Smoke and mirrors-Blinded

(Because there is no formating such as paragraphs on blogspot, I will indicate it using # signs) ####################### One of the things that made me start my blog is that I saw a desperate need to reach people who felt ‘less than’ like I did. I had met a lot of lost and broken people who felt unworthy. I have heard so many heart wrenching stories about their life experiences. Many of you in the world will never, thank God, feel the hurt, betrayal, darkness of what the world has done to so many people in the world. Even if your life wasn’t horrific, the deep insecurities, loneliness and brokenness that affect so many out there, needed to be covered with love and Truth. ################### When dark things happen to us in our young lives, we tend to process it the way others would have us do. We keep it a secret; we feel powerless, dirty, unloved, broken, unworthy, outcast…. Less than. We suffer guilt and shame for atrocities visited upon us by others. We absorb the neglect and abuse suffered at the hands of parents or siblings or family or friends as if it belonged to us. Some wear it as their identity and accept it as part of who they are with pride. Others stuff it deep down and hold onto the guilt and shame until it affects every aspect of their lives. ###################### There are a plethora of lies and deception that follow dark moments such as this. We believe the lies in our heads about what it was, how it was and who we are because of it. Somehow we feel responsible, or if not, we feel physically dirty and mentally darkened by the event(s). We use negative coping skills to survive the pain: ################ • We shrink from life. ################ • We throw ourselves into wreck-less, self-destructive behavior. ################# • We drown ourselves in mind numbing alcohol or drugs. ############### None of these behaviors are meant to make it better. I think deep down we don’t think we deserve to be ‘better.’ The evil one fills our heads with all sorts of negative beliefs and dark lies and never stops using it against us until we are lost in a fog of, what seems like, inescapable darkness. ################## It isn’t enough that we are left with gaping wounds and scars that forever remind us of our pain… each time we use one of the negative coping mechanisms mentioned above, we simply pile onto that sense of loss and darkness; the sense that we are no good. We are so focused on the past, the pain, the darkness that we cannot see the truth. And when we do this, satan wins the battle each time, but worse, we lose our souls, our true identity. We lose precious time. We lose relationships. We lose our true purpose. But that is just a battle, not the war!##################### Listen, do you really think that God created YOU with this purpose in mind? Yes. There is evil in the world. Yes, free will sucks because of what man can warp it into. Yes, sin and death bring natural issues like disease and brokenness. BUT this isn’t why we were created. YOU aren’t living in the true manner that God created you to live. ##################### 1 John 5:19: “We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” ################## I picture it like this: The evil one was sent down to earth and, for the most part, wreaks havok on those in the world. He encourages sin, hate, disconnection, suicide, drug addiction…. Any kind of addiction really that keeps people from seeing their true purpose. His goal is to keep you stupid and blind to the Truth. The more deception (fog) that he creates, the harder it is for you to fight your way out. Plus, the more he can convince you to pile onto bad memories with more bad decisions, the more he can deceive you into thinking that you deserve what you get. ############### 2 Corinthians 4:4: “In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” ################### But you see, it is all smoke and mirrors. ##################### Ephesians 6: 10-18: “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ...” ####################### But, as we reach out to God and seek comfort in His word, we can see it all for what it really is and dissect each lie to recolor it with Christ's sacrifice and love. His word will heal those hidden places. He will open your eyes to the Truth. He will guide you to your true purpose and, if you ask Him, He will rid you of the evil one. This doesn’t mean that the evil one will stop trying…. Because he won’t. It means that you will have the strength to resist him. ######################## 1 Corinthians 10:13: “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” ################# James 4:7: “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” #################### And for those of you who think you are too far gone, unworthy or whatever you have falsely believed about yourself, NONSENSE. God didn’t send His only son to die on the cross for ALL of our sins FOREVER, just to leave you behind. It isn’t in YOUR strength to make yourself into some wonderful Christian to serve the world. If you are reading this, He likely called YOU. This means You are and can be His if you follow the steps to salvation. HE left the Holy Spirit here to guide believers to be righteous. Baby steps. Listen to the will of God and follow His guidance. ################## Romans 8:26: “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” ################# So, you see? You have been lied to. You have been living a lie. But it is simple. Go and seek Him who made the world. Go and sin no more…. Or work on it with His help. :-) ################ Much love, people. ###################

A great man goes to his reward

Charles Stanley, minister of the word of God passed away on April 18th, 2023. The world will miss his personal style of sharing the Truth. We will join him one day. Prayers for his close family, friends and congregations world-wide. Much love https://wng.org/opinions/a-man-of-truth-1681902766 copy and passte 30 Life Principles: Dr Charles Stanley: https://www.charlesstanley.com/life-and-ministry/30-life-principles (copy and paste)

Gimmicks or God

[For some reason, formatting does not carry over and there is no way to create paragraphs on this blog. Please bare with me as I try to find out why. In the meantime, I use asterics to seperate paragraphs.] **************************** I love Andy Stanley and many others who don’t feel the need to add gimmicks to their teaching. They do the work and trust that God will impart it on those who need to hear it. The great ones always do that. ********************************** Listen, if you serve the public and share God’s word, I urge you all to pray about this and to ask God for guidance in this regard. I ask you to get back to who you are and let God take the stage, so to speak, and impart His love and wisdom. ********************************* If you are a member of the church who has a pastor who performs, pray about whether to lovingly approach your pastor about trusting God rather than their own abilities while at the pulpit. ******************************** My goal is never to turn you from God but always to help you feel loved and protect you from deception. I feel compelled to talk about this subject. While it seems minor, it is actually one of the many reasons that people see ministry as insincere, performance art and pushy. ********************** It hurts my heart to see people who love God acting like they don’t trust Him when they get on to the pulpit to teach. I have seen good, calm, God loving people resort to theatrics on stage. They elongate the word God in a loud southern style and booming voice... hollering like they had too much caffeine. (They are not Southern.) After 45 minutes of music and announcements, they run around on stage during their short 15 minutes of sermon and impart very little wisdom while performing as one of the old time rain makers who have to trick people out of their money. It seems to be all flash and mirrors. Because I know that isn’t truly how they speak or act in real life, I just shake my head. Instead of going away full, I just go away praying for them. ********************************** My thoughts become, ‘WHAT happened to him? I knew him in class and he was soft spoken. This is not who he is on a daily basis. Why is he acting like this?” It reminds me of when my kids started talking with a Spanish accent to sound cool. I would just look at them, dumbfounded, and tell them that they don’t need to pretend to be someone else. They have never spoken Spanish in their lives and were raised in a poor white neighborhood. They are perfectly fine as they are. ********************************* It makes me wonder if ministers who overact just don’t trust that, a.) God made them perfect vessels for sharing the word as they are and b.) if they are spending time in the word, GOD will be with them. Whether the word actually touches someone’s heart is not within their power. It is His choice and responsibility to touch those hearts that need to be touched; it is in His power. We are, like it or not, just a mouth piece for sharing His love and Word. ********************************** And then it struck me, this form of performance art at the pulpit may be chasing people away. For mature Christians who need substance, it may work for a minute but it burns out quick and leaves people hungry. Mature Christians don’t usually feel the need for theatrics, but we know when we aren’t being fed enough. I am probably not the only one who questions why and turns to a more mature pastor for sermons. ************************ For the new Christian, it invokes excitement initially but after awhile, I suspect, as I once did, they either feel obligated to join in and over act, or they feel like they must be missing something. Or worse, maybe they feel as if they aren’t chosen because they don't feel the spirit move in that way for them. Maybe they feel like aren’t good enough. **************************************** People who are in the middle may or may not appreciate this kind of preaching for a while but I imagine it to grow old and stale and eventually, they would stop going and turn to something more filling in the world. ******************************************** I have watched preachers who skim over God’s word and talk about the niceties of life, the ‘feel good’ preachers who offer very little meat. It is great to catch people initially, but you fail to impart all of God's wisdom and love when you just give them the sugar. Would you just feed your kids sweets or would you nourish them with the full meal first? ******************************** I have heard preachers yell and scream because it worked for them once, and now they do it more than not. I find it disturbing because of my past history of abuse but I also wonder why anyone would want to sit through someone yelling and being theatrical all of the time. God is a God of love. There is so much wisdom and love and instruction in God's word, it is unnecessary to scream it out. ********************************* I have heard people from all parts of the world incorporate the southern voice and elongated speech to sound more dramatic at the pulpit… but it isn’t who they are. It isn't how we speak day to day when we want to reach others. We speak with love, wisdom and authority when we impart God's word. We don't have to pretend to be something that we are not. ******************************* No matter what, none of us want to run the risk chasing members away. It is a heavy responsibility. It is crucial that we understand that GOD will give us the words to say. God will touch the hearts that need to hear the message. Nothing is in our own power. ********************* When God told Moses to speak to the people, he assured Him that He would give Moses the words to say and be with him. He first gave him signs to show the people that he was speaking for God. But Moses was insecure. ********************************* Exodus 4:10-17: “10“Please, Lord,” Moses replied, “I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since You have spoken to Your servant, for I am slow of speech and tongue.” *********************************** 11And the LORD said to him, “Who gave man his mouth? Or who makes the mute or the deaf, the sighted or the blind? Is it not I, the LORD? 12Now go! I will help you as you speak, and I will teach you what to say.” ********************************* 13But Moses replied, “Please, Lord, send someone else.” ********************************* 14Then the anger of the LORD burned against Moses, and He said, “Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well, and he is now on his way to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. 15You are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth. I will help both of you to speak, and I will teach you what to do. 16He will speak to the people for you. He will be your spokesman, and it will be as if you were God to him. 17But take this staff in your hand so you can perform signs with it.” ************************** TRUST God! Not in your own ability to perform. ***********************************

Andy Stanley Easter message "Why Easter Matters"

https://youtu.be/PVRv6TqkMO8 See it on You Tube