Wonderful Jesus!

Tag: encouragement

• Mustard Seed Faith! Repost and Revised!

  Posted at 3:56 am by wonderfuljesus8, on December 14, 2019

  With all of the end of the year things going on, I thought I would repost a blog I enjoyed writing in my early days when no one was reading my blog! LOL! Hope you enjoy this blog!

  What did Jesus mean about mustard seed faith? While I cannot say with certainty what He meant, I can say with certainty, what He didn’t mean. Traditionally, we have been taught that mustard seed faith was having just “a little faith, the size of a mustard seed” to move a great big mountain. Well, I don’t think so!

  Matthew 17:20-“So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, “move from here to there’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”NKJV

  In the Young’s Literal Translation, this verse reads, “And Jesus said to them, ‘Through your want of faith; for verily I say to you, if ye may have faith as a grain of mustard, ye shall say to this mount, remove hence to yonder place, and it shall remove, and nothing shall be impossible to you.”

  As I have already mentioned, Jesus is not talking about the size of the seed. In both of the above versions, size isn’t even mentioned  But we have taught faithfully that Jesus is talking about the size of the seed comparing it to the size of our faith. Let’s look at what Jesus thinks about “small” faith:

  Matthew 6:30-Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” (This doesn’t read as a compliment!)

  Matthew 8:26- But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea and there was a great calm.” (In this verse they were both fearful and had little faith, no wonder they couldn’t rebuke the storm!)

  Matthew 14:31- “And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” ” (Peter walked on water, but “little faith” caused him to doubt and sink). How can little faith move a mountain when it couldn’t handle a storm or keep Peter on the surface of the water?

  Matthew 16:8-But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, “O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread?” (Again, little faith is not being applauded as a wonderful thing by Jesus.) Just the opposite!

  These four scriptures of truth, spoken directly by Jesus, confirms that the size of the mustard seed is not what Jesus was referring to in mountain moving faith. Many Christians have been disappointed in the results of their “little faith” not producing mountain moving results. I believe it is time to get rid of this myth in the Body of Christ and that is why it was my first post and I have chosen to repost it! I thought it was a very valid point and yet it had gone unseen!

  Think about the times you have been disappointed in not seeing faith produce for you what the word promised when you knew that you didn’t have great faith, but you had a little? Well, that’s because little faith didn’t produce anything for the people in Jesus’s day and it won’t produce anything today! Wonderful Jesus!

  Posted in Believers, Christian, Faith, God’s Blessings, Matthew 17:20 | 0 Comments | Tagged Believer, encouragement, Faith, Jesus, Matthew 17:20, Prayer, testimony

• From Darkness to Light!

  Posted at 3:36 am by wonderfuljesus8, on December 8, 2019

  1 Peter 2:9 – But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”

  All good things must come to an end, and tonight I am going to end my study on 1 Peter 2:9. I trust you have enjoyed it as much as I have. I’ve written about who we are: a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a treasured possession, and about proclaiming His praises. In this blog, I will end with being called out of darkness into His marvelous Light!

  Skotos! A place of spiritual and moral darkness. Sounds like the world in which we currently live although Peter wrote this about the society in which he lived. We have been called out of skotos, or out of spiritual and moral darkness.

  I don’t need to elaborate on the state of society today, where right has become wrong and wrong has become right in our world. But I could! Neither do I have to point out that the things associated with Jesus and the Word of God have become unpopular in this day and time while we laud and applaud and are entertained by the things that represent darkness. It’s a well known fact!

  But what I do want to bring out is this: salvation through Jesus Christ is a spiritual translation that cannot be duplicated in any other “religion”. This translation from darkness to light, from being a people who have not obtained the mercy of God, to becoming a people who have experienced His mercy is parallel to none.

  Once, many years ago, I experienced a translation. I was riding in a station wagon, with my young niece in the car, and it was pouring down raining. There were two problems to this scenario. First, the car I was driving didn’t have windshield wipers and second, it was dark and the roads were constantly curving in the hilly terrain. We were both frightened and I truly could not see. I had unknowingly placed our lives in a dangerous situation because I knew the windshield wipers didn’t work, but I had no sense about weather patterns and this was prior to weather apps and even cell phones.

  It got so bad that I finally said to the Lord, “Father, I may as well close my eyes and drive for all the good they are doing for me in this situation.” Immediately, I was in my parking space in front of my apartment with the car in park. What happened? We were translated out of that life threatening situation into a place of safety. Out of the blinding rain wrapped in darkness into the a lit parking lot with a drizzle of rain. We looked at each and said something like, “How did we get here?” Neither one of us knew how it had happened, but we realized that God had done it. We took off running into the apartment and fell on our knees and prayed. We never talked about it. She could even be reading this now and be remembering that night. But we never spoke of it because it was not something we thought anyone would believe. But it happened!

  Salvation is just like that! You are heading down a road that you have no idea how you got on it. You feel like things are out of control and you are hopeless to do anything about it. You see your life spinning out of control, and darkness is all around you. No way to survive it. You are going through the motions. Then you cry out to God! You acknowledge that there is absolutely no way of you surviving the darkness, you can’t see, and you give up trying! You acknowledge that you need help from another source, One bigger than you, more capable than you! One who operates in the miraculous and you hope He has one more miracle left with your name on it! And guess what? He does! For you, for many others!

  Then Light explodes on the scene, pushing away the darkness! Bringing clarity to your life, hope to your soul, purpose to your today and your tomorrow. You’ve been translated. You don’t know all that has happened, but you know God did it! You know you were translated out of darkness into His kingdom of light, of salvation. And you fall before Him in worship! In absolute heartfelt gratitude for what He has done!

  Peter understood the magnitude of a changed life, a changed heart, a changed destiny. He understood what translation was and how it felt. Miraculous! Supernatural! Impactful! That’s the kind of experience we are to have. Not just saying words after someone, but having an impactful, meaningful, translation out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. Wonderful Jesus!!!

  When that part is taken care of, experiencing the first part is much easier. What a wonderful and loving God we serve! Nothing is small, mediocre, irrelevant or unimportant in Him! He does Big things! Marvelous things! Earth shaking things! And He does it that we might tell others about His glorious acts on our behalf, that they too might experience the glory of His grace! If you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior and have been translated out of the kingdom of darkness into His marvelous light, then I know you have much you can add to this! But if you have not, don’t wait another minute! Bow your heart, your will, your life to Him and allow Him to translate you out of darkness into the light! Wonderful Jesus!

  Posted in 1 Peter 2:9, Believers, Christian, Salvation, Victorious Living | 6 Comments | Tagged 1 Peter 2:9, Believer, Christian, encouragement, Jesus, miraculous, Salvation

• His Treasured Possession

  Posted at 3:18 am by wonderfuljesus8, on November 27, 2019

  1 Peter 2:9 – But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”

  We’ve learned thus far that we are a chosen people, a priesthood of kings, a holy nation, and tonight we are going to look at the last phrase that Peter uses to identify God’s people…an acquired people, a treasured possession!

  Now I grew up on the KJV bible and it states that we are a peculiar people. The LEB states that we are God’s possession. YLT states that we are a people acquired and the Amplified states that we are a special people for God’s own possession. While they all give us insight into what Peter was trying to convey, I believe that the Amplified gets the job done!

  When I looked “peculiar” up in the Vine’s it immediately referred me to “possession”, so apparently this verse isn’t talking about us being peculiar although many think that we are. As a matter of fact, whenever someone tried to make me feel bad about being “different” because I am a Christian, I would boldly tell them that I was okay with that since I was called to be “peculiar”. Now, because I am taking time to really look at what this verse is saying to me, Peter isn’t calling me strange, he’s saying I am God’s own purchased possession. For my studious readers, the Vine’s state that this word is “peripoiesis” in the Greek and is rendered “an obtaining, an acquisition”.

  I looked up “acquisition” and the Oxford online dictionary defines it as “an asset or object bought or obtained, typically by a library or museum.” An asset is a useful, valuable thing, person, or quality. These words help me to get a fuller meaning of what is being said. So basically we are valuable people bought by the Father for His own possession.

  In Exodus 19:5, God told the children of Israel “you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine.” Again in Deuteronomy 7:6 and Malachi 3:17, He told them that they would be His treasured possession. Peter, in this verse is telling us that we are His treasured possession. It was His heart’s desire in the Old Testament and in the New Testament it became His reality. We are, not shall be!

  When I shared the definition for acquisition, remember it referenced obtaining something for a museum. I immediately thought of all the valuable treasures in a museum, how they are cared for and put on display for the world to see. They remind of us different periods, people, and events in times gone by. They are special and people go to great lengths to preserve them, to see them. Then I thought of us.

  As God’s possession, His treasured possession, we are extremely valuable to Him. We were purchased with the Blood of His Son Jesus, immediately letting us know the great valued He placed on us. He trusted no one else and nothing else to redeem us, so He did it Himself. And we are on display for the world to see. (I’ll go deeper into this next time).

  I remember Rick Renner describing the auction block of hell, and how nothing would do but the Blood of Jesus! He talked about the stench, the filth, the shame, the repulsion of that auction block and yet God purchased us with His Blood, removing us from those terrible conditions of sin. As a matter of truth, His love was so great towards us that while we were yet sinners, He died for us (Romans 5:8). And He did all of that so we might be His treasured possession.

  I want to share Malachi 3:17- “They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.” Malachi prophesies that God will make up His treasured possession, and they would belong to Him. But this is the other part I wanted to mention, God also said through Malachi that He would spare us as a man spares his son who serves him!! Now that’s some shouting stuff!

  Too many of us have believed a lie, that you never know what you going to get from God. Some even believe that the evil they receive is at His hand. But nothing could be further from the truth. He said His treasured possession would be spared. And yes, I went to the Vine’s and it didn’t help me, so I went to the reference. Verse 18 really helps us to understand what was written for us in verse 17: “Then you shall again discern between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.”

  With this verse I am reminded of the Land of Goshen. When the plagues were going forth, there came a time when God “spared” His people from experiencing what the Egyptians were experiencing. God made a difference between them, showing the Egyptians that His treasured people were spared, simply because they were His treasured people! Even more so today! God has some special things up His sleeve, reserved for us, but we can’t experience them because we don’t understand the magnitude of His great love for us!

  Can you comprehend this? Can you get this? Can you visualize the truth of what this verse is saying to us? I am beginning to, and it’s exciting! As God’s treasured possession, there are just some things that He is not going to allow you to go through! I know it’s hard to believe in a world where it seems as if no one is exempt from trouble. But the word of God to us is that we are special to Him. We belong to Him and we are His treasured people. And when I think of a treasure, I think of something that is highly valued and protected. And that’s us!! To our Heavenly Father! Wonderful, wonderful Jesus!!

  So it’s time for us to stop seeing ourselves as a wretch. Yes, we were, but we aren’t! It’s time to stop seeing ourselves as just sinners saved by grace; because we were sinners and we were saved by grace, but nothing could be further from the truth as us being just sinners saved by grace! We are valuable to the Heavenly Father. We are His treasured possession bought, obtained, acquired with the precious Blood of Jesus Christ! This was and is no small matter! This is the most exciting truth in the word!! Redeemed by the Blood!! And He said if He did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? (Romans 8:32) Jesus was not spared so that we would be! That’s deep! This holiday season, take some time to give thanks to the One who treasures you and calls you His own! Love you! Have a blessed and Happy Thanksgiving! Wonderful Jesus!!

  Posted in 1 Peter 2:9, Believers, Christian, Victorious Living | 0 Comments | Tagged 1 Peter 2:9, Believer, Christian, encouragement, Jesus, Victorious Living

• A Chosen Generation!

  Posted at 3:49 am by wonderfuljesus8, on November 15, 2019

  1 Peter 2:9 – But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

  But you are a chosen generation! I have always been moved by this verse in 1 Peter. It is as if Peter looked through the portals of time and knew God’s people would need reminding of they are. So he does just that by saying, “But you are a chosen generation…” My next few posts will look into this verse in depth. I hope you join me as I share about them.

  It is implied and validated in the remaining of this verse, that we are not chosen by just anyone, but by God. What would it feel like to be chosen by Bill Gates to be a recipient of some of his wealth? It would be amazing! What would it feel like to be chosen by Oprah to work on her staff? It would pretty exciting! Or what would it be like to be chosen to be in ministry with your favorite evangelist? For me, it would be it would be mind blowing. And yet, when we think of being chosen by God, it doesn’t provide us with the same level of excitement. And in truth, it shouldn’t! We should be even more excited, amazed, dazed, or our mind blown to understand what it means to be chosen by God!

  As a people chosen by God, we have the benefit of His protection, His provision, access to inhabit His kingdom, and access to His throne. It also suggests that we, as God’s chosen , are to share in the blessings of God’s chosen people, the Israelites. This is echoed in Galatians by Paul when he states that we are blessed with faithful Abraham.

  This being chosen also means that we are to share in the privileged status of Christ Jesus. Again, Galatians 3 states that we are heirs and joint heirs with Christ. And in the same chapter of Galatians, we are told that the blessing of Abraham comes upon us as a result of what Jesus accomplished on Calvary. And if that isn’t enough, John 1 states that those of us who have believed on Jesus and received Him were given the right to become children of God. Are you grasping the scope of being chosen yet?

  Now, put chosen with generation and you get an even richer viewpoint of what Peter is stating. You are a chosen generation, or race. Just as God chose the Israelites to be His people, He has chosen you, us, who have been redeemed by the Blood of Jesus to be His. We belong to Him. We didn’t just choose Him, but He chose us to be His. We are as special to Him as the Jewish nation is to Him. Any reader of the Bible can see that He was fully engaged in the lives of the Israelites. As a matter of fact, He hasn’t stopped being involved in Israel’s protection and the blessing of the Jews. They are still a blessed people!

  He provided them with deliverance from Egypt in a magnanimous way. Even unbelievers have heard of the parting of the Red Sea! Our spiritual deliverance pays eternal dividends and opens the pathway for earthly deliverances. The testimonies I could share! He provided them with His glory to guide them, and we are welcomed to experience His glory today! Anything that He did for Israel He can and will do for us on a greater scale because our covenant is built on the Blood of Jesus and not on bulls and goats.

  It’s overwhelming to the natural mind the scope of being chosen by God, but it is true. The devil wants you to be afraid of embracing God, to believe He is out to get you, to keep things from you, to stifle your life, or is waiting to reject you when you sin; but nothing could be further from the truth!! God Himself has chosen you to be His out of the depth of His great love for you! His hands are stretched out still. Open your heart today and dare to believe that you, as a believer, belong to Him because you are chosen! Wonderful Jesus!!

  Posted in 1 Peter 2:9, Believers, Christian, God’s Blessings, Jesus | 2 Comments | Tagged 1 Peter 2:9, Believer, Christian, encouragement, Jesus

• The Comforted Becomes the Comforter!

  Posted at 4:00 pm by wonderfuljesus8, on November 2, 2019

  2 Corinthians 1:3-4- Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

  Trouble comes to us all! It’s sad, but it’s true. No one is exempt from the troubles of life. Black, White, Asian or Mexican; rich, poor, or middle class; old, young, or teen; it doesn’t matter. Trouble comes. And even worst, some of us experience our shares of trouble and enough to go around. How can we reconcile a loving God with all that we have to deal with? Some times it really can be a challenge, but getting the right perspective on the matter helps!

  Paul says that God is the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort! A lot of people see this only in times of grief, but God really is the Comforter. He’s there for the person who has been abandoned by a spouse or parent. He is there is for the person who has been abused in any manner. He is there to help through the painful loss of a loved one. And yes, He’s even there in the loss of our possessions. But we have to allow Him to be that comfort, and some times we have to open our eyes and realize He is there. There in the midst of the pain, the loss, the confusion. He didn’t cause it, He didn’t even allow it to happen, but it did! And He is waiting for you to allow Him to comfort you.

  When my mother died, I was about 9 years old, and I clearly remember someone telling me that God took my mother because He needed her. Well, that sounded pretty cruel to me, because how could He need her more than I did? I didn’t get it! But I give Him praise that in-spite of the mixed messages I received that day and throughout my growing years, I have found Him to be a good God and a very loving Father. And I don’t believe for one second that He took her because He needed her. Actually, I don’t believe He took her. Disease took her! A lack of medical knowledge and treatment may have assisted it. But God did not!

  Whatever the tribulation…

  I heard Pastor Joel Osteen share how his mother was healed of cancer in the late 1980s and how once she was healed, she began going to the hospital to pray with others who was going through cancer treatment. She was able to speak to them in a way that said, “I have walked in your shoes. I know your pain, your heartaches, and your struggles and I am here for you!” Isn’t that beautiful to know that God can send us to be His hand extended to the broken, down trodden, abused, battered, sick, or neglected? That He can actually take our ashes and turn them into beauty? Yes, He can!

  I have had three pregnancies, three children, and I have three adults. We have been blessed. Of the three pregnancies, two were difficult, life threatening deliveries. Two of our babies were fighting for their lives before they had a chance to live. I know the challenges that come with that. I know the fears, the sleepless nights, the tears, the guilt of what did I do to bring this on. I know! But God comforted me as only He could! And when I had a chance to reach out and comfort a young mother who was going through that I didn’t have to search for the words of comfort, because I knew what comforted me.

  When one of my dearest friends died from cancer after I and so many others were believing for a miracle, my heart hurt in a way I couldn’t imagine. But God comforted me. When my brother died in his apartment and we didn’t discover it for a couple weeks, the shock and pain that hit me was almost unbearable. But God comforted me. And since those incidents, I have had to comfort others with the same and similar incidents. The comfort with which I was comforted was a vehicle of comfort to another.

  Some things I haven’t experienced and I am not able to articulate the grace given by God to overcome them. I have never been divorced, but if you have been and you survived, then God has given you a powerful weapon to use to comfort someone else who might be facing a divorce. Maybe you’ve lost every thing because of drugs, alcoholism, or some other addiction, but God brought you out. Guess what, it wasn’t just for you, but it was so that you could also be there for someone else who may experience the same thing.

  Most of the time, when we are going through we can only focus on ourselves and our problems. At least that is the way I am. And probably you, also. But once you recognize the blessing of grace given to you to walk victoriously through a thing, then God expects you to help someone else get their victory.

  The world gets it! A son is killed by a drunken driver and a mom starts a movement MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Drivers). A loved one is taken from this life via cancer, and pink ribbons and marches are started all over the world. A teen is shot in a high school and the parents go around the country sharing their grief and why we need more gun control and then reach out to parents who experience the same thing. They take their pains and heartaches and reach out to others with the same pain to make a difference in the lives of others who are experiencing what they went through. Some times we as Christians are the last to catch on.

  Shame, guilt, pride and a host of other negative emotions keep us selfishly attached to our tribulations, when God says to us, “Let me show you how to get through this, and then go and show someone else how to be free.” Then the comforted can become the comforter.

  You see, it’s not just enough to get a victory, we have to learn how to help others get their victories. Not to start an organization or a movement, but out of a sincere desire to see someone set free. So I ask you, what has God comforted you with? How has He worked things out for you? What situation, circumstance, or tribulation has He brought you through? Whatever, it is or was, He did it for your good and for the good of others! For freely you have received and freely He expects you to give. Wonderful Jesus!

  Posted in Christian, encouragement, Healing, Victorious Living | 2 Comments | Tagged encouragement, encouragemnt, hard times, Healing, testimony, Victorious Living, victory

• God’s Commandments!

  Posted at 11:00 am by wonderfuljesus8, on September 17, 2019

  Psalm 19b: “The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes”

  When we read God’s word, often times there are different words that translate in English to appear to be the same word. Such as in studying the different names for the word of God. But as we have seen thus far, there is a difference, even if a slight one, of the six facets of revelation concerning God’s word.

  We have looked at the law, testimonies, and statutes and how they reveal a different characteristic of the word of God. Today we will look at His commandments.

  When I think of the commandments, I can’t help but think in terms of the Ten Commandments. However, I heard this past week that there are 603 other commandments in the word. No one can possibly keep that many commandments. The word tells us that! In this study I am not trying to get us to focus on trying to obey these commandments, but I think it necessary to at least be aware that the six different terms in Psalm 19 conveys six different things.

  Commandment in the Old Testament can be looked upon as both “prescription” and “proscription”; meaning “what we shall do” and “what we shall not do”! If we just look at the Ten Commandments it is easy to see the difference:

  • You shall not have any other gods before me!-proscription

  • You shall not make for yourself a graven image of anything in the heaven above…-proscription

  • You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain…-proscription

  • Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.-prescription

  • Honor your father and your mother.-prescription

  • You shall not murder.-proscription

  • You shall not commit adultery-proscription

  • You shall not steal-proscription

  • You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor-proscription

  • You shall not covet your neighbor’s house, etc.-proscription

  In this set of commandments there are more of what we shall not do (proscription) than what we shall do (prescription). But since people have a hard enough time keeping these ten, we won’t go through any others. Suffice it to say that the commandments of the LORD are about we shall do and what we shall not do!

  The commandments of the LORD are pure. David wrote, “The words of the LORD are pure words, like silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.” This word pure also means innocent or free. If I had to choose which word the psalmist meant, it would be free. The commandments of the LORD, contrary to popular belief, are freeing, not binding!! Our Pastor likes to say, “when you know what God wants, give it to Him!” It’s freeing to know what God approves of and what He doesn’t approve of. Don’t you think? It has a way of letting you know His very heart about certain things. I have a daughter who always check with me about what she is doing. She just wants to know what I think about the things she is doing or want to do. She wants my approval! I get that, because I want God’s approval! Sometimes she doesn’t even have to ask because she knows what I will say, but she asks anyway. Especially if she thinks I will change my mind. Similarly to God, sometimes people ask God to change His mind about His commandments. Trust me when I say, you are wasting your breath!

  “Enlightening the eyes” is a phrase used in the New Testament. Paul prayed in Ephesians 1 “that the eyes of our understanding may be enlightened.” What does this even mean? In the New Living Translation it states the commandments are for “giving insight for living”. Doesn’t that sound like freedom? When you know the right and the wrong way to live life, it is freeing. Having insight into what is wrong and right causes your eyes to be opened and your understanding to be clear. One would think that the commandment to not steal, or kill, or even to not commit adultery would be easy to keep and easy to understand, but sad to say, they are not easy to some people! And I would venture to say that those people are looking for a reason for them to not make sense!

  Again, I am not doing this study for bondage sake, but for understanding sake. As I mentioned before, some people struggle with the restraints God’s Word places on their lives, but these restraints are for our good. For our freedom. And although we are not bound by the Old Testament commandments, even Jesus expected us to refrain from adultery, thievery, lying, and many of the other proscriptions in the law. Not to bind us, but to free us. In Galatians Paul wrote, “It is for freedom that Christ set us free!” Jesus wants us as free today from the bondage of sin, as He has always wanted us. Nothing in my study of the word has shown God in a selfish light. If anything, it has shown the magnitude of His love and His heart towards mankind.

  Don’t allow the devil and your desires to lie to you about obeying God’s word. They are not burdensome! It isn’t about Him as much as it is about you. For your right living! For your victory! For your freedom! Now go and walk in it! Wonderful Jesus!

  Posted in Believers, Christian, Psalm 19, the Word of God, Victorious Living | 2 Comments | Tagged Believer, Christian, encouragement, freedom, obedience, Psalm 19, word of God

• My Heart Rejoices!

  Posted at 9:33 pm by wonderfuljesus8, on September 14, 2019

  Psalm 19:8a- “The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart:”

  The Hebrew word for statute is “hoq”. It means “statute, prescription, rule, law,or regulation. It is derived from the Hebrew word, “haqaq” which means “to cut in, determine, or decree”. According to the Vine’s “in a general sense it refers to the “laws” of nature like rain. Psalm 148:6 states that he hath established the celestial bodies forever. But the most important meaning is in reference to the law, which correlates with our text. Yahweh’s statutes, decrees, law, or determinations about nature, mankind, or anything else is right!

  Right means morally right or straight. People look for all kinds of loopholes in the laws of man, but there are no loopholes in the laws of Yahweh. He said what He meant and He meant what He said. Barak found this out when he tried to curse the children of Israel as they made their way to the promise land. God had decreed that they were blessed, so Barak couldn’t curse them, but ended up blessing them also. He finally had to say, “God is not a man that He should lie, nor the son of man that He should repent. Has He said it, and shall He not do it. Or has He spoken, and shall He not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19) We need to start taking God at His word! He will keep His word to us!

  Then we look at the phrase, “rejoicing of the heart”. I don’t know about you, but my heart rejoices at the decrees of God. When I think of decrees I always think of the decree King Nebuchadnezzar made in chapter three. The one where he decreed that when the music was played everyone had to bow to him or be thrown in the fiery furnace. Then the music sounded and the three Hebrew boys refused to bow. So because of the decree they were thrown in the furnace. Or the decree in the book of Esther when King Ahasuerus gave Haman permission to destroy the Jews? Remember how Esther had Haman and the king over for dinner and she exposed Haman’s plot against the Jews? In chapter eight she asked the King to reverse the decree and the king’s response to her was: “for the writing which is written in the king’s name and sealed with the king’s ring, may no man reverse.” If this is true of the earthly king, it is even more true of the heavenly King. No man can reverse what He has decreed. So that is reason to rejoice! This is what He said about His word, “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” His word always produces. That’s reason to shout!

  What has He said about you?

  • You are blessed!

  • You are healed!

  • You are prosperous!

  • You are the head and not the tail!

  • You are the righteous of God in Christ Jesus!

  • You are an heir and a joint heir with Jesus!

  • You are more than a conqueror!

  • You are the Blood bought Church, the redeemed!

  So the next time you are feeling as if it is too hard to follow and obey the statues of the Lord, please remember, that His statues are His decrees that are meant to bring joy to your heart! He was and is looking out for your best interest and mine. His statutes gives us reason to hope and to move forward in life! Embrace His decrees and know that they are there for the rejoicing of your heart! Wonderful Jesus!

  Posted in Believers, Christian, encouragement, Psalm 19, the Word of God, Victorious Living | 4 Comments | Tagged Christian, encouragement, encouragemnt, Psalm 19, word of God

• Tell Me Your Story-Brannon Carnes

  Posted at 11:00 am by wonderfuljesus8, on August 27, 2019

  Hebrews 13:8 – Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

  I was praying on Saturday evening when I heard the Spirit of God whisper, “Tell me your story!” As I continued to pray I saw my blog and was given the idea to ask my followers to send in their stories, aka testimonies. The following morning we had a guest speaker, Pastor Brannon Carnes share a most amazing story. I knew then it was a confirmation from the Lord and I was to share it. I hope this excerpt from his story bless you as much as I was blessed:

  Testimony of God’s Resurrection Power: Brannon Carnes

  The setting is hot, humid and without a single natural breeze (in Sierra Leone, West Africa). I am leading worship for the second time. I am opening my mouth as I have done for almost 30 years, leading God’s people in worship. However, there is something that’s about to happen to me that would change my life forever, an attack that I’ve never experienced before.

  The moment I stopped playing the keyboard and singing, I start to experience a dizzy sensation. I thought to myself, “How could this be happening to me at this moment?” In my own estimation, I felt I had been drinking plenty of water, and I knew I had eaten enough food. Nevertheless, I was beginning to quickly lose touch with reality. I was not feeling well at all with no logical reason.

  My eyes began to close. I had no feeling left in my natural body. I felt nothing and I was in control of nothing. Everything goes completely black. I then entered a dream-world. It felt like I was taking a nap.

  In this dream, someone was reaching down to me, as if to pull me out of a hole. I opened my eyes but all I see are the eyes of the man pulling me out. I didn’t recognize this man, neither did I know where I was. The truth is, Pastor James Ward had picked me off of the floor and placed me in a chair.

  At this time, I remember opening my eyes and thinking, “where am I?” Pastor James was in my face shouting, “Are you with me? Are you 100%?” Later, he told me that I was looking at him but I wasn’t coherent. My eyes were glazed over and I was drifting. He mentioned that my eyes started rolling into the back of my head and I was unconscious again.

  Pastor James said that my body became lifeless, I went completely limp. He checked for a pulse and found none…the lady standing to my right was a nurse. She also checked for a pulse and found none. Pastor James mentions that the first thing to pop into his mind was an image of my wife’s face and he being the one to tell her that I died in Sierra Leone.

  Pastor James immediately jumps into warfare mode and begins to war for my very life. He was praying intensely, fervently. The urgency eventually took over the service and in seconds the entire church begins to pray.

  The nurse, who also happened to be one of the key intercessors of the local church, begins to call down fire from heaven. My body starts shaking…then from out of nowhere I see a ball of fire come down from heaven and hit me in my belly! And I was completely alive! I’ve never felt more alive in my life up until that moment! Pastor James asks the question again, “Are you with me…are you 100%?” The tears weren’t streaming down my face, but squirting out of my eyes as I shouted a resounding, “Yes!”

  I was taken to an upper room for me to cool off…A medical doctor came in and took my pulse. He just happened to be attending the morning session of the conference. He said my blood pressure was a bit low, but would check me a little later in order to get a more accurate reading.

  Whenever asked how I felt, my response was, “I feel as if nothing happened.” I did feel great! There wasn’t even a trace of fatigue, no side effects. I didn’t even feel any pain from hitting my head on the floor. The Resurrection power had taken care of everything. All systems were not only back to normal, they felt like they were brand new.

  Wonderful, wonderful, Savior!! Thank God He is still the same today that He was yesterday and will be forever!

  If you have an amazing story, do tell! Since it is my blog, I reserved the right to edit it for grammar, to shorten it for quick reading, to choose when to post or not to post! Wonderful Jesus!

  Posted in Christian, miracle working power, testimony, Victorious Living | 0 Comments | Tagged Christian, encouragement, Faith, miraculous, resurrection, testimony

• Won’t He Do It!

  Posted at 2:12 am by wonderfuljesus8, on August 25, 2019

  Genesis 50:20 – But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. NKJV

  It’s unfortunate that as we go through this life we are going to get hurt! There is no getting around it. We probably offend someone at least once a day, and are offended at least twice a day, it’s a part of life. But there are some times when people are just down right mean, and it can cause you to stumble.

  Joseph experienced this in a painful way. From his own family. From his brothers. And it was no accident. It was on purpose and intentional. Ouch!

  Jacob had two wives. They were sisters! Jacob really loved and desired Rachel, but he was tricked into marrying Leah. Then he had to play lover boy to not only the sisters, but the Sisters’ maids in order to produce children. Finally, Rachel had her own sons, Joseph and Benjamin. Talk about a major soap opera! It gets worse.

  Jacob made a coat of many colors for Joseph because he was Jacob’s favorite! Parents should never have favorites and then parade it around their children. When my kids asked who my favorite was I would reply something like, “you’re my favorite six year old, and so-so is my favorite…” Loving all of your children the same doesn’t mean treating them all the same, because different kids need different things. But they should always know they are loved equally. Anyway, Jacob treated Joseph as his favorite and his brothers despised him. To make matters even hotter, God started speaking to Joseph in dreams about ruling over the family, and he shared it, causing everyone to get angrier at him. Even Jacob didn’t care for that action!!

  So when the opportunity came for them to harm him, that’s exactly what they planned to do. However, Judah interceded in the manner, planning on helping Joseph, but then the other brothers sold him into slavery. Can you imagine waking up tomorrow and realizing that you are so despised by someone that they are planning your demise, your destruction, your downfall; and they are your family or close friend? Well, it happened to Joseph.

  Maybe it wasn’t this drastic for you. Maybe a family member was physically abusive to you; or maybe to one of your children. Maybe someone close to you stole money from you that you needed to pay your rent or mortgage. Maybe your spouse had an affair or your parent abandoned you. Maybe all of this, or some other junk that comes into our lives to mess us up! It could be a whole lot of stuff!

  Well, Joseph did not allow that stuff to get into his heart and stop the plans of God. When the woman tried to seduce him, he wouldn’t have any part in it. He didn’t allow his pain to cause pain. When he was thrown in jail and falsely accused, he didn’t malign her character or say God had abandoned him. No way! He was still in such fellowship with God that he was able to interpret dreams. And when the cupbearer forgot about him for two years, he didn’t become bitter and declare it was no use in serving God. Nope! And that’s why he was ready for promotion when it came.

  You see, Joseph had obviously decided that no matter what came his way, his hope and trust was anchored in the Lord. He looked for God in everything and in everything he served God. Unlike a lot of us today. My biggest pet peeve; the thing I hate the most, is to hear someone attribute the pain, hurt, and disappointment in their lives to God. Joseph didn’t do it! And neither should we.

  That is why when his brothers thought “surely it was payback time” after the death of their father that Joseph was able to say to them, “You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good!” You see, some things in life may be difficult, but if we will trust God, He will work it out for our good. (Romans 8:28) He promised that He would. I personally don’t believe that God needed Joseph to be hated by his brothers to make those dreams come to pass. But I do believe that God knew they hated him so much that they would sell him, and God gave Him the dream in advance to give him hope. See, God is not reactionary! He knows the devil plans and He gives us a counter plan, often in advance, to thwart the devil.

  Let’s face it! Life stinks some times. Even when we are trusting God to work things out for our good! But it is imperative that in the midst of difficult times and situations we keep our hearts right and our eyes fixed on Jesus! Then we will be able to say that what people (being used by the devil) mean for evil against us, God will work it out for our good! Wonderful Jesus!

  Posted in Christian, encouragement, Victorious Living | 0 Comments | Tagged Attitude, Christian, encouragement, hard times, Victorious Living, victory

• BY FAITH I UNDERSTAND!

  Posted at 4:17 am by wonderfuljesus8, on August 23, 2019

  Hebrews 11:3 -Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. KJV

  Have you ever had a situation in life that you didn’t understand? Well, if you haven’t, I have had enough of them to share with you! And it is doing those times that our trust in a loving God is challenged. It’s a time when the wheat is separated from the tare.

  Loss is a huge disappointment to us all. Whether you lose a job, a promotion, a family member, a relationship, or your health, it can be pretty traumatic causing you to say, “God, I don’t understand!”

  Well, one day I was going through a pretty tough time in my life and I said this very thing. Then I heard a whisper in my heart, “By faith we understand!” NKJV states by faith while the KJV states through. But the bottom line is that faith is the key to understanding those difficult things in life. Those things you really don’t have a logical answer for. Like creation!

  We believe in creation because the Word of God, which authenticates itself, says that God created the heavens and the earth. Of course, any rational person can look at the majesty of the world and draw that conclusion. It takes beyond faith to believe in evolution, but that’s for another day!

  Faith, is about trust. It isn’t blind faith, as some would have you believe, but it is faith in the character and the word of the person you have placed your trust in. For example, I have absolute faith in my husband’s commitment to me. Over the years I have found that I can trust him and what he says to me. He comes home every day looking for me to spend time with me. He wants to hang out with me and talk to me throughout the day. We enjoy each other’s company today as much, maybe more, than we did when we were dating. If someone accused him to me of being unfaithful, I would trust him over them.

  This to me is what that phrase meant when God spoke it to me. When I don’t understand the things that are going on around me, by faith I just trust that God understands. He knows what is happening and why, and He is not shocked by any of it. His character and His word has been proven to me over and over again, and I refuse to line up with the accuser against Him and His word.

  Some attribute their heartaches and disappointments to God, either directly or indirectly. They even dress up tragedy and disappointment by saying He is Sovereign. And He is! (Also a topic for another day!) But not me! By faith I understand that God loves me as much as He said that He loves me and is looking out for me. By faith I understand that in this world I will have tribulations, but Jesus has overcome the world and so can I! By faith I understand that “it’s not by might, nor by power, but by His Spirit” that I will win the battle over disappointment and hurts. By faith I understand that this trial I’m going through, God will show me what to do! By faith I understand that if God be for me, who can be against me. By faith I understand that no weapon formed against me shall prosper. By faith I understand that the thoughts that God think towards me are for good and not for evil to bring me to an expected end! I think you get the point!

  It’s not always my first thought, but it doesn’t take me long to get there! I am truly training my heart and my words to understand that what I don’t understand in this life, I choose to understand by faith! God has truly been so good to me. I won’t disappoint Him and break His heart by having Him to thing that I don’t trust Him to take good care of me as He has promised. Wonderful Jesus!

  Posted in Christian, Faith, Victorious Living | 4 Comments | Tagged Christian, encouragement, Faith, hard times, trust in God, Victorious Living

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