When you decide to blow down the gates of hell. Idle minions do not just let you ransack their province with the glory of God just as you wouldn't just allow an individual to ransack your home. Immediate reaction and retaliation is put into action to ensure the safety of both the individuals and the property that is being attacked. And then after you blow open Hell's gates, counter attacks are to be expected and yet many times WE stand idle as the devil tears apart our home after we take a step towards Christ.
I have both a prayer request and a testimony that I would like to share. I work at a dry cleaning place at the Broadmoor hotel in colorado springs and I cross train in the alterations section of the building as well. I enjoy what I do. And upon hiring it was understood that if work was slow, and we were not busy in the dry cleaning area I can go to the alterations room and work there in my spare time. And I love it. To make a very LONG story short. There has been opposition from co-workers who did not know the agreement set up upon my hiring. For the past week, a new Broadmoor dry cleaner's holiday was established, and it is called, "Let's ALL hate Ashley day!" Lol it was literally a dry cleaning uprising as people in ignorance, judged, called me names, glared, and refused to work beside me. It was overall a terrible week. But as I was bagging the last of the clothing for the day to be put away today. I thought something profound. I don't want to leave, hide or otherwise run as far away from this place as I possibly can. I love my work and I love my job. But most of all, I mourn for these people that so easily cast a stone at an innocent person without justifiable cause.
Not a week before this incident another incident had taken place where a co-worker literally tried to cut my hair off. I ran for my precious hair life! Ha! It was so strange in which the incident transpired. I had just gotten a perm and they wanted to see it so I took my hair down. Literally a crazed frenzy came over the women she became intensely intent upon sheering my beautiful brown locks. And with haste and glorious motivation I ran from her as she fumbled for scissors and yes . . . She followed in suit running after me with scissors in hand. It was a terrible experience and afterwards with my hair safely pinned up I worked in shock and with a slight case of a nauseated stomach.
These are two scenes that have happened within the past two weeks RIGHT AFTER I started to continually pray and fast for the people of the Broadmoor. Bringing names in prayer, and praying in my spare time for the souls of these people have gotten the attention of the enemy and their counter attacks are evident.
I began to think on the idea of, what if she had cut my hair? Oh my word! I am a child of God, a born again Christian, baptized in the mighty name of Jesus Christ by which all must be saved and filled with the infilling of the Holy Ghost by evidence of speaking tongues. And I am under the protection of the Creator that I serve. I would pray for mercy for these souls that do not realize what they are doing to themselves. They are "heaping coals upon their own heads" they are bringing judgment upon their own lives and I fear the consequences of their actions. The Lord protects His own. And though I am facing hard times at work, I know the Lord has me in the palm of His hand protecting me and guiding me.
I am hurt because of what is going on but listen to me well. I LOVE these people! They have hurt me but I love them still! I pray for them still, I will continue to fast! And I will continue to love them, be their friend, and not lay a finger upon them. What they choose to do is up to them. But I will be as Christian as I possibly can. I am extremely proud of myself to day especially. Because as they openly talked about me IN FRONT OF ME. I did not raise my voice, I respected them as my elder, I continue to work hard, I left the correction up to my supervisor, and I responded to all of them in an even and calm tone! Haha! Who would of thought that would be possible for me?! All I could think was this, "A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of fools pour out folly. The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good. A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit." -Proverbs 15:1-4
The Lord knows my plight, and I did the best that I could do in the situation that I was in. the Lord will bless me and continue to hold me in the palm of His hand if I will continue to lean on Him in these trials BUT even in anything in life!
Look at Moses and the children of God as they were watching pharaoh and his army descend on them to destroy them simply because they were the children of God. "And Moses said to the people, 'Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. ' The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.' And the Lord said to Moses, 'why do you cry to me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward." Exodus 14:13-15 So I will continue to go forward! I will continue to speak gently, to be kind, to be loving and to be their FRIEND! And the Lord will fight for me and His glory will be revealed through this trial.
But this is the truth of the matter. I probably would not be facing this trial if I was not fasting and praying actively for the souls of these individuals. I must realize that I am fighting more than just a physical battle but a spiritual battle. It is written "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." -Ephesians 6:12
I absolutely LOVE ephesians! It is a book of battle and action! But above all thing truth and faith, that book in my bible has just had the mess highlighted right out of it :) but this is what I want to get across. Adversaries and hard times in your life are not necessarily a bad thing, for it encourages growth. I am growing through this uncomfortable time at work. I am learning things about myself and others. But most of all, I don't believe any true positive change can come about in these people's lives without first a battle from the adversary taking place. Because it is only then you realize that the Devil is not in complacency but rather in defense. As a result you realize that your prayers are being heard and spiritual actions are being prepped and packaged to bless the Broadmoor with a whole new beginning.
So what do you do when the adversary strikes back? You continue to pray, you continue to fast, you continue to fight! And as Ephesians says to put the whole armour of God on. Ephesians 6:13-18
1.Girded your waist with truth
2.Breastplate of righteousness
3.Shod your feet with preparation of the gospel of peace
4.Taking the shield of faith
5. And lastly the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit which is the word of God.
But I love this last scripture and it goes like this, "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints." WOW! How beautiful. Never stand still go in and continue to fight for truth and you can't go wrong.
So in closing I encourage a few toes to be stepped on. Because its when their stepped on that any change or reaction can be made!
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Monday, July 11, 2011
To Feel His Wounds
I was inspired a couple of weeks ago to write about the proof of God's existence. Now knowing my audience, the thoughts that are running through the minds of my readers are probably running along the lines of, "Ash, I think you took a little to much than you can swallow." And i must agree, the topic is a little grand in scale, but when is anything concerning God any smaller than grand?
And as a side note the article on the topic of God creating evil will be written soon. but like anything that i do, i want to be fully studied and confident in my convictions on the topic before i open my mouth or cyber lips as it were to share it with the world.
There was an personal incident that took place a couple of weeks ago that both hurt me, but also taught me a lesson on the belief or existence (regardless of the thing in question). Without sharing all the gory details of what happened, i just want to previse this article by saying that this article is inspired and an open letter to a specific person who is struggling with this very topic. He knows who he is. I also want to further previse by saying that there will be a quote in this article that came directly from this person that will further fortify the topic of this article, and that is the only reason why i put it in the article. If it had other wise held no bearing to the topic i would have kept it out.
"You know sometimes i wonder if you are real. I know you're there and i've tried to get to you and i have come close but i always seem to fall short. It's the same way with God. . ." -Anonymous
I was reading today (as i usually do) and i came across a quote that absolutely shook me. And even though i had subconsciously known it, learning the lesson consciously took it to a whole different level. The book i was reading is titled, "The 100 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Business Success, and it said, "You do not necessarily believe what you see, but rather you see what you already believe." The topic was on the Law of Causality, and i was reading the four sub points of cause and effect. The first sub point was the Law of Belief. And as i was reading this book though business based, my mind and heart was drawn to the spiritual ramifications of this law.
I thought of atheist's that argue that there is no God. they ask, "can you see him?" Has he spoken to you?" "is there any proof in the earth or even universe that is tangible for the existence of God." But what shook my world about this quote was the idea that they have already decided what they believe, so even if God Himself had walked up to the man and shook his hand, he would continue to deny the existence of God because before God had even walked up to him he had already mentally decided on what he would see. that is why so many people walk right past a blessing or a personal experience with God without even knowing it because they were unable to see Him there. they saw what they had chosen to believe instead of believing what they saw.
The truth is that short of God in all His blazing and glorious power swooping down to earth in a fire chariot nothing is good enough for some people to believe in the existence of God. And for some, even if they had seen God swoop down with lightning and such, they still would not have accepted God as their creator. and that is the reality of the power of humanities mind. We can blind ourselves from the truth so powerfully that we hinder our own spiritual condition.
Furthermore; when you become so materialistic in your mindset the practice of faith is drastically hindered. It is by faith that true spiritual inspiration reveals that God is real and that the world in which we know was framed and created by God,
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. . . by faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible." -Hebrews 11:1
Faith cannot be touched by finding the perfect evidence scientifically to prove the existence of God. Because, creation in itself is proof of God's existence.
C.S. Lewis wrote in his book Mere Christianity, "If there was a controlling power outside the universe, it could not show itself to us as one of the facts inside the universe-no more than the architect of a house could actually be a wall or staircase or fireplace in that house. The only way in which we would expect it to show itself would be inside ourselves as an influence or a command trying to get us to behave in a certain way."
So many people are looking for the existence of God in the wall of the universe. We have to understand that God is not the wall but rather the architect who designed the universe. We can see aspects of who God is through His creation but we can't expect to see God himself in His creation. It is only a reflection of his nature.
Take for instance the time when Jesus went to see Thomas after he was risen. Thomas had said, ' unless i see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.' (Acts 20:25) And after Jesus had visited, and Thomas had touch his wounds and his side, Jesus spoke and said, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." (Acts 20:29) I like how it was so simply put by Jamie in Walk to Remember, "God is like the wind, you can feel it but you cant see it." The proof is in the wind. You dont need to see the wind to know that it exists and that it is there. That is why Jesus said, blessed are those that have not felt Jesus' wounds and believed.
1. Nature itself is a testament to God's existence.
2. Your conscience, the very law of human nature is the faint whisper of God's voice
3. And the Holy Spirit that dwells within you is the feel of His presence.
these are just a few examples out of the many that prove the existence of God. And yet many people do not see God in these things.
So the real question is not whether God is real, but rather do you choose to believe that God is real? Because though you deny God's existence does not mean that He ceases to exist. Just as truth does not cease to exist just because everyone believes a lie.
do you not see God in your life? Do you not see him ministering to you on a daily basis? Just close your eyes for a moment, and ask God to minister to you. because he is already all around you, He is just waiting for you to realize it. I don't know how He will speak to you, what you will feel. But what i can tell you is that God will never disappoint. God desires to be near you. If you will only allow Him to minister to you. Don't wait until you see something to believe that God can perform miracles in your life because then it will be to late. Believe and have faith and then you will see what you never imagined.
So it all boils down to this . . . You believe in the existence of God, but you have a hard time believing in His existence in your life. He feels so far away, you feel you can only get so far and then you fall once again. At least that is how my friend feels. I want to share something with you. we all at times feel this way, but it is His word that we cling to when we feel like our prayers are bouncing off the clouds. i have learned four valuable lessons on how to keep marching even when you don't think you can take another step
1. lift your hands and worship God anyway. You were created to worship your creator. When you hinder yourself from worshiping you are hindering everything else in your life. Worship God even when its hard to, when you don't think you can. Just lift your hands, clap your hands, say hallelujah, just let God know that you love Him and that you are trying to seek Him even in your pain
2. Read the word of God. In your darkest times, the book of psalms can be such an encouragement. One of my professors told me that i should pray the psalms when i cant seem to find the words. When my parents were getting a divorce the psalms gave me comfort through the heartache. reading God's word gives you strength and guidance. You'd be surprised how much you recall later.
3. praying. How can you expect to get anywhere spiritually when you aren't even willing to get to know your God. You can't move anywhere without communication. God knows that sometimes there are no words. All He asks is that you lean on Him when all you have are tears. As my mothers says, just give it to Him, Give God your sorrows, and He will replace it with peace and joy.
4. And lastly i cannot begin to tell you the value of fasting. It is an underrated practice in the Christian faith but i am starting to realize how powerful fasting can be in your life. You want to get Gods attention! Fast! Fast like you are desperate for a change, that you are desperate for an answer from God, that you need to feel Him surround you right then and there. And i can assure you, nothing gets Gods attention more than when you lay aside food and focus all your attention on Him. He see's your sacrifice and desires to bless you for it.
Don't lose hope. It is only when you give up and decide to walk away that you become a failure. But if there is one thing i am learning in God. Is that no matter what i have done he still loves me. No matter how many times i have walked away, he still desires to give me my inheritance, no matter how many times i sin, he still loves me enough to forgive me. He may feel far away and non existent in your life. But i assure you if you practice these things regularly in your life you will see a change. But you need to be desperate. You must desire a change! only then will you see the change come to pass. It doesn't start with God, it starts with you.
God wants to show you the wounds in His hands and in His side, but you have got to be willing to meet Him in the meeting place. But those of you who already believe without seeing His wounds God says you are blessed. It is the power of His wounds in which you are healed. Allow God to heal you tonight. Allow Him to minister to you like you have never allowed Him to before.
And as a side note the article on the topic of God creating evil will be written soon. but like anything that i do, i want to be fully studied and confident in my convictions on the topic before i open my mouth or cyber lips as it were to share it with the world.
There was an personal incident that took place a couple of weeks ago that both hurt me, but also taught me a lesson on the belief or existence (regardless of the thing in question). Without sharing all the gory details of what happened, i just want to previse this article by saying that this article is inspired and an open letter to a specific person who is struggling with this very topic. He knows who he is. I also want to further previse by saying that there will be a quote in this article that came directly from this person that will further fortify the topic of this article, and that is the only reason why i put it in the article. If it had other wise held no bearing to the topic i would have kept it out.
"You know sometimes i wonder if you are real. I know you're there and i've tried to get to you and i have come close but i always seem to fall short. It's the same way with God. . ." -Anonymous
I was reading today (as i usually do) and i came across a quote that absolutely shook me. And even though i had subconsciously known it, learning the lesson consciously took it to a whole different level. The book i was reading is titled, "The 100 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Business Success, and it said, "You do not necessarily believe what you see, but rather you see what you already believe." The topic was on the Law of Causality, and i was reading the four sub points of cause and effect. The first sub point was the Law of Belief. And as i was reading this book though business based, my mind and heart was drawn to the spiritual ramifications of this law.
I thought of atheist's that argue that there is no God. they ask, "can you see him?" Has he spoken to you?" "is there any proof in the earth or even universe that is tangible for the existence of God." But what shook my world about this quote was the idea that they have already decided what they believe, so even if God Himself had walked up to the man and shook his hand, he would continue to deny the existence of God because before God had even walked up to him he had already mentally decided on what he would see. that is why so many people walk right past a blessing or a personal experience with God without even knowing it because they were unable to see Him there. they saw what they had chosen to believe instead of believing what they saw.
The truth is that short of God in all His blazing and glorious power swooping down to earth in a fire chariot nothing is good enough for some people to believe in the existence of God. And for some, even if they had seen God swoop down with lightning and such, they still would not have accepted God as their creator. and that is the reality of the power of humanities mind. We can blind ourselves from the truth so powerfully that we hinder our own spiritual condition.
Furthermore; when you become so materialistic in your mindset the practice of faith is drastically hindered. It is by faith that true spiritual inspiration reveals that God is real and that the world in which we know was framed and created by God,
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. . . by faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible." -Hebrews 11:1
Faith cannot be touched by finding the perfect evidence scientifically to prove the existence of God. Because, creation in itself is proof of God's existence.
C.S. Lewis wrote in his book Mere Christianity, "If there was a controlling power outside the universe, it could not show itself to us as one of the facts inside the universe-no more than the architect of a house could actually be a wall or staircase or fireplace in that house. The only way in which we would expect it to show itself would be inside ourselves as an influence or a command trying to get us to behave in a certain way."
So many people are looking for the existence of God in the wall of the universe. We have to understand that God is not the wall but rather the architect who designed the universe. We can see aspects of who God is through His creation but we can't expect to see God himself in His creation. It is only a reflection of his nature.
Take for instance the time when Jesus went to see Thomas after he was risen. Thomas had said, ' unless i see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.' (Acts 20:25) And after Jesus had visited, and Thomas had touch his wounds and his side, Jesus spoke and said, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." (Acts 20:29) I like how it was so simply put by Jamie in Walk to Remember, "God is like the wind, you can feel it but you cant see it." The proof is in the wind. You dont need to see the wind to know that it exists and that it is there. That is why Jesus said, blessed are those that have not felt Jesus' wounds and believed.
1. Nature itself is a testament to God's existence.
2. Your conscience, the very law of human nature is the faint whisper of God's voice
3. And the Holy Spirit that dwells within you is the feel of His presence.
these are just a few examples out of the many that prove the existence of God. And yet many people do not see God in these things.
So the real question is not whether God is real, but rather do you choose to believe that God is real? Because though you deny God's existence does not mean that He ceases to exist. Just as truth does not cease to exist just because everyone believes a lie.
do you not see God in your life? Do you not see him ministering to you on a daily basis? Just close your eyes for a moment, and ask God to minister to you. because he is already all around you, He is just waiting for you to realize it. I don't know how He will speak to you, what you will feel. But what i can tell you is that God will never disappoint. God desires to be near you. If you will only allow Him to minister to you. Don't wait until you see something to believe that God can perform miracles in your life because then it will be to late. Believe and have faith and then you will see what you never imagined.
So it all boils down to this . . . You believe in the existence of God, but you have a hard time believing in His existence in your life. He feels so far away, you feel you can only get so far and then you fall once again. At least that is how my friend feels. I want to share something with you. we all at times feel this way, but it is His word that we cling to when we feel like our prayers are bouncing off the clouds. i have learned four valuable lessons on how to keep marching even when you don't think you can take another step
1. lift your hands and worship God anyway. You were created to worship your creator. When you hinder yourself from worshiping you are hindering everything else in your life. Worship God even when its hard to, when you don't think you can. Just lift your hands, clap your hands, say hallelujah, just let God know that you love Him and that you are trying to seek Him even in your pain
2. Read the word of God. In your darkest times, the book of psalms can be such an encouragement. One of my professors told me that i should pray the psalms when i cant seem to find the words. When my parents were getting a divorce the psalms gave me comfort through the heartache. reading God's word gives you strength and guidance. You'd be surprised how much you recall later.
3. praying. How can you expect to get anywhere spiritually when you aren't even willing to get to know your God. You can't move anywhere without communication. God knows that sometimes there are no words. All He asks is that you lean on Him when all you have are tears. As my mothers says, just give it to Him, Give God your sorrows, and He will replace it with peace and joy.
4. And lastly i cannot begin to tell you the value of fasting. It is an underrated practice in the Christian faith but i am starting to realize how powerful fasting can be in your life. You want to get Gods attention! Fast! Fast like you are desperate for a change, that you are desperate for an answer from God, that you need to feel Him surround you right then and there. And i can assure you, nothing gets Gods attention more than when you lay aside food and focus all your attention on Him. He see's your sacrifice and desires to bless you for it.
Don't lose hope. It is only when you give up and decide to walk away that you become a failure. But if there is one thing i am learning in God. Is that no matter what i have done he still loves me. No matter how many times i have walked away, he still desires to give me my inheritance, no matter how many times i sin, he still loves me enough to forgive me. He may feel far away and non existent in your life. But i assure you if you practice these things regularly in your life you will see a change. But you need to be desperate. You must desire a change! only then will you see the change come to pass. It doesn't start with God, it starts with you.
God wants to show you the wounds in His hands and in His side, but you have got to be willing to meet Him in the meeting place. But those of you who already believe without seeing His wounds God says you are blessed. It is the power of His wounds in which you are healed. Allow God to heal you tonight. Allow Him to minister to you like you have never allowed Him to before.
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