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.

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. 

Brain Atrophy: Our Children are not Being Taught to use Their Brain

In today's society there are few true relationships. In the home children are sat in front of the television while parents do chores. We give charge to the television to teach our children their foundations in learning. They are expected to pay attention to the television and learn their colors, letters, numbers and moral codes from programs like Sesame Street and PBS kids. All the while there is no social interaction between the parent and child except "Good Job" when you here them mumble out a letter. Then we have cellphones and tablets. From the time they're able to use their fingers they have a cellphone put in their hand. They can see all kinds of advertisement sexual, vain conversation, etc. but we don't pay attention. The motto is as long as they are occupied, not bothering me or crying. Our children are screaming for attention because they barely get it. Children don't have to look up words in the dictionary because they speak to the phone. Therefore they don't know how to use a dictionary properly. They don't know to look for the root word because the suffix of "ing, ed" is usually not attached to the word. They don't know how to write complete sentences because they are always texting and making statues on social media in short hand. Their role models are ex-strippers with barely any clothing on who are now rappers in music videos for girls. The boys have rappers talking about sex, demons, drugs and death. In addition to that you have video games that they sit in front of for hours shooting and killing to get to a certain level. Where is the critical thinking process being used? ITS NOT!

In All They Getting, Get an Understanding

Children have to be taught to think critically. Take a look at the above picture. Critical thinking Intel five concepts and they all work together. How can they discover and explore sitting in the corner with a cell phone all day? How they inform and describe when they are not spoken to on an intellectual level? I see it all the time, a family out to eat and every one has their cellphone and no one is talking to each other. Therefore our children vocabulary is very low which makes it hard for them to describe and inform. Everything is so quick that when anything presents a challenge they give up. The challenge is the critical thinking process. God tells us in the Bible how important it is to get an understanding. We must know to ask the: Where, When, How, Why and Who. It is our job as parents to teach our children and not leave it up to Social Media, Television and Schools. Yes I said school and I am a teacher. Teachers are there as an aid to help instill in your child, just like a pastor is there to help you learn what you should already be studying which is the Bible. Learning starts at home. It's our job as parents to teach our children how to read, count, morals, values, the Word, etc. Teachers build on the foundation that parents lay. When a teacher has nothing to start with it makes their job very hard because now they are doing your job and theirs. High priced gym shoes are nice, the most expensive IPhone is cool but God says an understanding should be chosen over Silver and Wisdom is better than Gold. This means if our children don't know how to use their brain to make important decisions in life they are doomed and those gym shoes won't help.

How Can You Help Your Child to Use Their Brain?

In this picture it shows the difference between the right and left brain. As parents we want to nurture both. In order to do this we must pay attention to our children more and talk with them. We must see what they like, what are their strengths. This is the right brain. You will be surprised how many parents don't know their children strengths and weaknesses. Have your child read for 20 minutes each night and ask them to give you a summary of what they read. That is the left brain. Instead of investing in material things invest in their mind. If you child likes drawing find a drawing class for them or go buy an easel with paint and drawing pencils. If they like to sing find singing classes or a karaoke machine. If you have a boy that likes to fight put him in boxing, karate, etc. where he can learn the art of fighting. Yes there is an art to fighting :) Look up science projects and try them out at home. Write what you think will happen and see what really happens. Sensor what your child listens to such as music, YouTube videos, television, etc. Explain to them why certain music isn't good for them. If you are a parent that listens to that music also (no judgment) you may have to stop and find better music. Your child is at stake. I had to do it when my children were coming up. We watched family movies and shows all the time together. I didn't know what adult T.V. was for a long time 😂😂

Please stay true to what you teach your children. When my children were growing up they called me out on it every time. They don't mean any harm and they are not trying to be disrespectful. They are learning from you so they are going to ask why they have to do something and you don't. What I learned from those questions was that they were right. If I wanted them to go to college I needed to go so I did. If I wanted them to love God with all their heart I had live by example so I pressed to do that. If I wanted them to have clean speaking I had to do the same so I completely stopped cursing. I never missed anything I gave up for them because they were my heart. My God given gifts that I had to cherish. I dropped the ball sometimes but I always tried my best to keep it right. I'm a follower of Jesus so I have mentioned God a lot but even if you're not a Christian it is important that you nourish the growth of your child and make sure their brain don't go to waste. Be blessed💕

Bad Company Corrupts Good Character: You are who you hang around

As a little girl I always wanted to be liked. I always wanted to be with my friends. I followed the crowd and adapted well. My original personality is meek, mild mannered, quiet, kind hearted and compassionate. This person didn't always show up. She was hidden at times. My character was compromised a lot growing up even to my adult years. Most people that connected themselves to me were strong willed controlling people and I followed very well. I was always a follower growing up. My mother was a drug addict and my siblings were in foster care. I felt alone. My grandmother raised me with very good morals but I always wanted to belong somewhere. I always was who people wanted me to be instead of who I really was. Finally I found myself about 30 yrs old with no idea of who I really was and why was I even here. I had spent a life of trying to please everyone but myself. I felt void, empty and lost until one day my friend invited me to church after I poured out my feelings to her. This is when God pulled me away from everything and began to illuminate my true self. He showed me that he created me to be a leader and not a follower. He showed me that he created me to be strong and not weak. He showed me that he didn't create me to live in lack and uncertainty. 
From years of being connected to the wrong people my character was shattered, not just to the world but to myself. I had no idea who I truly was. When God pulled me from the world's influence and put me in the midst of his people, my character was on the road to reconstruction. I stopped drinking. I was never a big drinker because I can't tolerate much but I did drink at times. I also dabbed in weed some and I stopped that. I couldn't really tolerate that either. I was a what you call a light weight😂. I stopped going to clubs and parties. I was in church at least 4 days a week. I was at prayer on Mondays, Bible Study on Wednesday, Choir rehearsal on Thursday, Kids rehearsal Saturday and church on Sunday and I loved it. The company I kept was totally different. They wasn't perfect but we were all trying to live a life pleasing to God. We were having clean fun now with no consequences. I begin to learn how God wanted me to live as oppose to how I actually was living. 

Sowing and Reaping

Galatians 6:7
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

I'd spent a lifetime of reaping from bad decisions I made. I was in debt because of poor money management. I can't tell you how many times my phone was cut off. I always owed more on my rent. I was basically robbing Peter to pay Paul. God dealt with my husband and I in this area. We paid off our credit cards. We paid off every bill we owed. We stopped spending mindlessly. All our bills were now current. This wasn't easy. I went about a year of not getting my hair professionally done. I had to do my own hair which I really don't like to do:) There was no manicures and pedicures. We didn't eat out often. We bought groceries and cooked our meals. We also had to work on being to our jobs on time, no calling off unless for emergencies. We became responsible adults.

Forsaking Relationships

Proverbs 9:6
Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.

The funny thing is when God begins to bring you into the light your relationships begin to fade. Usually people feel that you're different, you think you're better than them or you're acting funny or weird. This causes people to pull away from you because you are no longer living like them. They can usually see your change before you see it. Notice the scripture above says Forsake the foolish and live, You can't really start living until you let go of foolish things because they keep you in bondage. It's like chains are on you and you can't break free when you are in the counsel of the ungodly. God had to pull me from among them to show me my purpose, to give me a life and that more abundantly. I don't know where I would be today if I'd not excepted that invitation to church. Now I surround myself with people who are going or have gone where I'm going. I don't compromise my character nor do I put myself in situations that would cause for it. My life is peaceful. I'm not skirting the mountain year after year with the same problems like I once was. 

This Doesn't Mean you Can't Have Friends

The Bible says Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character." emphasis on Bad Company, God wants us to have righteous people in our circle. God wants people around that will edify you and not pull you down with them. If you are going through a tough time check your surroundings. If you continue to have lack and stay stagnant check your surroundings. It's not wise to get counsel from people that haven't been where you're trying to go. Why would I ask a nurse how to become a teacher? Why would I ask a drug addict how to kick the habit? Why would I ask an irresponsible person how to be responsible? I shouldn't because they will only pull me down because they are still living in error. Therefore I would have to change my group of people I surround myself with. Proverbs 13:20

He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed. Wise people help to enhance your character, The foolish helps to corrupt your character.

You are blessed when you allow God to pull you from among people that are not good for you. The best way to do this is to build your relationship with God by reading your word and talking to him. Instead of drinking when you are stressed call him, instead of calling that person who means you no good, call God. Tell him your feelings, he won't make fun of you. He doesn't think you're stupid for dealing with that guy who really doesn't love you. God knows the hurt and pain you have and wants to relieve it. He wants you to be successful, peaceful, joyful, and filled with love from him. Forsake the bad relationships in your life today and begin to see what life God intended for you. Be blessed. If you have any questions please leave them in the comment section. I would love to talk with you.