Three Faces?

Would you please do me the favor of praying before you read this.  In the last decade there is a new term in Christian counseling that has arrived.  It is being called "Fractured Personalities".  "There is nothing new under the sun"...Ecclesiastes 1:9.  The core of this practice calls for all of these personalities in a person diagnosed with this disorder to accept Christ.  This is actually taking place in the area of Christian counseling and it is a very disturbing thing to me; is it truth or is it a way to make money?  Or is it just people who have been mislead?

In 1957 the movie "The Three faces of Eve" broke out into the realm of mental illness studies.  The mental health community questioned the thought of more than one personality until they agreed upon it in 1975.  Can a born-again Christian have more than one personality?  The Christian counselors are saying "yes" to this idea.  I believe in demons, but in another way.  They cannot dwell in a Christian for there is no evidence of this in the New Testament.  Jesus cast out seven demons from Mary Magdalene, but that was when he first met her.

Demons can harass a child of God and tempt, but the Christian ultimately makes the choice to sin or not.  We have one spirit and one soul, with emphasis on "one".  After you read this information, I implore you to do much reading on the subject of MPD inside the Christian realm so you will not be mislead.  This is God's will that we be filled with His wisdom. 

May the Lord bless you in all truth!

It Is Well

In 1873 the ship "Ville de Havre" collided with "The Lochearn".  The man who wrote the great hymn "It Is Well With My Soul" was "Horatio G. Spafford".  He was born in 1828 and died in 1888.  Somehow down through history we have been told that his wife and four daughters perished on the Titanic in 1912.  The truth is, his wife survived on deck when a plank fell and knocked her unconscious, but their daughters drowned.  Nine days later she sent a telegram to Horatio and it simply said, "Saved Alone".  Later, on another ship voyage, when they passed over the waters that swallowed the ship his daughters were on, he did write "It is Well With My Soul".

In any case, God used their tragedy in order to write a hymn that has weathered almost two centuries in order to comfort so many when trials have come our way.  Horatio's faith in the Lord has inspired millions to come through so many sorrows!  They were very close friends of DL Moody.  Thank God for those who have come before us who have lived a great faith in God so that we might be encouraged!

http://www.biblestudycharts.com/index.html

Flying Frisbee

When a "friend" disappoints us it can be very heartbreaking.  I have a special friend who advised me to "spin it off" and let the Lord have the hurt.  People will often throw us a sharp curve now and then... maybe God lets them do it.  Perhaps we get our focus off of Him and rely too much on others.  Maybe.  Whatever the reason, it is good to let it spin off like a frisbee up toward the Lord.  We should let all of cares fly upward into His care.

As I look back over my years, the times of bringing heartbreak to others due to my actions have been many.  We hurt others and they hurt us...it is the way of a sin sick world.  We can strive not to though, we must.  "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit"...Ephesians 4:30.

"Dear Jesus...teach us more about your precious Holy Spirit so that we may know the serious command in Ephesians.  Forgive us for the times when we have made Him sorry and perhaps even made Him cry over our souls.  Teach us dear Father".  Amen.



Is Jesus Real?

Is Jesus real?  We know from the Josephus history accounts that He did indeed live.  We know that over five hundred people saw Him after His resurrection.  We know that He fulfilled all of the prophecies concerning the Savior to come.  It has been said that the odds of only one man doing this cannot even be calculated.

He lives in the world through His Holy Spirit.  Even if we could see Jesus walking the streets today, who would believe Him?  Because we cannot hear Him talk, we very Christians often doubt His existence.  God is strong, He can take our doubts and still work His will in us.  When the doubts come, do not be discouraged...Isaiah 41:10.

"Dear Father in Heaven....replace our doubts with faith in your Word.  Help us to heed your Word and obey it.  Help us to live in victory and not in doubt".  Amen.

A Dark Love

Would you rather be happy or sad?  This is a legitimate question.  Believe it or not many prefer to be sad.  In all of the Harry Potters' books the endings have been sad... the last books' ending was happy?  I don't read evil books like that, but this information was gathered from an article.  What is so intriguing about sadness that would cause multitudes of our young people in the Church to be drawn to dark things?  Why are they not being drawn to the light?  Let us pray for it! 

At the fall of man Adam lived in a sad and dark world.  The world loves sadness.  We can see it in the all too popular Soap Operas!  If we seek dark things, we are not saved dear friend.  If we are afraid to be happy, we need to ask the Lord for a renewal of our minds.  The Holy Spirit is willing, so let us pray this way:     

"Dear Lord Jesus...let us seek your light!  Let us dwell on things that are lovely, right, and pure".  Illumine our minds with your Holy Spirit".  Amen.

Golden Rule

The famous quote, "Do unto others as we would have them do unto us" comes from the Bible...Matthew 7:12..."Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets...".  The world has taken it and made it a secular moral.  A faceless moral with no authority behind it.  I really like the ISV of this scripture: "Therefore whatever you want people to do for you do the same for them, because this summarizes the Law and the Prophets".   Most of the time we think we are doing good and then someone violates our behavior and they become our enemy.  We do not wish them well, but for  a moment we burn with disgust.  We even feel hate and Jesus said if we hate a person it is the same as murder.  So, how do we respond to this feeling of anger in the eyes of the Lord?  The truth is that none of us are nice.  Oh, but you say, "I am a very nice person".  The Cross of Calvary shines a very bright light exposing the truth about us!

We almost never do unto others as we would have them do unto us!  Now, let us ponder the thought that most of the time we live in our flesh, we do not behave like children of the living God at all.

"Dear Heavenly Father....help me to love others even when they hate me.  Forgive me for all of the times that I have felt hate for anyone.  Help me to walk in the nature of Holy Spirit who displays kindness, gentleness, goodness, patience, love, joy, peace, faithfulness, and self-control"...Galatians 5:22-23. Amen.

Your Legacy

What will people say about you at your funeral?  I once heard of a preacher who called in another preacher to do the eulogy because he had known the dead man to be an habitual liar!  What will others think about us who claimed to know the Lord and who lived like the devil?  These legacies people leave will cause many to go to hell. 

What do you want your legacy to be?  This is what I want people to think of me:  honest, soft-spoken, compassionate, thoughtful, loving, a good friend, understanding, one who gives encouragement, giving, and with the emphasis on "she was a real Child of God".  This legacy will glorify God and cause some to know Christ. 

"Dear Lord Jesus...you know that my tongue is sharp and I fall short in so many of these things, but it is my prayer that your Holiness would work in me so that a legacy honoring You might follow me in death and beyond".  Amen.

Stress

The more we try not to be stressed out, the more we seem to let it control us.  It is an age old problem and no one has not dealt with it.  The picture above is what we desire and yet are so far away from applying it to our lives.  What is the answer? 

There are two kinds of stress.  One is the normal of getting things done in the day that needs to be accomplished.  The other one is abnormal and is called "worry".  This came like a kidney punch to me, but 'worry' is really a sin!  It is not trusting in the Lord for situations in our lives.  I have lived in worry for so long it has been justified in my mind under so many names.  After seeking God in prayer about this sin, it has been like fighting the enemy who wants to destroy every part of me!  Satan hates it when we seek God.

"Dear Lord Jesus...please help me to take one day at a time and stop swallowing the future with uncertain fears of what might happen.  You said to deal with the day at hand for the evil is sufficient enough for us".  Help me to rely on you to help me conquer the evil of this day and not all of the tomorrows".  Amen.

Not a Dream

I read somewhere the other day that "Christianity is a battle, not a dream".  The apostle Paul called us 'soldiers'.  The battle is hard and the enemy fights day and night against us.  The good news is that Jesus said "be of good cheer for I have overcome the world"...John 16:33.  Very seldom are we of good cheer though and it grieves my soul that I am troubled and lack so much faith in Him when things do not go my way.

Time after time I have seen Him make a way for me in situations that are dire and yet when they arise again my fear returns.  Once again He makes a way and I am relieved.  If this is not your experience I would love to hear from you.  His love for us is so gracious and yet we find it hard to accept.  So many times I have pondered as to why He would even love me?  Why would He bother?  His love is immersed in blood and yet we wallow in doubt.

"Dear Heavenly Father....forgive us our times of shirking your word and letting fear consume us!  Replace our doubt with knowing who we are in Christ!  This is the key, so hear my prayer Lord Jesus and fill us with this great knowing that you are our Father".  Amen.

Keep Swimming

I love this picture because it says so much to the Christian who is stuck in a situation beyond our control.  We have two choices.  We can give up and go back to the world or we can be still and keep on waiting for the Lord to answer.  It is easy to give up, but what will that gain us in the long run?  Waiting on God is hard, but in the end when the answer comes, our soul will say "it was worth it" beyond anything we could imagine!

This is my prayer..."Dear Lord...give me wisdom to keep on swimming for I do not want to ever abandon you.  The precious Holy Spirit will keep us for we are sealed in Grace until the day of redemption.  Thank you Father for this wonderful promise!  In the name of Jesus Christ".  Amen.

Not All That Glitters

If you are a parent then you know that little children love things that glitter.   The curiosity of this word got the best of me.  The definition of 'glitter' is: "to be superficially attractive or exciting".  The old saying "All that glitters is not gold" may apply to our flesh that is so often desiring the flashy things of this world. 

If we could see the cesspool of this world and how ugly it is due to sin, I wonder would we not get sick to our stomachs!  To live without God is like a child living for glitter that is passing away.  Acts 3:6 "Then Peter said, "Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk".

He is all we need in this world.  If we put Him first, then He will take care of every need we have!  Matthew 6:33.  Satan will tempt you with glitter of every kind, but if you say no to the flesh and yes to Jesus you shall live in His Holiness!