IDENTITY

Identity, is one of the most deep complicated subjects. I recently had a conversation with someone very close to me about their purpose in life. The conversation was anxious, in desire for change! I recently did a post on desire, but this takes desire to an even deeper place. Even though we have many desires, desire does not claim our Identity. We must decide who we are before we can even sift through our desires.

Sometimes we can want things simply because it is popular and it is a direction others are taking. In helping the person I asked a question, what separates you from everyone else? Then I answered the question because I know this person well. I said the thing that separates you from your friends and others is the fact that you think through your choices and usually you make the hard decisions that require sacrifice! This quality is your best quality I said! This quality is a given blessing and is a part of your Identity. I then said but you have to ask yourself are you going to listen to your friends or are you going to continue to be what separates you from the crowd?

Everyone is searching for Identity! The only true place to find it is through Christ! The more we walk with Him, the more shall I say, we become ourselves! Honestly we start out so lost. Through a process we slowly begin to find ourselves through our Identity in Him! Praise you Lord, thank you! This transformation can’t happen without worship and His word, quiet time with Him and meditation.

We have an inner battle taking place between the flesh and the spirit and this is what causes us to want to go the same direction as the world.

Matthew 7:13-14 [Full Chapter]
[ The Narrow and Wide Gates ] “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

Moving towards Christ and struggling through the process of following His word is the only way to find your true Identity. Learning sacrifice and conforming to His will, is when you the clay, begin to take shape! Your Identity!

Isaiah 64:8 [Full Chapter]
Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.

God bless you in your search for your true Identity!!!

Blessings to the New Year! It’s your year!!!

BROKEN BRIDGES

Relationships seem to begin well, after some time they can be very complicated. Two different people trying to connect with each other, with the goal to become one in each other. So often what we find is conflict and then it goes unresolved. Once so excited, talking on the phone for hours at a time, never seemingly getting enough of each other. So what happened? How did things go wrong? What changed? What led to saying things we will regret! the cold shoulder, anger, tears, resentment, and hopelessness!

Can it be repaired? Do I want to repair it? He changed, she is not the same person. I’m no longer attracted. I cant forgive. I cant forget. My heart is hard, I cant go on! So few avoid this from happening, so few live the dream we all start with. Our vision of a relationship in our mind, that ever so quickly crumbles.

Ephesians 4:32

Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

This scripture is very challenging when it is the last thing you feel like doing. Our battle is against principalities. We are called to choose and not live by our feelings.

Ephesians 6:12King James Version (KJV)

12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Principalities want you to work off of feelings rather than love. Feelings are the hook! Like a fish caught fighting for its life. Caught by the bait of pride, fear, insecurities, lies, anger, and fooled by the shinny lure of misunderstanding! If only we could see to the heart like God. I believe it was purposed for us not to see to the heart. I believe we are purposed to battle with feelings. Because our battles begin in the mind and if we are convinced in our mind the enemy has its hold.

Might I say relationships are not about feelings but a choice, a choice to love. A commitment to do what is right regardless of the other person. The choice to love when you feel the person doesn’t deserve your love, as we do not deserve Gods love.

When we walk by our feelings it is like a blind man feeling his way around in the darkness. We must walk by the word of God which is the lamp to our feet. At first the feelings we have are not good but as we walk by faith and the word of God our sick heart heals and feelings that were dead come alive in Christ. So we must walk by faith not by sight or feelings.

Men are so built to lead but what happens when the women starts giving honey do list, or telling her husband not to do this or that! The man puffs up his frustrations, because you know, he is the man, he should lead! He struggles with disrespect rather then understanding relationships are about serving, Remaining humble, being gentle, leading by softening his character. Not listening to the negative thoughts about her in his head. Instead renewing his mind to the mind of Christ.

When a relationship is lost and there seems no hope to fix it, I can tell you there is always hope. You must start to dig up the bad that you sowed. So that you can begin planting new seed. because Gods word says you reap what you sow.

Dig up your hard heart, resentment, and anger. Dig up the lies in your head. Put on Christ and begin by sacrificing. Sacrifice your time, give up things to God and your relationship without him or her knowing. Serve them, seek to understand the true heart of their bad behavior, rather than living in misunderstanding. Care about how they feel, choose to care for them as you desire to be cared for, even if you don’t feel it. Most people act badly when they are hiding hurt. The crazy thing is if we take the time to find out whats really going on we can usually fix it quickly.

Ephesians 4:29

Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.

Philippians 4:6

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Proverbs 4:23

Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life.

Philippians 2:3

Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves

I am a work in progress, sharing my walk with you through this blog!

BROKEN

I see the reflection from the shadow of your broken heart
I see the pain from my rejection of your brokenness
The world casts away the pearls covered in soot
Only adding more layers to the rejection you have known
If the world only knew their state of brokenness was even more
They might consider how to care for you
Their shadow overlaps yours, so you know
Now excepted for all that you are
I choose to stand in the gap of the two shadows
pouring light and love on yours
To care for your heart and mine at the same time
I choose to mend the broken heart

I realize how irritated I get at times with someone who is extremely needy or not as smart, someone who is not as neat or organized, someone who is always negative, sad or just a complete downer. Addicts, drama queens, lyres, weak people! As if I’m so together or at least I can fake it better than most. Have I hardened my heart so much? Has pride taken me to a dark place disguising itself as light? When yet, I am just another dark shadow. Don’t get me wrong I’m going to some extremes in this post to make a point. Our we missing it?

Psalm 34:18 [Full Chapter]
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

As a Christian am I not suppose to make myself low and how low? Lower than the weakest of them? Meaning care for the broken! Not that I haven’t, I have preached at rehabs and ministered to many different types of people but how irritated have I gotten at times?
What is the state of my heart? If I am to model Jesus, should I not get close to the broken? Should I not take greater care?

Job 4 New International Version (NIV)

Eliphaz
4 Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:

2 “If someone ventures a word with you, will you be impatient?
But who can keep from speaking?
3 Think how you have instructed many,
how you have strengthened feeble hands.
4 Your words have supported those who stumbled;
you have strengthened faltering knees.
5 But now trouble comes to you, and you are discouraged;
it strikes you, and you are dismayed.
6 Should not your piety be your confidence
and your blameless ways your hope?
7 “Consider now: Who, being innocent, has ever perished?
Where were the upright ever destroyed?
8 As I have observed, those who plow evil
and those who sow trouble reap it.
9 At the breath of God they perish;
at the blast of his anger they are no more.
10 The lions may roar and growl,
yet the teeth of the great lions are broken.
11 The lion perishes for lack of prey,
and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.
12 “A word was secretly brought to me,
my ears caught a whisper of it.
13 Amid disquieting dreams in the night,
when deep sleep falls on people,
14 fear and trembling seized me
and made all my bones shake.
15 A spirit glided past my face,
and the hair on my body stood on end.
16 It stopped,
but I could not tell what it was.
A form stood before my eyes,
and I heard a hushed voice:
17 ‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God?
Can even a strong man be more pure than his Maker?
18 If God places no trust in his servants,
if he charges his angels with error,
19 how much more those who live in houses of clay,
whose foundations are in the dust,
who are crushed more readily than a moth!
20 Between dawn and dusk they are broken to pieces;
unnoticed, they perish forever.
21 Are not the cords of their tent pulled up,
so that they die without wisdom?’
New International Version (NIV)

God deals with this subject as he speaks to Job! Job now finds himself very needy! Job was at the peak of the mountain and now at the lowest pit. (10 The lions may roar and growl, yet the teeth of the great lions are broken.) This really speaks to me about the strength I think I have! It could be taken at any moment and how then would I be. (2 “If someone ventures a word with you, will you be impatient?) I believe God is adding to the already amazing Job! He is allowing him to experience what only the broken and needy know ( PAIN )! Will Job now have more to give to those in need, those more needy then him? I believe the answer is yes. Does God have to bring us to the same place of Jobs brokenness for us to gain the same wisdom? I don’t think so. All we need is something to provoke our hearts to the point of asking God to help us in this.

COMING OUT FROM THE CAVE

Many Christians struggle with some kind of cave experience. The kind of cave I am talking about is the cave of the heart. Most of the time we enter this cave without even knowing it. The cave could have come from childhood pain when we first learned to enter into this cave. This cave is where we hide what we don’t want to feel or look at. It is the cave where lies form the walls. It is the cave of dry tears.

Most of the time we walk around without knowing the cave even exist, because the cave even hides itself from us. The cave becomes something we enter without even realizing it. Its is the cave of our protection. Inside this cave forms many protections and wrong behaviors that hold us captive.

These wrong behaviors and protections do not protect us at all, just the opposite. You see because the human heart reacts to rejection, hurt, pain, abuse, fear, insecurities, self doubt, poor self-esteem, anxieties, brokenness from learned behaviors. We can seem trapped with repeated failures. Things about our broken state that want to attach our identity to them. In the cave we form the wrong kind of protections, strength, pride, arrogance, humor, silence, and anger. We form anything that can fool anyone, even ourselves about what is in the cave of our hearts.

There is a death taking place inside us, keeping us from living the way God intended for us to live “free”! Alive in Christ! We can only come alive in Christ if we are willing to take a deep look into our hearts where we live in fear of the pain of this world. It means we have to be honest with ourselves and vulnerable with God and even others. Trusting God in this may be very difficult for most. If you want to experience healing and freedom from anger, broken relationships, fear, and lies about yourself you have to allow God into the cave of your heart, you protect with all that you are. We have to allow God through prayer to help us walk out of this cave.

Jesus Raises Lazarus

³⁸ Again feeling ·very upset [deeply disturbed/moved], Jesus came to the tomb. It was a cave with a large stone ·covering the entrance [^Llying on/against it; ^CJews typically buried their dead in caves with stones covering the entrance]. ³⁹ Jesus said, “Move the stone away.”

Martha, the sister of the dead man, said, “But, Lord, it has been ·four days since he died [see 11:17]. There will be a ·bad smell [stench].”

⁴⁰ Then Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”

⁴¹ So they moved the stone away from the entrance. Then Jesus ·looked up [^Lraised his eyes] and said, “Father, I thank you that you heard me. ⁴² I know that you always hear me, but I said these things ·because [for the benefit] of the people here around me. ·I want them to [^Lso that they might] believe that you sent me.” ⁴³ After Jesus said this, he cried out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come ·out [^Tforth]!” ⁴⁴ The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with ·pieces of cloth [strips of linen; graveclothes; ^Cthe dead were wrapped in strips of cloth], and a cloth around his face.

Jesus said to them, “Take the cloth off of him and let him go.”

JESUS waits at the stone of your heart and asks you to roll away the stone and allow Him to call us out of the dead things in our lives. Every area of your heart that has been hurt, that fears, that has believed lies, the part of you that hasn’t known life for some time. He asks you to take courage and to put on faith trusting Him to do what he came to do, to bring beauty from ashes.

Isaiah 61:3

Expanded Bible (EXB)

³     and to help the ·sorrowing [mourning] people of ·Jerusalem [^LZion; ^Clocation of the Temple; 59:20].
I will give them a ·crown [garland; headdress] to replace their ashes,
    and the oil of ·gladness [joy] to replace their ·sorrow [mourning],
    and ·clothes [a garment] of praise to replace their ·spirit of sadness [discouragement; heavy heart].
Then they will be called ·Trees of Goodness [or Oaks of Righteousness],
    trees planted by the Lord to show his ·greatness [glory; ^Cmanifest presence].

TO LOVE AGAIN

The place I go to hide my fears
Deep inside I hold my tears
The lies are welcome here
A cage for the broken
Not a word here is spoken
Only loneliness and pain
Where the heart slowly dies
Where all my pain hides
The curses passed down
From UN-healed hearts
I’m walking out of this dead mans tomb
Not for me but for you
The selfish heart held so true
I choose to risk, to love
To rise from the dead
To love again

http://youtu.be/mENmbZ5Ikto http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=mENmbZ5Ikto

I want to talk about the song link above, knowing it is not by a Christian band. Gods spirit moved me by the lyrics. Follow me down to the valley below, spoke to me about the peaks and valleys we walk through as Christians. The valley below means there is work to be done before the mountain peak. My David don’t worry this cold world is not for you. I thought of God speaking to the line of Jesse, king David during his toughest moments as a man of God in the valleys reminding him where he was headed to the mountain of God and in His presence. Moonlight is bleeding from out of your soul come to us Lazarus it’s time to go, spoke to me of the pain when light hits our soul with truth and the dead man Lazarus walks out of the tomb and the glory of God shines from our hearts outward. When we take courage and walk our hearts out of the tomb. God bless!

God bless your day may the Lord call the dead from their tombs and bring life and healing to those who are suffering. www.fullofrosesinspirationals.com

YOU WALKED WITH ME

(You walked with me) was written at a time of reflection. looking back at my walk with God and seeing where He was every step of the way. I know at times it may seem like God is far away or that He is too busy dealing with bigger problems than yours. I can tell you that the bible says that God is Omnipresent! He is everywhere, all the time and He is with each and everyone of us in the deepest most intimate way. Our God is a Big God, He is capable of doing many things that are beyond our understanding.

God pays so much attention to us, He has counted the number of hairs on our head. So faith must take us to a deeper place in our hearts to see God. Our hearts are the door way to Gods kingdom. The only way to see Him is to go deep into your heart and there He will be sitting beside you ready to speak wisdom, love, forgiveness and promise. This life and it’s testimony is all about will you believe God and the scriptures? The reason we have scriptures are for the testimony of other believers and the word of the living God. When we look at the people of the bible and the incredible stories of faith that play out, we can identify with them in so many areas. We can see their struggles with sin, their doubt, their disobedience, their trials, times of great defeat and great victories, times of great loss and times of incredible blessings, most of all their lack of faith or their tremendous courage and faith. We get to see the transformation that takes place like with Apostle Paul for example. A man persecuting the church to become one of the most powerful men of God!!! (You walked with me) Each of them in their own right will and have said those words ( You walked with me)!!!!

²⁴ Enoch walked with God [^Che had a close relationship with God; Heb. 11:5–6]; one day Enoch could not be found, because God took him [^Clike Elijah (2 Kin. 2:11), he did not die].

Stories like Enoch the bible clearly says he walked with God. Imagine if you respond to Gods call, trusting Him, walking it out with Him in faith. Regardless of how perfect you are. Just as you stand, to choose to walk with God and respond to His calling. Joseph walked with God, his own brothers ripped off his coat, poured goats blood on it, threw him into a pit, sold him into slavery and left him as dead. Joseph was thrown into prison on several occasions until God brought him to his purpose. You see reflection on our walks are very needed to see where we have come from and where we are going. This life takes courage and prayer but it is the greatest journey one could ever go on.

My apologies I haven’t posted in some time. I have been very busy lots going on. I will try to post more often. I hope you are blessed by my blog. May your walk with Him be deep and fruitful. If you are still waiting to respond to His call, I encourage you to know the only true living God Christ Jesus!

please visit my website www.fullofrosesinspirationals.com

COURAGE

Joshua 1:9

New International Version (NIV)

⁹ Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

The greatest example of courage is what Jesus Christ modeled for us. To lay down ones life for another. Sacrifice, the denial of self.

1

: an act of offering to a deity something precious; especially : the killing of a victim on an altar

2

: something offered in sacrifice

3

a : destruction or surrender of something for the sake of something else

b : something given up or lost <the sacrifices made by parents>

John 10:18

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁸ No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

As Jesus talks about His life purpose I realize this is the calling, everything centers here. All of the mysteries of life find its purpose here in one laying down their life for another.

John 12:24

New International Version (NIV)

²⁴ Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.

Think about this, when you plant a seed, it actually dies before it produces life. This is the ministry and call of Jesus and from Him to us.

Matthew 10:39

New International Version (NIV)

³⁹ Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.

This apply s to everything, think about when you get discouraged or feel like a failure and you have internal battles in your heart about what is right and what is wrong, and what you should do to change the results of your choices.Those feeling are connected to the flesh by the spirit producing conviction. The spirit knows it ‘s goal and will work on your heart until you submit to the spirit. The flesh desires pride and ownership of our hearts. the flesh wants to be first, the flesh is selfish, self righteous, greedy. The lust of self-will. The path of holiness is found by offering your life to Christ. allowing the spiritual seed of your body to die so that it will find it’s life in Christ. One day our physical bodies will die and if we die in Christ He says the dead seed of our bodies will produce life eternal. The seed of a sinful mans body glorified by God in death.

John 3

New International Version (NIV)

Jesus Teaches Nicodemus

⁵ Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. ⁶ Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit^[b] gives birth to spirit. ⁷ You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You^[c] must be born again.’ ⁸ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”^[d]

Flesh and spirit do not go together, one must replace the other. The flesh must die for the spirit to live. This is what Jesus modeled. This is why we love and respect Him above anything else. An all powerful King of the universe humbled himself, died to Himself, came to earth as a defenseless baby, so that we would know how wide, how deep His love is for us! Courage, His name is Courage, and I pray this very morning that we together will find courage to walk in love, dieing to ourselves that we might find life!

Proverbs 21:21

New International Version (NIV)

²¹ Whoever pursues righteousness and love
finds life, prosperity^[a] and honor.

May the Lord fill your spirit with truth and your heart with divine love. May He stamp your heart with courage.

Courage can be purchased at our store www. fullofrosesinspirationals.com

FACING GIANTS

When I became a Christian I had no Idea about how to face the giants in my life, at least not from a Godly perspective. I think I looked at it pretty much as challenges come and you just have to tough it out, or party through it. Now as I am a Christian, facing giants has a whole new meaning. The kind of giants I am talking about are things like finding out you have a terminal illness, someone very close to you has just passed away, you lost your job and are now loosing your house, you were abused as a child and you are dealing with the anxiety of facing the internal issue and seeking healing. There are so many more. When I first got saved I truly hated myself and facing that giant was very difficult.  Getting to the heart of the giant takes courage, faith and God. I had so much fear in my heart and I didn’t believe in myself. I grew up bullied by other kids, when I was younger I was very small and skinny. It wasn’t until I turned sixteen yrs old that I sprouted and those problems ended. Even though they ended I still deal with some of those emotional issues from back then. What I can tell you is even though I still have some emotional issues and fears, I will take on the giants that come. I have learned as David did with the lion and bear. God is faithful and full of joy when we put on faith believing in Him and His word. Lets look at Davids heart in facing Goliath.

1 Samuel 17

New International Version (NIV)

David and Goliath

³³ Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”

³⁴ But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, ³⁵ I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. ³⁶ Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. ³⁷ The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.”

Notice Saul, doesn’t he sound like the whispers of satin? “You are not able” Isn’t that just like our enemy filling our heads with fear and doubt! If I could count how many times I have heard those thoughts “you are not able”. This is where truth comes in. Listen to David “when a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, ³⁵ I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. ³⁶ Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God”.

This is how David did it,with His truth in God

Romans 8:37

New International Version (NIV)

³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

If you have conquered a giant before, you can do it again! As David defeated a lion and a bear, he knew if God helped him then, He will do it again! If you haven’t faced your giant yet, then you need to trust God and walk through it trusting Him. Once you have defeated a lion with God you will be ready to take on Goliath! Whatever giants you face you can trust God, you can take hold of His truth, you can put on the faith to be victorious in whatever you face in this life. David didn’t wait for the giant to come to him, he went to the giant, with God at his side.

God bless you and may your faith move mountains by overcoming the giants in your life. God bless you and keep you victorious.

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OH JACOB OH ISRAEL

I wrote the poem out of Isaiah 41,42,43 The spirit of God was speaking to me and prophesying to me powerfully when He led me to pull certain segments of scripture from the three. This became a very powerful song that my ministry partner Paul Montgomery put to music. One day I hope I can share it with you. It is one of the most powerful worship songs I have ever heard.

We Christians are Israel to God, His new Jerusalem! This is Gods song to us! Did you know God sings? Did You know He sings over us? I am convinced He does. Read the words and picture Him singing this love song to you. His banner over us is love and if we are created in His image than I am convinced God sings and He sings over us. Every time  I listen to this song with my heart open, I cannot hold back the tears. His presence comes reconfirming His incredible love for us. We are supposed to be worshiping Him, and we do! He is the creator of worship and He worships His creation. His deep love for us, If we could even go that deep we couldn’t contain it in theses earthly bodies. Think about how we worship our children. When they make our hearts sing. The deep joy we feel inside, the incredible smile they bring to our faces. As God is hand crafting you, molding the clay of your heart, He pours living water over you, to soften you, to shape you into His image. He sings over you His love. The amazing thing about this song is, as I am singing it, knowing He is singing it to me, the worship that comes from my heart to Him meets in an incredible middle. It becomes a colliding of hearts, Gods to ours.

It’s not all about Gods Judgement and His correcting of our sinful ways. It is so easy to read the bible especially the Old Testament and see Gods anger and judgement. The Bible needs to be viewed as a whole. If you see the Bible in its entirety you cannot miss the incredible love story. A champion, a knight, a prince rescuing His bride, the bride of Christ, Oh Jacob Oh Israel!!!!!!

May you hear His voice from heaven singing over you, may your hearts so ever be blessed of His songs, His whisper, His banner of love over you.

Oh Jacob Oh Israel can be purchased at our store, a portion of the proceeds go to helping those in need. www.fullofrosesinspirationals.com

IS YOUR GLASS HALF EMPTY OR HALF FULL?

Is your glass half empty or half full? I have noticed the answer to this question may have a greater impact then you think. If we are living our lives with the attitude our glass is half empty it might explain why we are not finding the breakthroughs we were hoping for. I don’t know anyone who isn’t struggling with something in their lives. I have seen what works through our struggles. How we handle and look at our struggles, can actually add to our struggles rather than find the breakthrough we are hoping for. I also have noticed this same attitude towards the things we are walking towards or the things we are not walking towards because of the attitude we are holding in our hearts.

John 4

New International Version (NIV)

Jesus Talks With a Samaritan Woman

4 Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John— ² although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. ³ So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.

⁴ Now he had to go through Samaria. ⁵ So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. ⁶ Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.

⁷ When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” ⁸ (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)

⁹ The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.^[a])

¹⁰ Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

¹¹ “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? ¹² Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”

¹³ Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴ but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

¹⁵ The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”

¹⁶ He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”

¹⁷ “I have no husband,” she replied.

Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. ¹⁸ The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”

¹⁹ “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. ²⁰ Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”

²¹ “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. ²² You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. ²³ Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. ²⁴ God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

²⁵ The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

²⁶ Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”

Before her encounter with Jesus her glass was definitely half empty. You can tell by how she responds to Jesus. You can also see the transformation that takes place in her simply by encountering Jesus as her glass turns from being half empty to half full. This is so powerful to me because of the symbolic meanings of water and the well. We know Jesus is the well and His spirit is the living water. The Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink? I want you to imagine Jesus asking you for a drink, because by then end of this post He will do just that, ask you for a drink. ⁹ The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.^[a]) Look at how she sees herself. She has an identity that someone else gave her, not her true identity that is found only in Christ. She says I am a Samaritan. She might as well have said I am half empty.

¹⁰ Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

Listen to the words “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink , you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

If you knew who it is that asks you for a drink, you would ask him for a drink and He will take your glass that is half empty and make it half full of living water. living water never comes up empty. Living water never dry’s up. Living water will give you an Identity. Living water will give you Hope! Living water will give you truth! Living water will transform your life!!! Living water takes your emptiness and makes it full! Living water never gets discouraged! Living water is Eternal! Living water is promise!!!! Living water gives you the power to believe, living water gives you the power to achieve!!

Now! Ha! are you blessed yet? I am, bless you Christ!!!! Where there is doubt, where there is discouragement, where there is hopelessness, where there is fear, Where there is shame, where there is emptiness, where there is a false identity, where there is hope deferred, there is Christ the living water!!!! Friends there is a resistance from this truth everyday we wake to a new day. The devil wants to hand you a glass that is half empty! If you drink from the glass he offers you, your glass will remain half empty and your attitude will be of one whose glass is half empty. You will struggle with your identity, You will struggle to take chances, you will struggle to love yourself, you will struggle to be free!!! Now Christ offers you a drink if you will ask Him, a drink of water so you will never thirst again!!!!

Christ is now going to ask you for a drink, so offer it to someone you love, OK? God bless you, and may your day be filled with living water! 🙂

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FALLEN SOLDIER

We all stand the chance of falling. Even if you don’t think so, It can happen to you. We have a world that wants to pull us in. We have an enemy that knows our individual weaknesses. Storms come, life happens and you never know what shore you will get washed up on, ask Jonah!

^{Jonah 1:3} But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.

Jonah 1:15

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁵ Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm.

Jonah’s Prayer

¹⁷ Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

You can fall away or try to run from the Lord, It’s all the same if  you ask me. It can happen due to a tragic situation, lies enter your mind, or simply becoming weary and tired. You might be in the process of running, you might be in the belly of the whale, you could have been spewed out of the whales mouth or you can simply be denying that your sin is not going to catch up to you. You will find that you might be subject to a fall.

It is important to remember we are dust compared the the Lords holiness and righteousness. We need a constant humility. We need the truth daily and we need strong fellowship, or who are we kidding? I hope to become a part of your strong fellowship. If you are struggling right now in your walk with God, and you know you aren’t where you should be with Him, I want to tell you, He is waiting for you to surrender. He is waiting to pour out mercy on you. If you are struggling with addiction friend, I know the defeat you are feeling. You might even be asking why God isn’t helping? God helps those who help themselves. It starts with you. You must make a decision to no longer listen to the lies about who you are. You need to understand the attack on your life and why Satin fills our lives with lies? He does it because He wants to separate us from God. He does not want us to find our true identity in Christ. Look at His attack on Adam and Eve, it started with a lie, based on giving them a false identity, resulting in the separation from God.

You must be given eyes to see before you can have the courage to climb out of the pit, crawl out of the whales belly or to jump ship on your own! See life for what it is through the lives shared with us in the Bible. You can find everything you are struggling with in the Bible. Notice how God dealt with each of them, look at what they did wrong and look at what they did right and try to apply it to your own life. God had a purpose for Jonah but Jonah ran from it, is that you? are you running from God or yourself? Adam and Eve ran and they hid. Why because they knew they were naked. Our sin leaves us feeling naked and shameful, this is why people fall into addictions and run away from God. What you have to decide is are you going to be a victim or a victor? Christ promises you the victory if you will stand up and profess it!!! Yes, profess it!!!God is waiting for you to stand and put on faith. It is through speaking the truth, believing in your heart and walking towards it. God comes from behind empowering our lives forward. It doesn’t matter what you have done Gods grace is enough for you, if you will repent and turn towards Him. Lets look how Jonah repented.

Jonah 2 (New International Version)

Jonah 2

New International Version (NIV)

2 ^1 [a]From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. ² He said:

“In my distress I called to the Lord,
and he answered me.
From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help,
and you listened to my cry.
³ You hurled me into the depths,
into the very heart of the seas,
and the currents swirled about me;
all your waves and breakers
swept over me.
⁴ I said, ‘I have been banished
from your sight;
yet I will look again
toward your holy temple.’
⁵ The engulfing waters threatened me,^[b]
the deep surrounded me;
seaweed was wrapped around my head.
⁶ To the roots of the mountains I sank down;
the earth beneath barred me in forever.
But you, Lord my God,
brought my life up from the pit.

⁷ “When my life was ebbing away,
I remembered you, Lord,
and my prayer rose to you,
to your holy temple.

⁸ “Those who cling to worthless idols
turn away from God’s love for them.
⁹ But I, with shouts of grateful praise,
will sacrifice to you.
What I have vowed I will make good.
I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the Lord.’”

¹⁰ And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

Friend if you will call out to Him, He is waiting. He will not only forgive you but He will give your life strength and purpose. Stop running, stop listening to lies, God has a plan and a calling on your life. It wont be easy, so surround yourself with strong believers that can pray for you and give you guidance. You do not have to be a victim any longer. God says………….

1. Joel 3:10
   Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weakling say, “I am strong!”

God bless you and may the power of lies be broken in your life. May God give you the eyes to see truth and the strength to walk in it.

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