Bedazzaled

If you remember or have time, watch the movie Bedazzled.

It is a story of a guy who is a nerd and wants this beautiful girl Allison. Anyway, the devil gets wind of it played by Elizabeth Hurley. She seduces him by saying she (the devil) will give him 7 wishes. Needless to say, they all get screwed up in one way or another by (the devil).

One night he gets thrown in jail by a cop (the devil) and guess who is in jail with him... well it is God and he is a black man.

So..... the cell mate (God) first off says... "that lady cop.. she is the devil."

and then ...(God) asks the young man "what are you in for?" The young man says, "eternity."

(God) says that is a long time. So the young man is now confessing that he sold his soul and got nothing for it. So .. (God) says that is a bum deal. .. but then goes on to say

"well it doesn't really matter anyway as it wasn't yours to sell" The young man is surprized and says.. "whose is it" and of course, He says "it belongs to God" .. and God said, "she is just messing with you."

So if your feeling " Bedazzaled lately" ... well your not the only one, but rest assured our soul is safely in the Fathers hands. He knows we are going to mess up but ... for whatever reason we are on this journey of God discovery and self discovery..

Blessings
Lori

Go and tell

"Go and tell My people that divine destiny is being aborted."

"Aborted by what, Lord?"

"By religious confusion and man made teachings that have nothing to do with My Word or My Spirit," He replied.

(excerpt from Dr. Varners new book)

Colossians 2:8, NIV See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.

Something to ponder

In him we live and move and have our being
Lori

I am Back

I am back

Another Tragedy of Religion

Here is a couple of young men whom I have been following. Again .... religion has once again played the role of I am better than you. It is sad. I like their response. I hope Joshua and Jacob continue to have a relationship with their Father who loves them unconditionally. I am sure they new it was coming but we all know it does not feel nice to be rejected.

"The two of us were just informed that last night a Jehovah's Witness meeting took place in our hometown of Kalispell, Montana. At this meeting it was announced to all members of the Jehovah's Witness organization that we have been, as Jehovah's Witnesses would say, "disfellowshipped" (excommunicated) because of our homosexuality and our participation in our reality show, Jacob & Joshua: Nemesis Rising, on Logo.

According to Jehovah's Witness doctrine, being "disfellowshipped" means that we have been found guilty of unrepentant gross misconduct. Our immediate family is to have limited or no contact with us. And all other practicing Jehovah's Witnesses around the world are not to speak with us ever again.

Although we are no longer Jehovah's Witnesses, we have nothing but love for those individuals who have been asked to shun us. We will continue to be in contact with our family and those who truly love us unconditionally as long as they're willing.

We find it ironic that a religion whose members are asked to knock on the doors of strangers with a message of acceptance into paradise on Earth will not accept two of its own children for who they really are. Our wish for them is one of tolerance and understanding and we send to all of them a message of peace and love."

Another great example of how organized religion can be buckets of fun, love, and inclusion.

SEA OF BUSYNESS.......

I have been caught by this wave...

Actually it may even be.. well what do you call it..

hmmm

a tsunami..

that's it...

Earthquakes, mass movements above or below water,
volcanic eruptions and other underwater explosions,
landslides and large meteorite impacts

ALL have the potential to generate a tsunami.

The effects of a tsunami can range from unnoticeable to devastating.

At first the busyness is unnoticeable

and then...

when the effects are on and on..

they become... sometimes devastating...

So ... I need to take a deep breath and lean on my beloved....

and walk out ot the wildernss.

Lori

Legalism * License * Liberty

What do these words mean to you?

Legalism:
Websters defines this as "strict, literal, or excessive conformity to the law or to a religious or moral code." This term speaks of a man-made and man-governed system of "do's" and "don'ts" (set of rules and regulations to be obeyed".

Legalism:
Breeds death and ministers death, for there is nothing that man can do or not do that can be a basis for his salvation or reality or the basis of his growth and development in God.
Legalism is "I have to"

License:
Websters defines this as "freedom that allows or is used with irresponsibility."
I can do anything in Christ and it is alright with God.
Legalism will destroy us but license will destroy us quicker.

Liberty:
Greek means: "a loosening,relaxation, indulgence."
Jesus has made us Free to do the will of the Father.

Galatians 5:1
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Galatians 5:13
You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.

What is defined as sinful in nature?

For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.
The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery, idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.

What is the fruit of the spirit?

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Ephesians 2:14-15

For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility,by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace.

Beautiful verse......

He destroyed the barrier......

He destroyed the wall......

He has made peace with US.

This is the Goodnews that needs to be preached.

I Feel A Change In The Wind, Says I

What a Little drop of Love can Do...

  One day, when I was a freshman in high school,
I saw a kid
from my class walking home from school.

     His name was Kyle.

      It looked like he was carrying all of his
books.

     I thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring
home all his
books on a Friday? He must really be a nerd."

     I had quite a weekend planned
(parties and a football game
with my friends tomorrow afternoon),
so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.
     
As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids
running toward him.
      They ran at him, knocking all his books out
of his arms and
tripping him so he landed in the dirt.
      His glasses went flying, and I saw them
land
in the grass about tenfeet from him.

      He looked up and I saw this terrible
sadness in his eyes.
My heart went out to him.
So, I jogged over to him and as he
crawled around looking for his glasses,
and I saw a tear in his eye.
    
As I handed him his glasses, I said,
"Those guys are jerks. "
     They really should get lives.
"He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!"
     There was a big smile on his face.
      It was one of those smiles that showed
real gratitude.
      I helped him pick up his books,
and asked him where he lived.
      As it turned out, he lived near me,
so I asked him why I had
neverseen him before.

      He said he had gone to a private school
before now. I would have never hung out
with a private school kid before.
      We talked all the way home,
and I carried some of his books.
      He turned out to be a pretty cool kid.

      I asked him if he wanted to play
a little football with my
friends and he said yes.
 We hung out all weekend
and the more I got to know Kyle, the
more I liked him,
and my friends thought the same of him.
   
Monday morning came,
and there was Kyle with the huge stack
of booksagain.
      I stopped him and said,
"Boy, you are gonna really build some
serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!" 

He just laughed and
handed me half the books.
     Over the next four years,
Kyle and I became best friends.
     When we were seniors,
we began to think about college.
     Kyle decided on Georgetown,
and I was going to Duke. I knew
that we would always be friends,
that the miles would never be a problem.   
He was going to be a doctor,
and I was going for business on
a football scholarship.
    
Kyle was valedictorian of our class.
      I teased him all the time
about being a nerd.
     He had to prepare a speech for graduation.
      I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up
there and speak Graduation day.

 I saw Kyle.
      He looked great.
     He was one of those guys
that really found himself during
high school. He filled out and
actually looked good in glasses.
     He had more dates than I had
and all the girls loved him.
      Boy, sometimes I was jealous!
      Today was one of those days.

      I could see that he was nervous
about his speech, so I smacked him on the back
and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll
be great!"

     He looked at me with one of those looks
(the really grateful
one) and smiled. "Thanks," he said. !
    As he started his speech,
he cleared his throat, and began,
  
"Graduation is a time to thank those
who helped you make it through
those tough years.
   Your parents, your teachers,
your siblings, maybe a coach...but
mostly
your friends...

    I am here to tell all of you
that being a friend to someone is
the bestgift you can give them.
    I am going to tell you a story."
    I just looked at my friend
with disbelief as he told the story
of the first day we met.

    He had planned to kill himself
over the weekend.
    He talked of how he had cleaned
out his locker so his Mom
wouldn't have to do it later
and was carrying his stuff home.
    He looked hard at me
and gave me a little smile.
    "Thankfully"
I was saved.

My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."
   I heard the gasp go through the crowd
as this handsome, popular
boy told us all about his weakest moment.
    I saw his Mom and dad
looking at me and smiling that same
grateful smile.

   Not until that moment did I realize it's depth.
    Never underestimate the power of your actions.
    With one small gesture
you can change a person's life.
    For better or for worse.
   God puts us all in each other's
lives to impact one another in
some way.

Whatever

You

Give

Your

Attention

too

GROWS...

ponder on that a while....

PERFECT LOVE CASTS OUT ALL FEAR

Often we hear the opposite of Faith is Fear....

But I believe the opposite of Fear is Love.

Let us consume each other with God's Love

LOVE IS SO LIMITLESS

Well if it has anything to do with LOVE... I am all over it....

I found this gem on Bruce's Blog but the writer is Andre from "Hear me"

Please Read.. you will be blessed and stop by the guys blog to comment...

There’s something which I simply find irresistible; something to which I can’t help but respond. The love of God is a force to which I have no defence and neither do anyone else, I believe. That’s why love never fails – it is persistent, never loses hope, and eventually, once the recipient sees it for what it is, love gets the response it always knew would come.

No person who sees and understands the love of God our Father, wilfully rejects it. It is not a will that is free that reject this love; it is a will in bondage. No person has ever out of his/her own free will rejected our Lord, rather it is because of ignorance, because of blindness that some have made uninformed choices. The good news, however, is that God, and we, are in the business of making the truth plainly known.

He loves to reveal Himself, so that those who do not know Him, and ignorantly rejected who they thought He was – their own ideas of Him – might see Him for who He really is, and respond with the only possible response: “…bow in worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that he is the Master of all …“ Phil 2:10, 11

Such an encounter with God is not far from each one of us. We do not need to search or persuade Him of our need – He is both willing and able to make Himself known to any and every man, in a way that is as unique as the individual. The good news is that He took, takes, and will take the initiative to do this! Rom 10:20: Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, “I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.”

The will of man – no match against the will of God

A most vivid example of this is the story of Saul’s conversion. I was taught, and I can confidently assume that many Christians were taught the same, that the one thing God would never violate, is man’s free will. I still agree with that statement, but as you can guess, my perspective of it has drastically changed. The erroneous conclusion normally drawn from the previous statement is that a man’s free will is more sacred and more powerful than God’s eternal purpose. For, although God desires that “all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4), ultimately a stubborn man who refuses to accept this truth will rob God of His desire. Also, it incorrectly assumes that a person who rejects God is free, for he/she does so from a free will! Let’s return to the story of Saul, who later became known as Paul, and I will refer to him as Paul from now on. You can read about his background and encounter with Jesus yourself in Acts chapter 9 and Philippians chapter 3.

Paul was a Pharisee – the strictest religious group of his day. Self-discipline and meticulous observance of rules and regulations defined this group. His enmity against the followers on Jesus was no theoretical debate, no, he took action. He was obviously a very determined man to be described as “breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord”. We are not dealing with a weak-willed, indifferent person here. He considered Jesus and Jesus’ teaching to be his enemy and did whatever possible to stop it. Later Paul described himself as the chief of sinners.

Do you think Paul’s strong opposition and determined was a problem for Jesus? Can you imagine the Father and Jesus conversing regarding Paul and saying: “What will we do! We can’t interfere with his ‘free will’”
Ridiculous!
Jesus knew that Paul’s enmity against Him was rooted in ignorance; He knew that if Paul saw Him for who He truly is, there would be no argument. Jesus knew that Paul did not act from his own free will, but from deception, and therefore He had no problem with interfering in his life. His stubbornness was no obstacle to the love of God.

His initiative – our response
When Paul saw Jesus, he needed no prompting to make a quality decision for God; he needed no argument to persuade him to repent and submit to Christ. No! When he encountered Jesus his first words were: “Lord, who are you”. He might not have known by what name to call this being, but he knew that this was the Lord. There was an instant recognition and an instant response. God is irresistible; God is inescapable!
He never gives up on anyone and He never fails.

No wonder that Paul’s whole testimony and message is centred around the initiative of God and not around the contribution of man. In Galatians he emphasises that this encounter with God had nothing to do with his decision, but all to do with God’s decision! If fact he was zealously persecuting the church …”But when it pleased God … who called me by his grace …to reveal his Son in me.” Gal 1:15, 16.
It was God’s initiative, God’s decision, and God’s faith in Paul that saved Paul!
Paul writes about salvation in the book of Ephesians and declares that even faith did not originate in him – faith too is a gift of God!
Eph 2:8: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.
Eph 2:8 (Message): Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish!

Romans 9 focuses on God’s initiative and presents some very inspiring examples.
The example of how God determined the destinies of Isaac and Esau is striking and summed up in verse 10: “ and her babies were still innocent in the womb–incapable of good or bad–she received a special assurance from God. What God did in this case made it perfectly plain that his purpose is not a hit-or-miss thing dependent on what we do or don’t do, but a sure thing determined by his decision, flowing steadily from his initiative.” Wow!

God at work within us

Phi 2:9 – 13: Therefore God has highly exalted Him, and has given Him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of heavenly ones, and of earthly ones, and of ones under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, cultivate your own salvation with fear and trembling.
For it is God who works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.

Did you get that last part? “…it is God who works in you both to will and to do …” I am so glad that our Father does not consider my will off limits! I’m so glad He influences my desires, my will, my everything.

Now, what I find very interesting, is the fact that this statement follows so close after the declaration that every knee shall bow and every tongue confess. I used to think that God will eventually force every creature to bow their knee to him and coerce a confession out of them. One could imagine a dictator taking delight in forcing such behaviour from his enemies, but it is unimaginable that a the God of truth would find any delight in an outward form of submission and ignore a will that is still at enmity against Him. The way in which Love – God is love – destroys His enemies, is by making them friends … “while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God” He is at work within, to will and to do … and the outcome of this work is a being that wants to acknowledge and worship Him.

A better way
So often in our desire to share the truth with others, we’ve mistakenly focussed on their acceptance, their decision, their faith. We fought intellectually, emotionally and any other way we knew to get agreement, and if all failed we blamed it on their free will!

There is a much better way! We have an irresistible product! And when we simply focus on revealing the Father, and trusting that the Father Himself is at work within all, then we can rest assured that there is only one possible outcome; only one possible response to the love of God.

It is God’s initiative that awakens our response. It is His self-disclosure that stirs faith. Seeing His face draws out our adoration. Live confidently that every man’s conscience bears witness to the truth displayed through your live.

GRACE

We hear that word so often and we often think of "unmerited favor".

Could it be GRACE is really His "enabling power"?????

Because

Why does God only give it to the humble? Proverbs 3:34

He mocks proud mockers but gives grace to the humble.


Why can you fall away from grace? Galatians 5:4

You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.

and

Why did Jesus say he was full of grace? John 1:14

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

What I am looking at Now...

In the last few days I have been reading on sites that confess that homosexuality is not a "sin" and that God does not condemn it and so on. They have some pretty convincing thoughts to say it is not sin when it is in a loving relationship, just as heterosexuals.

I think the thing that bothers me most is the treatment they recieved from others. OMG it makes me sooooooooo sad. I have been listening to some of the artists who sing and write songs. Wow.. the pain and turmoil and love these people have. Somehow persecution brings us closer to one another.

My prayer is ...Father please help us to see each other as you see US.

The young men I have been touched by is Jason and Demarco.

They sing with passion and heart.

My heart goes out to the wounded and the rejected.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown MERCY.

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

The Wind is Blowing

Busy

O my gosh.. it has been so long since I posted.

Just want to say I have been reading but not posting on other blogs or my own.

I think we go through seasons.

I am for sure in a season. My season would be winter. There is a stripping going on in my life.

I am trying to resist this but I know that God is just so patient and loving with me.

Living in a Canada.. winters can be long but you so appreciate the spring and summer and fall.

Song 4:16

Awake, O north wind....

the word Awake means "opening eyes/to be made naked"

This is a wind which leads us to repentance and faith in Him.

It shall cause me to turn towards Him.

It is a desire of God that we be naked and not ashamed to come before Him.

We can come to Him in boldness to His throne. Heb 4:15

All the winds, north, south, east and west are valuable in our walk with God.

When wind travels across the sea it moves at a greater velocity than on land.

Why?

Because land has resistance.

Resistance like mountains, surface irregularitis, vegetation,hills, and man made structures.

These things cause friction and do not allow the wind to move freely.

I have strong towers, strongholds, mindsets, reigion which hinder the wind Holy Spirit of God to move.

I know because the wind is blowing..

I saw a dream, I lived that dream, I lost my dreams

I colored inside the lines, I lost control, He colored outside the lines

I misunderstood, I felt misunderstood, now I understand

I cried, I laughed, and I became silent.

I lost ambition, I regained passion.

I found a voice,

I fell in love and I fell out of love

I lift the cast, I saw the kingdom

I felt poverty, I found simplicity

I saw the truth and I found a person.

I smelt the roses and then I felt the thrones.

I gambled and I lost it.

I reasoned and it slipped away.

I gave it, He found it,

I died, He lives.

"Men are like stars, there are millions of them, but only one can make your wishes come true."

"Dance like no one is watching.
Sing like no one is listening.
Love like you've never been hurt
and live like it's heaven on Earth."

There is one book I read from a man who I believe has an intimate relationship with Dad.

He wrote in his book about issues. Issues of men. Here is the list and a couple of examples of these issues.

1. Church growth issue
ie How long should our services be? Should there be altar calls every service?
2. Deeper life issue.
ie What constitutes real spirtuality? Who is the "man of sin" mentioned in Second Thessalonians 2?
3. The discipleship issue.
What is discipleship? Can a person be saved and be gay? Is it right for a christian to drink wine?
4. The eschatology issue.
Is the coming of Jesus literal or spirtual??? Will there be a rapture??
5. The Godhead issue.
Which theology is correct: Trinitarian, or oneness?? Is Jesus the Father??
6. The liturgy Issue.
Should we celebrate EAster? Should people dance?? Should we use real wine at the Lord's supper???
7. Dominion Issue.
Who is a "Jew" according to the bible? Did the devil steal anything?? Does God want all his people to prosper??
8. The marriage-divorce issue.
Is sex outside of marriage a sin?? Can a Christian marry an unbeliever??
9. The race issue.
Was adam white or black. Is it scriptural for the races to intermarry??
10. Holy spirit issues.
Does God still work mircles. Is it God's will to heal everyone??
11.Spirtual warfare issue.
Is there a real devil? Is he defeated or alive and well on planet earth?? Are demons real??
12. Theocracy issues.
Is the church mystical, visible, universal or local or individual?? Is tithing before, during or after the law. Is tithing for today???

Here is an exerpt from his book:

Christians are killing each other with these questions and issues, they are majoring on minors. Men prefer to preach from the tree of knowledge of good and evil rather than from the Tree of LIfe. These issues have become fighting words, depending on one's camp or stream. When men don't have a relationship with the One who is the Truth, they resort to preaching/sharing/talking about issues.

We must stop hassling one another in these lower realms. We must ascend and return to th simplicity of preaching Christ.

What are we to do? Like the woman with the issue of blood, we must press through the CROWD to get to HIM.

The church has suffered many things from the hands of men. Every stream has had its hands on this woman, but she is no better off, her life is drained, no one can heal her, no one can stop the bleeding except the Great Physician Jesus.

Jesus is waiting for His Wife to be delivered from every preacher or person determined to make his "point or issue". The Lord desires to fill us w tih His LIFE reproducing His name, His nature in the earth.

It is timefor OUR ISSUE to be healed, to exchange the menstrual cloth of our own way for the clean priestly garment of the His Kingdoms Purpose.

Prophetic word that I witnessed with recently

Listen to me my people, time is running out, 20% of the time that I have given this place is only left.

I have called my body to come into a place of unity. I will send my threshing will upon the church.

I will grind the church and take away all the husk of self,
and I will blend you like flour,
and I will pour in my oil of gladness,
and my water of life,
and I will make my church a loaf,
a loaf that is palatable for the people of my world to taste , for I am good.

I am so good that I sent the only thing that I have that is of any value to me, my precious son to die on the cross at Calvary, so that ALL OF YOU may live and have life.

I want you to let my will be done with you.

I want my love to pour out of you, that it is a loaf of a bread that is a multigrain because my church is multicultural, that you will not recognize one grain, but the flour that comes from my church will be like silk, that it will be smooth, and it will be easy for the people out there to feed upon.

Because my people out there are hungry, they are starving for my love. Can you not see that? My people are hungry they are hurting!

sip on this one....

"2 sips from the cup of human kindess & im shitfaced"

found this one on someone's blog