look back on some of my difficult times, I can see the rewards now that it's all over.  Being diagnosed with MS was a relief at first because everyone including the doctors thought that I was some kind of hypochondriac.  I spent so much time going to one doctor after another, to Urgent Care and ER.  My insurance company actually sent me a letter to find out if I had some sort of accident to make sure that someone else wasn't responsible for my issues.  Isn't that something else?

 My diagnosis also slowed me down in a good way.  I took the time to reevalute everything in my life and I learned how to distinguish what was really important.  Sometimes we have way more on our plate than we can handle and at the time we don't even realize it.  I actually feel special, I mean I even have the best parking spots ;)  It actually brought my entire family closer than we already were.  They even learned how to see life in a better light.

Another example is when my husband was in a terrible motorcycle accident.  You see, he landed between 2 crosses where other bikes went down and the riders didn't make it.  My husband saw that as God giving him a second chance to make some changes in his life.  The changes were gradual but he finally seems to really get what life is all about.  His priorities were way off.  Now he understands the order of things.  I consider that to be a huge reward.  He actually put's me first (after God of course), like a husband should.  After being together for 17 years and married for 14 years, our marriage is in a good place and I know that the accident was the beginning of our fresh start as a couple.  When we do have problems, the level of respect that we have for each other is always there and ultimately helps us get through things sooner.

So you see, there really is treasure in our trials.  Our trials are the difficult points in our life where we're not sure how we are going to get through it.  These times of testing will either make us better or bitter.  It's up to us and the outlook we choose to take.  I choose to hold on to God's unchanging hand.  He wants us to be strong in character and ready for anything.  Trust me, I have a 15 year old daughter and 2 more that are  9 and 10 going on 17, so I really do need to be ready for anything.

Let Me Let You Know

Heavenly Father,  I don't even want to think about where I would be without You.  Protect my mind and thoughts.  Keep me during the midst of all the turmoil and trials that we face in this world.  Remind me that there is still good in this world.  Help me as I try to be humble and not to be a stumbling block, but a light to the people around me.  Help me with my struggles of judging people and slaying other's with my words.  Yes, I am following You and every day I must crucify my flesh by putting on the full armor of God.  In your precious son Jesus' name, Amen.


There is something very heavy on my heart regarding the spiritual realm.  I must first point out that God is a Spirit, and we must worship Him in Spirit and in truth.  Man is both spirit (soul) and material (body).  I recently heard a pastor say it like this, "We are a spirit, with a soul that lives in a body."  If we have a relationship with God, then the Holy Spirit dwells in us and we cannot be over taken or possessed by evil or unclean spirits. 

I am currently reading a book called "The Rite" by Matt Baglio which is a true story about a priest who was also an exorcist.  I'm only half way through the book and I plan to blog about it when I finish it.  I plan to watch the movie too.  But basically this priest talks about his very real experiences with demon possession, infestation, oppression and obsession and we should avoid opening the door to demonic activity.

Let me put it like this, "Whether you believe in demon's or not, it doesn't change the fact that they exist."  Proof of demon's exist throughout the bible and  demonic possession is not limited to biblical times. We should know and need to know that our adversary Satan and his minions roam about, seeking whomever they can devour.  He is an intelligent being and deceiver is one of his many names.  He will use whatever and whomever he can, including children and animal's.  Demon's do not posess the capacity to love.  They have a hate filled pleasure of doing evil acts. 

Satan can create the appearance of a miracle since his powers surpass the limits of human abilities.  This leads me to something that I cannot fail to mention: Fortune tellers, physics aka mediums, witches, etc......

 ¹⁰ Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, ¹¹ or casts spells, or who is a medium or spirits or who consults the dead. ¹² Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD; Deuteronomy 18:10-12 (New International Version 2011)

Let me let you know something right now, I don't care how harmless it may seem.  Remember that we live in a fallen world and things of this world are accepted and watered down but they have no place in the kingdom of heaven.  Sorcery, astrology, charmers/charming, clairvoyance, divination, enchantment, fortune telling, magic, occult science, soothsayer, false prophets, these are considered deeds of the flesh;

Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, 21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.   Galatians 5:19-21 (New American Standard Bible)

So for those of you that are into astrology, know that this is a a portal for evil spirits, no matter how subtle it appears to be.  Consulting with the dead, that too.  Ummm let's see oh yeah, readings.  Anything that God wants to forewarn us about is in the scriptures.  If you want the truth, then study the scriptures to show yourself approved.  God's word is very specific, that way no one is confused.  You see, confusion is not of the Spirit of God and He will see to it that all truth, knowledge and wisdom is revealed to us.  All we have to do is ask in prayer, seek by reading the scriptures and apply His word and will to our daily life. 

For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.   Galatians 5:17 (New American Standard Bible) 

Remember in the beginning I said that God is a Spirit?  If the flesh is in opposition to the Spirit, what exactly does that mean?  Flesh aka man is of things according to the world, which is also in opposition to God.  Remember that we must worship God with our spirit because when it comes to our physical body, our flesh gets in our way and attempts to block our blessings by giving in to temptation and our desires to follow the ways of the world.  No one is exempt, not even those of us that claim to be "walking with God".  We are still weak humans who must remember to put on the full armor of God daily, so that we can crucify the flesh.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog.  I encourage your feedback.  Let me know if you have read The Rite or watched the movie.  Also, if you need help understanding God's word and plan for your life I would love to hear from you.  My life belongs to Him and everything that I have is for Him and to be used for His glory.  Please do not be fooled by the wickedness that is present in the world.  And if you practice any witchcraft, sorcery, readings etc.... ask yourself this one question.  What does God's word say about it?

Love Never Fails

 Define love. What does it mean to you?  It seems that we all have different definitions of love and what it means to us. Do you have Agape (a-gop-ay) or unconditional love?  Just because we say we love someone that doesn't make it true.  If you say it, you gotta be about it. There should be actions behind your love for someone.  What would you do for love? 

Let's start with two things that do not belong together shall we?  Love and money.  First of all, you cannot buy love so that's out.  Well not true love anyways.  Second, the love of money is the root to all kinds of evil.  What evil you ask? ALL kinds of evil.  Let's take greed for example.  There is a show on TV called American Greed.  People have scammed and deceived many people, all for the love of money.  I guess they couldn't make enough of their own money so they had to steal it from other's.  I'm not just talking about survival money, I'm talking about millions of dollars.  And where are these people now?  In prison with not a dime to their name.  Now that's a dime shame.

Now let's talk about tough love.  Whew, that's a rough one.  Having to tell a loved one NO.  This is where you may have to turn your back on a loved one that has continously taken advantage of you.  They expect you to help them all the time, well because you love them.  They actually think that you owe them something.  Most of the time these people are irresponsible and you are usually doing more harm than good by enabling them.  As long as they can depend on your help and your love, they have no reason to change their ways.  Whether it be a drug habit or maybe even gambling.  There are many different ways to take advantage of someone and continue doing it until you love them enough to just say NO.

God's love for us is so great and He will say NO to us if it's not in our best interests.  He know's our hearts.  No does not always mean never, it just might mean the timing is not right.  Trust God to direct you, guide you and lead you.  Let your faith rest not on human wisdom, but on God's power and love.

Child Like Faith

Children are a gift from God.  The bible says that we must have a child like faith to enter the kingdom of heaven.  What exactly does this mean?  The sense is--whoever humbles himself until he becomes as a child, exhibiting trust, openness and eagerness to learn, these qualities constitute greatness.  Let's take David for example.  He was a child when he defeated Goliath, a giant.  As a matter of fact, he told Goliath that he was going to cut his head off, and feed his army to the birds and beasts of the earth. 

Let me back up a little.  Goliath from the Philistine army was taunting the Israel army and suggesting a contest between individual warriors on behalf of the armies.  He thought that he had the upper hand because of his size. The Israel army was greatly afraid and fled from him.  Goliath did this every morning and every night for 40 days. There was a valley between both armies. One day David was delivering supplies to his brothers, when he heard Goliath's words taunting them. 

David began to ask, "Who is this Philistine that taunts the armies of the living God?"  David was asking everyone this question, including his brothers.  His oldest brother got angry with David and David said, "What have I done now?  Was it not just a question?"  Somebody went and told Saul about David's questions.  (Wow, a grown man told on a kid?)  Saul was David's master during this time and he told David that he was just a youth while Goliath had been a warrior from his youth.  David told Saul, "I, your servant has killed both a lion and a bear; and this Philistine will be like one of them, since he has taunted the armies of the living God.  The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine."  Saul told David, "Go, and may the Lord be with you."

Saul clothed David with his armor but David didn't feel comfortable in them and he took them off.  Instead he took his stick in his hand and chose 5 smooth stones from the brook, put them in his bag, then he approached Goliath.  When Goliath saw David he said, "Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?" He told David, "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth."  David told Goliath, "You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted.  This day the Lord will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you.  I will give the dead bodies of your army to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the Lord's and He will give you into our hands."

Goliath rose and began to walk toward David, but David ran quickly TOWARD the battle line to meet the giant.  Obviously, the valley was still between them.  David took a stone from his bag, slung it, and struck Goliath on his forehead.  The stone sank into his head so that he fell on his face to the ground.  David didn't have his own sword, so he stood over Goliath, drew his sword out of its sheath, killed him and cut off his head with it.  (Hold up. Did he just cut Goliath's head off with his own sword? Yep!)

You see, David's faith in God is what gave him the courage and strength to conquer a giant.  We have many giants in our lives such as finances, illness or unruly people that we have to deal with daily.  Our faith in God will allow us to do what seems to be impossible.  Like a child trusts their own parents, we should apply our trust in God our Father in every situation, big or small just like David did.  God will always give you the tools you need.

Complain and Remain, Praise and Be Raised

I am currently reading a book called "Me and my Big Mouth!" by Joyce Meyer.  The title of chapter 6 is Complain and Remain, Praise and Be Raised.  It is a great book and if you want to work on controlling your mouth, I think you will find this book very helpful and encouraging. 

He who guards his mouth and his tongue, guards his soul from troubles.  Proverbs 21:23

Complaining causes you to remain in your circumstances longer.  You don't realize how much you complain until you are made aware of it and you try to change it.  Complaining comes naturally for humans.  For example, does it seem like we always complain about Monday?  Why do Monday's have to be bad days?  Isn't every day that God breaths life into us a good day?  I think it's time for us to change our negative thinking as the world does and line up our thoughts with God's word.  I recently began telling people happy Monday at work and  you would be surprised that most people just look at me kind of funny and laugh.  It's always nice to make someone laugh so it was cool with me.  If they ask me how I'm doing on Monday mornings I say, "I love Mondays".  The more I hear myself say that, I actually believe it, maybe in time they will too.  I always tell my girls, "If you speak it, so it shall be."  Do you realize how much power your words have?  We can actually speak things into existence.  For the past week, I have been trying to avoid complaining and saying negative things in general.  I found out that I say a lot of negative things w/o even thinking twice about it.  I'm very critical and now that I'm trying to control my mouth, I realize that I have 3 girls that need to do the same.  They are little replica's of me and we all tend to complain without realizing it.  As a matter of fact, my husband is guilty too.  We have a lot of damage control to do.  We will take this bull by the horns one day at a time.  In the book, Joyce says that complaining is like whistling for the devil.  When I think about it that way, my mission of watching my mouth will be much easier.  I'm not about to allow the devil to use my own words against me.  That whole right to remain silent thing is beginning to take on a whole new meaning in my mind.  When it comes to complaining, the only thing I want to remain is silent.

Praise on the other hand raises you above your circumstances.  We must learn to praise God in every situation, good or bad.  So even though you may be having a bad day, no matter how you feel inside, when you speak on it, just say God is good and thank Him for another day.  On the other hand, when everything is going your way, don't forget to praise in these times as well.  Thanking God is a great way to praise Him.  Singing his praises is another way.  I sing lyrics from my favorite "positive" songs all the time.  I have a play list that I created especially for work appropriately titled, "Mellow Out".  It has songs on it like,

"Lord Give Me a Sign" by DMX--As long as the Lord's in my life I will have no fear.  A spoken word is stronger than the strongest man
"Waging War" by CeCe Winans--For your glory, we're taking territory, fighting unseen enemies like never before, we're waging war. 
"Praise Him in Advance" by Marvin Sapp--Praise will confuse the enemy.


On the other hand, quoting scripture is always good too.
 
Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world.
The world didn't give it and the world can't take it away (paraphrased by me).
All things are possible through Him who gives me strength.
If He is for me, who can be against me?

Dancing is another form of praise.  My girls do praise dancing at church and it is so inspiring to see.  It penetrates my soul and even brings joyful tears to my eyes.  I get goosebumps and everything, it's a beautiful thing.  There is nothing like seeing children praise God in this way.  I will post a video of them dancing in the future.

In this world, we will never run out of things to complain about but on the same token we should praise Him anyhow.  Since I have been more aware of my mouth, there were a lot of things that I would normally complain about.  What I have found is that when I don't give in to the temptation to complain, things dissolve on their own and my sanity is still intact.  The choice is yours, you can complain and remain or praise and be raised.