The Gospel of Christ vs. Legalism: What Ground are you Standing On?

We are in an era of uncertainty, doubt and fear. Many are questioning their life and the way they have been living. I believe we all should constantly evaluate our lives and what we do with the precious gift of life. Everywhere you turn now someone is talking about being "Woke". Information and knowledge is so easy to obtain, because of this a lot that we were in the dark about has been revealed to us. But, what do we do with all this information? Are we as Christians (followers of Christ) allowing it to make us stronger or are we allowing it to deconstruct our faith in the True and Living God? Often I've found that it's the latter and that tells me " Houston, we have a problem". Many are waking up to the fact that they have been living out "Legalism" and not Grace by Faith in Jesus Christ. 

What is Legalism? 

According to Thomas R. Schreiner “Legalism exists when people attempt to secure righteousness in God’s sight by good works. Legalists believe that they can earn or merit God’s approval by performing the requirements of the law,” I will speak for myself, I knew that Jesus died for my sins from a little girl. I knew I could be forgiven for my sin because Jesus died, but I didn't have a true understanding of what Jesus actually did on the cross. I only understood when I begin to search God for myself and ask questions that others couldn't really answer. I realized I really didn't understand the God that I served. Many are waking up to this fact, which is not a bad thing. What is bad is that they're turning on the Most High God because of misunderstandings. They feel they are going crazy trying to keep a law that God isn't holding them to. I was raised going to a Church building every Sunday, Bible class on Wednesday and Choir rehearsal. I was taught a gang of things we are not supposed to do as a "Christian".  I wasn't told why really, I just knew not to do it because that's what I learned from people not God. This is what Legalism is and why many are leaving. You will run yourself crazy with the do's and dont's. This is also why many who think they are saved are not really saved. I say that because many came to the faith out of being condemned by people, many just believed what their parents said believe and some merely was afraid of going to hell so they said " I believe" without a repented heart.  It's time that we make our foundation sure by building a relationship with Christ and not rules.

The Gospel of Christ: Saved by Grace

See Legalism will not sustain you or me because there is nothing we can do to be justified. Justified means we are declared righteous because Christ took our guilt and shame. He took our penalty for sin. To give a small synopsis. God made Adam and Eve perfect without sin. They were made holy and righteous. He put them in the garden of Eden. This was a paradise for them with beautiful trees filled with fruit for them to eat. There was one tree that they were instructed not to eat from and that was the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Satan tempted Eve to eat from the tree by deceiving her. She then took the fruit to Adam and he ate it knowing it was forbidden. All mankind came through Adam, so because he sinned through him sinned entered every human since. We are born in sin. We are born with the desire to sin. God who is Holy, Righteous and king of kings has his rules that he never breaks. One rule is that Romans 6:23 the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life. Also the Bible says Hebrews 9:22 Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin. In the old testement we can see all the sacrifices they had to make for sin (uncleanliness). God sent a way of escape for us because he so loved the world his creation, that he sent his son Jesus because he could satisfy the requirement for sin. His blood was sufficient because he had NO sin. So he died and was buried and rose on the third day with power over death. We can't do that no matter how "good" we try to be. It's God's grace, his undeserved favor that we are saved. That's it. The requirements to be saved is to believe that God sent his son Jesus to die for you, Repent which means that you have a change of heart through a contrite (sorrowful) spirit and turn your eyes from the world to God. You make a decision to allow Jesus to be Lord of your life, to live for Christ. Then be baptised and filled with the Holy Spirit. 

Works vs. Grace

Jesus said those who love me follow my commands. Jesus is telling us that this walk is relational. We can't work our way into Heaven. Jesus is the way , the truth and the life. No man can enter except by him. We follow God's Kingdom culture because we love him. That's It! When we become saved we began the process of sanctification. This is not anything we do, this is done by the word of God and the blood of Jesus. Sanctification means you are set apart through the transformation of your mind. Our mind is transformed the closer we get to God, he begins to reveal himself to us and his original plan for our lives. We are washed, cleaned through the blood of Jesus and the reading of God's Word. We are faithful to our spouse because we know it the right thing to do, not because we don't want to go to hell. We don't curse because this is not pleasing to God. We don't murder because it's wrong. We don't steal because it's wrong. I could go on and on. We love God and want to please him because he loved us not because we are scared into it. God wants the best for us because he loves us unconditionally. I also love my children unconditionally, but I'm not pleased with everything they do. I also don't allow them to do whatever they want in my presence because I have a moral code that I stand by. Now, I am in noooo way comparing myself to the most high God. I'm trying to give you a picture of our father in Heaven. You should never feel condemned because Jesus didn't come to condemn us, he came to save us. Condemnation comes from satan not God. When we sin we can go to God and repent and ask for forgiveness. Our God is faithful and Just and will forgive us of all unrighteousness. He loves 👉you. 

If you are confused right now because it feels like you just can't get it right. Stop right now and talk to God, tell him everything you are feeling right now. If you've been taught not to question God, throw it out the window with legalism. We can go to God and talk to him about anything and he will answer us. Tell God that you want a relationship with him, you want to know him without the do's and don'ts. You just want to know his character, love, and his son Jesus Christ. Keep it real with God, he loves your transparency. Don't allow satan to deceive you into thinking you're not good enough because you sinned. We all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God. There are good people of God that are giving the answers to the questions you have. You are not suppose to believe anything just because someone told you to. You are suppose to know why you follow Christ. Below are scriptures to help you drop legalism and build on your faith in Jesus for eternal salvation. 

Colossians 2:14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

Galations 3:13-14 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us- for it is written, cursed is everyone who hanged on a tree 14He redeemed us in order that the blessing promised to Abraham would come to the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.…

John 3:16-17 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believe in him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17. For God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world ;but that the world through him might be saved. 

Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit. 

John 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom thou has sent.

Please leave a comment if this blog has helped you in any way. Share so that others that are struggling in their faith may be helped. If you have any questions please ask, if I don't know I will definitely point you to someone who does. Be Blessed my sister, my brother💖

True Repentance: What does it mean?

The Corona Virus has everyone leaning to different understandings. Some fill that China made the virus in a lab and it somehow reached the entire world. Others think that 5G towers are causing the virus. In short, there is a lot of information floating around, some good and some bad. One thing is for sure that this is spiritual and no matter how many theories are out there, we can't survive this alone. I felt something coming before it arrived. I knew it was something horrible, but I never imagined this. Then God told me in a dream to prepare for the virus cause it was coming. I never would of thought that this many people would be affected by this virus. People have died that I cared for deeply. My friends and coworkers have lost loved ones. The entire world has shut down. My pastor likes to say "we are on punishment". Schools are closed. The Car manufactures are down. The malls, hair salons, nail parlors, etc. There is no time like the present to make sure we are in right standings with God. Many pastors and believers alike are saying that God is calling for repentance. I believe this to be true for I've felt this spiritually myself. It is easy to look at the world and say " God is calling for Repentance!" but what about his CHURCH? Is his bride in right standings with him? The majority of us would answer with a resounding NO. I'm the the first to raise my hand ✋. God is looking for his bride to repent and get to work in the fields. Jesus said to his disciples "The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few"

                                                Are we Walking Correctly? 

According to the recent United Nations estimates as of March 2020 there are 7.8 billion people in the entire world. In addition, according to CSGC (Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary) there are 2.5 billion Christians in the world as of 2019. That is a little under 20% of the population. If this is true the world should in no way be in the condition it is today. It is so much evil in our world. There were 2,578,714 abortions from the years of 2013-2016. The jails are full of murders, pedifiles, rapist, theives, drug handlers, etc. In fact the jails are all over crowded. People are falling away from the faith in droves because their foundations are weak. There is more, but just this right here is enough to see the church has been very ineffective. If you are saying to yourself "how is she blaming the state of the world on the church?" I ask you to look within yourself and evaluate have you been walking upright taking the gospel to the masses. If the answer is yes, I'm ecstatic for you, if not you still have time. 

In order to be saved through Christ there is a blueprint: Repent, be Baptised and recieve the Holy Spirit. The repentance stage is where you come into the knowledge of Jesus Christ and what he did for you on the cross. You usually ask for forgiveness out of a sincere heart and repent. Repentance is a concept the church is lax on. In Biblical times if members were living in sin they would be approached by a seasoned believer. This was done in meekness and love in hopes that the person would not continue to be entangled in sin. Many look at this as Jugdemental but it's not. This is an act of love. In today's church everyone looks the other way. If your brother of sister is on their way to damnnation it should concern you. In Romans Paul teaches us how to walk in "Newness of Life", this is after repentance and baptism. Romans 6:2 says How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? When you and I were baptised we went down with with Christ, which mean died to our old nature. We also rose with Christ when we emerged from the water which means life through Christ. This means we were supposed to come up with a new mindset. The act of repentance means that you made the decision to turn away from things that were displeasing to God which are all symptoms of sin. Whether its lying, murder, homosexuality, gluttony, alcoholism, etc. these are all symptoms of sin. Once we rose with Christ we were free from the bondage of sin. We are no longer in darkness. We now know what sin (darkness) is and what is righteousness (light) is. So why do so many of us blend in well with the world? Why are so many of us looked at as hypocrites? Why are so many of us giving ourselves excuses to sin such as "I'm not perfect" "I'm a work in process" "God know my heart" and so on. When we say those statements we are actually saying " I know the righteous thing to do but I choose to entangle myself in sin again even after Jesus has freed me". How can we be effective when we don't follow what we say we believe? We become like the Pharisees and Sadducees when we do this.

It is time for us to Repent and walk worthy of our calling

It is time for us to be the church God called us to be. We should be calling prayer meetings online for now. Stay safe. We should be praying, fasting and reading our Word, seeking God's face. We should be talking to our family members and friends about the state of their soul. In meekness and love of course. Let your light shine, be the salt of the earth. I don't want to see Jesus only for him to say get away from me, I never knew you. I don't want to walk in the religious spirit anymore, but a true genuine sincere relationship with God. I want to walk in the Holy Spirit and not after the flesh because Jesus died so I didn't have to. It's time to go out to feed the homeless, go to the shelters, visit the nursing homes, go to the jails, etc. This is our calling. You have to seek God for what he has for you to do in the body just as I do. We must repent for blending in with the world and for not being the son/daughter that Jesus died for us to be. This is why the Bible is so important, through much use we are able to discern whats good and evil. How can you and I know what God requires without ever opening the book? You are right, you will never be perfect because you are clothe in flesh, but through Jesus we have the power to strive for perfection daily. I've made many changes in this walk through a repentant heart. Remember we don't change on our own we will fail everytime, but through the Holy Spirit all things are possible. We can do all things through Jesus which strengthens us. 

In Conclusion, we must first repent before we expect the world to. We must ask God for forgiveness where we are lax and renew our mindset through God. We are in the world but not of the world, we are here to be change agents (Kingdom Ambassadors).  We are in the end times and we must prepare for whats to come that we may compel others before it's too late. Pray, fast and read your Word. Inquire of God what he desires of you. Feel free to leave any questions or comments in the comment section.

The Kingdom of Darkness: We Must Protect our Children

I ask you for a moment to take a look at these children. Their beautiful smiles are radiant. Look at the purity and joy that illuminates from them. Now, imagine them being taken advantage of to do unconceivable things. Imagine those smiles are now frowns filled with darkness and void. Their hearts have been turned to stone. These precious children have been made agents for the kingdom of darkness. {disclaimer]I prayed as I typed this that none of those things had happened to these childern. In the Bible, Jesus shows a deep sincere love for children. He had a protective nature when it came to the little ones. Matthew 18:6-7 says: 6 “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea. We see in this scripture that if anyone causes a child to sin they will truly pay for defiling the pure nature of the innocent. In another scripture we see that Jesus understands the power in being like a child. We sometimes overlook children but there is much we can learn from them. In Matthew 18:2-5 Jesus shows us this: 2 Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, 3 and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me. 

The Nature of Children

Jesus said that Children are humble. I looked up the word humble, the synonyms for humble are: meek, respectful, submissive, unassertive, resistless and unpresuming. This tells me that children will submit to their leaders. Children will not assert their will over yours. They don't resist what you are teaching them. I'm also a fifth grade teacher so I see these traits with children everyday. They believe what you tell them for the most part. They may ask why to get more clarity, but will submit. This is how we must be to enter the kingdom of Heaven. We should not try to assert our Will over God's Will for our life. We are to submit to God by repenting and turning from anything that is unlike him. We do not resist God but surrender our Will to him. 

The Kindom of Darkness Desires to Recruit Our Children

Satan and his agents are working nonstop. He too knows the humble nature of children and how easy it is to trap and turn them. He has demons in every part of this world promoting wickedness through lies and deciet. I recently watched two videos of young ladies who were in Satanism and are now followers of Jesus Christ! Hallelujah! I thank God for their deliverance. I also thank God for their testimonies. The Bible says that we will overcome the devil by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimonies. Through these young ladies sharing what they experienced in the kingdom of darkness I now have a better understanding of satans plan. I found out that his goal is to recruit young people. Both of these ladies were recruited in their teen years. They explained how they target young people. In one case there was a man that would stand outside the school to talk to young girls and recruit them. Clothes, music, false prophets, movies, social media, etc. are use to snare our children to forfeit their soul. These ladies were made to kill people, do human sacrifices, sexual immorality and more. Many of our missing children are taken for this purpose according to these ladies. They are stripped of all innocense and made to be killing and sex machines void of feelings. This breaks my heart as I type these words knowing we have some fault in this. Nevertheless, my hope comes from knowing that there is a way of escape for matter. God does not leave us ignorant. He makes a show of the enemy by bringing his tactics to the forefront. Now it is our time to act. 

Defense Strategy

The Bible says: Train up a child in the way that they should go and when they are old they will not depart from it. Many Christians are failing at this for a few reasons. First, we are taking our children to Church and leaving it up to them to train our children. The church is the village that helps, but they are not to do the parent's job. As parents we have to practice what we preach. In Deuteronomy God instructed parents to put Him first in all they did and teach their children to do the same. We are to follow God's word in action and not just words and teach our children to do the same. Many of us are merely church goers with no action behind it which in turn teaches our children nothing about the foundation of our faith. Therefore our first defense strategy is to lead by example. God should be taught at home along with prayer.  Our children should know who Jesus is because at his name everything will bow. Secondly, we are allowing our children to hear and see wicked things created to snare them. Our eyes and ears are open doors to our soul. When we as parents listen to sexual immoral music, Watch sexual immoral videos and movies, curse and use God's name in vain and any other act that involves sin, we open our children up for possession. Therefore our second line of defense is to first make a conscious decision to eliminate those things from your life. Remember we must lead by example. Children do what we do not what we say. We must show our children how to live a Godly life and why it's important. You and your child may learn the reasons together and there is nothing wrong with that. In fact that is beautiful to learn the fullness of God along with your child. Third, pray without ceasing, which means pray all throughout the day. We must cover our children in prayer. This will keep them protected by angels sent by God.  We must take this walk more seriously if we want to save our children. There are children being left open with no defenses because we are not praying and teaching them the right way. This causes them to fall for the kingdom of darkness lies. We must teach our children the name of JESUS! We must teach them how to pray. The Bible is what teaches us how to discern the difference between evil and righteousness. How will they know without you reading with them?

Our job is to protect our children. Pray for any children that are around you. Pray for the abducted children to be returned safely. Pray for believing parents to begin to walk righteously in front of their children, that their children may follow and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Teach them the importance of Jesus and what his sacrifice did for them. Let's take our children back from the hands of the enemy. Stop freely giving them over by allowing them to see and hear anything because of your fleshly desires. Make a decision to be hot or cold. I pray you be hot for Jesus and teach your children to be the same. My prayer is that through your walk with God, your children will begin to teach other children that they encounter. My prayer is that you will begin to form prayer groups with other parents. My prayer is that you will teach the blue print of the Bible which is to Repent, be Baptised and Filled with the Holy Spirit. Be Blessed☝ Feel Free to leave any questions in the comments.

Prayer: Is it possible we've been doing it wrong

People pray all over the world. Many people pray in a religious manner such as Muslims pray religiously 5 times a day at set times. Hindus make shrines and pray 3 times a day. Some people pray out of fear of death, illness or need. Humans have an innate yearning to connect with the source of creation. In God's Word he tells us to pray on all occasions ( Ephesians 6:18). The word "prayer" is mentioned a 132 times, "pray" 121 times, "prayed" 68 times, etc. In short the subject of prayer is mentioned in total of 375 times in the Bible. This tells me that prayer is very important in the life of a Believer in Jesus, but why is it taken so lightly? Prayer is one of the foundations of Christianity. This is the first thing you're taught starting with the prayer of Salvation, so why do we drop the ball? When you look at church buildings the service with the less people is the prayer service. It's usually the elders of the church and a few new Christians that fade off after a while. This should not be. We've mistaken prayer for an option instead of it being a necessity. Prayer isn't an option for a Believer, when we neglect to commune with God we walk in our will instead of his. We also allow the enemy to do whatever he wants because we are not calling God to act on the behalf of the world.

My answer to this question was usually "talking to God". While this is a true answer, prayer goes deeper than that. Soon you will see why it's not an option, it's a necessity. Prayer is the power to influence earth from heaven. Jesus told us that in Matthew when he said whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. We often see evil things happening in the world and we feel helpless but really we have power through prayer in Christ Jesus to make a change. Let me explain. In the beginning God gave dominion to mankind. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. (Gen 1:28) God made the earth for mankind and gave them authority over it. When Adam and Eve sinned they gave that authority to satan. This is why he is called "the prince of the air". Before this happened Adam and Eve talked with God daily, we know this because scripture says that after God made them "he said to them". Prayer was from the beginning. God spoke to them with no interference. They wasn't thinking "is he talking to us" or " how do we know when God is talking" God explained to them what everything was made for and what to do with it. He gave them instructions and had regular conversations with them daily. The Bible says they heard the voice of God in the garden in the cool of the day. This was nothing new to them, but the relationship was broken from sin. Sin brought the disconnect between man and God. We were created for God's pleasure, will and purpose. We were made to be one with God, just as we are one with our spouse (meaning one accord, not sexually). If we go back to the scripture stated above, God was telling them his will and purpose for their life. He was basically saying this is why you were created. God is all powerful see's all, knows all and everything was created by him, through him and in him. Nevertheless, God is a God of integrity. His word is greater than his name to him. Psalms 138:2b for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name. God's word means everything to him, so when he gave us authority he only interferes when we call on him through prayer. He doesn't take authority, satan does that. Matter of fact he just tricks you out of your authority. satan tricks people into handing over the keys daily through deception and half truths. Anything on earth without a body is here illegally unless they have been called by a human. This is why demons (who are spirit) seek bodies that they can possess because their time is limited without one. That topic will be for another day :) 

Jesus won our dominion back for us

Once Jesus came as 100% man and 100% divine he was the final sacrifice for our sin. God was here legally because he sent himself in a body to do what we couldn't do. He became our atonement. This doesn't mean that all mankind has their authority back though. We only gain our authority back when we accept Jesus as our savior. Once we do that we now have the power of God literally inside of us. satan has no control over you anymore and neither do sin unless you allow it. Now that you've been cleaned in the blood of the lamb the communication signal is back open.  Jesus is the link from man to God. 

So if I'm saved and I pray sparingly, what's the problem. 1. We pray out of our own selfish desires. James 3:4 says God will not give you the desires of your lust. 2. We don't realize we were created for God's purpose, not our own. Thus, our prayers should line up with his purpose, will and pleasure. 3. We are unaware of God's purpose because we haven't fully surrendered to him, nor searched his word to find it. 4. God is not concerned with being our personal Jenie, he wants a intimate relationship as a father with his child. 5. We continue to walk in sin and hinder our prayers which make them null and void. 

James 5:16b (NIV)

James 5:16b(kjv) The effectual fervant prayers of a righteous man availeth much. Our job as a Christian is to pray for the saints, our world, family, ourselves, and that God's will, purpose, pleasures and promises come to pass. Our prayers are successful in producing a desired result when we are passionate about God's purpose and living a Godly, sinless and noble life. Souls are being lost because of non prayerful Christians. This world is becoming darker and darker by the day because we haven't said "tag God, you're it". We only have ourselves to blame. We spend far too much time thinking about a new car, new house, clothes, trips, etc. This is where we go wrong because we don't even have to pray for those things. Jesus said seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. (Matt 6:33). Wealth and riches are in his house and his righteousness endures forever. (Psalms 112:3) But the blameless will inherit what is good (Pro. 28:10b). 

This is just a few of many scriptures that shows that God loves you and know what you are in need of. He also knows the desires of your heart. Our job is to first seek the kingdom of God through prayer and living morally in God's standard not man's. We are live righteous, not good. There is a big difference. God has done his part, we must do ours. Prayer is a necessity for us. We can't live without it. To be without prayer is to be blind to me. How can I know my destination without talking to the person I'm meeting? We were created to commune with God. We were created for his pleasure “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are, and were created.” Rev.4:11. 

In Conclusion,

Prayer has to be taken seriously for the life of the believer. Prayer is the power to influence earth from heaven. We were created to fulfill God's purpose & will for our life here on earth. Our will should always line up with God's will. We will only know what "created for his pleasure" mean when we seek him first by reading his word and praying. God gave us authority of earth because he entrusted us to be righteous because we were created in his likeness and image. This means when we are reborn we take on his characteristics, his integrity, his righteousness, his love, his will and his purpose. Our prayer life should reflect this. Let's begin to take our prayer life to a new dimension in him. My goal is to become one with God, to be on one accord with him. The Bible says Let this mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus Phil.2:5 Jesus being 100% man & 100% God was humble, he always put the will of the father before his own. When you read the gospels you see Jesus always praying that the will of the father be done. I purpose to be more like Jesus, so I can be effective while on this earth to help in the saving of souls and the building of the kingdom of God. 

There will be a part 2: How to enter into God's Presence

Why Do I Still Live Bound If I'm Free From Sin?

First let's begin by explaining what Sin is. Sin is any lack of conformity to the moral law of God, either active or passive, whether in act, thought or disposition. Hamartiology is the study of sin. This tells me if a study is devoted to sin it must have some importance. According to the Christian Bible reference site the word "Sin" is mentioned over 400 times in the Bible. This tells me that God thought it was important to speak on it so often. Therefore if there is a study devoted to it and God says its important then I need to understand it to know what it means to be free from it.

Sin the old ball and chain

God created this world sinless. The world was a place of utopia (heaven on earth). Humans were able to talk to animals without fear. Animals ate vegetation, they didn't desire flesh and blood. Can you imagine petting a lion without fear of being eaten. Can you imagine cattle not worrying about being eaten by us. We too had no desire for flesh. All of our food grew on trees. We had no need for clothes because we were clothe in the righteousness of God. This had to be amazing to never feel guilt, shame, fear, low self-esteem, lust, rage, etc. The only feeling were those of peace, joy, serenity, kindness, love, truth, godliness, worship, etc. Just stop and think for a second how different the world would be. There were no religions. It was just God and his creation. We knew who our creator was because we had an intimate relationship with him. There was no interference or competition. Then entered Satan our enemy and God's enemy who was once one of his most treasured Cherubs. 

Bound By Sin

We can't talk about sin without talking about the cause of it. Satan wanted to be like God so he rebelled and took a third of the angels with him. These angels are now called fallen angels. Satan hates us because he has no chance to repent, he will never inherit the kingdom of heaven. His inheritance is to be locked in hell with his fallen angels. Therefore he wants to make sure we never inherit it either. When Adam made the decision to eat the fruit sin entered the world. Having knowledge of what sin was meant you had to choose sin or godliness. We are now all born into sin because of Adam's choice. For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God Romans 3:23. God looked down through generations and saw that the law he created with Moses couldn't be kept. There could never be enough animals sacrificed to totally cover our sin. So God sent the ultimate sacrifice, his son Jesus Christ the Messiah. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.John 3:16 This broke the chains of sin on our lives. Instead of being mastered by sin, when we believe and accept Jesus as our Savior we are mastered by righteousness. 

Walking in the Newness of Life

Paul asks a question in Romans 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue to sin, that grace may abound? In layman's terms Paul is asking " So do you think it's o.k to sin since we are now covered under Gods grace?" "Should we sin so his grace can increase more and more?" So before we answer that question let's talk about grace. Grace is the unmerited favor of God. Grace is God showing his mercy, patience, and kindness instead of our just punishment for sin which is death. Grace isn't earned, it's a part of God's character. Remember "For God so loved the world", his heart toward us is to give us a choice to choose him and be free. Now back to Paul's question. In Romans 6:2 he answers his rhetorical question. His answer: God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Again in layman's terms, Paul is saying " God refuses to allow us to walk in sin after his ultimate sacrifice for you to free. Why would you want to live in sin after being freed from it?"

The problem is that Sunday after Sunday we here we can never live up to God's standards. This doesn't mean we should live carelessly. We hear REPENT but we don't hear change and turn. Therefore we cry at the alter repenting but never changing. We get baptized but never open the book on how to live. We barely pray and often don't understand what prayer is. How can we live free from sin when we never open the manual (Bible)? Our mindset should be to love God with all our heart, soul and mind, not for what he can do but for what he already did. When we have a love for God like this our desire changes from a sinful nature to wanting to please God. We have a zeal to read more about him and his standard(will) for our lives. We begin to talk to him more and get to know his character. Then chains begin to fall off because we begin to say GOD I CHOOSE YOU! He already chose us with his sacrifice, now we must choose him to be able to walk in total freedom. We must take the power back from our enemy. Romans 6 (read full chapter) tells us that we must die with Christ and be raised with him by the glory of God . This means that our old sinful nature must die in order that we walk free from sin. Walking free from sin means we no longer serve sin but the father who loves us. We have the victory through Christ's death. We should live everyday manifesting our resurrected life free from sin's control. 

 Now that you know what sin is, where it comes from and what God did to free you from it, Here are some steps you can take to walk in the newness of God and become a servant of righteousness.

• Read your Bible daily. It doesn't have to be a whole chapter. Start where you are and increase as the spirit leads you.
• Pray daily, morning, midday and before you sleep. Very important to pray before you sleep. Prayer is just talking to God, nothing fancy.
• Try to connect yourself with other believers. You will be able to strengthen and encourage one another. In addition, they are seeking the same thing you are which is to live a righteous life. Ungodly people will never steer you towards God and his desire for your life.
• Always ask God to give you wisdom, knowledge and understanding so you never put your own interpertation  to his Word.
• Ask God to fill you with his Holy Spirit which will lead and guide you in God's truth. 

As you begin to implement these steps in your life God will begin to reveal himself to you. He will begin to show you the areas that need cleaning. This is what he did for me once I asked him instead of trying to do it on my own. I found that I can only do what God wants through his power. Through him we can do all things. Nothing is impossible with God. The Joy of the Lord will be your strength. If you have any questions feel free to leave them in the comment section. I look forward to hearing your testimony. 

Vision Board: Why I Threw Mine Away

My Vision Boards Through the Years

I began making Vision Boards in 2014. Before then I really didn't have any dreams and aspirations, I had low self esteem and self doubt. Let me go back and bring you up to now :) In 2009 God rocked my world by telling me to go to college to be a Teacher. I was at church and the members were giving testimonies. It seemed that every testimony was about education in some manner. Suddenly, I heard a voice say go to school for teaching. I hadn't been thinking about this in any way, shape of form. In fact, I had one more semester before graduating from Community College in Business Information Technology. I questioned God a couple times because I thought he was tripping lol or making a mistake (he never makes mistakes). Then I begin to think what will my husband say and my children are going to think I'm crazy, but God had the final say. I listened, changed my major and graduated from Community College with a Liberal Arts Associates Degree.

In 2010 I enrolled in Marygrove College undergraduate education program. I didn't really know what to expect but I knew God told me to do it. While in the program I was learning so much about myself. I was seeking God more than ever before,  building my relationship with him and continuing to learn who I was in him. In 2013 I graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Language Arts and decided to return for my Masters in Education w/certification. I had never really had goals before this, I was just living and hoping to get it right. During this time it became popular to do Vision Boards and I became a big advocate on setting goals and accomplishing them. In the lower left corner is my first vision board for 2014. As you can see I love colors, I put a lot of thought in the final product as I stood in the Dollar Store arts and crafts section. I thought of everything I wanted to accomplish that year and wallah my first vision board was born. This became an annual thing for me as you can see in the top photo.

     This year I learned about The Law of Attraction and this changed my whole outlook on Vision Boards. The Law of Attraction comes from the New Age Movement. "The New Age comprises countless theologies that often center on religious tolerance.. but it is opposed to the narrow mindedness of Christianity that teaches Jesus Christ is the only way to eternal salvation". (allaboutspirituality.org)  In this definition we can see that God has nothing to do with this. The Law of Attraction is basically what you focus on consciously and subconsciously will directly effect what you get in life from the universe. What you give your attention to results in what your reality is going to be, you create your happiness. You are in control of your life, you are a god, therefore you have the power to create the outcome of your life. If you focus on negative the universe will give you negative, if you focus on positive the universe will give you positive. Sidenote: The universe is a created thing. The universe along with everything else was created by the Most High God. The universe is not the source of all things. The Law of Attraction has been around a long time. It became popular with the book: The Secret. Jesus says: Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven and its righteousness, we should never be looking or seeking other sources. 

Where is Jesus in all this?

First of all just let me say my blessings come from God not the universe. Jesus has no part in this, therefore God has no part in it. I know this because God told me himself concerning me. I even made a Vision Board this year (bottom right hand corner). I'm a lifelong learner by nature. I research and question God often and most times he answers quickly. When I learned about the Law of Attraction and New Age I didn't even think about the Vision Board. Usually when I learn something new I ponder for a while to allow God to reveal to me his wisdom, knowledge and revelation. I don't ever want to move on my own. As I pondered the Holy Spirit said "Vision Boards" I thought hmmm vision boards. Really? I looked on Youtube and instantly saw a young lady who said God told her to take down the vision board. What really compelled me though was the countless videos on Vision Boards/ Law of Attraction and how to make your board come true. Check for yourself. Then I start seeing Christian Vision Boards. Once again we think because we put the word Christian in front of something (like Yoga) it's of God. God is a jealous God who doesn't like to share. He's in a category all by himself he doesn't need any help. I immediately wept and repented and the next day I got that thing out my house and didn't look back. John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh to the father, but by me. 

I don't want nothing to do with anything that doesn't allow Jesus to the party. Proverbs 29:18 Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. Where there is no instruction from God the people perish. The vision is God's word, it's not pictures of what you want to come to pass, the same for Habakkuk (write the vision and make it plain), God answered a question that Habakkuk had and told him to write his answer down on tablets and show the people so they would know what GOD said concerning them. How many Vision Boards do you think are direct words from God's mouth? Most boards are our wants and desires that we want to constantly look at in hopes that we get what we want. Don't get me wrong I was like most Christians where Vision Boards are concerned. I always had scriptures on mine. I always had a theme I felt like was God ordained. I made my boards in a way that there was no question who I served. Nevertheless, God still told me to get it out. Remember we always want our will to line up with God's will for our life. Sometimes what we want isn't what God wants no matter how much we ask for it. Our faith is credited to us as righteousness. Our faith is in Jesus Christ and his father, we don't will the universe to work on our behalf, we are not gods, we are the children of God. Yes we can speak things into existence but it should always be led by the Holy Spirit. If you have a Vision Board I'm not judging you. What I am saying is ask if he is pleased with you making them. Once we know better we do better. I still write down everything but not on boards 😂😂😂.

Activation of the demonic realm has nothing to do with your intentions, it has everything to do with your actions. Vision Boards are demonic and can open up a world that you don't want to find yourself mixed up in. 

Christian Yoga: Does it Really Exist?

 Christian Yoga sounds like an oxymoron to me. How can bitter and sweet flow from the same fountain? What does light have to do with darkness? The Bible tells us in Romans 12 not to conform to the ways of the world. Therefore it's not necessarily Godly just because everyone says it's O.K.. In fact it usually means the opposite for believers. God doesn't think like man, the book of Isaiah says that his thoughts are as high as the heavens are from the earth from our thoughts. We often see the world doing things and want to join in but we know that we can't do it exactly like them because God won't be pleased so we think of other ways to make it o.k.. Instead we put the name Christian on it and hand it to God and expect him to take it. Putting the name Christian on sin doesn't make it right, it just makes us look like hypocrites in the world eyes. This makes God disgusted. It's amazing to me that the world knows more about how we should be living than we do. Think of the story of Cain and Abel. They both gave sacrifices unto God but Cain sacrifice wasn't good. God told him that he knew the right thing to do and chose to do otherwise. He wanted to give God what he wanted instead of what God required. This is what Christian Yoga is, Trunk or Treat on Hallelujah Night instead of calling it Halloween, Easter and Christmas. The list goes on and on and God is not pleased with us conforming to the world. We continue to give God what we want instead of what he requires. Practicing Yoga opens the door for demonic possession because you're not on guard when you open your soul up to the spirit realm through the higher consciousness that Yoga promotes. Yoga is also Hinduism. Yoga isn't separate from Hinduism, it is Hinduism. Why would a Christian participate in a Hindu practice?

Yoga's History

Yoga begin as an ancient practice in India thousands of years ago. Yoga hasn't always been popular in the west. Yoga was for the Royals and scholarly class of India in the Middle Ages. It was taught to students and gurus with the passing of many tests. In recent history around 1950's religious leaders in India decided to open the door so that the common man and anyone who wanted could practice Yoga. Yoga is the union of body. mind, and spirit. There are 8 limbs of Yoga: Yama (attitudes towards the environment), Niyama (attitudes toward ourselves), Asana (physical postures) Pranayama (restraint of expansion of the breath), Pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses) and Dharana (concentration). When Yoga is performed it encompasses these 8 limbs.

The Source of Yoga

According to Hindu Philosophy lord Shiva is the source of Yoga. Shiva is one of the gods in the Hindu triumvirate. The word Yoga means to "Yoke" or "bind" and is often translated as to "unite". With Yoga, you are taught to do poses or postures in the form of stretching while controlling your breathing to center your mind. These poses are usually named after gods, goddesses and animals. Yoga is connected to the Kundalini Spirit that can be awakened by a Guru. This spirit is nothing to play with. People have gone to the hospital because of vomiting, mental anguish, stomach pains, etc. The spirit world is real and Christians shouldn't be no where near this. The Kundalini Spirit is believed by the Hindu to be wrapped around your spine. Through meditation and breathing techniques you can awaken it and cause it to move until it reaches your pineal gland (third eye). Once you transcend you are able to leave your body, read minds, talk with spirit guides, etc. You may say this is just stretching. I haven't experienced this. This doesn't happen all at once. It takes a lot of meditation. Once you are centered you're able to commune with ungodly spirits that masquerade as angels of light. This is deception 101.

Mystic Meditation

Yoga comes from the school of mysticism. Yoga has a physical side and a spiritual side. Remember the 8 limbs and what they represent. With Yoga you are to bring your breathing under control as you position yourself in a pose. They teach you to bring your mind, body and spirit into unity. As you control your breathing and clear your mind to the point where your guards are down then you can reach the fullness of Yoga and awaken the Kundalini. Many people think they are just stretching, I thought the same thing until I did some studying of my own. I've even went to a couple Yoga classes ignorant of what I was doing. This is a prime example of the scripture "My people parish for a lack of  knowledge". The information is there but many are not looking for it. I question everything, even when I'm afraid of the answer. the Bible says "with all thy getting, get an understanding". We are to question everything. We are to always ask God for guidance because we will mess up every time. We can't lean to our understanding but we must allow God to direct our path. Christian Yoga doesn't exist. If you want to stretch thats fine but don't call it Yoga. If you want to read scriptures or recite scriptures while you stretch thats fine but don't recite repeated mantras and namastes. Stretching is good and also needed for the body, Yoga is not.

Turn and ask for Forgiveness

Whenever I find out that I've done something that goes against what God says I ask for forgiveness. I do this because I never want to grieve God's heart. This is what we do every time we want to follow the status quo of the world. Many say it's not a big deal. Well I beg to differ, my soul is a HUGE deal to me. I'm living with eternity in mind. I don't want to be connected to the enemy in any type of way. I also don't want to help him in his agenda to steal, kill and destroy mankind. Most things are not what they seem, there's always a bigger picture. For this reason we must seek God's revelation knowledge daily for guidance. We must ask for forgiveness daily to be in right alignment with the father. This was just a brief introduction as to why Christians (believers) shouldn't have any part in Yoga or anything else that's not rooted in God. There are many testimonies of people messing with Yoga and found themselves in need of deliverance. This is not to be taken lightly. If you want to reach a higher conscious seek the Holy Spirit. Jesus made sure we had a link to God on the cross. He is the source. God says seek and you shall find, knock and the door will be opened. You don't have or need to take other avenues that lead to destruction.