Is Peace Ruling in Your Heart?

As you well know, the past couple of years have been very stressful for us because of what is happening in our country and in the world. This has caused many to become angry over the current state of affairs because it looks like not much is happening in our favor. But wait! There’s more going on behind the scenes then what we see in the natural realm with our five physical senses. God is always working behind the scenes!

So here’s the point I want to make: we have to be aware of our emotions and keep them in check, especially anger. [Remember, emotions are the caboose, not the engine!] Anger can lead to strife, which can lead to a root of bitterness and defile those around you. Not only that, anger will hinder your faith and eventually cancel it, resulting in unanswered prayer.

 Hebrews 12:15 (AMP) 15  Exercise foresight and be on the watch to look [after one another], to see that no one falls back from and fails to secure God’s grace (His unmerited favor and spiritual blessing), in order that no root of resentment (rancor, bitterness, or hatred) shoots forth and causes trouble and bitter torment, and the many become contaminated and defiled by it—

So what can we do about anger? First of all, rebuke it in the Name of Jesus and command it to go, along with the evil thoughts associated with it. Tell the enemy that you won’t have it and stand firm. Then you need to yield to peace and think on good things on purpose!

Philippians 4:8 (KJV) 8  Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Here’s what Jesus said to do:

John 14:1 (KJV) 1  Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
John 14:27 (KJV) 27  Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

You see, the condition of our heart is in our control! Jesus told us to not let our hearts be troubled and therefore, we can do that. But it takes effort.

Anger is ugly and if it’s not dealt with, can lead to health issues by affecting your immune system.

Notice the company that anger surrounds itself with:

Galatians 5:19-21 (AMP)
19  Now the doings (practices) of the flesh are clear (obvious): they are immorality, impurity, indecency,
20  Idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger (ill temper), selfishness, divisions (dissensions), party spirit (factions, sects with peculiar opinions, heresies),
21  Envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you beforehand, just as I did previously, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Now notice the fruit that is in your re-born spirit just waiting for you to yield to.

Galatians 5:22-23 (KJV) 22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

Start meditating on the promises of the Lord and all the blessings you have, don’t give any opening to the devil, and you’ll see a change!

Stay strong in the Lord — Pamela

Does it Really Matter What You Think About?

Anyone who knows what I teach already knows what I’m going to say. YES – it really does matter what you think about and not only when you’re praying – but all day long.

Just as easy as it is for you to worry all day long and still get your work done, it’s just as easy for you to think on “God things” all day long. Remember, faith-filled words and meditations draw the blessings of God to you. Conversely, fear-filled words and meditation draw the devil’s evil ways and disasters to you.

Let’s start with some definitions:

Meditation simply means to think about something, to mull it over and over in your mind.

Strength means security, power, boldness.

Peace is the word shalom which means health, prosperity, nothing missing, nothing broken.

Now let’s put these together in the following verses:

Psalm 19:14 (KJV) 14  Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.
Psalm 27:1 (KJV) 1 The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

Nehemiah 8:10b (KJV) 10  … for the joy of the LORD is your strength.
Psalm 29:11 (KJV) 11  The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.
John 14:27 (KJV) 27  Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

When we meditate on God’s Word, we are strengthened with power and Holy Ghost boldness to accomplish what He has for us to do and we have peace doing it.

And just in case you haven’t thought about this – God has a perfect plan for each one of our lives! Wow – just think about it! Our Father God, Who created the universe and everything in it, has an individual plan for each one of us – unique to us! That’s awesome! It doesn’t get any more real than that.

However, His plans for us don’t fall on us like ripe cherries off a tree. We have to pursue Him and seek to find out His will for us. He won’t force anyone to do His will because with God, it’s always a heart/faith issue.

We can have as much of God as we want or as little. It’s up to us. Let’s go for it and fulfill His plans for us, walking in His total victory!

Pamela

In the Beginning…

As I pondered those words, I thought about John 1:1:

John 1:1 (KJV) 1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

I noticed that in the beginning was the Word – the Word of God, to be exact. And then I got this revelation that everything we do is preceded by words. Everything we do begins with words, either God’s Words, our words, or the devil’s words. We are the ones who choose.

Now, you might already know this from all the teachings I’ve done, but it suddenly jumped right out at me that absolutely everything God does, He starts with Words – in the beginning of everything is words! This is awesome!

So, I took note of my movements as I went about my day and low and behold, everything I did, I announced with words before proceeding: I think I’ll have breakfast, I’m going to do the laundry, or I think I’ll go out and rake leaves! It’s a good thing I spoke that last one out because raking leaves isn’t all that exciting even though it’s good exercise.

Now let’s go back to the very beginning for us:

Genesis 1:1-3 (KJV) 1  In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
2  And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
3  And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

I want you to notice that the Holy Spirit was fluttering over the earth and the darkness that was there but nothing happened until God spoke the Words, “Light be!” and light was! He actually called for the thing He wanted. He didn’t say, “Oh my, it’s really dark out there!” No, that would only have established what was already there. Also notice that God didn’t just think “light be!” He spoke Words.

Romans 4:17b (KJV) 17  …  even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.

As you read the Bible, you’ll find that God always speaks His desire first and then it happens. Just as He spoke through Isaiah that a Savior would be born of a virgin – 750 years before Jesus was born. He had to get His Word in the earth in order for Jesus to manifest in person. [That’s a whole other teaching so that’s all I’ll say about it for now.]

The bottom line is that if God had to speak His Words before anything happened, and we’re made in His image, then we too must speak His Words first if we want to see our desired results. This is so awesome that we can have exactly what we say, according to God’s Word!

Mark 11:23-24 (KJV)
23  For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
24  Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

— Pamela

How’s Your Diet?

John 4:24 (KJV)
24  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

God’s Word is spirit food because God is a Spirit and we are told to worship Him in spirit and in truth. But, I ask you, what is spirit food? It’s the Word of God spoken by Him for our life.

However, the sad truth is that most of the Christian Church is dying of malnutrition! How can God raise up an army of soldiers who are nutritionally weak? We need to eat the Word of God so that we can be His overcoming, empowered army, taking back our nation and the world.

Think about it – what army goes to war in a state of malnutrition? It won’t work. They must be fed the right diet and exercise to grow and be strong. If all they ate was fast food and dessert, how healthy would they be? No one can sustain a vital vibrant life living on dessert and fast food!

 If you don’t feed your spirit, your mind won’t be renewed and you’ll be no better off than the unsaved except you’ll still be saved but defeated in life.

Living a defeated life hurts your witness and brings reproach to the Name of Jesus because people won’t be drawn to the Lord because of your defeated life. Who wants to be like that!

Brothers and sisters, it behooves us to feed on God’s Word daily so that we can renew our minds to His word and be empowered to do the great exploits that He has for us. How do you think we’re going to fulfill John 14:12? By finding out who we really are in the Lord and becoming the mighty people of God He’s ordained us to be!

Matthew 4:4 (KJV) 4  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
John 14:12 (KJV) 12  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
Romans 12:2 (KJV) 2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Ephesians 4:23 (KJV) 23  And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
Daniel 11:32b (KJV) 32  …  but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.

Pamela

Should We Want to Be Like Jesus?

Yes, absolutely! The reason we are to want to be like Jesus is because it is the will of our Heavenly Father. Even though God does not predestinate people to go to Heaven or hell, He actually does know what people will freely choose. It’s their choice. But what He does predestinate – know before hand – is who will choose Heaven and those are the ones that He has pre-ordained to be conformed to the image of Jesus. This is His will.

Ephesians 4:13 (KJV) 13  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

You see, Jesus is the Pattern Son, the One we are to pattern ourselves after. Who else would we even want to pattern ourselves after when Jesus is and has everything we need?

1 John 3:2 (KJV) 2  Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 

Here we see that as we grow in our walk with the Lord, we become more and more like Him. How do we do this? By looking into the mirror of God’s Word. That’s where we see who we really are. And the more we become like what we see in the Word of God, the more we become like Jesus.

Jesus is coming back for a glorious Church without spot or wrinkle and that means us!

Ephesians 5:27 (KJV) 27  That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

Notice that we are to be growing into a glorious Church, not a beat down, bedraggled, barely-holding-on Church. Jesus is the One Who is building His church and we’re it!

So what’s our part and how do we do this so that we become like He is? By getting into the Word of God and being what He says we are. The way has already been paved with God’s promises but we are the ones who must actually walk them out by believing what God has already provided for us.

Check out these scriptures:

John 15:5 (KJV) 5  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

 John 15:7 (KJV) 7  If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
John 14:12 (KJV) 12  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

Jesus said we can’t do anything without Him but with Him we can do all things. Then He says that we should do the same works that He did. Wow! That’s awesome but how do we do that? The same way we do everything else – by doing His Word and being what He said we are. The answers and provision are already in His Word. All we have to do is do it! This is so over the top that we need to keep meditating on it until it sinks in.

Let’s purpose in our hearts to become more and more like Jesus every day so we can show forth His goodness, which leads the unsaved to Him!

— Pamela

 Witchcraft is Not of God

John 3:3 (KJV)
3  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

When you get born-again you come alive to God and then your priorities are expected to change. You now want to please your Heavenly Father and walk in His ways. The problem is that we have so much baggage that tries to hang on. Part of that baggage can be past dealings with witchcraft or the occult. I’m going to address that today. Notice the company that witchcraft keeps in the following verses:

Galatians 5:19-21 (KJV) 19  Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20  Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21  Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Really horrible stuff – right?  Let me explain further. Think back to whether or not you’ve ever played around with or dabbled in astrology, horoscopes, séances, ouija boards, tarot cards, Harry Potter, witchcraft movies – vampires, etc. If you have, you opened yourself up to the devil’s playground and he and his demons can hang on and around you causing havoc in your life. His whole plan is to rob, kill, and destroy but Jesus came to give you abundant life.

John 10:10 (KJV)
10  The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

So, what do you do if you’ve been involved in any form of witchcraft?  Here’s how I would pray and suggest you do the same:

In the Name of Jesus, I bind and renounce every wicked spirit of astrology, horoscopes, séances, Ouija boards, tarot cards, Harry Potter, witchcraft movies – vampires, and anything else to do with witchcraft. I break your evil power over me and I loose myself to walk in the plans and purposes of Almighty God. I now apply the Blood of Jesus over me and my family. Thank You Lord for delivering me and setting me free.

Now, avoid any further involvement in witchcraft. Get into God’s Word and fill up with Him. This is your protection and power over the devil and his wickedness.

This is an easy thing to remedy but you must make the effort. Otherwise, the enemy – the devil and his demons – will have a field day with you, harassing, hindering, and blocking your faith.

James 4:7 (KJV) 7  Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
1 Peter 5:8-9 (KJV) 8  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
9  Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

1 Samuel 15:23a (KJV) 23  For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. 

God is on our side and wants His very best for us!

Pamela

Band-Aids & Patches

Here’s a thought: don’t band-aid what really needs to be dug out! Just putting a band-aid or patch on an infection won’t cause the results you want. Why? Because the root of the problem needs to be dug out and removed and then healing can take place. I think we all know that but we do this so much of the time with the things of God that I thought I’d address it today.

So many times when we listen to people’s problems and circumstances they’re dealing with, we give them the world’s solutions instead of God’s solutions. Why is that? Because we are so programmed by the world’s system that we default to its ways in times of crises. Let me give you some examples.

When your unsaved friends or neighbors talk to you about their problems, instead of directing them to doctors, lawyers, therapists, etc., what they really need is Jesus! That’s the reason they’re groping around in the dark trying to find the solution to their problems when God’s Word already has the answers that work.

As sad and pitiful as that may seem, what about your saved friends and neighbors? They too need to be directed to God’s Word for their answers but instead so many times we direct them to the world’s solutions instead of God’s Word. Why is that? Probably because we don’t really know God’s Word enough to direct them to it or maybe we really don’t believe that God has the answers they need. Pretty shocking, isn’t it!

Brothers and sisters, if we’re going to win this unsaved world to the Lord Jesus, we have to start speaking up and speaking forth our faith in Him and show forth His goodness which leads people to repentance and getting saved.

Don’t just patch the problem. Be bold, dig it out, and let the healing begin!

Romans 2:4b (KJV) 4  … that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

2 Corinthians 1:20 (KJV) 20  For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.
1 Corinthians 1:30 (KJV) 30  But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:

— Pamela

Who Wants More Peace?

[Today is the National Day of Thanksgiving in the USA. We are so thankful for all that God has done and is doing for us. He is so gracious and merciful and we will be thanking Him throughout all eternity! Happy Blessed Thanksgiving to each of you!]

Who doesn’t want more peace in their lives especially with what has been going on over the past two years? It has been quite chaotic as you’ve noticed but do you know you can have peace in the middle of the storm? Oh yes you can!

2 Peter 1:2 (KJV) 2  Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,

Noticed that peace can be multiplied to you – not just a handful, but a whopping big handful! Not only that, but grace can be multiplied to you also. Wow, does it get any better than that!

First of all, let me define grace and peace and then tell you how to get it to multiply in your life.

Grace is God’s willingness to use His power and ability on your behalf; it’s His divine enablement, His unmerited, undeserved favor on you.

Peace – God’s peace – means nothing missing, nothing broken. It doesn’t mean the absence of trouble. If we waited ’til that happened, we’d still be waiting!

Now, how do we get this grace and peace? The Word says that we get it through the knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord. What does that mean?

John 1:1 (KJV) 1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Since Jesus is the Word, then when we study the Word of God, we’re getting the knowledge of Him. And the more knowledge of Him that we get, the more we see how much God loves us and it causes us to rise up and walk in His grace and peace that He’s freely given to us.  

Another thing is that you have peace in your re-born spirit called the fruit of the spirit [Gal. 5:22-23].

Galatians 5:22-23 (KJV) 22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

And that, dear brothers and sisters, is how you can have peace in the middle of the storm because it’s the peace of God that sustains you!

Pamela

 Is Your Salvation Sure?

This is the most important blog I will ever write for this group. Since I don’t know most of you personally, I want to make sure everyone has an opportunity to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. And – even if you have already made Jesus your Lord and Savior, this post will help you when you’re sharing Jesus with others.

1 Timothy 2:5 (KJV) 5  For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

Jesus is the ONLY way to God the father and to your home in Heaven. Without Him as your Lord and Savior, there’s only one other place to go when you die and leave planet earth – hell! That’s not a good alternative.

Here’s God’s plan of salvation in a capsule version:

When Adam committed high treason and sold out the earth lease to satan, God was on the outside looking in. He no longer had total control of the earth because Adam gave it to satan and sin entered. What was God to do? His Word was out there and He will not violate His Word. [See Genesis chapters 1-3.]

So He immediately set His Plan in place for Jesus to come to earth to redeem mankind from eternal death – meaning total separation from God and all that He has.

The price for sin had to be paid and we can’t be good enough to pay for that. So Jesus willingly took our sins and sicknesses on His body, went to hell where He defeated satan and his cohorts, and paid the ultimate price for our sins. He was judged in our place so that we don’t have to be judged and spend eternity in hell, separated from God. It’s a done deal!

Then God the Father raised Jesus from the dead and translated Him to Heaven to sit on the Throne of God at His right hand – in the highest seat in the universe! Praise the Lord!

Now comes your part. Jesus did all this for you BUT it is only valid for you IF you accept this free gift of salvation that He offers. It’s your choice.

Simply BELIEVE in your heart what I have just explained to you and ASK Jesus to be your Lord and Savior and accept this free gift of salvation. If you do this, you are now a child of God and have a home in Heaven waiting for you PLUS you have all the promises of God’s Word available to you! What a deal!

Romans 10:9-10 (KJV) 9  That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10  For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Now what’s next after you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior? Find your Bible or download a Bible app and start finding out what God has said to you as His child. My suggestion is to start with the Gospel of John in the New Testament and go from there. Read the Bible daily!

Also be on the search for a good Bible-believing church where you can get fed the Word of God and fellowship with other believers. In the meantime, while you’re searching, check out awmi.net [Andrew Wommack’s ministry – over 200,000 hours of free teachings] and moorelife.org [Keith Moore’s ministry – free teachings by the truckload –also a good online church, of which I’m a member.]

Acts 4:12 (KJV) 12  Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
1 Peter 2:24 (KJV)
24  Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

Thank you Lord for your Unspeakable Gift to us – the Lord Jesus!

Pamela

You Can’t Microwave You’re Walk with the Lord!

Just like instant mashed potatoes, many people invariably want to microwave their Jesus Journey. The want instant results every time they pray and get annoyed if it doesn’t happen. Well, wake up to the reality of living in the Kingdom of God on planet earth!

Too many times we look at people who have walked with the Lord for many years and have great success in their prayer life and expect to get the same instant results they get.

You don’t usually get instant results when you first start out believing for answered prayer. It’s a process because it’s a whole new ball game. It’s actually a paradigm shift from the way you thought before you got saved.

Before you got saved, you thought like the world. Your worldview was programmed by the things that the world taught. But when you get saved, your world should change to a Biblical worldview of everything you do.

Now you need to renew – re-educate – your mind to think the way God’s Word says to think. The Bible must become your go to source for everything you do. It has to be the benchmark from which everything is measured. If it isn’t, you’ll constantly struggle over what you believe and do.

That’s why things don’t happen instantly when we’re first starting out because we need to lay the foundation upon which our faith is built. Then as we develop our faith by studying God’s Word, the manifestations begin to come much quicker. [Yes, sometimes baby Christians get instant manifestations but then they have to continue on and get grounded in God’s Word.]

God’s Word is so precious because it has all the answers we’ll ever need to be successful on planet earth. Praise the Lord for His grace and goodness to us!

Ephesians 4:23 (KJV) 23  And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;

Romans 12:2 (KJV) 2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
2 Corinthians 9:8 (KJV) 8  And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:
2 Corinthians 9:8 (AMP) 8  And God is able to make all grace (every favor and earthly blessing) come to you in abundance, so that you may always and under all circumstances and whatever the need be self-sufficient [possessing enough to require no aid or support and furnished in abundance for every good work and charitable donation].

Pamela