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.

If Jesus died for sin, Why can't I live how I want

 Many people have this question. I once asked this question out of ignorance. I never truly understood this until I did a study of my own. People had tried to explain to me but I just never fully understood. In my experience it was taught with fear of going to hell so don't sin with a list of things you can't do. Now that I understand I don't serve God because of fear, I serve him because I love him. I love him because he first loved me. I know that without God sending his son I would be unhappy, insecure, no hope, and unfulfilled in life. I would be walking around in darkness with no direction constantly bumping into walls. I understand that as a believer in Christ my wants should now line up with God's purpose for my life.

What is sin and why is it here? 

Sin is an act of transgression against God's divine law. God is Holy, no bad, dark, wicked, or unrighteousness is in him. Sin is going against God's moral code. The Bible tells us that in the beginning God made Adam and Eve. The first humans on this earth. There was a place called Eden and there was a garden there. There were many trees I believe but the Bible speaks of two specific trees, one had the power to give life continually and one the power to take life spiritually and physically. God instructed Adam not to eat fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Gen 2:15-17 15 And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. During this time Adam and Eve only knew about Good/Righteousness because they only new the things of God. God never intended for mankind to know or experience anything bad, evil or dark. Nevertheless, he didn't make robots. You may say why was the tree there? I believe to give mankind a choice to choose their creator over the created. Long story short satan came in the garden and tempted Eve to eat of the forbidden tree by decieving her. She ate and gave Adam some to eat. Since Adam is the first of mankind sin came in the world through him when he disobeyed God. Every human after Adam is descendants of him. Therefore every human is born in bondage to sin. This means we will automatically have sinful desires until we are born again through the Jesus Christ. We are born with a disposition to sin.

Remember I said God is Holy and sin is unholy so sin seperated Adam and Eve from God. This means sin separated us from God. Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Remember God told Adam "the day you eat of that tree, you will surely die." The penalty for sin is death physically and spiritually. Just think the bad things people do end in destruction. It's fun in the beginning, it feels good in the beginning but once it has you in it's grips the fun end and the consequences come knocking. The good feeling is gone. You never get to the point where you are fulfilled. You always feel like something is missing, there has to be more. That feeling is telling you that you are in darkness seperated from your creator. Your spirit is yearning for God but because you're in darkness you don't know it. Nevertheless, no matter how crazy our decision making is/was God loves us. It broke his heart the day he had to seperate himself from his creation. On that day we became enemies to God. BUT! God had a solution. He knew that no matter how many sacrifices we offered we couldn't save ourselves from sin. Knowing what sin was just made it more tempting. Just think you don't really like sweets like that,  but soon as you start a diet you want sweets. When you're told you can't have something you want it more until your thinking is transformed. So God sent a perfect sacrifice to free us from the dispostion to sin. He sent a way to bring us out of darkness into his marvelous light where we belong. He sent us a way to be able to choose him, because our oppurtunity of choice was taken. John 3:16 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.

Through the death, burial and ressurection of Christ we now have an chance to live a life eternal with God. Once we repent (turn from sinful desires in your heart), be baptised and filled with the Holy Spirit we become a new creature. 2 Corinthians 5:17  17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. We were made for God's purpose and pleasure. We were made to fulfil his will. God wants the best for us literally. The best is not necessarily the most expensive things that we think about. God does allow us to get those things from our hard work, but he really doesn't care about that. His best is for us to have hope, a future and an expected end. Before choosing Christ we are born with a future of Hell, fire and brimstone. This is not because God is mean, it's because this is the punishment for sin. God keeps his word and stay true to his moral code. We change our minds and actions all the time, God doesn't. He is exact. Since God knew that was our end he sent a way of escape. He paid for our salvation with the blood of his son. God didn't give us sinful desires, satan did by decieving Eve. Jesus didn't die so you could do what you want. He didn't die so that you could live in sin freely, you was already doing that. He died so that you could live the life God intended for you from the beginning of Creation. Jesus look on the sins of the world so we could live an everlasting life with him instead of in Hell. 

Back to the question at hand. 

You are not already forgiven. 1John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we confess our sins, repent (turn from them) and except his son, then God will cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Romans 10:9-10That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved.

The choice you have to make. Do you want to live in bondage to satan and sin? No man has two masters, it's either God or satan. The only way to God is through Jesus because sin seperated us. If we don't believe in Jesus and follow his commandments we are enemies to God. When we live in sin we choose satan as our master by default. Nevertheless, if you want to be saved from eternal damnation and disposition to live a sinful life, THERES NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT. God knows everything you''ve done and still loves you. He is waiting to be reunited with you. It brings him joy at the thought of you choosing him. Ask God to forgive you of your sins, call them out by name. He already knows, turn from your wicked ways. Accept Jesus as your personal savior, Believe in your heart and Confess with your mouth and you will be saved. If you don't have a place of worship that you attend you are more than welcome to contact me. I will give you the number to my overseers so that you can get baptised. We meet on line every Thursday.  God loves you, Jesus died for you and now you can make the most important decision of your life. I look forward to hearing from you. 

ID2020 Alliance: Are we Close to a Cashless Society?

God never ceases to amaze me, up until about a week ago I'd never heard of ID2020. This made me think " how many other people have never heard of this?" This is very important for the believer to know and I'll tell you why shortly. The way God works with me is by leading me to topics to research. Then he unravels it for me with scripture to show me it's importance. What is ID2020 you ask? ID2020 is SDG 16.9 of the SDG30 goals. SDG (Substainable Development Goals) goals were decided by the United Nations member states. In 2015 at a Summit it was a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and secure that all people will enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030. Don't let the language fool you. It sounds good, but I'll do a blog about that at a later time. ID2020 is digital global identification. The process is to put a chip in your hand through a vaccine/needle. The chip is so small it can be inserted through hyperdermic needles. This can be used for cash, identity and even locking and unlocking doors.

Why Language is Important 

I'm a 5th grade teacher and I always tell my students "Pay attention to the Language used, what are they saying?" I'm going to tell you the: Who, When, Why, What, Where and How. Then after, you make your decision if it is important for believers to be aware of this.

Who are the key players in this initiative? Dakota Gruener of Gavi: The Vaccine Alliance, is the executive director of ID2020. The Rockefellow Foundation provided seed money in 2017 to get it started is an ongoing supporter. Microsoft (Bill Gates) joined in 2018 as a founding partner and it's members sit on the board as technical and program delivery advisory committee. Accenture joined in 2017 as a founding partner and participates on the executive board and Technical Advisory Committee. IDEO who is an international consulting firm that designs products, services and experiences to improve poor people lives. They are the Program Delivery and ecosystem Advocacy Advisory Committee.  I know this is the boring part lol, but just hang in there. The Bible says in Hosea 4:6a My people are destroyed for the lack of knowledge, because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee. When God says knowledge his Word always comes first, then he also instructs us to be watchful, which is where this boring information comes in :)

Why are they doing this? This is their reasoning for the public. To give legal idenity to all, there are 1.5 billion who don't have legal identification (they say). This means those 1.5 billion can't get a bank account which is social exclusion. They care about everyone so much that they must come up with a way for everyone to be included. Digital Idenity will leave no one behind. First of all if they don't have money for identification, where are they going to get money to open up a bank account or buy a new car? This doesn't add up. The Truth is the United Nations wants to have eyes on everyone in the world to make sure people comply with their global goals. It's similar to inserting animals with digital identification to keep tabs on them. This will enable them to look you up at anytime in the system. 

When are they doing this? Their goal was to know that they had proof of scale by 2020 with help of the top people I named above. There are other partners, but those are the top people. According to Gruener of Gavi "paper based services are not working anymore"... "we need digital idenity thats portable and persistent." Their goal is to have legal digital idenity for all ages (everyone on the planet) by 2030. All ages means that your children will have a digital ID possibly at birth. Gruener words in an interview "it's not an if, it's when" which means it's coming for sure and is already being used in some places. My question: Are you prepared?  Revelation 13:16-17 says
16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. I don't know if it the mark of the beast, but I know the one who knows all things, God. We will definitely need his wisdom, guidance, and leadership through what's coming down the pipeline. 

As you can see with the pictures above, the plan is to leave no stone unturned. Every facet of life according to the United Nations by 2030 will be one unified global system. Let me give you an idea of what we're facing. One goal is "Gender Equality" where all genders have to be accepted, identified the way they desire, treated fairly, and have a life of sexual freedom. According to ABC News there are 58 gender options that Facebook has for it's users. Wait! I thought it was only two: Male and Female. First let me say their sexual freedom is their business. I don't condemn them, I pray that their souls are saved. I love all people. I don't see their sin greater or less than anyone else. Nevertheless, identifying them any other way then what they are isn't an option for a believer. Genesis 1:27 says:  

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.  A believer must speak the word of God and not the world. I'll give you another example: Another goal is to promote peaceful inclusive societies. This may sound good also but as you dig into it you will see why it's not good for the believer. Inclusive society means all religions will have to be inclusive and peaceful. That's fine for religion, but being a disciple of Christ isn't a religion which is merely a belief system. Jesus is the truth, he has no beginning and ending of days. Everything was created through him. Without him nothing was made. God is the source of all things and we follow our father who created us. Therefore we can't be inclusive. God so loved the world that he sent his son to die so they/ we could have an option to choose righteousness over sin. This means we can't conform to the world and it's systems if it's contrary to the word of God. The Bible says: John 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. 1John 5:20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. This is just two examples out of many as to why we can't serve this Global system of SDG30. Now back to the digital idenity. According to Carl Sanders who helped create this microchip, it works best placed in the right hand or beneath the hairline in the forehead. Does that sound familiar? It was highlighted above.

In Swedan this is already happening. Thousands of Swedan people are trading ID cards for microchips according to World Economic Forum website. Swedan is also close to being a cashless society. Why is this important to you? Because it will soon be here and we will have to make a decision. Because we didn't obey the Bible when God said be watchful and pray, so many things have been done in the dark without our knowing. Now it's at our door step knocking. Will you answer and invite it in? This is one of many things that we will have to face as believers and stay rooted in Jesus. The time of being comfortable in the grey area is over. Now you will either be hot or cold. God doesn't deal with the lukewarm, in fact he spews them from his mouth.  

 We must wake out of our slumber. Reading the Word of God is what lets us know what is good and evil. Being filled with the Holy Spirit is how we are led, taught and warned, etc. Praying is how we communicate and hear from God. Fasting is how we put our flesh under subjection to the spirit of God. God is calling for repentance from his people. We can no longer just stand on the sidelines watching lost souls and doing nothing about it. We are held responsible. We know better, but what about the people in the world that are waiting for you and me so that they can choose Jesus. It is time to open our mouths and speak the truth, the bitter with the sweet. The sweet can get you through some things but the bitter is what will help believers stand through what's coming.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-eUjfDUWCE&t=566s  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eP4kZxRnt3c  Please watch these two videos on the endtimes and share for others to see. Be blessed 

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: How to enter into God's presence

Did you know you were created to live in God's presence? Adam and Eve was in God's presence daily because there was nothing separating them. Everything they did coincided with God's will and purpose for them. God guided there decisions until they fell for deception. Mankind was pure, blameless, without spot or wrinkle. We were perfect! We had no sin, wickedness, blemishes or transgressions. We were created to reflect God's character and personality, which is his nature and moral character. We are made of three parts: Body, Soul and Spirit. Because man has a spirit we are able to communicate with God in spirit as he is spirit. The Bible says God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.(John 4:24) Even though we were created in God's image, we can't reflect that image if we don't have a relationship with him. Remember our image changed once mankind fell because we became slaves to sin. We became enemies of God Romans 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled (restored back) to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his (Jesus) life. Therefore the very 1st step to getting in God's presence is accepting his son Jesus Christ as your savior. Without Jesus blood there is no remission of sin. No Jesus, No God! The only way to be restored back from our fallen state is through his son Jesus. 

God's plan was for man to desire what he desired, for man's will to line up with his will. When this happens your prayers will be asking God to accomplish his will on earth as it is in heaven. Then goodness and truth will reign on earth instead of darkness and evil.  When we are born, we are born in sin. We are born conforming to the world and its systems. Thus we are born following satan whether we choose to or not. The only way to change that is to be reborn by dying to sin and raised in righteousness through Christ. This is what baptism does. This is not a quick fix pill though, the transformation is an ongoing process. In this blog I'm going to list some principles that are essential to having effective and powerful prayers that God honors. 

1. Deal with your sin- We must first deal with our sin when we prepare to pray. We must evaluate our day and actions to see if we have done anything God would be displeased with. Then ask for forgiveness of those sins. We can even ask God to forgive us for sins we don't know about because what's right to man is wicked to God. This means sometimes our decisions are not in alignment with God unknowingly. Psalms 19:12 David asks God to forgive him for his hidden faults, meaning sins he's unaware of.  1John 1:9  says that if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us. This is very important not to skip repentance because sin causes God to separate from us and not hear our prayers.

2. Put on Righteousness- This means being right with God through the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Your life should be reflecting his light and moral code. Remember we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, there will be areas you slip in, this is your opportunity to ask God to help you in those areas. We can do nothing by our self but through God all things are possible. 

3.Be Honest with God- Remember God knows everything 😉 we sometimes forget this and try to tell " little white lies" or " extract information" in our prayers. This will get you no where with God because that is sin. Remember the Bible says we must worship him in spirit and truth. God doesn't judge us like man. He loves us unconditionally. You can go to him with your darkest secret, in fact that gets you closer because you're laying it all at his feet and this is what he desires. 

4. Read your Word (Bible)- The word of God cleanses us. This is why God tells us to meditate on his word day and night. This just means keep God's word on your mind. The word of God is for reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness so that we may be perfect, thoroughly furnished for all good works( 2Tim. 3:16-17) Without God's word we can't truly know him. The only way we can truly live in righteousness as God desires is by living according to his word (Psalms 119:9-11). When we read the word it also trains our senses to discern between good and evil (Hebrews 5:14). Lastly, we can remind him of his word. Because he values his word above himself he will honor it always. 

5. Separate Yourself- When you prepare to pray you must separate yourself from outside interference. You can't have a powerful and effective prayer while watching television or listening to the radio (unless you have certain worship music to set the atmosphere). Your total attention need to be on your time with God. Adam and Eve didn't have interference remember but we do. We have work, school, kids, worries, Fbook, instagram, etc. We have to shut all that out for alone time just to bask in his presence. This allows your spirit to become one with his and he will speak to you and through you in prayer (this may not happen every time). The more you build your relationship with God, the stronger your prayer life will be. 

6. Have Faith- We must have Faith in God's promises when we pray. Remember, you can only know his promises if you read the Holy Bible for yourself. The Bible says without Faith it is impossible to please God. One reason is because you have to first believe that he is and that he sent his son to die for the sins of world. When you pray, you must believe that it is done. This means you live as if it is a reality for you that just has to manifest. Many pray and get off their knees and speak death to the very thing they just prayed for. The Bible says in James 4, that is like a man that look in the mirror and turns around and immediately forget what he looks like. This is another reason his word is so important because it builds your faith in him. Go into your prayer knowing that God hears you and will answer you. 

7. Give God glory & remain in Righteousness- Take some time to just praise and worship him for who he is to you. Your prayer shouldn't be all about petitions only. Praise God  for his mercy, grace, and atonement for your sins. This is just examples, but just as you like praise God does too and he totally deserves that and more. Often people try to live righteous just to get something from God, once it's done they regress to worldly living. How do you feel when you've been used? I never want to grieve God. He's done to much for me. Romans 12:1 say to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, because this is our reasonable service unto him. This is my daily goal. 

I don't profess to know it all. I'm learning daily as you are.  I'm a fellow believer trying to grow in Christ and sharing with others what I've learned on this walk. My goal is to strengthen my prayer life to take it to a higher level. I want my will, purpose and pleasure to line up with his so we can do amazing miracles in the earth just as Jesus did. In fact we are instructed to do greater works than Jesus. This means if God said that, I can trust that I will be able to accomplish it because he honors his word over himself. When we position ourselves by making our vessel (body) available to him we will be awesome change agents in this earth and the earth to come. Please post in the comments about your prayer life or any questions or advice you may have for me or others. Be Blessed.  

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