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.

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. 

Keep Your Mind on God: Peace in an Evil World

Sometimes this is what we have to say to our mind (Peace Be Still). With all that's going on it will have your mind in knots.  In the Bible God gives numerous scriptures on PEACE. Why does he do that? I believe because it is important for us to know that we can have peace even in the midst of chaos. This is obtainable but we first must know how to obtain it. In Psalms 34:14 it says to turn away from evil and do good, seek peace and pursue it, the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears is attentive to our cry. This scripture is also in 1Peter which tells me this scripture is important. When I read this I looked up the difference between seek and pursue.
 Seek- 1 attempt to find 2. attempt or desire to obtain 3. ask for
Pursue- 1. follow in order to catch 2. continue or proceed along a path or route
When I put them together the message I get is that I should have a desire to have peace. Therefore I will attempt to find it by asking God for it. Once I do that I should follow his ways in order to obtain and and keep it. The Bible also says that God will keep me in perfect peace because my mind is on him ☝ because I trust him ( Isaiah 26:3-4). When I read this then I had the answer to how to find peace and pursue it. It is simply keeping my mind on God and trusting him with my life.
Evil will always be in the world because satan is the god of this world. He keeps people fighting against each other. He keeps the mind dumbed down with technology and television. He puffs up the minds of people with deceitful rhetoric. He is the father of lies and he works through media, government, schools, churches( yes churches), etc. Wherever he is given an opening he steps in and pounces. Now don't misunderstand me, I'm not saying church is evil. I'm saying many churches have fallen because of satan having an opening and pouncing through sin which is ultimately causing death to many churches. Many are falling away from the faith because of his deceitfulness. This is why it is extremely important to keep our mind on God. We must know that in the end EVERY KNEE WILL BOW AND EVERY TONGUE WILL CONFESS THAT JESUS IS LORD! We must stay in Gods word because it is what keeps us grounded and sane in this mess of a world that we live in. THE FATHER OF WICKEDNESS WILL HAVE HIS DAY. There is no need to worry about that. I know it is easier said than done sometimes but this is only when we take our mind off GOD and put it on what we see around us.
I often find myself heavy when I take my mind of God. I see things happening around me and I become sad just like many of you. Nevertheless, that is not Gods will for you nor me. God wants us to rejoice in all things knowing that he is in control even when it seems otherwise. Our job is to always pray about everything that we see out of place. He is the one with all power, he is the one who created the heavens and the earth, he has infinite wisdom and power that surpasses our intellect. Therefore he qualifies to take upon our cares on his shoulders. We must never forget that we are not alone in this. God loved us so much he sent his son to die for our sins while we were yet still in them. I can't say that I would have done the same. God is AWESOME and he still sits on the throne with JESUS at his right side. We must rejoice, pray, and give thanks while keeping our mind on the one who can give us peace. God reminded me of this today and I wanted to share with anyone who may be saddened by what they see daily.

SEEK, PURSUE AND HOLD ON TO GOD WITH A TIGHT GRIP. Remember Heaven and Earth will pass away but his word will always stand. His word is firmly fixed in the Heavens. Walk in Gods peace. Be blessed my sisters and brothers in the Lord.

The Lukewarm Church: Will Jesus Know You At His Return

My biggest fear as a follower of Christ is displeasing God. I know what it is to be a lukewarm "Christian". I straddled the fence for awhile myself. I believed I was doing fine until God showed me I was far from him. This wasn't because he left me, it was because sin separated me from him. He has to turn away when we are filled with sin. God even turned from Jesus when he took on the sins of this world. Sin cannot exist in God's presence. 

God woke me up in the middle of the night to pray. I didn't really know what to pray for until I opened my Bible. I asked God to lead me in his knowledge, wisdom and understanding before I begin to read. When I looked down at the Bible  I was in the book of Jeremiah. I begin to read and saw God's love and anger at the same time. He sent Jeremiah numerous times to prophesy to his people. He sent his judgement of what would happen because of disobedience, iniquity, and the worship of idols. The message sent was very serious. There were some bad things going to happen to them because of disobedience. God sounded the alarm so many times before he punished them. It's the same way today. He loves us so much that he will wake me out my sleep to pray for his people to get it right. There's nothing special about me, I'm sure I'm one of many. My point is so many feel it's not that serious. They feel as long as they go to church they are fine. Some feel there are many paths and if they are on one of them they're fine. Some people feel like if they identify as Christian they are saved. These are all wrong. The truth is that we are instructed by God that we must love him with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. This means to love God with your entire being. Living in sin while saying with your mouth you love God is being lukewarm.
Doing the bare minimum just doesn't cut it for God. He wants our all. The Bible says this is our reasonable service. Think about it. How would you feel if your child dishonored you after you've done everything for him/her? I would feel hurt. angry, sad, rejected and unloved. Now, how do you think God feel being that he sent his son to die so that we could live free of the thing we still hold on to, SIN? In Revelations Jesus says I wish you was either or, hot or cold, choose a side. Think of being in a relationship where someone tells you they love you but you never see them, you never hear from them, you can't depend on them for anything and there's no intimacy. They come around every now and then when they need something and once all is good they're gone again. I would rather they just leave me alone if I always have to question their love for me. We string God along just like that scenario I just presented. He's saying I AM ABOUT TO SPIT YOU OUT OF MY MOUTH! YOU MAKE ME SICK! I never want to make God feel like that. It saddens my heart to even know that I once did. At Jesus return I want him to know me. I want him to say well done my good and faithful servant.

Disconnect the Yoke

In order to begin to be hot you must separate from the cold. Lukewarm is a mixture of hot and cold, it's being halfway in the world and halfway with God. To be with God we must separate from the world. You may say, how can we live in the world but separate from it? Romans 12:2  says don't be conformed (comply with the standards)  by this world but be ye TRANSFORMED by the renewing of your mind. This is what God did for me and he continues to do it daily. I've changed in so many ways with no power of my own but by God changing the way I think. People that I used to connect myself with I don't anymore. I don't hate them, I don't think I'm better than them. If I see them I'm happy to see them but similarities are not there anymore. The music I listened to, I don't listen to it anymore. I used to workout to worldly rap music with cursing at times and now I listen to Godly music while exercising. I loved scary movies and spent a lot of time watching television, now my desires for that has changed. I don't look at those type of movies anymore and I hardly ever watch television. Instead I watch documentaries and sermons a lot. That's just a few changes of many that God has made in me. GUESS WHAT! I don't miss them because God is more important to me than anything in this world. Now is the changes always easy? NO. but the peace that the changes bring are awesome.  I don't want to be lukewarm. My desire is to be all that God intended when he created me. I don't want to be connected to anything or anyone if it displeases God. In order to be all in for God we MUST disconnect the Yoke to sin. There is no bargaining in that area. 

Jesus Message to the Lukewarm Believer

Be Zealous and Repent! Behold I stand at the door, and knock: If any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him and he with me. To him that overcometh "will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I overcame, and am set down with the Father in his throne. Revelation 3:19-21

Obedience is Better Than Sacrifice: Don't give up your blessings for temporary pleasures

Every morning I give my students a "Writing of the Day" assignment for Bell work. I'm a 5th grade teacher for those who don't know. The writing assignment is always something to edify them as an individual. This is the time I take to teach Character Building. About 2 weeks ago I wrote about "Obedience is better than Sacrifice". When I first read this in scripture I was confused on what it really meant. I was confused because in the old testement they gave sacrifices for forgiveness of their sin. So why would God say this? I thought. Then I had a 💡moment :) God showed me that we sacrifice so many blessings because of our disobedience to him. There are numerous times in scripture when God gave instructions on what to do and after he explained the blessing of following the commandment. Usually the person receiving the instruction would start off right but then begin to think on their own and stir themselves to destruction. 
This is exactly what happened in 1Samuel 15th chapter. God gave Saul instructions and he decided to put his twist to what God had commanded him. 

1 Samuel 15:20-21 New King James Version (NKJV)

20 And Saul said to Samuel, “But I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 21 But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.” We can see in this scripture that Saul thought that he had obeyed God's command. He felt it didn't hurt to let the people bring some sheep and oxen back. They was bringing it back to give to God. That's not bad right? Wrong! Neither did it hurt to allow the King of Amalek to live so why murder him? The answer is because GOD SAID SO! God gave Saul 2 instructions: 1.Go and destroy the sinners the Amalekites and all that they have, don't spare any humans or any animals period.  2. Fight against them until they are consumed.

The underlined portion Saul didn't obey. Saul listened to the people and allowed them to do what God instructed them not to do. This caused God to reject him because he rejected God's instructions. Saul lost his Kingship because God regretted choosing him for this position. In addition, God allowed an evil spirit to torment him which ultimately made way for David to replace him as king.  

We Often Make the Same Choices

We endure so many hardships because our decision not to obey God which is ultimately rejecting him. We have sickness that comes from the way we eat. God shows us in the Bible the best way to eat but we sacrifice our health for pleasure. When the reaping time comes from how we treated our body we want to call on God for healing. We believe him for healing but we don't trust him when he gives us the instruction to bypass illness. I'll be the first to raise my hand in this scenario. Women are treated badly by men because they sacrifice Godly happiness and peace for sexual pleasures. Raising my hand again. I went through so much pain in relationships because I didn't want to wait for God. I chose men that God didn't. When I finally did get with the man God chose we both had to be broken down and rebuilt. We both had chosen things and went through situations that caused us not to be the man and woman God called us to be. We had to be sent back to the manufacture, get refurbished and sent back out. This blog would go on and on if I shared with you all the times I rejected God's way for my way, society way, family way, etc. 

 Now this is my prayer. I learned from my bad decisions. There was no one to blame but me. I put myself in the situations not God. I surrendered my will unto his and saw what his purpose was for me. I realized that he was my creator. He created me for a reason and he had a good life laid out for me before I decided to go my way. I'm so thankful for his grace and mercy. I'm also over the moon estatic that Jesus died for my sins because I never want to be completely cut off from the father. When we rebel against God, he sees it as witchcraft. When we are stiffnecked (stubborn) he sees it as iniquity (living in our sin) and idolatry (putting something in place of him). He throws his hands up and says " You know best so I give you over to your depravity". He allows us to live the way we choose. I'm grateful I realized I was his workmanship and not my own. I'm grateful that I realized he knows what's best for my life. I'm grateful that I realized he had plans for me to have success and a future in him. Now I'm not just living but I'm purposefully living. 

If this is you please stop now and turn to God. If you find yourself failing in many areas of your life, STOP NOW! If you find yourself going through the same situations over and over again, STOP NOW! If you find yourself feeling worthless with no purpose for living, STOP NOW! If you find yourself feeling sadness more that happiness, STOP NOW! If you feel whatever you do there is no peace or joy in your life, STOP NOW! We bypass so many DO NOT ENTER signs and try it anyway. Please don't bypass this one. Turn back to God and allow him to lead your life. The Bible says seek the Kingdom of Heaven and everything else will be added to you. He will give you the desires of your heart (that line up with him of course😊). I know this through experience. I've seen so many changes in my husband and I after surrendering to God. Our relationship was a daily struggle filled with mental abuse and unhappiness. Now we look forward to seeing eachother everyday. He is my bestie❤ We enjoy each others company, he keeps a smile on my face. This is not because of me or him but because we surrendered and allowed God to fix what we couldn't. I went from working at Coney Island restaurant to having a Masters in Education and being a certified teacher. I look forward to whatever else God has planned for me. This is not because I'm smart or strong but because I stopped trying to make a purpose for living and allowed God to show me my original purpose that I was created for. God is waiting on you to come to him. He loves you so much. Matter of fact it is his pleasure to lead you into life of righteousness which brings happiness. If you have any questions please leave them in the comments. I would love to converse with you and share my testimony😊