Worst pain I've ever experienced

Well, I am currently sitting in the hospital. I burnt my legs a youth camp
last week ,now I am in recovery mode. This is by far the worst pain I have
ever experienced! Things I've been doing to get through this is continue
putting gods word in my heart and quote related scripture. Such as," I am
more than a conquer through Christ who strengthens me!" "God's grace is
more than enough for me!" So, when faced with a situation that just seems
like its more that u can handle, lean on the solid rock who is able to get
you through anything, no matter how hard it may seem!!!!! Maybe I can post some pictures for you soon,...

Pride...

Well, I've been studying on the subject of pride and humility for the past few weeks, and the Lord has shown me some very powerful things concerning the subject that I realize often times go overlooked. I'm very thankful that he has shown me these things and I thought that as I try to implement them into my life that I would share them with you as well.

First off, pride is never a good thing. Now you may use the word pride in a sentence without actually understanding it's true meaning, hopefully when you finish reading you will have a clearer meaning of the word. Pride basically means to have a high opinion of oneself. Often times pride is used from the sense that a person is responsible for something good that is happening. Reality is, if something good is happening, God is responsible, and you deserve none of the credit for what God has done. The bible says that EVERY good and perfect gift comes from above. So why would you be proud of something, like you deserve the credit... God said that he will not share his glory with no man...

Pride live in deception, pride believes lies, and pride tells lies. Humility lives in reality... It's okay to believe good things about yourself as long they are true, reality... Philemon says that the communication of your faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing that is in you in Christ Jesus. Paul said that he magnifies his own office. Did Paul make the office, no, he was called to it, God made it, Paul is simply acknowledging the work that God is doing.

John 7:15-16 "And the Jews marvelled, saying, how knows this man letters, having never learned (they were speaking of Jesus)? And Jesus answered them, and said My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me". Jesus didn't answer them by saying," you gotta pray really hard, and stay up all night studying, and fast, and you really gotta pay the price..." Jesus knew how the work was being done, it was God in him that was doing the work, it was the Grace of God. Jesus lived/lives in reality. Many times he refers to the Father being the one that does the work...

Remember? If it's good, it's God; If it's bad, it's you! Lol... You can take the credit all day long for the bad stuff, but then ask God for mercy and help, to make it better! But you better give God the credit for the good that goes on in your life!

Here are 4 "in you" truths, as opposed to in him... (I'll give scripture reference for each, if you don't believe me then you can look it up... Don't make a confession of these, but do you remind yourself from time to time.)

1. In yourself, you are nothing (nothing= no, not one thing!) Galatians 6:3...
2. In yourself, you know nothing. (nothing= no, not one thing!) 1 Corinthians 8:2... regardless of how much education you have, without God you wouldn't even have a brain or be able to remember your first name...
3. In yourself, you have nothing (nothing= no, not one thing!) 1 Corinthians 4:7... The nature of the flesh is pride, and pride is the nature of the devil, that's why he got throne out of heaven, he tried to exalt himself above God. This is where the theory of evolution comes from, pride. God didn't make me I crawled out of the ocean, I evolved all by myself, I didn't need any help!
4. In yourself, you can do nothing. (nothing= no, not one thing!) John 15:5

Many times people think that because they are born with something that means it must just be them... maybe your good with kids, or good with numbers, or you've always managed money well, something just comes natural to you, so you think you must just be special... :) Well let me shine some light the subject, If it's good, it's God! Some gifts/graces, we're born with, some we have to learn to receive them... you wanna know how your receive more? You wanna know how to make yourself smarter? You wanna know how to have more from God?

Turn to James 4:6. But he gives more grace! Wherefore he saith, God resists the PROUD, but gives grace to the humble! You want more? learn to be humble! It doesn't all happen at once, but it has to start! I will give some examples of pride and what it looks like in my next blog, but I'm going to end for now by giving you some ways that God sees pride and then also the affects of pride...

How God sees pride:

Proverbs 6:16 – These six things doth the lord hate: (Do you hate them) yes, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look,

Proverbs 8:13 The fear of the lord is to hate evil: pride and arrogancy and the evil way and the forward mouth do I hate.
Proverbs 16:5 Everyone that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord.
Proverbs 21:4 A high look and a proud heart is sin.

Pride is a big thing that we should continue to work on... It is the nature of God’s enemy. God wants us to learn of him, pride says I already know.

The effects of pride:
· Proverbs 11:2 When pride comes, then comes shame, but with the lowly is wisdom.
· Proverbs 15:25 The Lord will destroy the house of the proud.
· Proverbs 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
· Proverbs 29:23 A mans pride shall bring him low, but honor shall uphold the humble in spirit.
· One of the effects of pride is a numbing of the mind and a darkening of the understanding, if you want to get revelation you must deal with pride and grow in humility

Daniel 5:20 When his (Nebuchadnezzar) heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him.

James 4:6 He gives more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resists the proud, but gives grace unto the humble. Submit yourself to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

God resists the proud... Don’t be proud... Being proud gives the idea that you somehow are responsible, your not responsible, God is!

How to live!

The poor shall live by faith?
The sick shall live by faith?
The lonely shall live by faith?
The discouraged shall live by faith?
The sad shall live by faith?
The guilty shall live by faith?

The just shall live by what they see?
The just shall live by what they hear?
The just shall live by what feel like?


THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH!!!
Romans 1:17
Habakkuk 2:4
Hebrews 10:38
Galatians 3:11

I believe that people give up when things are going good. The "quit" just shows when the heat is on! When exercising faith there is no coasting! We are empowered to fight, not coast! If you've come through a major battle and victory and you think that you've done such a good job that you'll take it easy for a bit... then failure is in your future!

THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH!
THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH!
THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH!
THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH!

Faith brings to pass what you're hoping for, so don't lose hope!

Are you a blessing

Well there's been something on my heart this past week that I would like to share. According to Galatians 3:9 I am blessed. This verse says that "they that be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham." If you look back in the Old testament (Genesis) you can see that Abraham had a lots and lots of stuff... So is that what it means to be blessed? Well, kinda...
To be blessed simply means to be empowered to prosper. Now be careful, because if you look at "your stuff" you may be tempted to consider whether you are truly blessed or not, but the bible says that they which be of faith are blessed! Prosperity goes so much further than money, or stuff, or better yet physical things; in fact, if I gave you a $100 bill, it would be up to you if that money truly empowered you to prosper... It may just empower you to eat at McDonald's for a week!
Now if you notice my title, "Are you a blessing?" I want to touch on whether or not you are a blessing, not are you blessed. If you are of faith, you are blessed! So what would it mean to be a blessing to someone else? It would mean that you empower others to prosper... As I thought about that, I can only think of one thing that I have that would truly empower someone else to prosper, and that is the truths that are found in God's Word. I consider myself to be empowering you to prosper as I write and then you read this blog! Amen! True prosperity comes from within, so the only thing that is going to change us from the inside out is God's Word.
Now I'm not saying that you shouldn't help others with physical needs. But Peter told the man at the gate beautiful, silver and gold have I none, but such as I have give I unto thee... Peter realized that he was empowered to prosper and also realized that he was to share what he had! Don't you think the man that could not walk but now is walking felt empowered to prosper??? There is nothing more important than God's Word, as I drove to Church last night I considered the Wednesday night crowd and how it is usually lacking and thought, if those people only knew what they were missing out on, they would walk if they had to! THERE IS NOTHING MORE IMPORTANT THAN GOD'S WORD! NOTHING!!! People in Africa will walk for days just to sit and listen to the Word being preached, because they realize that putting the Word in your heart produces the greatness of God in your life.
Last thing I want to touch on concerning the Blessing. I've heard it said, to bless God... Can you really empower God to prosper??? To answer that we need to look at Psalms 78:41, here it says that the children of Israel ..."limited" the Holy One... The way they did this was by forgetting the supernatural things that God had done for them in bringing them out of Egypt. By forgetting that God could do the supernatural, they limited him from doing more extraordinary things in their lives...

To empower God to prosper to me means that you allow yourself to be used by God. That is how the Kingdom of God expands, by people allowing themselves to be used of God. To be used by God, you must put his Word in your heart, not just Sunday and Wednesday, although they are important, but you must seek God daily, earnestly, his kingdom must be placed before everything else in your life! Everything!!! This to me is how you become a blessing, not only to God, but to all those around you!

Faith - You've already got it!

I'd like to write to you about faith today. A while back I was blessed to receive some insight concerning faith and I think it will be helpful to you as well. I once believed that I needed more faith in order to see God's blessing flow in my life, but Romans 12:3 says that God has dealt to every man THE measure of faith, not A measure. This tells me that faith is not measured by how much you have, but simply whether you have faith or not. Now I believe that if you have heard God's Word spoken then Faith has come to you and at this point you have the option to believe what you've heard or reject the Lord Jesus. (Romans 10:15-17) So once faith comes and you receive it, that's it, you have it. Let me show you something from the book of Galatians 5:22-23; But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, FAITH.... You see faith is something that is on the inside of you and it is supernatural, without God's grace/favor you could not receive faith. The Word of God is a seed that is planted in your heart, and once watered with more word, the Word of God will begin to produce these fruits in your life. Joy is already in you, Peace is already in you, Love is already in you, PATIENCE is already in you, FAITH is already in you... What we have to do is understand this and then learn through God's word to release these things from within us! That is very powerful!!! Were not trying to get something that we don't have! We need to learn to use what we already have received from God! Hallelujah! Flip back to Galatians 2:20; I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh "I LIVE BY THE FAITH OF THE SON OF GOD", who loved me and gave himself for me! We live by the faith of Jesus, this faith has been given to us.
I refereed earlier to Romans 10 and that Faith comes by hearing... When you have never heard the Word of God preached, faith comes "to you" by hearing... but I believe that once you have faith, it comes from you when you hear, from your heart! Picture it coming out of you, rather than to you, because you already have, now the key is learning how to release it!
You have plants, they need to be watered, if you water them once a week they will most likely barely survive... Learn to water the seed that has been sown in your heart! For you to live in the wonderful blessings of God, you must water the seed that has been sown in your heart! It is watered by building a relationship with God. God speaks through the Bible, you speak through prayer.
Begin the New Year determined to press in and see all that God has for you come to pass this year! God Bless You!

The truth about our president

Well, I'm not much into politics.... I do agree that it is important to know what is going on in the world and our country... I oftentimes hear some very harsh things said about The President of the U.S. The truth about our President is that God loves him. Yep, you heard me! Jesus died for him the same as he died for you and me. You don't deserve salvation anymore than President Obama does. Now I don't agree with much of what he represents or the direction I believe he is trying to take our country.... But you know what the bible says? The bible says that we are to pray for him. (1 Timothy 2:1-2).
There are people watching us that may not know Jesus, so let's represent Jesus so they can see the light! The love of god flowing thru us is able to change the hearts of those that will listen. So let that love flow!

Is that really in the Bible???

I grew up hearing a certain phrase and I always assumed that it was in the Bible... until recently... The phrase is, "You judge a tree by it's fruit." Like if someone had done something wrong.... I have not been able to find that in the Bible, and I have looked! The only thing close to that I have found is in Matthew 7:16 and also Matthew 12:33; each scripture reads, "...You shall know them by their fruit..."
So... you may ask, why do I make this point? Because to me this was very significant. There was a time when I had a problem with looking at other people and the things that they do and assuming that I knew them inside-out... Or I would wonder why people did certain things and think that it should be done differently. You know we are all where we are, and while we all are striving to be like Jesus, none of us are there.
Only God knows the heart of man, and God has already judged man. When Jesus died on the cross, man was judged; receiving Jesus brings forgiveness, rejecting him brings condemnation...
Here is what I believe. The heart of man has already been judged. What does a tree produce???? Fruit. Would you be shocked if I told you that I don't believe that the bible is referring to a man when it says "tree" in Matthew 12. Let me explain. What does a seed produce? Since we're talking about trees, we'll say a tree. Lol. I don't believe that you're a seed, or a tree, or a fruit! I believe that you are the soil. (I mean, why not... God created man from the earth...) Psalm 1 says that the man that walks with God and meditates on his Word day and Night shall be LIKE a tree planted beside a river... In Mark 4:14 the Bible refers to God's Word as seed. (Read previous verses to fully understand.) So your heart is the soil, and when God's Word is planted there it brings good fruit. Whatever is planted in your heat will produce fruit in your life. So if you want good things plant God's Word. If you don't want bad things in your life, quit planting bad things in your heart!
I have more to say about the seeds and trees and fruit and what you plant in your heart... But I want to leave you with a final thought concerning the heart of man and then I need to go! :) I want to look at two men from the Old Testament and use them as an example to show you why it is important not to judge others and think that you know so much. In 2 Chronicles 15:16-17 the Bible tells of a man named Asa. We see that Asa Tore down his mothers idols and removed her from office. Then we see that he did not remove the high places. (which you would think that he should have done, high places are were people went to worship other gods.) But after the Bible points out what I would consider a fault, or maybe something to JUDGE Asa by, we see that the heart of Asa was perfect all his days! Wow, what a testimony to have, that your heart was perfect! So... The way I believe that Asa's heart was perfect before God is I don't think that God told Asa to remove the high places. So, if God told someone that they specifically were supposed to do something or not to do something, would you know about it? Would it be any of your business? And how could you judge that person based on information that you don't have???
Now we will look at a man named Amaziah. In 2 Chronicles 24:6 We see that Amaziah did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, but not with a perfect heart. Now how do you do that?!? Do what's right, but not with a perfect heart? Have you ever heard this before, I'll do it, but I don't want to. That would be the assumption I would make... And if that was someones attitude, it might be really hard to tell. Someone is doing everything their supposed to but deep down inside they would rather be doing something else.
So the conclusion I draw from these two instances is, don't assume you know what God has told someone else! Maybe someone is doing something that is dumb to you and makes no sense. But if God told them to do it then who are you to judge God and his reasons. Keep in mind that God speaks to us through his Word (The Bible)... 1 Corinthians 1:27 says that God has chose the foolish things of the world to confound the wise...
May your hearts be at piece from now on because you can just focus on what your supposed to be doing and not everyone else! I know mine has been! God Bless!!!

Jesus is the only way!

Hello, what I plan to share today may seem elementary to some, but none the less I felt like it needed to be shared.
There is only one way to get to heaven, and that is through Jesus.
There are many religions out there today that claim to be the truth, but there is actually only one truth, and that is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus died for the sins of the entire world, and the only way to see Father God is by accepting Jesus as the Son of God and the savior of the the world.
There are many out there today that find this offensive. While I'm not apologetic, I am sorry to know this. The reason? Because without accepting Jesus, man will find themselves burning in a hell that was not created for them. I believe that hell was created for the devil and his angels that rebelled against God. Hell is not a fun place, if you're looking forward to getting there and having a good ole time.... Think again....
So back to the message... 1 John 5:11 says that God has given to us eternal life and that life is in his Son! Jesus also said in John 14:6 that I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by him.
If your confused and you believe that your good works are going to get you to heaven or that believing in some other form will land you a seat in heaven then you are going to find yourself disappointed unless you change what you believe and place your faith in Jesus Christ who came to this earth carry your sins for you!
God Bless!

More insight about the blessing

Wow, I just heard a really encouraging Word from Creflo Dollar. It was from Thanksgiving Day and was about living a healthy life... Creflo mentioned something at the beginning of the broadcast that really ministered to me. To the best of my memory, he said that it is a greater testimony to live a healthy life, rather than receive some great miracle from God. I agree with that. Wisdom will instruct you how to live a healthy life, rather than live a life eating things that are bad for you and then believing God for a miracle to keep you alive. Now don't get me wrong, I totally agree with believing in God for things. But to me walking out the blessing requires saying no to the desires of the flesh and living a Godly life that is a witness to others! Don't live a life like your on a roller coaster, enjoying all the good of this world, and then when sickness comes knocking, you take the plunge...
This applies the same with finances, don't just live however you want and then when the well runs dry, you decide that you are gonna start serving God and expect for some miraculous thing to happen. I'm not saying that God can't intervene, miracles do still happen. But many people give up serving God before they ever see a miracle come to pass.
God is good, and he wants us to live abundant lives here on this earth, but the choice is up to us! We have desires and emotions and we have to learn to control these desires and hear God's voice and make decisions that honor him.
The blessing is not living a defeated life, and then a miracle happening here and there that allows you to survive. The blessing is based on decisions that you make, you make these decisions based on the wisdom that comes from knowing God. You know someone by communicating with them and spending time with them. You develop a relationship with God by spending time in his Word and spending time in prayer.
Don't begin a relationship with God so you can get stuff. Develop a relationship with God because he loved you so much that he sent his only son to die for you, and in return you want to learn to love him.
One more thing, once you begin this journey, or if your already in it, don't fall into the trap of self righteousness. Your very best apart from the finished work of Jesus falls very short of God's standard. Your faith must be placed in the finished work of Jesus. The works that you do must be mixed with belief in God. You are made righteous by the work that Jesus did. He did it for you. So in return, I encourage you to begin that relationship with him today. As you walk with him he will guide your steps with his Word.
AMEN!!!

Wisdom ties to the blessing

Proverbs 10:22 says that the blessing of the Lord makes rich and adds no sorrow with it! So, are you blessed? Galatians 3:9 says that they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham! So, are you of faith? If you are of faith then you are blessed! God told Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3 that he was going to bless him beyond measure, and he did!
I believe there is a key to how this blessing flows, the key lies in wisdom. We have to operate in the wisdom of God. Proverbs 4:7 says that Wisdom is the principal thing: therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding... 1 Corinthians 1:30 says that Jesus has been made unto us wisdom... So the key to walking in the blessing lies in receiving the wisdom that Jesus has revealed unto us through his Word. Jesus Christ actually is the Word. John 1:1-14 says that all things were made by the Word and that the Word was God. In verse 14 we read that the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us! The Word is Jesus, and now the Word is given to us through the Bible.
The Bible is full of wisdom. The blessing operates in our lives through 5 areas. Spiritual, physical, mental, social, financial. These are the areas that we operate in every day. So if we are blessed then we should be seeing increase in these 5 areas... If you do not think that increase is coming in these areas, then ask God for wisdom. It says in James 1:5-6 that if any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God.... Since Jesus has come to live in our hearts, then that means that wisdom is on the inside of us, what we must do is learn to draw it out, and the keys to doing this are found in God's Word , The Bible! I pray that you receive this message and that it becomes a stepping stone for you to begin or continue to draw on the wisdom of God!

REJOICE!!!!!

Hello! I want to encourage you to rejoice! Here is the dictionary meaning of rejoice:
–verb (used without object)
1. to be glad; take delight (often fol. by in): to rejoice in another's happiness.
Okay, this is one of the many meanings for rejoice, but they all have one thing in common; rejoice is not a noun, it's not a place or a thing; rejoice is not a state of being; rejoice is a verb! That means in order to rejoice, there has to be action! Praise God; that is me rejoicing! Open your mouth and rejoice! Jump in the air, dance around the house, sing a song unto the Lord! Rejoice!
What if I don't feel like rejoicing? What if I am sick, or I don't have any money... Good! That's all the more reason to rejoice! God is made strong in your weakness! (1 Corinthians 1:25; 2 Corinthians 12:9)
Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS! And again I say REJOICE!!! It doesn't matter what you feel like! If you want to feel better, this is the medicine. The bible says a merry heart does good like medicine, but a broken spirit drieth the bones. Proverbs 17:22 So have a merry heart and it will be a remedy for any situation you're in! I don't care what is going on, you can rejoice in the Lord and your situation will get better!
My wife sent me this text this morning... I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving! Psalms 69:30
You have so much to be thankful for, if you don't think that you do then I encourage you to go and read the story of Joseph. Genesis 37 - 48. It is a remarkable story about a man who held fast to a promise from God and through 20 years of trials was never moved. Even in success he trusted God to see the dream come to pass instead of taking matters into his own hands. In return, he not only saw the dream come to pass, but he was used by God to see his wicked brothers have a heart of repentance... It's just awesome... I've been stuck on it lately. God gave me a dream, and the story of Joseph gives me great hope!
I will rejoice in the Lord always and at all times! This Thanksgiving, be sure to join me with an attitude of Praise. It will be medicine to you an encouraging to all those that you are around!
Happy Thanksgiving!

You've already got it!

I have just finished reading some things that were posted on another blog. After reading, I felt lead to interject some references from God's word, as well as my favorite evangelist.



Andrew Wommack tells a story from his early pastoring days... Andrew reports that he only had an income of $1200.00 annually! He was pastoring a church and had just recently returned from Vietnam. The Bible that he owned was mildewed from the environment and was missing chapters and even entire books of the Bible. So his faith project was to believe God for a new Bible.... To make a long story short, when Andrew was walking out of the store with the new bible under his arm, there was no doubt in his mind that he had his new bible!

You may say, of course there was no doubt in his mind, he already had it. That's is the point, you already have it! You need to get the idea out of your head that if you only had more faith you would be able to see miracles performed in your life. The truth is, you already have all the faith you need to receive any and everything in this life you need, and I'm going to show you this truth through God's word.
You are a 3 part being (1 Thessalonians 5:23), and your born again spirit looks just like Jesus! You have inside you the faith that it took to raise Lazarus from the dead! Look at Galatians 2:16, "Knowing that a man is not justified by the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ..." not faith in Jesus Christ, but by his faith. scroll down to verse 20. About midway through the verse Paul says, The Life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God. There's that phrase again. So it's not faith that you're trying to get or faith that you are trying to grow, but you already have "the measure" (Romans 12:3) of faith and it is complete and full!
Someone once asked Reinhardt Bonke (?) "why is it he sees more miracles in Africa and other 3rd world countries than we see here in America, was it because they have more faith?" He responded by saying that was an invalid question and that Americans are the only ones who have this concept of little faith big faith.
So why don't we see the things come to pass in our lives that we believe for? Well, there could be several reasons, but one is that we haven't learned to release the massive abundance of faith that we have inside us!
Galatians 5:22 says that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, lonsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance... So if you are filled with God's Holy Spirit then you already have the fullness of all these things and therefore you need to learn through God's Word how to release them in your life and enjoy them. I believe that Faith is released by the words that you speak, and you learn what to speak by studying the word of God. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:17) As I've said, I don't believe that we receive more faith, but that the faith inside of us comes when we hear God's word... So if you want to see more manifestation in your life, learn to release God's faith that he placed in your life when you heard the Word preached and received Jesus as Lord!

One last thing that I think will help. Many times, an old testament reference is used as a crutch by new testament believers... It's from 1 Corinthians 2:9, " But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." That's where most people stop, but the next scripture says that God has revealed them to us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. You see the old testament believers didn't have the Holy Spirit to give them wisdom and insight! But Glory to God we do! That is why it was better for Jesus to go away, that the Holy Spirit would come! The answers are out there, we just have to learn to tap into the rich wisdom of God, and 1 Corinthians 1:30 says that we are in Christ Jesus, and God has made him to be unto us wisdom... Jesus is the Word! (John 1:14)
I hope this has encouraged you, some of these truths are new to me and I am excited to come to realize that I'm not trying to get more faith, but that everything that I need has already been provided for me! That's just awesome!

Cheer up!!!

Good morning, I have something very exciting that I want to share with you this morning! I just know that it is going to make a positive impact on your life... Are you ready??? Here goes! If you are in a bad mood or upset, it's nobodies fault but your own... ... ... ...
Now, there are two ways you can look at this, one way is to think that I'm crazy and have lost it, and if your already thinking that, then I hope you will hear me out, because there is another way of looking at this that can really change your life forever!
In Acts 26:2 Paul tells King Agrippa of the Roman empire that he "thinks himself happy". Now you have to understand where Paul is coming from to understand how meaningful that statement is! Paul had been locked up in a cold dark prison for quite sometime. He had also been beaten, laughed at, and mocked. If most of us would have gone through all of this we would probably crawl up in a ball with our thumb in our mouths. But Paul found a way to be happy in his situation, and that was by controlling what he thought!
You can do this very same thing, you can hold fast to the promises of God and focus on what God has said about you in the Bible instead of focusing on your current trial. Paul had received a promise from God in the previous chapters, God told Paul that he would stand before the King of Rome. Paul had a promise to hold onto! So do you!
And if you think that your situation is sooo bad, just think of this.... What's the worst that could happen? You die and get to spend forever and ever in the presence of God almighty! That's something to get excited about! I'm beginning to understand the conflict that Paul had between wanting to go and be with Jesus, or to stay here on the earth and help the saints of God!
I love you, God loves you, and Jesus is Lord!

How God sees you

Good morning,
I would like to share something that is exciting as well as life changing. I am going to begin to share with you about who you are and the way that God sees you...
The first thing that is important to recognize is that you are not the person that you see in the mirror everyday... I know this may come across as strange, but please let me explain. The image that you see in the mirror is only a suit that you live in. In order to live on earth, you must have a suit that you wear, your body is your earth suit! In addition to the suit that you look at in the mirror and have to bath, and brush its teeth, and feed, etc., You have another part of you, this part is called the soul, or the mind. will, and emotions. In this part of you decisions are made. The soul is also referred to as the heart of man. Depending on what you put in your heart will determine the dominant actions that you see carried out through your body. The last part of you is your spirit. Depending on whether or not you believe in Jesus and that God raised him from the dead will determine what your spirit looks like. The Bible makes it clear that man/woman is a 3 part being in 1 Thessalonians 5:23. There is much to say about all 3 parts of man, but today I want to give a few more references concerning this reality, and then I want to share about how God sees you as a spiritual being in Christ Jesus.
Genesis 1:26 says,"let us make man in our image...". What is this image referring to? The Godhead is made up of 3 parts, The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit! So we are a 3 part being created in the likeness of God.
2 Corinthians 6:16 says that you are the temple of God... and that God will dwell in you! The temple that God had man make in the old testament was made up of 3 parts, and outer court, and inner court, and the holy of Holies. God dwelt in the Holy of Holies. We are the temple of God! We have an outer court, our body; and inner court, our soul; and a holy of Holies were God dwells, our spirit! Under the new testament, you are the temple of God, God dwells in you! This is the way that God sees you!
In Ephesians 2:6, it says that we have been seated with Christ in heavenly places! That is right now, not future tense. You may say, how can that be... I'm sitting here in front of a computer... I don't mean that your body has been seated with Christ, I mean that you Spirit has been seated with Christ! Right now you are in the presence of God almighty, and if you can picture yourself there as God pictures you there you will be flooded with his presence and it will become impossible for you to fail in this world or accept any of it's shortcomings, because you know that all is well at the right hand of God the Father!
One last scripture, In 1 Corinthians 5:3 Paul says that he is absent from the Corinthians in body, but present with them in Spirit.... This does not meant that his spirit is with them in Corinth, this means that because they are in Christ Jesus, and he is in Christ Jesus, they are all seated together with Christ Jesus in heavenly places! Ephesians 2:6
I'm telling you, that if you will stop and close your eyes and see yourself the way that God sees you, it will bring victory to you today.
There is much more to say about this topic and I will continue to teach on it, but for now my break is over and I need to get back to work... God bless!

This is from one of my favorite teachers; Andrew Wommack

Killing Sacred Cows
November 2009
Dear Friend,
The Word of God is awesome! It has all the power we will ever need for every situation in our lives (Heb. 4:12). All we have to do is mix it with faith and, praise God, a miracle (Heb. 4:2)!
I know many of you are thinking, It isn't that easy. I believe the Word and I'm doing everything I know to do, yet things still haven't worked out. I have experienced that too—personally and with many people I've ministered to.So, what's the problem? Actually, there are many problems, but I think most of them can be summed up by what Jesus said in Mark 7:13:
"Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition."
What a startling statement! Wrong teaching—specifically religious doctrines—makes God's Word of no effect. The most significant revelations I've received from the Lord all have to do with renewing my mind from old ways of thinking that I learned in church. As I was freed from the traditions, the simplicity of God's Word set me free.
At a recent Gospel Truth Seminar, the Lord led me to counter a number of traditions that void God's Word. It was heavy stuff that was hard on even many full-Gospel fanatics. I tried to be as gentle as possible, but there isn't a gentle way to kill a sacred cow.
It's like the man who saw a cow with a wooden leg. He was so shocked, he stopped his car and asked the farmer about the cow. The farmer said this was a very special cow. He told stories of how the cow saved his life and his kids' lives more than once. The man was impressed, but that still didn't explain why the cow had a wooden leg. Finally, the farmer yelled, "You can't eat a special cow like that all at once!"
Unlike that farmer's cow, sacred cows cannot be done away with gradually. You just need to kill them and deal with the fallout. So that's what I did. It was powerful. I dealt with a lot of things in the seminar, but only have space to mention a few in this letter.
I think one of the worst doctrines in the body of Christ today is the belief that God controls everything or, as the religious terminology states, "God is sovereign." It's usually presented in one of two ways: One, God originates everything, or two, Satan originates the evil things but has to get God's approval before he can do His "dirty work."
This doctrine seems to be dominant in the body of Christ today. It's so entrenched that many people will just discount what I have to say before hearing me out. To them, this has become a sacred cow. But this old cow needs to die. They need to kill that sacred cow, or it will kill the power of God's Word in their lives.
On the surface, it makes perfect sense that God controls everything. After all, He is God. He is all powerful. He can do whatever He wants to do. He is sovereign.
I agree that God is sovereign if the word sovereign is used as it's defined in the dictionary. The American Heritage Dictionary defines "sovereign" as "1. Independent. 2. Having supreme rank or power. 3. Paramount; supreme." "Sovereign" comes from a Latin word that means "super, above." I agree with all of those definitions. God is all of that and more. But religious tradition has redefined "sovereign" to mean God has and does exercise "absolute control." I totally disagree with that!
At one time, God was in absolute control of everything, but then He made man and gave him unrestricted power and authority over the earth. Man knowingly gave that power and authority to Satan. And Satan has been messing things up ever since (with our help, I might add).
You might say, "God could stop Satan if He wanted to. Therefore, the devil only does what God allows Him to do." That's not true. That's a religious tradition that will render you passive and prey to the devil.
When God gave Adam unconditional authority over the earth, He gave him His word (Ps. 89:34). There were no strings attached. He didn't say, "If you blow it, I'll take back My power and authority." No! God had to allow what man allowed. The Lord had given man total control over the earth. It was his to govern as he saw fit. Adam then yielded to Satan the power and authority God intended for man.
God is a good God. If it was only up to Him, we would all be blessed (James 1:17). That can be seen in the life of Job. God blessed Job abundantly. He was the greatest man in wealth and integrity of all the people of his day. But Job didn't have a covenant with God. The Lord didn't really have the legal right to be so good to Job. Job was a sinner and therefore under Satan's control. So Satan pressed his case, and the Lord had to turn Job over to Satan because he legally came under Satan's jurisdiction.
This is why the Lord started making covenants with people like Abraham and, eventually, the whole nation of Israel. If they would comply, then the Lord could legally bless them. This worked, to a degree. The problem was, no one could live up to God's standard for very long. So, instead of the blessing He desired to give, the curse eventually came upon them because "all have sinned" (Rom. 3:23).
People have seen many scriptural examples of God's judgment upon man in the Old Testament and have interpreted that as God's way of correcting us. Under the New Covenant, that is no longer the case, and a number of scriptures will kill that sacred cow.
Deuteronomy 28 lists the blessings and curses that would come upon the Israelites depending on their obedience or disobedience to God's commands. Notice the things listed in verses 15-68: sickness, poverty, grief, and every other trouble imaginable. They are curses, not blessings, as many religious people are trying to make them out to be today.
People will say, "This cancer was really a blessing in disguise because it made me turn to the Lord for help." No! It's not a blessing; it's a curse. God didn't put that cancer on them or allow it. The fact that they turned to the Lord is good, but they shouldn't blame God for causing that problem.
God never uses evil to correct or draw us to Him. Romans 2:4 says it's the goodness of God that leads us to repentance. Second Timothy 3:16 says that God's Word—not problems—is given to correct and reprove us. Afflictions are what Satan uses to steal away God's Word (Mark 4:16-17).
"But don't all things work together for good?" No! That's not what God's Word says. That's another sacred cow. Look at Paul's actual statement in Romans 8:28:
"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."
Taken in context, that verse says something totally different from what religion has taught us. The two preceding verses say,
"Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God."
First, the Greek word for "helpeth" is a compound word that means "to take hold of opposite together, i.e. co-operate" (Strong's Concordance). The Holy Spirit does not intercede for us automatically; we must participate, and as we do, He energizes and quickens and empowers our prayers. When He takes hold with us, things begin to work together for good.
Second, in verse 28, there are qualifications that most people ignore. The first is to love God. Did you know that not everybody loves God? Not even all who are born again truly love God. For those who do not, things don't work together for good.
The next part says you must be called according to His purpose. What is His purpose? First John 3:8 says that the purpose of Jesus' coming was to destroy the works of the devil. So, if you are functioning according to the purpose of Jesus, you should be out to destroy the works of the devil.
Therefore, this passage of Scripture applies to people who are not passive, but they are interceding and letting the Holy Spirit supernaturally energize and take intercession to a level where it's not just human. That eliminates the majority of people right there. Add loving God to that and resisting and destroying the works of the devil, and you can see how that scripture has been misunderstood and misused.
God is not the one who makes our lives a mess. We have a choice.
Deuteronomy 30:19 says,
"I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live."
To say we don't have a choice is another way of saying we aren't willing to take personal responsibility for our situations. When we believe we're not responsible, it invalidates the Word of God.
The Word tells us to make a choice between life and death, so we do have a choice. God even helped us out by telling us which one to choose: He said to choose life.
The slickest deception Satan has ever put across, primarily through the church, is to get people to embrace his work as the work of God. In my estimation, this is the worst doctrine in the body of Christ. If you really believe God controls everything, why do anything? Why pray? Why study the Word? Why resist? Just eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow you die, and whatever God wills will happen.
However, James 4:7 says,
"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
Notice that there are things from God that we submit to and things from the devil that we resist. God does not control everything.
Religion has played into the victim mentality because it's the easiest way to explain away failure. The church has not been effective in helping people overcome things like sickness and financial problems, so they fall into the sacred cow belief that God is allowing this for a reason.
God isn't allowing the bad things in your life. The same power that raised Christ from the dead lives on the inside of every believer, and He is waiting on you to resist the devil and appropriate what He has already provided through Jesus.