Author: angied

JUNK FOOD VS REAL FOOD

I was sitting in a waiting room at the emergency room the other day. And this lady came out and sat down and started talking to me. She had just been released by the doctors and was waiting on her ride home. Now she had some gastrointestinal issues. But the first thing she did was go to the vending machine and get a bag of spicy chips. The very thing that had been causing her problems in the first place, was where she ran to when she got free to do what she wanted.

That made me think, how often do we run to things in this life? Things that we know are not good for us and cause us problems. Yet we think that’s the answer. And God comes along, and he gives us the answer. He tells us to eat cooked vegetables or chicken broth instead of so much junk food that’s bad for us. But we would rather have our potato chips.

In other words, God’s word is good for us. It tells us good things that are food to the soul. We go to the master physician when in pain. We will get enough help to lessen the pain. But instead of reading the word and taking it in, feeding on it. We choose to indulge in a television show or a conversation of gossip with someone. We take in all the things that are hurting us in the first place.

Then we wonder why our prayer life has no power. We wonder why when we go to church, we can’t see the move of God. Many times, I’ve heard my grandparents speak about church services, when they were young and how the power of God moved and their services and people were saved, healed and delivered. I believe that the church is hungry, starving for that again. I believe that it’s coming to a place where people are going to get real and get right with God, and they’re going to sacrifice in order to make that happen.

You know, a lot of people never pray until they go to church. They’re there just to check off a box so they feel good about themselves. Well, I went to church this week. But you know, back when my grandparents were young, they had all the good services full of miracles and the move of God. Those people prayed all the time. They prayed while they worked. They prayed before when they got up in the morning, and they prayed before they went to bed. They spent time with God. Because they were hungry for him and not some time killing activity.

Psalm 100:4 – Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. Yeah, I love this verse because it’s the key to God. We are to come before him with Thanksgiving. Thanking him for what he’s done. Thanking him for who he is; for all that he has given us and done for us. That is the beginning step to get our hearts right and in the right mode to worship.

Then we slide into worship and praise, which is not about what he’s done. But simply about honoring who he is, our God, our Father and our Savior. It is about wanting to be in his presence. And if we can get to the place where we are in his presence then that is when things start to happen. That’s when you see the miracles, people being saved, healed and delivered. Because the if you’re ever in contact with the presence of God, you’re never the same.

The apostle Paul said, “I die daily.” You know our flesh every day wants to rise up and take charge. We have to die out to that every day and say instead of doing what my flesh says. I’m going to pray, I’m going to read my Bible. I’m going to trust you, Lord. I’m going to see if I can get my mindset right. Before I go out into this world so I can be light to those that are around me. We will never be victorious at winning souls until we have personal victory in our own lives. It is time we deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow Jesus.

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

HERITAGE

ISAIAH 54:17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.

The enemy is always scheming how he can tear us down. He is devising a weapon to destroy us. Each one of us has a different weapon that he uses against us because he knows our weaknesses. However, God says those weapons will not prosper.

It is our heritage. It is part of our bloodline as children of God. We are born of the Spirit, we have Jesus’ blood, and we have the same rights to inherit things of God. Because Jesus overcame Satan and took the keys of death, hell and the grave from him, he cannot prevail against us unless we allow it.

What gives the enemy and his weapons power? It is the words that come out of our mouths. We start letting fear and anxiety take over and then we start talking negatively. This gives the enemy power, the things we choose to focus on, in this case, the negative things become bigger to us. If we can keep our God focus, He will be bigger to us. Because we know our God has our back. The enemy’s schemes will seem smaller and will not prosper against us.

We have power over the enemy because he is under our feet. When I think about Satan being under our feet, I think about a little lady whom I was privileged to know. She had such spunk, she took a black marker and wrote on the bottom of her shoe. ‘Devil, I am walking all over you.’ I learned so much from her. She suffered many things in her lifetime. But she was always full of joy. When she was buried, she had a golden fork in her hand. Because she wanted to remind everyone that it was not the end, but the best was yet to come.

The next time the enemy tries to attack, remind him that you are of the bloodline of Christ and no weapon he can create with prosper.

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

Crutches

Crutches are a device used for someone to lean on to keep weight off their injured foot, ankle or leg; until it heals. Because the injury will not heal if there’s pressure from trying to walk on it. Spending any time at all on crutches causes your arms to be sore. Arms are not used to carrying that much weight.

Sometimes we need to lean on something. In the spiritual realm like a crutch. Some people in the natural, they get hurt by somebody and they often turn to alcohol, drugs or whatever to soothe their wounded ego. These things are referred to as crutches. Causing other things in your life to be out of balance. They end up losing their relationship with their family, all because of the crutches they are leaning on to solve another problem.

We can lean on Jesus when we are hurt, and he only balances our lives. Some people like to say that Christians just use Jesus as a crutch. Well, I will lean on him any day because I know there will be no side effects. Speaking of crutches, some people turn completely around and turn away from God when something bad happens in their lives.

Look at the children of Israel. God had just performed a huge miracle. They watched the waters part, and the land was dry. It was not damp; it was not wet. They did not walk across in the mud; it says they crossed on dry land. The land had just been covered up by water. I mean, when God does something, he does it fully. He removed the water so much that the land was dry.

They had just witnessed the miracle of God destroying their enemy. When Moses did not come down off the mountain in a day or two like they thought he should, they went back to their old ways. Hey, why don’t we just build a golden calf and dance around naked? What makes people do that? What makes us turn so quickly? God has said time and time and time again. “I will take care of you. I will lead you. I will guide you. I am here for you. I will protect you. I am your provider.” He tells us He is all these things. And yet we still turn around and go build our golden idols.

I got thinking about the modern-day church. You know. The reason so many people fall away from church today, I believe, is that they get bored. If they get bored with the entertainment, they get bored with the same old, same old, same old routine. They leave the house knowing that it is going to be routine. We will have an opening prayer, so, so we’ll testify, this one’s going to sing song 328 out of the hymnal. They will take the offering and the preacher talks for 15 minutes and you’re going to go home. And you are like, why do I even bother going if I know what’s going to happen? We need to let God back into the church.

I can remember as a small child seeing miracles. God has worked many miracles in my life. Yeah, I remember one time, speaking of crutches, my great Uncle Bill had been injured in the mines and had his foot broken. I do not know how many places, I don’t remember. But he came to church on crutches. And he asked for prayer. And the people gathered around him and prayed, and he walked out of there without those crutches. And the doctors could not believe it when he went back, because he had to get a work release. They were like, no, the X-rays showed you had so many broken bones. And he was like, yes, but God healed me. And they were amazed. If people went to church and things like that happened, and they saw these miracles, it is no longer routine. The presence of God was so strong that all we could do is fall on our faces before God. Then I guarantee church would never be boring, and I guarantee that you would not be wanting to build your golden calf. We would not want to stay home and watch a football game, or we would not want to stay home and watch a soap opera or a movie. We would rather be in the House of God.

Ask yourself who or what you are leaning on. Because every day we have a choice, I choose Jesus.

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS.

MOUNTAINS

Psalm 121:1 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. 2 My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.

The beach is my happy place. I love standing on the edge of the vast ocean. I feel close to God like he created the ocean to take away all of my troubles. Every wave takes away anxiety and stress. More than likely, it is just a change of scenery and being off from work for a week.

I am a West Virginia girl, born and raised. There is something amazing about the hills of West Virginia. Our mountains have sheltered and fed many generations. But I often look at our mountains and think about how God created such a beautiful world for us to dwell in.

God must love mountains; he allowed the ark to settle on Mt. Ararat. He sent Moses to the top of Mt. Siani to receive the ten commandments. He proved he was God, by sending fire down on Mt. Carmel for Elijah. He allowed his son to be crucified on Mt. Calvary.

Calvary is the most important mountain of all. It is where God showed his love for mankind. I wonder if it made God sad to look down on that mountain as he was creating it. Knowing what would happen there, to save me from my foolish choices and sin. We all played a part in the horrific torture Christ suffered. There are not enough ways to say thank you.

The mountains I see every day are often called hills too. Compared to the mountains of Colorado and other places, ours are not as tall. It is nice to see the beauty that God made for us to look at and find a quiet moment of peace. I guess it is not about the mountains or the ocean, it is about taking the time to look up and thank God for his help, strength, love, and peace. When we do we need to remember where our help comes from, that is our Lord.

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

FORGOTTEN JESUS

For a period of about three months, I would drive by a Jesus statue. It was sitting on a four-lane highway, at an intersection. Twice a day, I would see this statue and God would deal with me to write about how America has forgotten Jesus. This statue probably was carried over to the highway from a nearby graveyard.

I don’t know who sat the statute in the median at that intersection. I don’t know where the statue went when it disappeared. All I know is that it spoke volumes to me. Just as a relationship with Jesus is treated with care when we first become Christians, this statue was carefully and meticulously painted. At one time, the statue had been painted with a purple robe, brown hair, and olive skin. Over time, it became faded and chipped by the elements. We are careful to pray for strength and guidance. We care about how our walk reflects on Jesus. We do all the things we think are required of us. This doesn’t keep us from growing cold. Our perceived duties do not keep us on the straight and narrow.

How do we know we are on the right path? Are we doing what is really required of us as Christians? Are we following a laundry list of what is perceived to be our duty? Hopefully, we are doing what is necessary to build our relationship with Christ. It is not about our lists of Christian things.

AMERICA AND THE CHURCH WORLD OF TODAY

Many of the churches in America today have given over to the idea of Christianity without Christ. Jesus’ blood is not preached anymore for fear of offending someone. They watch slasher films and true crime complete with blood and gore, but the message of the cross is too bloody. The message of the gospel is as forgotten as the Jesus statue.

If we can make radical changes in our lives and walk with Christ according to the word, we can change our world. Being a Christian is not about following a bunch of rules. It is about a relationship. It is not about judging one another, but following Christ’s example by walking in love.

Forgotten Jesus reminds us of how we have moved away from the old landmarks to a modern (wrong-thinking) liberal congregation. We as Christians are not meant to be judgmental critical people. We are supposed to walk in love. However, standing for what is right and biblically true is not being judgmental. If we handle it the right way, we can gain someone.

For example, walking up to someone you know is living in sin and telling them, “If you don’t change you will split hell wide open.” It may be true, but it puts them on the defense and they will feel attacked. When a person is being defensive you will never get them to see your point of view. It is much easier if you find common ground. Try to build a relationship with them, for the purpose of showing them, love.

Often, we don’t appreciate what we have until it is gone. I am afraid that America is on that path. The liberals that hate us so much will someday wish we were there to hear our sermons. There was a time that people made a conscious decision to turn their back on God. Many were raised in the church by God-fearing parents. It was impossible to get away from a grandma’s prayers. So, people had a basic idea of what it meant to be a God-fearing person. Even if people chose not to follow Christ, they at least had respect for Christians.

Then society started breaking down. Fewer and fewer people started attending church. In turn, their children were not raised in fear of the Lord. They were never taught what it means to walk by faith. Left with no choice they learned to make the best of their life on their own.

2Tim 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;

2Tim 4:4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

Today we even have a worse situation; the watered-down gospel. We have the mega-churches with all their “happy” doctrine. God never promised that this life would be peaches and cream. He never said the road would be easy. He never promised the mountains would not be hard to climb. He promised to go with us every step of the way.

When people preach that God wants us to have this overly happy life, I wonder if they really buy that snake oil they are selling. Do they believe it or are they up to something else? It is all a part of the all-roads lead to heaven, do what makes you happy doctrine. This doctrine is not accurate according to the bible.

If we are meant to be happy all the time, with no problems or struggles, then there would be no need for most of the Psalms, as well as a lot of other scripture. We need to learn to navigate this life in order to be prepared for the next. In other words, these people have forgotten the real message. They have forgotten Jesus.

LONG ROAD? YOUR CHOICE

I was thinking about some of the stories in the Old Testament today, as I drove to a birthday party. There was a song I was listening to and it was all about saying, where you lead I will follow. I told my mom, I wish I could say that to God. I will go where you want and do whatever you send me to do. Because I am human, there is a little bit of fear in fully surrendering in blind faith. There is hesitation to be ready to run. What do we have to fear? We don’t go alone?

I told her we say, I will go where you want and do what you want as long as it’s easy. We don’t want to step outside of our comfort zones. In this age we live, it’s gonna take that very thing to win the lost. I am working on being obedient and stepping out in faith. God honors boldness, look at David when he faced Goliath. He had to be a little bit scared. But he was brave and did it anyway. This is why I encourage my readers to be bold and brave. God honors the bold and the brave.

Then I thought about Jonah, God told him to go to Ninevah and preach. He didn’t want to go there because they were evil and wicked. (The kind of place he should have been excited to go and win the lost.) Instead, he went the opposite way. The story goes he got on a boat, in the opposite direction. A storm came and he was tossed overboard. A large fish swallowed him. He spent three days and nights in the belly of this fish. He repented and God allowed the fish to throw him up on dry land. He was all too happy to go to Ninevah once he had been through that experience.

He ended up doing what God ask of him in the first place. He just took the long road there. I don’t want to have to go the long way around, for not being obedient. Because I will end up where he wants anyway. I want to be obedient to his will. It should be our prayer, where you lead me I will follow. I will follow because I trust you, Lord.

Take a few minutes to think about where you stand. Are you ready to go where he sends you or do you need to take the long road? Have a great week, BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS.

Oh How I Love Jesus

The old hymn says, “Oh How I Love Jesus because he first loved me.” I was thinking today about God’s love for us. As a teenager, I would hear the older saint testify about how much they loved Jesus. He was their whole world. They would say how they couldn’t make it without him. Some would say things like they couldn’t breathe without him. They didn’t want to live even a second without him. At the time, I couldn’t relate and wondered how they got to that place in life. After all, I didn’t have any worries. My parents took care of me and I had a good life.

As an adult, I know what they meant. When we walk through some storms in life, we realize we cannot make it without him. The more things we walk through, the stronger our bond to our Lord. Hard things we face in life can kill us or make us stronger. They will help us grow or make us bitter. I choose to live with the hope that God is in control. He wants us to love him with our whole hearts.

( “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” Jer 29:13 KJV ) I believe this is what happens as we walk through life. We learn how to pray and to Love God.

We are not born knowing how to love God. That is something we learn as our faith grows.

That reminds me of something that happened years ago. We were having a family dinner. My oldest nephew was around four years old. They had been teaching him the little kids prayer, “God is great, God is good and we thank him for our food…”

He wanted to say grace, He didn’t do that prayer he said, “thank you for our food,” then he paused for a moment, so long that my mom finally asked if he was done. He then shook his bowed head and said, “help me love God. Amen.”

That was such a sincere prayer from the heart. I changed it a little, now I say, “help me Love You More God.” He honors that prayer daily.

Until next time, BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS.

VALUABLE

John 10:10

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. KJV

A thief will only steal what is valuable. We are all valuable to Jesus. The worst sinner or the most moral person, we are all loved by God. The devil is jealous that God loves us so much. (So much that he sent his son to die for us.) The devil wants to steal our souls. He knows we are valuable to God. That is why he wants to steal every soul possible. God doesn’t want even one to be lost. God didn’t want automatons, he gave us free will. It is his hope that we will use that free will to choose to love and obey him.

The enemy has unleashed the spirit of suicide to kill and destroy people. He knows if those people truly get a grasp on how much they mean to God, he has lost them forever. It is his self-appointed job to destroy every soul he can before he meets his fate. The devil uses every dirty trick in his wheelhouse to make that happen.

People need to know that they are valuable and loved. This is part of our mission, to show God’s love to those around us. We are called to walk in love. Be on guard and ready to defend our hearts and minds against the words of the enemy. Satan tells us we are not good enough. That is a lie from hell. Jesus’ precious blood makes us good enough.

It is time for the body of Christ, to allow the Holy Ghost in us, to arise. Making us the warriors we were meant to be; going forth in love and power. Looking for those that are valuable to our heavenly father. Before the enemy can spin his lies telling them they have no worth.

Many things that are considered valuable have a high cost. No greater price could be paid for us than Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. That my friends, is how I know I am valuable and you are too.

Until next time, BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

WALKING ON WATER

I was thinking about Peter today. This particular story can be found in Matthew 14. Jesus sent the disciples across a body of water to the other side, so they could rest from the crowd. Then they saw Jesus walking on the water toward them. Peter said if it’s you Lord bid me come to you. Jesus said come and Peter stepped out in faith. He walked on water.

The winds started blowing and the waves got big, he lost his God focus and sank. Then he cried out to Jesus. He reached down and lifted him up. We can be walking out our faith. The enemy sends winds of doubt our way. He whispers that we are not good enough, we are not what God says we are, and many other lies. We start wondering if it is true. When we start wondering, we are slowly losing our focus on what God wants us to focus on.

Then the enemy sends a flood to drown us. But Jesus is there to hold back the flood waters and lift us up. He will not allow us to be overtaken. (Isaiah 59:19–So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.)

We say nothing is impossible with God, or with God, all things are possible, but do we really believe it? I believe it is possible to do all things with God’s help. We are only limited by our faith and our God focus. In order to have the kind of faith Peter did, we need to walk with Jesus for a little while.

When we fall or start to sink in the attack of the enemy, it is important that we not beat ourselves up. Everyone stumbles, and everyone falls down, the important thing is to remember who is there to pick us up and cry out to Jesus to save us from the storm. It is possible to regain our God focus even in the deepest pit of fear, anxiety, depression, or sin.

How do we develop a clear focus on God? One way is to pray and worship God. He wants us to be in his presence with our minds on him. Another way is to dig into the word, devour it, study it, and search it for hidden gems of truth. It is God’s love letter to us.

In the lyrics of a Jason Crabb song, “It’s not how you walk on water, its how you walk on land.” In other words, this life is not about the huge things, but about all the little moments lived well. Then maybe God will trust us with the big, “walk on water” moment.

Have a Blessed Week! BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS.

WORRY IS NOT FAITH

I often tell the story of a little preacher that attended our Sunday School meetings. Since giving up being a pastor, he rarely preached. One Sunday morning he got up to testify and said, “I thank God for all that he is, and worry is not faith.” I didn’t hear another word that was said for the rest of the service.

I was a chronic worry wart. I was bound by fear, anxiety, and worry. I began to ponder what he had said about worry. When we ask God to handle something and then turn around and worry about it, we are not trusting God. It is like we have no faith that God can handle it. We say we trust him, we say we believe the miracles in the Bible, yet we worry.

It is hard to change our thinking patterns. Worry is a way of life. It took me battling depression before I could break free. I am thankful for all my time in the pit of depression. It was in the darkness that I learned to pray. It was during that time that God help me change my mindset.

Take a moment today and think about how much you worry. If it is an issue, ask God for help and then remember, Worry is not Faith.

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS