I am not my own!

"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." ~ 1 Corinthians 6:20- 7:1

Living in this world, Living in America, Living comfortably offers the opportunity of developing a mindset of ownership. There's many times that I have thought to myself, 'you bought it so it's by right yours' or even with the court systems... If a couple gets divorced, if there was no Prenuptial agreement, it gets split down the line 50/50 whether fair or not. Everyone comes to the point where they feel like they deserve something...

In 1st Corinthians 6 and 7 the writer says it so perfectly, that "I am not my Own, I was purchased at a Price" and of course the owner he is referring to Is Christ. Christ purchased us with his blood that was shed on Calvary, something that he will never inquire a refund for. Knowing that this life that i live is not my own, and that i was made for a purpose gives so much clarity on my role as a Child of God. In Romans it says to 'present yourselves as Living Sacrifices, Holy and Pleasing' and that is a mandate that we have been given. That is our way of saying thank you... The only worship that will please our Savior. But it's a day to day thing! Walking after the spirit leads to walking in obedience!

"Lord, you o Lord alone know my heart. Because you have created it. Even in my most sensitive times, you have given me your heart to carry. I want to grow deeper and deeper in your love... Amen

Almost Gave Up

2 Timothy 2: 4-5

"No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs—he wants to please his commanding officer. Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor’s crown unless he competes according to the rules."

This morning i had an amazing time... the Lord ministered to me through the song called 'I almost gave up" by Kurt Carr. I can remember so many times, even in the recent years, where times have become difficult and giving up seemed to be an option. I can truthfully say that the Lord has moved me from that point and and is continually strengthening my roots in him. But while reading 2nd Timothy, i was instantly drawn to these 2 verses because they ring so true. In serving God that has to be my number one priority, pleasing him... and following his decrees. Though i cannot quite see the finish line quite yet, i know that if i keep on my course without looking back, he will strengthen me. Serving the Lord is all that i want to do and it's what i will do. I am blessed, so blessed, because when he could have turned a blind eye to me, he didn't. He pursued me and loved me all the more. All that has occurred in the past few months are becoming a distant memory and the Lord is giving me a peace, that feels great. Life feels great :)

Commitment As A Bride!

As a seal that has been placed unto our hearts, our father has placed his love.

"Go and Proclaim....'I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me and followed me throughout the desert, through a land not sown."~Jeremiah 2:2

Imagine, just for a second, your groom, who stands in anticipation, anxious, to be revealed his wife whom he has longed for, prayed for, cried for... for nearly what seems like an eternity. This groom has always longed for a Bride who has kept herself clean, physically, but also spotless from the stains of sin. Who has kept herself for his return. He has longed for his own, that they may be united as one body. And as she has so elegantly made her way down the aisle, he lifts up her veil.

"You have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes. "

Captivated

All that he had longed for...

"Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory, for the wedding of the lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. (Fine Linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints)"~ Revelation 19:7

The significance of the wedding of the lamb is really the uniting of the purest sacrifice that gave his life for ours(John 15:13) and the bride that has kept herself clean. Jesus is coming back for a pure bride, one who has not given in to the ways of the world, but has continually cleansed herself with the blood that was shed for us on Calvary.

In preparation for our bridegroom we have a bit of a job to do in preparing for his return. The Lord is looking for us to fall in love with him, with a love that does not run dry, nor is easily waved. In most marriages, the two uniting don't just 'like' each other, but they are willing to commit their entire lives together, as one, in the pursuit of exemplifying the marriage of Christ and the church. They remain out of a covenant that has been placed together by God. The problem only comes when thee enemy tries to deceive and destroy what God has placed together and it is then that the unwavering love should keep them together. This is what the Holy Spirit desires, that even when Satan tries to come and steal your time, kill your love for him and destroy your unrelenting love, that your passion for him and desire to be with him soon will keep you.

Number two, is that you allow the Lord to work through you, in you and before you. As the groom, he is to lead not be led. He is the protector of his household and deserves submission.

“Husbands love your wives, even as Christ loved the church, and gave Himself for it; That He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.”(Ephesians 5:25-27; 31-32)

The Lord desires worship and praise unto him that is set apart from anything else... "I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven images (Isaiah 42:8)." To give him anything else would not be acknowledging him as the Lord of your time, your day or even your life.It says all throughout the scriptures, mainly the old testament, that God is a jealous God, who loves us with a zealous love and wants our ALL.He wants a bride that welcomes, even more desires, everything that he has to offer.

This goes hand-in-hand with the welcoming all of the Lord, but also allowing him to work in you in the steps of reconciliation.

1. Submission- Submit to all that he has for you, with an open heart and a willing spirit

2. Healing- Allow yourself to be healed from all of life's set back. (Romans 8:28-And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.)

3.Restoration- Rooting from forgiveness is restoration. Giving everything up to the Lord allows him to work it for his good

4. Purification- And from all of this, you now have an offering of yourself to give to him, so that he may do the soul cleansing and you may sing the song of the Redeemed

"I will rejoice greatly in the Lord; My soul will exult in my God, for He has clothed me with garments of salvation; He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels."~Isaiah 61:10

The Lord is not looking for perfection, but he is looking for devotion, for true worshippers. For a pure Heart. For Clean Hands(Psalm 24:4) For a Humble Spirit. He is looking for a Bride who loves him enough to lay aside everything that has no meaning and submit themselves to him. He wants us to fall in love with him more than anything and everything. He wants our hearts, the ones he created, to be yielded back to him. Some have turned away from their first true love, Christ, but it's not too late. The Lord says in Jeremiah 33: 11, that He will restore the fortunes of the Land as they were before, but we must turn back and not forget all that he has done.

"... you have forsaken your first love.... but to those who overcome, i will give the right to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God"~Revelation 2: 4, 7

We Have No Greater Warrior!

Psalm 16
"Lord you have assigned me my portion and my cup.... i will praise the Lord who counsels me.... with him at my right hand i will not be shaken.... my tongue rejoices... .because you will not abandon me... you make known to me the path of life...... eternal pleasures at your right hand!!!!"

Does it get any better than this... Lord Jesus thank you for showing me this. It says the sorrow of those who run after other Gods will increase!!!! There is only one God who is worthy of being praised. My founder, your provider, Yahweh... He is a Jealous God who desires all of us and not just our left overs, as said greatly by Francis Chan in Crazy Love.
Our God, My God is so great! I asked him to show me how to love him and wow, have i seen it taking place. My father, my strength has reminded me of why i fell in love with him!!!!!!
Wow, when i was at the Honor Academy, the Lord really placed Psalm 18 upon my heart for a great deal of time... but for the longest, the only part that really caught me eye was verse 25 "To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless" and in my mind, i thought of all the materialistic blessings that the Lord could provide me with. Not the emotional spiritual Love that i really need.
But as i am sitting here, listening to Psalm 18 and focusing on verses 1-24 all i can say is wow....
"The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer.... in whom i take refuge... the horn of my salvation.... i have been saved from my enemies.... cords of the grave coiled around me.... in my distress.... i cried to my God for help.... From his temple... my cry... into his ears... the foundations trembled.. they shook because he was angry.... dark clouds under his feet.... darkness his .... canopy around him... brightness of his presence... thundered from heaven.... voice resounded.... scattered thine enemies... foundations laid bare..... blast of breathe.... he reached down from on high and took hold of me..... he rescued me from my ..... day of disaster... but the Lord was my support...... He rescued me because he delighted in me.... He has rewarded me according to my righteousness....You o Lord, keep my lamp burning: My God turns my darkness into Light!!!!!!!"
My God, help me! There is no greater warrior than that of a father!!! Flawless is this God that i serve! This man who delights in me, who i am, that i may be called worthy?(Psalm 8:4) I consider myself nothing, because i am nothing without the Ayuda(Help), Amor(Love) y Paz(Peace) of my God.... Who would save you if you were alone.... Do you think you could take on a whole army???? It is by God's power, his strength that changes a heart from stone to flesh! He gives his children the best gift of unfailing Love. Amen Lord, Amen! You are worthy of my praise!

Lord, thank you!!! For your display has woo-ed me and i am yours!

Ezekiel...

Ezekiel was told by the Lord, while standing in the valley of dry bones, that he had the power, in the Name of the Holy Spirit, to awaken those bones. To reform them with all of their tendons, to begin the blood to circulate through, to make flesh cover them. The Lord told Ezekiel to tell the dry bones that he would put breath within them and they will come to life. And that is exactly what he did. (Ezekiel 37)

Today in my quiet time, the Lord reminded me that i have the ability to renew dead things. For the longest, i have felt dead. I have friends and people that i know here who just need the breath of the Lord.
I prayed over my self today, in the name of Jesus, that my spirit would be renewed and these dead tired bones would come to life. I prayed knowing that the Lord would do so and that is exactly what he did. But it doesn't stop there.... It is the devil that comes to kill, the Lord will never give you a spirit that is incompetent of calling out his name. The Lord is gracious in all that he does and seeks for us to have intimacy with him. It is because of him, his name, his dying on the cross that i give him praise!
Sometimes i feel as though i run two steps closer to God then 2 steps back... But i know that with those two steps back the Lord only draws closer to me. James 4:8.
Father i love you. And event though satan wants me to stop asking you to give me strength, i will anyhow, because i know that if i come to my father, you will not give me a serpent, but you will give me what i need! Father I need you. Not just everyday, but every Second. Lord you are my first true love!

Father, i come to you, my provider, my victorious father, i thank you for never leaving or forsaking you, my hope is found in you! Amen.

Time to STOP!

Hmmm, It's been quite a long time! I've been caught up in school, work and everything else that Satan uses to take our attention away from our father.
How have i been? Truthfully!
I have been great! Being memorized by the Lords greatest gifts everyday! Waking up with all five sense, and still forgiven. I am back!
It's a rainy day here though! Nothing really exciting here in OH!
School, it's something that i have to constantly be praying about!
Friends... well i actually have a new best friend! All of my life, i have prayed that i may be blessed with someone that i can have a David and Johnathan relationship with! Someone i could tell everyone to, and the Lord has blessed me with that on August 17th! My life has changed with having her in my life and i smile, even now, just thinking about how much i love her!
Family!!!!! There all doing well!
My relationship with the Lord: This past Sunday, my pastor spoke on positioning yourself in an area where you can hear the voice of God and know that it is him! That is something that i have desired for so long! So, i will be getting more in tune with my church ministry's and everything! But until then, i am here and the Lord is nurturing my heart! I have to continue to tell myself that, just because i am here at school and not in Africa yet, that it doesn't mean that i still. That i should be spreading the Gospel where ever i go! So, what i want to learn is just how to share the gospel!

Dear Lord, I love you. I thank you for who you are and not what i have. I know that my words can be a bit repetitive many times, but my heart says thank you my father! For without you, there wouldn't be a me! Amen

COVICTIONS!!!!!!!!

So as i sit here today, back against the wall, i realize that the way that i live my life isn't necessarily the way everyone should live their lives. I mean there are aspects of who i am that people should follow. People should love the Lord and accept his gift. And live a life devoted to him. But no, all people shouldn't stop eating Pork, for it is my own conviction. Today a situation was bought to my eyes and the initial thing i thought to thing was, no, that's wrong, you shouldn't do that! I don't do that?
After having a, i don't know if i should call it a conversation, but more of a heated talk my spirit felt so low. Heavy, i couldn't shake it! I know you have had those days. It's just that i would have never imagined this person to do something like this, and i felt hurt. So i sat on my couch and just prayed for this person over and over again. And i think that is when the Lord stepped in and decided to heal my heart because this person decided that we should have a real conversation about what was going on instead of yelling (How respectable)... So we just talked and talked and it was at that point that the Lord revealed to me that he gives everyone there own conviction... and i never ever would have thought that.
Today was an odd day, but it all came together in the end with an explanation. No more asked questions... The Lord works in everyone differently and who am i to say what someone, who has a relationship with God, can and cannot do. They weren't sinning at all?

Lord, i just thank you, holy father, for your strength and still voice within us all. That your love is miraculous and can cut through spirit and flesh. Jesus i just pray that you would be with your body stronger than ever Lord, that your blessing would pour down upon those that you love. That your favor may represent itself in our lives. Lord, please give me peace and understanding! Jesus, you are good!