Times of Change

Summer is quickly coming to an end. The crisp chill of Fall is in the air and things are beginning to slow down. Feeling a bit uncertain during times of change is common. No matter how we may try to position the change to ourselves and others, the result is the same: fear, sadness, guilt, shame or even anger. Just as night becomes day; change will occur on a regular basis. Some change actually brings a sense of joy, excitement and anticipation. Like the night before the long awaited trip of a lifetime to an exotic place or family trip to Disneyland.

When I was a kid, I didn't sleep at all the night before a trip to an amusement park. It wasn't hard to imagine the rides, the crowds or the sounds. Having fun was the thrill that kept me from sleeping. Just as the anticipation of fun was the culprit as a child, fear of future financial or health issues has been the culprit as an adult. Our imagination is truly a powerful gift from God. We can see beauty and adventure or we can see failure and destruction.

We can see all things in our mind. It's where we live, move and breathe. How we see ourselves manifests itself in the physical world. “As a man thinks – so is he.” Proverbs 23:7 I believe this is why we fear change as an adult and not as a child. Adults have been conditioned for years by parents or society to live and behave a certain way. Measurements of success are ingrained in us. Any level of change that we can not anticipate or control, leaves us vulnerable to failure. Whereas children see each new day as an adventure, a challenge and a thing to be enjoyed.

Life is a gift from God. We were created for His enjoyment. Much as the enjoyment that a parent gets from seeing their children having fun at an amusement park, so does God get pleasure from us. When we learn to truly trust God as our source and allow His blessings to become reality in our lives - It blesses the Lord. We are cautioned in scripture not to allow the cares of this world to overcome us. (Matthew 13:22), but to trust the Lord and be joyful for all He has done for us. (John 14:1)

Recapturing that child-like wonder can be difficult, but growing in your understanding of God's love, His plans and His desire for you, will begin to reignite that child that still lives in all of us. Change is the beginning of a new adventure – embrace the moment.

Seeking Happiness

A few years ago I read that people of Scandinavia are the most happiest people on earth. Those looking for happiness, I am sure packed their bags and headed there. I wonder with the influx of population after that report, if that is true today. In the article there wasn't an emphasis put on religion. When I hear things like this, I need to read between the lines. Is religion the problem with most people?

People are raised in a belief system of some sort. We all have a philosophy of life. I believe because the true Gospel of Christ has not been properly presented or taught, that Christians don't live the truth and we've actually become an enemy to the cross of Christ, more so than those who are antagonistic the Christian faith. The truth of God's Word holds the entire universe together—the power of the cross changes lives.

Too many poorly instructed teachers with their own agenda have led people astray The Word of God and Power of the Gospel are not received by the people it was intended to reach. The purpose is to teach people the freedom Jesus purchased for us. Most Christians teachers don't teach the power given to the believers under the New Covenant, but make it more like rehashed version of the Law. Many Christian live in fear of God and not in praise for the mercy and gifts they have received through Jesus.

As Christians we all need to faithfully read the Word of God for ourselves – trust what the Holy Spirit says to us— stop gathering so many teachers to tell us what God says. God speaks! Our personal happiness does not depend on circumstances—that is a lie from Satan. Other people are not the source of happiness, in fact most people will disappoint us at some point. They will not follow through with promises that will dash our hopes.
 Happiness is not found in a place, a job, health or wealth. Our personal happiness begins and ends with a personal relationship with Jesus – where our true peace, happiness, purpose, wealth and health are. We can't live without Him. He is the vine and we are the branches.

Night Ride

In an effort to be more “green” I decided to ride my bike to work for a few weeks. It's a quick three-mile ride and the summer evenings are warm. I am familiar with the route, by day, but coming home at night is a little different. The gentle curves of the road without lighting present a completely different view. It's impossible to see potential hazards in the bike lane, even with my small headlight.

One night, a beautiful full moon lit the sky as I was on my way home. It was in that moment the Lord reminded me of some things. Darkness is a big thing to the Lord. It is something that He never wanted us to be overcome by. At creation, God gave us the sun to light the day and the moon to light the night. The Lord Jesus said “those who follow me will never walk in darkness.” John 8:12. David wrote, “Your Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” Psalms 119:105.

So what is the deal with darkness. You can't see the road ahead or possible obstacles that could be harmful. Pits and traps are hidden in darkness. Those who want to do evil try to hide in to cover of darkness. Light represents the truth of God's presence with us and darkness represents ignorance of those who refuse to believe God's Word. Trusting God's Word shines brightly if we listen and if we do as He instructs we can avoid many problems.

Darkness has a special purpose too. At night is when all life rests. Our body clock tells us it's time to sleep. Birds return to their nests, Foxes return to their dens, even plants rejuvenate under to cover of darkness. During the period of sleep all our defenses are down, we are at our most vulnerable. It takes faith in the security of our shelter that will allow us to close our eyes and relax. Whether or not we understand this, it is God's design that we can rest, but more than that it is an act of faith to rest in Him.

It is our choice to place faith in God's promises to guide us on life's journey. We can't see the future, but we can know how to get to our destination. Placing our trust in Him we can rest and allowing Him to navigate us through the obstacles, around the pits and avoiding the traps of the evil found in this world and bring us safely to our destination.

Carol Peterson Cyber Tour - The Celebration Continues... And Gifts For You

    It is my privilege and honor to welcome my dear friend Carol Peterson to my site to share with us her new Bible study series entitled “With Faith Like Hers” Each book highlights well known female characters and asks the question how am I like these women?
   Most people read Bible stories and chock them off as a good tale, but never let their stories plant the seed that God intended in our lives. King Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastics “There is nothing new under the sun.” If we are wise we will take note of their lives and see how God worked. The Lord is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. He will do the very same things in our lives, if we are paying attention. The Bible truly is a “how to” manual if we let the Holy Spirit teach us. Usually we are too busy to see the similarities, so that is why the Lord has blessed us with great teachers like Carol.
  Before I let Carol share a bit of how “I Am Ester” came into being, let me brag on my friend. I have known Carol for the past several years. She is always the first to comment on a post and give an honest review. I know the Lord sent her to me when I needed it most to fulfill my life's purpose. It's because of her encouragement that I keep going, keep writing, keep sharing my gift with the world. The Lord truly has a plan for each of our lives, we never know who the Lord will use. Now here is Carol...

Carol Peterson on Writing Esther:
Do you ever have those little conversations with the Holy Spirit where He’s leading you and you’re dragging your feet, digging in your heels and saying, “wait a minute”? I had a conversation like that when I woke up one morning with the title of a new book in my head.
“I am Esther,” said the Holy Spirit. “You need to write that book.”
At which point I proceeded to argue. A Bible study based on Esther? There are dozens of them out there.
“You need to write this one.”
I don’t know anything about the culture or the history back then.
“Just focus on a month’s worth of lessons modern women can learn from my daughter, Esther.”
A month’s worth of lessons? You do know that the Book of Esther is only about 20 pages, including commentary, don’t you?
“I know exactly what is in my book, Carol.”
How about a nice series of blog posts instead?
…silence…
I’ll read through the Book of Esther again, just to count the lessons, OK?
“I’m happy when you read my Word.”
So I opened my Bible and began jotting down the lessons I saw in the Book of Esther. When I finished the fourth chapter, I had 23 lessons listed and still had six chapters left to peruse. I set my pencil down and began to thank God for making me teachable and for the Holy Spirit’s patient leading.
I am Esther became the first book in the Bible study series With Faith Like Hers. Each book in the Bible study series focuses on a single woman in scripture. The thesis is that much of our character and circumstances are like hers. It is her story, but it is also ours, when we have faith like hers.
I won’t say that the rest of the series is writing itself. But I will say that when I surrendered to the leading of the Holy Spirit—when I got out of His way and out of my own way—the journey became a thrilling and deeper understanding of Scripture and how God can use even us women today for His good purpose.
Even if His purpose includes writing books.
WHAT ABOUT YOU? Has there been a time when you resisted God’s leading? How did that work out for you? What happened when you surrendered to His will?

Please Join Carol Peterson’s Cyber Party
This post is part of a week-long cyber party, celebrating the launch of my new Bible study series. A party isn’t a party though without friends and gifts. So please get to know some of my friends, by heading to their place and signing up for a drawing. Leave your name and email addie in a comment. At the end of the week, I’ll pick three people who will each receive one of the Bible studies in this new series.
For more fun:
*Monday’s delicious CYBER LAUNCH LUNCH is still going on at my site www.CarolPetersonAuthor.com . There’s plenty of cyber food left. (OK, so they’re recipes, but they’re still available for download and still delicious!) Leave a comment with your email address to enter the drawing.
*Also head back to Chris Vonada’s interview of me from Tuesday at www.ChrisVonada.com . Don’t forget to leave a comment to enter the drawing—again.
*Also on Tuesday at www.CarolPetersonAuthor.com , I’ll chat a bit about the writing of I am Eve and how I had to rethink the idea that living a life like Eve was a bad thing. Remember to leave a comment to enter the drawing—once more.
*Then return to Wednesday’s post at www.LynnMosher.com to glimpse a bit about one of Jesus’ ancestors, Ruth. Don’t forget to leave a comment to enter the drawing—one more time.
*Then join the celebration on Friday at my site again www.CarolPetersonAuthor.com . More gifts and offers await you there; along with my thanks for helping me celebrate this launch.

One more gift to you: if you purchase two of the three print books in this series from Amazon, email me a copy of your receipt and I’ll email a pdf of the third book FREE. 

Hello,

I was just thanking and praising God for His many blessings. Everyday is a gift. Every moment a treasure. I've been busy writing and not spending very much time sharing all the wonderful things that the Lord is showing me - but don't worry, I have lots to say.

I have a special treat set up for tomorrow Carol Peterson will be my guest and share her new series of studies. I am finishing up some more faith adventures so next week I will spend more time here and sharing.

Until then know you are blessed, 

Prospect of Freedom

July 4^th is a big day in the United States of America. It represents a day in which after 150 year British rule, the 5^th & 6th generation of the American Colonists saw a prospect of freedom. The prosperity of the colonies gave way to the idea of self government, after all the ruling seat was on the other side of a vast ocean. This separation however did not effect the authority of the King and he was not willing to let the prize of North America go easily. Many skirmishes broke out between the colonists and British authorities. Taxes and tariff's were imposed to keep people from building great sums of wealth. Policies were enforced that would not allow the Americans to form a militia for self defense—that may threaten Britain.

Most American's believe that July 4^th 1776, set us free from England and we became our own people, that could not be further from the truth. The battle for independence began much earlier in 1756 with the French & Indian War. Hostilities did not conclude until 1782 with signing of a Preliminary Articles of Peace. The establishment of the United States of America did not begin officially until June 21, 1788 when the Constitution was ratified by New Hampshire.

The struggles for freedom from tyrannical rule is nothing new in the history of man. The American story reminds me of our Christian story. In our battle for freedom from Satan and sin that causes so much destruction in our lives, we find many similarities.

Our battle for independence came when we heard about richness of God's grace and that Jesus paid our sin debt on the cross. We declared independence when we chose Jesus. But the war had just began, Satan was not going to let his prize of human choice go easily. His tactics have not changed, twisting truth and by keeping carnal minds on the physical and not the spiritual reality. Although our battle is won in Christ, ignorance of God's Word and His promises has caused failure in experiencing real freedom in Christ.

The opportunity to be a self ruling person begins with renewing our minds to the truth of God's Word and changing our evil thoughts and actions. Gaining ground is a long and difficult daily battle, but our victory is guaranteed. Knowing this truth found in scripture "The articles of Peace" will secure our succession from a tyrant bent on the destruction of our faith. If we have the wrong definition of freedom and independence then we will continue to place ourselves in slavery to a tyrant instead of the mercy of our God.

Our founding fathers knew this truth. With faith in God as our King, they set about establishing a country based in freedom from tyranny and a place where we could worship God without fear. Patrick Henry said, “Give me liberty or give me death.” God has truly blessed America, but we are the ones who keep it free by renewing our minds to the truth.

Knowledge of Faith

Although we can't see God with our natural eyes – His love, His word and His truth is everywhere. Every waking hour we are confronted with the overwhelming evidence of God, from other people to plants, animals, sky, moon and stars. The fact that God has never violated His Word stands evident to us as well. But, we are confronted with another fact that things are not right. Evil desires that cause fighting, discontent, lying, cheating, stealing and betrayal don't seem to have a rightful place in this symphony of beauty.

Many people have been exposed to some teaching out of the Bible either by movies, television, other people's thoughts or even at church. We know something in our heart, even if we don't understand it. We all have an intuitive knowledge of God, but that is where it ends for most people. The things they think about God determine how they pursue God. The Holy Spirit is constantly pursuing people, revealing His love, hope, acceptance and peace. Drawing people to a deeper relationship with Him.

Most people who've experience an encounter with the Holy Spirit and sense that hope, joy, peace and acceptance will in turn try to pursue Him, but fall away as soon as that feeling has past. Many times they will quit the pursuit because of what other people say. Still others continue on and rediscover that love, hope, joy and peace.

Unfortunately, many people including Christians dishonor the Lord by believing the opinions of others. Those who don't know the Lord say the Lord is out to punish them and even those who have a strained relationship with the Lord will believe similar things. Some Christians are taught to believe twisted scriptures to make the tote the line, made to feel unworthy and having to earn favor with God to receive from Him.

For many years I had the wrong impression of God through the opinions of others including pastors, teachers and other Christian examples. What they said about God and how He does things was different than what I was reading in the Bible that inspired my heart. I had a conflict and had to make a choice what I was going to believe. Through the eyes of faith, I began seeking God, believing the scriptures above what others said and God spoke to my heart and confirmed to me the truth.

It has taken many years to undo the damage of others opinions and twisted scripture teaching and removing the lies. It takes effort and faith, but it is well worth it. If you want to truly know God you've got to get somethings straight in your heart. You've got to understand that God loves you unconditionally, everything that kept you apart from God was dealt with at the cross. Seeing God with the right prospective opens the gates to the overwhelming blessings. The Lord takes great pleasure in restoring all that has been stolen from you.

Psalms 119:140 “Your promises have been thoroughly tested; that's why I love them so much.”

Separated Faith

You may not understand that what we believe in our heart charts the course of our life. If we believe the wrong thing, then our lives follow that course out of the will of God. But when we fully understand that God is for us, loves us and has blessed us with every spiritual blessing, then our lives begin to develop according to God will.

Romans 10:9-10 “For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God and it is by confessing with your mouth you are saved.”

Two powerful elements of faith – what you believe in your heart and the words you say—they must match to have any effect in receiving the promises of God.

If you believe Jesus in your heart – but the words you say contradict your heart, then your faith is not a separated faith. Remember that one smidgen of doubt or unbelief cancels out your prayerful request. God does not honor doubt or unbelief, however He does know His plans for you and will encourage you to trust Him.

To get the right view of God in your heart, you must begin to believe what He has said about you and to you – that you are blessed, you are welcomed, you are anointed, you have authority in the natural world, you are no longer a slave but are free, you are holy and righteous because God lives in you.

Renew your mind to the truth given in His Word, believe them and your faith will be consecrated unto the Lord. You'll live doubt free and the promises of God will flow in you and through you.

Proverbs 23:17 “Don't envy sinners, but always continue to fear [honor] the Lord. For surely you have a future ahead of you, your hope will not be disappointed.”

Heart of Faith

How well do you know the Lord? When you hear something from the Word of God does your heart rejoice or does it make you feel bad or ashamed? This is a quick indicator of your heart condition and relationship with the Lord. If you have an intimate relationship with Him, every word is a blessing and you will receive it with joy. But if you don't, then every word sounds like a curse.

Proverbs 3:11 “My child don't ignore it when the Lord disciplines you and don't be discouraged when He corrects you. For the Lord corrects all those He loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights”

What you believe about God in your heart is how your relationship will go. If you have the concept that God is a harsh disciplinarian, not wanting you to have any fun, and to follow Him is to hard, then your heart will become hard to His Word. But if you have experienced the goodness and favor of God and have understood His Words are to give you the fullness of life then His Word is all you desire.

Psalms 18:26 “To the pure you show yourself pure, but to the wicked you show yourself hostile”

Proverbs 20:10-11 “The Lord despises double standards of every kind. Even children are known by the way they act, whether their conduct is pure and right.”

The Born Again believer must understand that all their sins are totally and completely erased by the blood of Jesus. God is not angry or upset about sin, He sees you pure and holy – even if you don't feel that way. Grasping this basic truth about salvation will set you free to release your heart in faith.

Faith in Living

We hear the word “faith” all the time. It means different things to different people. Most people think of faith as a place as in “house of faith” or a teaching or doctrine. The worldly meaning of faith is trusting in the physical, what can be seen—but the true meaning of faith is trust in God – our creator, our mentor, our savior, who can not be seen with our natural eyes.

Placing faith in things that are seen versus things that are not, is not real faith. It doesn't take faith to accept what we see in the natural world, but it does take faith to see what is in the spiritual world. We don't need huge faith to see the miracles of God, just a smidgen is all it takes.

The number one faith killer is doubt or unbelief. No matter what you ask for, hope for or pray for, if there is a smidgen of doubt or unbelief it totally cancels out your request or desire. If when we ask God for something, like a beggar and not His child, we will not get it. That is an action of unbelief.

In order to receive from God your heart has to believe Him, know He will not withhold any good thing from you. Just like when you accepted Jesus. Something spoke to your heart and you wanted that and believed it. This is one of the keys to the kingdom. You have to believe God loves you unconditionally and never has any ill-will towards you.

Paul wrote to the Corinthian church to confirm that they, the believers, were the temple of the living God. You have to know that God lives in you. You have to know that His power works through you, but His power can not be released if you have doubt and unbelief residing in you.

So the Christian life begins with Jesus coming into you at salvation. He brought His power and authority in you, but if you are not living a faith filled life, by accepting and believing this most basic principal, you will be overcome by the natural world and its lies.

Encourage your faith! Grow it. Nurture it. Live it

Here I Am

Hello Friends,

It has been awhile since I have posted. I have been on a faith mission of sorts, pressing in on God and seeking to grow my relationship with Him. It's been a fabulous journey full of blessing and discovery. I've tested what God has said in His Word and it's all true. Every word is a treasure, every purpose a blessing.

I've prepared a few posts based on what I have discovered about faith. Here's a bit about what I will post. Most Christians really struggle with what they truly believe and about salvation. Most of us don't know God in a personal deep loving relationship. Most of us don't understand God's Will and our part. Most Christians don't know they have power and authority in this world. I have discovered that faith is the key ingredient to achieving God's Will. Without faith our saved lives will not produce a single blessing.

I hope you enjoy

Smile God Loves You

“This is the day that the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalms 118:24

“Rejoice always and again I say rejoice.” Philippians 4:4

If you have accepted Jesus' free gift of salvation, you have every reason to cheer. Although life in the physical realm can be difficult, we have already won the war. Victory was achieved when Jesus rose from the grave, to the glory of God! Hallelujah

Sometimes things are at the worst before the dawn of blessing comes. It is easy to become discouraged during those times when it seems that nothing is going right, but don't lose hope. Hope, I believe, is an image planted in us by God. He gives us those seeds of encouragement to keep us going until they come to pass. If we are going to walk in the blessings, we all need to renew our minds to the truth of God's Word, believe we have received and rejoice in the blessing we all have in Christ.

Just about every book in the New Testament states we as believers have it all. We have all the blessings, power, prestige, access and knowledge we will ever need to achieve all God planned for us. We are more than conquerors! We are the righteousness of God through Christ our Lord!!

So Smile and Believe!

Where's God? His Grace

In this search for the “narrow path”(Matthew 7:14) I've come across a very interesting aspect of God, everything He does is by grace. When God created, He created by grace. When God blesses, He blesses by grace. So what is grace?

Grace is more than just free and unmerited favor, it is the embodiment of God's goodness and love. It's His wisdom. All heaven rejoices in the goodness of God. The Bible records the angels singing whenever God expounds His grace, such as at Creation and the birth of Christ.

Through grace God has already provided everything we need from air, water, food and of course salvation. I have discovered that salvation does not only pertain to the forgiveness of sins, it's *deliverance from slavery or from some great distress by the intervention of God. (*NLT dictionary/concordance definition of salvation), and is another powerful witness to the truth of our loving Father.

When we received the new birth through faith in Jesus, we were restored to friendship with the Father. We were a brand new creation—not a dusted off version of Adam, as I was taught. In God's wisdom He made us something that had not existed before! (2 Corinthians 5:17). That is a tough concept to fully understand. Through the blood of Jesus we have much more authority and power than God gave Adam and Eve. They did not have God living on the inside of them, like we do. When they rebelled against God, it was the sinless and pure spirit that died.

I always seemed to confuse God's grace and mercy. Mercy is not getting what you deserve, while God's grace is totally independent of anything we do. That is amazing! We can't earn grace. Grace is something so beyond our comprehension, more than we could hope for or imagine. When the Father moves—grace is the wake, an overabundance exceeding in greatness.

I think of it this way, God didn't make one star He made countless billions. God didn't just make one flower variety, He made thousands upon thousands. He didn't just make one tree, He made thousands upon thousands that serve many purposes, like food, shade and medicine. God didn't make one variety of animal He made thousands upon thousands. This fact kinda blows evolution right out of the water, but some fools still want to believe a lie.

As I begin to understand God's grace, it dramatically changes the way I think and approached God. Grace is the Gospel of Jesus. Grace is the way the Kingdom of God works. We can only access and get a clear understanding of grace in our lives through faith. We must renew our mind to the truth of Jesus and believe the promises of God.

“But God is so rich in mercy, and He loved us so very much, that even while we were dead because of our sins, He gave us life when He raised Christ from the dead. (It's only by God's special favor [grace] that you have been saved!) For He raised us from the dead along with Christ, and we are seated with Him in the heavenly realms – all because we are one with Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2:4-6

Where's God? The Good News

The good news is that God has never left us. I've heard some false teaching that God walked away from mankind after the sin in the garden. Then I've heard people teach if we seek Him and if we are especially good that maybe, just maybe He will have mercy on us and let us live or better yet, let us into heaven. Those are all lies. There is not one person holy enough, good enough or righteous enough to earn God's favor.

You might be thinking – Well what about Jesus? The Bible says He was Holy, Righteous and True. This is fact, however Jesus was God appearing to us in the flesh. He was not created from the corrupted seed that all people have inherited through Adam.

So what is the good news? The good news is that God loves us unconditionally-that means without conditions, no strings! He is the one who chose us and is seeking us out. We might have heard that God loves us unconditionally, but how does that resonate in us? What do you truly believe?

The nutshell Gospel is: God loves the world and the people He created, that when people believed a lie and abused the power He gave them, it made them enemies. To restore all things to their intended purpose The Father gave up His own Son to make full payment for the lies people believed about the Father and to reveal the truth about the Father. Any person who has eyes to see and ears to hear and believes this message will enter into relationship with God the Father because of the full payment of His Son Jesus made on the cross. Those who believe receive full Sonship with all the rights and privileges as the children of the King, including full access to the Father. They have received the same holiness and right standing that the perfect Son Jesus has. They will also receive the same power that Jesus had on earth.

This is the full truth of the Gospel of Jesus –That is what the New Testament says. Why haven't we been clearly taught these truths. Why does the church keep people under the Law—which keeps us in bondage to sin and away from the freedom, power and grace of God. Why isn't the authority that God has given us to do things being more boldly emphasized?

I praise God that He doesn't leave us to figure things out on our own, but gently guides us back to the scriptures. He brings godly teaches in our lives whose understanding is a little more mature than we are, helping us untangle the web of deception and show us the truth.

You need to ask yourself a couple questions, just how much do you believe God loves you? Meditate on John 3:16. Then ask yourself do you really think Jesus paid for all the sins of the world – that's everybody who has ever lived or will live. Or do you think He died just for the nice people? Ponder these scriptures 2 Corinthians 5:19, Romans 4:8

Where's God? The Gospel

For the last several weeks I've been on a journey of rediscovering the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It may sound like a strange thing to do, but when things are a miss I go back to the beginning to get a new prospective.

The gospel that most people hear is not all that good news. The Gospel of Jesus Christ that is presented is “Jesus the Son of God died on a cross for your sins and rose again. All your sins are forgiven. If you accept Jesus you are saved and not going to Hell” That's a synopsis of the preaching I've have heard – but then come the clincher “now you need to do this and that to keep from losing your salvation.”

The burden of salvation is put back on our shoulders. We are given the impression that we better not sin or God won't answer our prayers or do something awful to us to get us to tow the mark. Well that is NOT Good News, because we know we just can't stay sinless for the rest of our lives.

What I discovered is the Gospel of Jesus Christ has not changed an iota. My flawed thinking and wrong teaching led me down the path of Works Salvation. Salvation had become about what I did, how I prayed, how I served God, how I spent time in scriptures, how I gave my time and my money. But that is not the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The definition of Gospel means: News too good—it is almost unbelievable! Complete victory. That is amazing! So how are we misunderstanding this awesome news?

We live in a world that has turned away from our Creator. We have intuition of the existence of our Creator and His power. But because of our self-centered desires, we operate totally on our emotions. If things go according to our plans and schemes, then we feel happiness. If things go wrong then we turn against the Creator, we know who is all powerful and blame Him for our calamities.

So what does this have to do with the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Everything!

Before we had a need, God provided a solution. Before this generation had even thought of doing wrong – God provided Jesus. Jesus forgave all the sins of the whole world for every generation that has existed or will exist. Try and get your mind around that. God is Good! God Loves Us!

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son – that whosoever believes in Him would not perish but have eternal life” John 3:16

Jesus either paid it all – or he paid nothing! That is something we need to correct our thinking.

Many of us believe in Jesus and have accepted His payment for our sins, but feel so unworthy of Him. We can not understand how to fully receive the gift and try to do something to merit favor.

“It is by grace we are saved through faith. It is a gift from God that no man can boast” Ephesians 2:8-9

God didn't provide salvation because any of us were especially good or righteous. God provided salvation because He loves us. We can never, no matter how good we think we are, what religious tasks we do earn God's favor – His gift to us has always been His Love, a love so great it passes all comprehension.

Along this journey I have scratched the surface of many wonderful truths. I am pursuing God with a completely different prospective. I want the Life Jesus promised, overwhelming life – the Joy of being in the presence of God, and the Hope that strengthens my Faith. I want to know that all encompassing Peace the Bible talks about – don't you?

Where's God?

I began this journey sometime ago when I started having things go wrong in my life. The Lord never promised an easy ride or smooth sailing once we came into relationship with Him, but in fact we would have persecutions.

So I accepted the fact troubles and trials would come my way with the understanding that the Lord would defend me, because He “promised never to leave or forsake.” I also accepted the fact that somehow these problems and trials were good for me, after all our faith is “more precious than gold.”

I was faced with a dilemma because I was not receiving the fullness of joy and the blessings of God in my life. What went wrong? Where was God when my life was being stripped from underfoot? I kept standing in what I believed was faith. I kept praying and believing I was heard. But nothing was changing, it was going from bad to worse.

I woke up one morning after a night of tormenting dreams and felt so empty. Click Here if you want to read the full story. The Lord really had nothing to do with my situation – It was my Stinking Thinking.

Like so many Christians we filter the Word of God through the physical realm and what we are taught in church. Most of the sermons I've ever heard have two main themes:

(Before coming to Christ) You're a sinner and need salvation

(After coming to Christ) You're still a sinner and now you've got to straighten up or God wouldn't help you or answer your prayers.

Not exactly what Jesus had in mind when He died on the cross for us. He destroyed the death that haunted us and by His resurrection opened direct access to the Father. He gave us His power to live the life God planned for us. How did the message miss the mark? What is a Christian to do?

We've got to get back to the Gospel of Jesus and believe that. We've got to come out from under the Law and seek to understand God's grace. We need to seek out this power that we have been given through Jesus to live the Good News and stop hiding behind false teaching that robs us of our salvation.

This will be my topic for the next few weeks. I hope that you will follow along as I share locating the narrow road.

Around the Web

I've been a busy girl lately - this morning you can find me at Tor Constantino's place The Daily ReTort here's the link http://thedailyretort.com/how-did-i-get-here/  Pop by and check out his award winning site.

I am preparing a new series that deal with Where's God when things go wrong?  I know you will enjoy - "How did I get here?"  It begins this journey!

Peace and Blessings

The Be-Attitudes Guest Post

Please welcome my very special guest Carol Peterson.  I am grateful that she  has gracefully accepted my invitation to post with me She is an exceptional blogger, author and friend. I know you will enjoy her take on the Be-Attitudes. You can read more of her thoughts From Carol's Quill. Links and bio are listed at the end.

THE BE-ATTITUDES

Matthew 5:1-12

Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount included the Beatitudes—the attitudes we are to have to become like Jesus; the attitudes we are “to be.” The Be-Attitudes.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Poverty is not a blessing; being poor in spirit is. If we are poor in spirit, we are empty and ready to be filled by God. We understand that we are unworthy of God’s mercy and can only enter His kingdom when we accept His grace.

Only when we empty ourselves of ourselves—and are poor in spirit—can we be filled and receive the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

God doesn’t want us to be sad. But He wants us to align our hearts to His. God wants us to mourn for our sins, for how we have hurt others, for the misery of others, for the unsaved. He wants our hearts to break over things that break His heart.

And then be comforted. The Holy Spirit is our counselor, helper, intercessor, strengthener and comforter.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

A meek person is overwhelmed by God’s greatness. When we see God in everything, we are humbled. It is not our place to seize what is of this world. Rather, we cherish the knowledge that—as part of our inheritance as children of God—we inherit the earth, as well as heaven.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

This Beatitude promises that hunger and thirst for righteousness is pleasing to God. Part of seeking righteousness is seeking to know God. He wants to be known and will bless our seeking by revealing His character to us.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

The merciful are tender hearted. They feel the suffering of others and then step out in faith to help and forgive. Mercy is about living a life that says, “Thank you Father for placing me on the giving end of mercy to others and the receiving end from you.”

Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God. 

The path to a pure heart begins by understanding that our hearts are evil and there is nothing we can do on our own to cleanse them.

The only way our hearts can be cleansed is by surrendering to Jesus and letting the Holy Spirit do the work for us. Then we begin to see God’s glory in everything around us.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 

This peace is the peace we receive from Jesus, the Prince of Peace through the Gospel. Believers in Jesus—peace receivers—thus become peace makers as they share Jesus’ good news with others.

Jesus is the avenue for peace between God and man. Because of Jesus, we can enter God’s presence and receive the peace that surrounds Him. And we can share that peace with others.

All people are God’s creations. But only those who follow Jesus, does God call His children. To be a child of God is to be blessed.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
The persecution Jesus spoke of was about being punished for being righteous. A person who sins cannot win a fight with God; but he can attack those who try to follow Him. Jesus promised believers that we will be persecuted.

This Beatitude is not about being self-righteous because you follow Jesus. It is about trying to follow Jesus’ example of living with an eye to eternal life in the kingdom of heaven.

+ + +

The Beatitudes are about knowing we are insignificant in the grand scheme; but knowing God loves us anyway. They are about recognizing we can do nothing to save ourselves, but can only be saved by God Himself.

When we understand our place in the universe we come closer to knowing God. Knowing God is His greatest blessing and why we have the hope of heaven at all. We first need the right attitude—the “Be-Attitude.” 

Which of the Beatitudes speak loudest to you? Why?

 

Carol Peterson’s mission in writing is to educate, entertain, and inspire. Her published books provide busy teachers with creative ways to help assure compliance with curriculum standards. The goal of her blog From Carol’s Quill (http://fromcarolsquill.blogspot.com) is to encourage faith in Jesus. She can also be found at www.carolpetersonauthor.com.

Around the Web

I've received an invitation to guest post with Jon Stople  on June 4th on his website Jon Stople Stretched. Please pop over to his site to read my post. http://wp.me/p27Qjv-Xc 

Baton of Hope - Guest Post

Please welcome my dear friend and guest blogger, Eileen Knowles to my site. I am grateful that she has gracefully accepted my invitation to post with me. She is a gifted writer and shares her experiences on her blog site The Scenic Route, links and bio are listed at the end.

The Baton of Hope

Sometimes I picture hope as the baton we carry through this race called life. We pass this baton from one generation to the next. It progresses on down the road an impacts and changes whoever grabs hold of it.I once heard it explained this way to me: Flip to Hebrews 11 in your Bible. It's the chapter sometimes referred to as the Hall of Faith, where we read about all the incredible men and women of faith who have come before us.

Now, look up Hebrews 11:41 in the Bible. You won't find this verse. Why? You won't find it because you are living this verse right now. I've always found great joy in knowing that my life, my faith walk, is part of the bigger picture. It's woven together with those who came before us. We are a team of racers and God's plan was always to incorporate our leg of the race into the picture already painted.

These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. Hebrews 11: 39-40

I am grateful that this baton of hope was passed down to me from my mom. However, there was a season in my life when I didn't have a very firm grip on it and allowed it to slip from my hands. Today, I hold on tightly. I know what my life looks like when I loosen my grip and let go.

The other day I was reading through the account of Jesus asking Peter repeatedly if he loved Him. It was after the resurrection, after Peter was put to the test, and after he denied he even knew his Savior multiple times.I find this picture of Jesus confronting Peter one of the most beautiful exchanges in Scripture. It's almost as if Jesus is telling Peter. You dropped the baton, you took your eyes off the finish line and allowed fear to guide your steps. Now, pick up the baton and keeping running, my Child! Keep running!

Let us hold unswerving to the hope we profess, because He who promised is faithful. ~Hebrews 10:23

Eileen Knowles is a small town Arizona girl who studied English at The University of Arizona a long, long time ago. She now lives in small town North Carolina with her husband, Roger, their nine-year old son, and one quirky dog named Bisbee. When she is not working part-time as a Virtual Assistant for eaHelp, she thoroughly enjoys drinking coffee, running, playing Scrabble, and writing about how cool it is to journey through life with Jesus holding her hand.
Eileen is passionate about leaving a legacy for her son and encouraging others along the way who might need a dose of hope poured into their weary lives.
You can find her taking The Scenic Route
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