He who has died has been freed from sin.
When the Holy Spirit imparts the gift of eternal life to you, far more has transpired than the mere possession of unending spiritual life. That is because the Holy Spirit brings to every Christian an entirely new quality of life that is divine, supernatural, and godlike.
Through the Holy Spirit, the born–again man or woman can enjoy a new way of living. Since the Holy Spirit allows you to share in the life of Christ, He opens up a radical new lifestyle that is conformed to God’s commands and ways, not to culture.
You must remember that much of worldly behavior and methodology is based on wisdom that is flawed and tainted by sin. The Spirit of God reprograms your mind and transforms your attitude with His wisdom, dramatically altering your habits, rearranging your priorities, and establishing new standards.
At the same time, the Holy Spirit gives you a new power for living; the new lifestyle comes with the power to succeed. You are no longer limited to fighting your problems with your resources. You have God and the fullness of His Spirit to help you and deliver you.
Thank You, Lord, that I am living a new lifestyle. I am not bound by the culture, behavior, or methodology of this world. I do not have to conform, but I can be transformed by Your power!
Charles F. Stanley, Enter His Gates : A Daily Devotional, January 8 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1998).
Filed under: Just me :) — christinafaith @ 6:07 am
Daniel Okafor
1/6/08
Prayertry – My Rib Shall Return -+
Sweet Heart I know your out there, I can feel It
My left side is tingling and I know why
God formed you from my side
I can feel it inside
God’s physics will bring us back in HIS perfect Synchronization
It’ll be like old times, we’ll take the Nations
I recognize you in Spirit for within you dwells the Glory of the Eternal ONE
Do you remember now? I am HIS son
He created us as ONE
One Flesh, One Blood, One Flood
Overflowing with Light in the midst of the Night
Remember where we’re from? There was no NIGHT
We could Run, Jump, even take FLIGHT
Don’t fret, No regrets
For the FATHER of LIGHTS never Forgets
He alone, is the one that Sets
Unions and Communions
You and I
King and Queen
Pristine in the Unseen
Unseen to the Natural Eye
He Opens up Spiritual Skys
For You and I
By Now it’s resonating DEEP within you
You feel it, Don’t you
Like two magnets We attract and retract
Back to that which was, is, and will be
You’ll See, I PROMISE you’ll see
Till then I’ll be letting patience have her perfect work
Don’t stress God’s timing is best, it always works
See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.
Your contract on your dream house just fell through. The promotion you were sure of fizzled at the last management meeting. The person you knew would become your spouse called off the relationship over the phone.
Slam. Slam. Slam. Doors you thought God had opened wide become curtains of steel. What is God doing? What is He up to? Why is He placing me in this box canyon?
Despite your disappointment, remember this: God is sovereignly leading your steps in a path that will bring Him the ultimate glory and you the ultimate benefit as you abandon yourself to His care.
“But the house was just perfect.”
“I desperately need the money that would come from the promotion.”
“I do not know of any other person I could marry.”
From your limited perspective, all of these statements are true. But understand that God alone can see around the bend.
The next time your hopes are dashed and the doors of aspiration are slammed in your face, rely on the all–sufficient wisdom of God, who alone knows the end from the beginning.
Lord, my perspective is limited, so I need You to open the doors I am to walk through this day. Close the doors that You do not want me to enter. Help me understand that closed doors are just as important as those that are open to me.
Charles F. Stanley, Enter His Gates : A Daily Devotional, January 6 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1998).
Filed under: Just me :) — christinafaith @ 11:18 pm
I always look for “meeting” locations. Normally I frequent Starbucks, Barnes and noble and/or local coffee shops. Today I was taken to the library. This is what happens when there are no seats and you need the free wireless.
My goodness! I thought that I could run from this topic however, it is the cry of many of OUR hearts. In a society where “relationships” are stressed more than the air we breathe it can be difficult to stay focused in our singleness.
It’s the holiday season and everyone desires to be with someone. During the holiday season we want to be “bunned” up and during the summer we want to be “free”. It’s the way of the world.
I must say this “single and joyous” concept takes a lot of my discipline. Women we are often tempted to buy the wedding dress because he said hi. Men/Women are tempted to start looking for wedding halls because they work in ministry together.
There are all kinds of temptations out there but what about being “anxious for nothing” (phil 4), even marriage. Everyone around me wants to be married. I desire to be married as well however, it’s not all that we should desire. Guarding the wellsprings of our hearts is a BATTLE (proverbs 4). It’s not easy. Our imaginations run wild, our hearts skip some beats and our friends encourage our “perfect mate fantasies”. However, when it comes down to it the effects of becoming emotionally involved prematurely are “deadly”.
It can take weeks, month, and even years to recover from the effects of emotional impurity. I encourage you all as I encourage myself. Enjoy this single life! Go places, do things, serve, love and most importantly get TUNNEL VISION for God (Matthew 6:33). Don’t awaken love before it’s time (Song of Solomon 8:4). What an incredible joy it is to give your heart completely to Christ as the lover of your soul. Remember He already knows who you are going to marry and what your life will be. What’s the rush? Didn’t fools rush in? Be Single and Anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication make your request known to GOD. He already knows…..He’s the perfect matchmaker on His time.
Filed under: Just me :) — christinafaith @ 8:13 pm
We are hard at work. We are planning 10 cities in 5 states tour. We have a few more positions to feel. We are looking for four men 18-35, three musicians (bass, guitar and keys), lighting director and set designers. If you know any that is interested, please feel free to contact us.
Don’t forget to invite your friends to the group
P.s. The book editing is coming along well. I pray that it is that “HOT FIRE” when you read it. Look for it in 2009!
Thank you all for your comments. I will stick with this topic for a while.
Sexual immorality is a beast! It creeps in your life as a pleasure and leads to a addiction that controls your life.
Porn and masterbation are “dirty little secrets”. We are afraid that people will find out what we do in the dark or we have so little conviction that we broadcast it for the world to see.
The first step to getting free is “confession”. Get it out! Don’t let this ungodly addiction keep you in bondage. Christ died so that we can be free. Struggle with this addiction don’t give in. Fight….fight….fight your freedom is in the Word of God.
I must say: I have discovered a new love for web browsing. I have to give it to Mozilla Fire fox they have made the web experience even greater with there latest upgrade. If you do not have it please upgrade or download it immediately. I literally was thinking last week: “It would be great to have a start up page with all the links that I automatically go to everyday”. And here it is in a very fashionable sleek manor!
I’m learning that transparency is one of the keys to godly freedom. The world is known for keeping faults, sins and short comings to itself. I remember when I first learned that masterbation and pornography were sin. I did not want to believe it. Sitting in the front of the television watching Creflo Dollar teach on the issue was very interesting. I knew that I wanted to live right but was I willing to give it up. I put all the “toys and tapes” under my bed, you know out of sight out of mind thinking that I could keep them just in case. It took all of one day for my addiction to kick back in. I talked to a few people about it none of which were living godly lives and they all rationalized it saying it was “cool because I wasn’t having sex with anyone else”. However, the Lord kept convicting me that it was wrong and not in His plan. So I took the “product of sin” this time and threw it in the trash.
I had become so used to porn and masterbation that I didn’t see anything wrong with it. It was me pleasing myself. But that was the problem…….I was always pleasing me and displeasing God.
Are you still pleasing yourself? Freedom is available…..Get into the Word of God, prayer, fellowship and counseling. Let porn and masturbation have its last day in your life! Fight for FREEDOM! Christ has it waiting for you.
Check out: http://xxxchurch.com for support on getting free from pornography as well as becoming accountable to other mature beleivers.
January 6 When Doors Are Closed
