God teacheth your hands to war… Psalms 18: 32-34

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http://anthonyswildlifephotos.blogspot.ca/2012/10/red-deer-rut-in-richmond-park.htm

Psalm 18: 32-35

It is God who arms me with strength, and keeps my way secure.
He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he causes me to stand on the heights.
He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
You make your saving help my shield, and your right hand sustains me; Your help has made me great.

 

“God makes my feet like the feet of a deer; He causes me to stand on the heights.” What a powerful description of the strength that God puts in us! Psalms 18 explains that He makes our feet like the feet of a deer! The deer is an animal that has so much strength and determination, and it is know also to have the ability to move through life and obstacles with grace, with a mix of gentleness and vigilance.

We are trained to battle in the powerful name of Jesus! This means that whatever battles you have in your life, bear in mind that God trained our hands to war, and makes our arms to bend a bow of bronze and fire… at any issue you might have: sickness, challenges, poverty, (you name it) and beside all this, God keeps our way secure!

Let us press play and sing the glory of God and how grateful we are that He makes our feet like a deer!

Until then, all the Abigails of God, remember you are the Joy of God, stay blessed in Christ!

Did you know that God wants a godly husband for you?! (Part 1)

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Genesis 24:63-67

New King James Version (NKJV)

⁶³ And Isaac went out to meditate in the field in the evening; and he lifted his eyes and looked, and there, the camels were coming. ⁶⁴ Then Rebekah lifted her eyes, and when she saw Isaac she dismounted from her camel; ⁶⁵ for she had said to the servant, “Who is this man walking in the field to meet us?”

The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took a veil and covered herself.

⁶⁶ And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. ⁶⁷ Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent; and he took Rebekah and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.

To all my single Abigails out there, this post is especially for you, and for the ones that are already married, if your husband does not reflect what God says about the profile of godly a husband, I encourage you to pray these verses over your husband. I have friends that did it, and you know what they say about the Word of God, IT NEVER FAILS!  (Hebrews 4:12)

This is a subject that is dear to my heart, because it gets me so much to see and hear so many women around me suffering and struggling so much with men. I often asked myself, is it because they do not know what God has in store for them? or they willingly choose to be miserable due to lack of faith. Before reading the Bible, I had no clue that our Father has such great plans for me for my couple life, and my choices in men had nothing to do with the will of God. But, once I had this revelation, I stop looking, let the peace of God enter my heart, and trust Him because I know that His promises are always fulfilled despite the plans of people or evil against you in Jesus name.

The other day, I was speaking to a friend and she was telling me about her relationship status, and told me that her last relationship did not work out because her standards were too high, and when I asked her if her standards were based on God’s Word? I was speechless when she answered “yes” and she looked confused and worried that she could ever find a man according to God’s Word. When I chose the first picture, I was thinking about her. Ladies, God is not a liar, satan is and marriage is a divine institution of God established in Genesis 2. God has great plans for us, we were never meant to be alone . The Word of God in Isaiah 34: 13-15 teaches us that God matches every animal to its companion. Now ask yourself this, we were made in the image of God, the animals are not, but God still managed to take care preciously all that He creates, so don’t you think that if He could do it so perfectly for animals that are not even in His image, He can exceedingly do it for us that are His daughters? Especially that His word tells us that this what He wants. Now, please I am talking to the single ladies that choose willingly to choose an unbeliever, and then eventually cry and suffer after, and expected God to transform that man into a godly man? Really?! Did you ask God if he was the one? Does he reflect what God said? Or, you choose yourself not based on the Word of God, and then the tears come, and you have though like you have no chance in men! At this point, it is whether you compromise your relationship with your Creator (and you know how you will end up) or you make it right. We just have to decide to believe, trust and wait for Him.

The Abigails, when you decided to give your life to Jesus, it means that you decided to let Him be the Master of all your situations including the choice of your future husband meaning that, in our Manuel of life which is the Bible, we have the clear indication of what kind of husband God wants for us. Although there are much more, but I have gathered a list of non-negotiable for a godly husband that I invite you to pray, confess and immerse yourself in it, so Jesus who is the way can manifest him in your life for the glory of the Father. Now, some people can think, how can I pray for this? Let me tell you that Jesus needs to be the center of your life, asking Him for His wisdom for everything, from the dress you wear in the morning to an important choice you should make in your life. So, don’t you think it will more than natural to not only look, but also to choose the profile of the husband He wants for you through His word?! Remember, Jesus has nothing but great plans for us. (Jeremiah 29:11)

Keep in mind that Father God commands us to guard our heart in Proverbs 4:23, so when you have your list based on His word, don’t you think that you are acting according to His Word, and He will be happy about this? Yes, the Word of God never lies and fails so if He said it, it means that the profile of this man exists ladies, yes, he exists so you just have to learn to ask, declare, confess it in you life and wait on God as the Word of God teaches us in Psalms 37:23. DO NOT SETTLE FOR LESS LADIES, just because you cannot be alone for a period. Get busy in the Lord for His glory, and you will be surprised to meet the one according to the Word of God during this journey.

Remember “God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” Ephesians 3:20.

Since we have different tastes, the physical traits in a man will be different from bald, short, tall, to slender, well-built, a few extra pounds, black and white men, etc. But, God gave us the fundamental characteristics in a husband that He wants for us. God expects us to be happy and to be treated more than well. Matthew Henry, one of the greatest commentator of the Bible, says this about Genesis 2: 22 for the choice of a rib by God to create a woman: “Not made out of his head to top him, not out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be loved and provided.”  This is talking about us ladies, and it’s the Hebrew explanation of “submissive” “helper” who both have a term of function rather than worth. Take the following list based on His word close to your heart and mind, and see how God will manifest the one He reserved for you.

Father God, I pray today according to your Word that never fails in the Name of Jesus that:

1. My future husband is a practicing believer in Jesus name.
“Do not be yoked together with an unbeliever, for what agreement is there between the temple of God and idols?” (2 Corinthians 6:14-16). Do you know that you are not supposed to be with an unbeliever? How can you settle a good and strong foundation in your marriage if Jesus is not the center of your marriage? While you are praying, you are reading your bible, he is watching football? There is nothing wrong with watching football, but if you never get together to pray, read and study the Word of God, and you are doing it by yourself, what kind of spiritual life do you intend to live? Do you intend to live frustrating all your life, fighting to convince your faith to someone that is supposed to be the foundation of your life? Remember in the verse above, in Genesis 24:63-67, Isaac was meditating on the Word of God when he lifted his eyes, and saw his bride! Do you want to disobey God, not trust and wait on Him? The Word of God said in 2 Corinthians 6:14-16, what agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? Think about it, your husband will have an unbelievable amount of influence over your daughters and sons, and if you want your children to love Jesus deeply, choose a godly man!

2. God is the center of my future husband’s life in Jesus name.
“With wisdom are riches and honor, enduring wealth and prosperity. My fruit is better than fine gold; what I yield surpasses choice silver.” (Proverbs 8:18-19). Ladies, can you imagine having a man who seeks God’s wisdom in all his decisions? This is what God for us.

3. My husband loves me as Christ loves the Church and sacrifices Him for her in Jesus name.
“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Ephesians 5:25) This verse demonstrates to us how God wants our husbands to love us, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. But how did Jesus love the church? Jesus laid down His life for it, so our future husbands needs to lay down their lives and sacrifices themselves for us to save us, God wants a hero in our life! 🙂

4. My husband has strong work ethics in Jesus name.

This verse demonstrates to A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest- and poverty will come upon you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man.” (Proverbs 6:10-11). Do you even know that a man who does not work is ungodly, and is not part of God’s plan for us to have a man that does not provide? Genesis 2 tells us that God puts Adam in the garden to keep and preserve before He brings the woman to him. And the institution of labor was established. What does that tell you?

5. My husband honors God with his body, and do not commit adultery nor fornication.
For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor (1 Thessalonians 4:3-4). Fornication is forbidden from God! God’s plan for us is abstinence until we get married on both sides, but satan’s plan is to confuse us and make people have sex outside marriage. Remember that satan is not a creator, but he is intelligent, which means that he copies everything from God, and twisted in a blend of fear and confusion and make men do the opposite of what God desires and commands. Ladies, if only, you could understand how disastrous it is to commit fornication and adultery in your life. You will ask God for the strength to keep you from doing it. And God did not put this rule just for us, but also for men. Honoring God through our body is God’s command and desires, and you need to make sure that you do not fall in the trap of ungodly men who tell you that it does not matter because we are still getting married. RUN and never look back if you hear that! I know that it can be a challenge for us and is not easy at all, but do you really think that if you could not do it, God will forbid it?

6. My future husband has strong conviction on the sacredness of fidelity.
“May your fountain be blessed and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth, may you be ever captivated by her love. Why be captivated, my son, by an adulteress?” (Proverbs 5:18-20) A man is intelligent in Jesus  when he understands that looking at other women is against the Word of God, and his infidelity will only creates sorrow, resentment and betrayal, and all its prayers will be hindered by God (1 Peter 3:7).

Next week, if God wants, we will complete the list according to the Word of God. And when we are done with this series, we will be looking for verses on what God is expecting to be as a godly wife in order to better receive that godly man in our life in Jesus name.

Question of the day: Do you pray to God for your future husband?

Until then, all the Abigails of God, remember you are the Joy of God, stay blessed in Christ!

YOU RECEIVED SALVATION…AND THEN, WHAT IS NEXT?

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Salvation is a new life and a new beginning with God through Jesus. Our natural human birth was from our mother’s womb, but when we received salvation in Jesus, we are spiritualLY born again as in 1 Peter 1:23 teaches us. Jesus through salvation is our only way to be reconciled with God, so we can enter and see the kingdom of God as in John 3:3.

The Word of God teaches us in 2 Corinthians 5:17, that when we received “Salvation” we become a new creature in Christ. Which means, our journey is Christ has begun! The word in 1 Peter 1:9 tells us that: “The salvation journey is lived out every day of our life until we receive the end of our faith, the eternal salvation of our soul (1Peter 1:9).

When we are saved or received salvation or are born again:

1. We become a new creation in Christ, old things are passed away and all things become new, through Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17)
2. We receive the Spirit of God which is called the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:12)
3. We become outstandingly unique because we walk by faith, not by what we see in our life nor in the world (2 Corinthians 5:7)
4. We have eternal life (1 John 2:25)
5. We receive forgiveness for all our sins (Ephesians 1:7)
6. We abide in Jesus, and Jesus abides in us, and it is through Him only that we bear much fruits (John 15:5)
7. It is no longer us who live, but Christ who lives in us (Galatians 2:20)
8. Sin does not rule our lives (bondage, fear, sickness, fornication, adultery, masturbation, poverty, rejection, any issue you may have) Romans 6:14.
9. We receive the blessings of God (Ephesians 1:3/Philippians 4:19)
10. We obey the Word of God (John 14:23)

So many other promises that we will have the opportunity, if God wants, to discover together.

Now, that we know that we are a new creation in Christ, we belong to Christ, sins and satan have no hold over us anymore, we have a new beginning in life and eternal life, KEEP YOUR SALVATION! How?

• READ AND STUDY THE BIBLE: First, find yourself a Bible, a version you can relate with and understand. The one I used is “The Woman’s study Bible” (New King James Version) who is not only complete, but we have the full profile of the women in the Bible, and so many interested things to know. Pray for God to fill you with His Holy Spirit, and to talk to you through His Word in Jesus name. Set up a schedule per day, per week, and start studying and reading…. and keep going.

TESTIMONY: I was so impressed by the Bible…in a bad way so much that I was asking myself, how am I going to understand what I read. As I told you before, being a Catholic, it was not in my habits to read the Bible, the only parts I knew were Psalms 23; 51 and 91, and the 1st chapter of the Book of John. And listening to the sermon of the priest that did not have nothing to do with the real meaning of the Word of God. Like one of my closest friend say, they must have read the Bible upside down.

But one day, God guides me to start with Genesis and established a schedule where once a week, I was going to study 2 chapters of Genesis, and read the New Testament every day. I will never forget this experience, I think I spent 4 weeks only in the first chapter of Genesis 1. And things just unfold one after another, and God guides me through His Holy Spirit in Jesus to understand, do research, ask questions and enjoy His word. You will find people who tell you to read the Old Testament, but how can you understand where you come from and how everything started if you do not read it. I do not get that comment, I discover the origin of so many things in life, it is just incredible, and it just getting started! The Bible is the Word of God from beginning to finish, and it is your best interest to look into every book. I decided that the Bible will be my reading Book, so it is constantly in my hands. Immerse yourself in the Word of God, it is the best feeling ever! And do not let yourself be impressed in the Wrong way, this is the enemy’s work for us not to know the truth, and be free. One thing for sure, with the Bible, it will be one of the most incredible experience in your life, so be ready. You will discover that LIFE is in the Bible!

• BAPTISM: Second, ask God to guide you through the process of your “Baptism” in Jesus name. You need to be careful with this, so you won’t end up baptized in something that is not God at all. Do not think that just because it says “Baptism” it is from God. So, ask your master to guide you through this! (1John 4:1)
• NON-NEGOTIABLE VALUES IN GOD: Establish your non-negotiable values in God. I know that values are already non-negotiable, but sometimes you just need to do the pleonasm to emphasize the importance of what it said. YOU WILL NEED TO ESTABLISH YOUR NON-NEGOTIABLE VALUES IN GOD. We will have, if God wants, to talk more about this next Monday.
• ARMOR OF GOD: Wear the “Armor of God” (Ephesians 6: 10-18) Profess every day on your life these verses and look more into the meaning of this.
• KNOW YOUR IDENTITY IN CHRIST: Search in the Bible what is your identity in Christ, take a verse per day or week, meditate and memorize it, and say it often.
• TRAIN AND RENEW YOUR MIND WITH THE WORD OF GOD: I will strongly suggest that you look for verses in the Bible that can identify with what the  word of God said about a certain situation. The Word of God in Matthew 4: 1-11 demonstrates us that Jesus make the devil flee away with the Word of God. So, start with your own situation, “Do you experienced fear? 2 Timothy 1:7 teaches us that God did not give us a spirit of fear, therefore talk to that spirit of fear in your head, and whatever form of fear that you are experiencing, say: “  Evil spirit of fear, guess what? I am a new creation in Jesus! The word of God in 2 Timothy 1:7 said (…..) which means you have no place in me, I revoke any right you can have in my life, I repent from every sins I could commit to open the door to you in my life in Jesus name, and by the power of attorney vested to me by Christ through the Holy Spirit, I command you to leave my life and everything that I am, get out and stay under Jesus feet that triumphed you on the cross at Golgotha, and I closed the door and sealed it with the precious blood of Jesus, never to rise against me anymore in the Mighty name of Jesus. And thank God in Jesus name. Whatever situations you can experienced, the Word of God is there to help you overcome it, and you can type the name of your situation in this site: http://www.openbible.info/topics/fear, and it will give you all the verses you need.
• ATTEND CHRUCH: Ask God to guide you to an assembly that preaches His true. N.B: Be careful with churches that teach only prosperity and leave out the “if” behind. It is essential that we know that we are not supposed to be poor, and it is also important to know that since we are children of God, we cannot continue to live as if we were sinners. BECAUSE SALVATION IS NOT A PASSPORT TO SIN, IT IS NOT BECAUSE YOU ARE UNDER GRACE THAT YOU THINK YOU CAN SIN FREELY BECAUSE SIN SHALL NO LONGER BE YOUR MASTER (ROMANS 6:14). WHEN SOMEONE IS UNDER GRACE, YOU ARE FREE FROM SINS, BUT SLAVE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS MEANING “TO MAKE IT RIGHT FOR THE GLORY OF GOD THROUGH JESUS”
• DELIVRANCE: You are a new creation in Christ, so identify in your life everything that does not reflect the resurrection of Jesus in your life, and get your deliverance at the cross. Profess Colossians 2:14-15, renounce, break, revoke, claim your right in Jesus name. Remember that Jesus has triumphed and overcome every issue you may have and all evil behind it. Ask Jesus to guide you to deliverance prayers through the Bible, pray, fast and believe. And please do not be nice at all when you are praying these verses against the evil.
• Rejoice in Jesus: Pray, worship, adore, and whatever you do, do it for the glory of God. Share your testimony, announce the good news of salvation.
• Live your life according to the Word of God. (Ephesians 15:7-17)

Question of the day: What was your experience after your salvation?

Until then, all the Abigails of God, remember you are the Joy of God, stay blessed in Christ!

BE STILL… AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD (PSALM 46:10)

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Last Friday, we heard the incredible unconditional love declaration of God saying to us through Isaiah 43:1-3 that “You are mine”. Today, we invite you to look into this great promise in Psalm 46:10 where God tells us: “Be still….and know that I am GOD! and teaches us that God is the Refuge of His People and Conqueror of the Nations.

What does it means to “Be still “The word used here (from רפה râphâh) means properly to left fall, to cast down; to be relaxed, to leave your situations into God’s hands God, and being without anxiety about any situation in your life.

It can be so challenging for us because if all we see is broken relationship, unemployment, debts, poverty, sickness, marriage delay, rebellious children, loneliness, trouble, fear, oppression, Judah in our lives, we will have the tendency to be overwhelmed from all of this, but remember that the Word of God teaches us to not go by what we see, but by what we know.

And every time, we are facing any issue in our life, we must stand still, rely on God’s promises and declare: I do not care by what I see right now in my life, but I go by what I know, and I know that God, my Father who loves me unconditionally told me, through His Word that will never fades away, that He is my shepherd, and I shall not lack anything. So, I invite today to declare to your situation that Jesus is the Master of all my situations: “You (situation) and all evil behind, you can be big, but Jesus is bigger than you; you can be strong in front of me, but Jesus is stronger than you; you can be deep so much that I cannot see any way out, but Jesus is deeper than you, and He is my way and my Savior

And as Colossians 2:15 said, Jesus defeated you already on the Cross at Golgotha 2000 years ago, and I rebuke any hold or power that you have over my life, and even that I can be suffocating by your evil fruits, but this faith that I have as small as it can be, by saying this, will move you out of my life permanently in the Mighty name of Jesus.

QUESTION OF THE DAY: Is your first reaction when you have an issue is to crossout the lies of the enemy with the Word of God like Jesus did when He was tempted by satan in the desert? (Matthew 4:11)

Until then, all the Abigails of God, have a bless week-end and remember you are the Joy of God, stay blessed in Christ!

TUESDAY GODLY FACTS: DID YOU KNOW THAT GOD IS THE GREATEST ROMANCER?

See the love of God upon us in the sky?!

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Ephesians 1:3

New King James Version (NKJV)

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.

 

“And the ultimate award for the greatest romancer in all time goes to… GOD!” Yes, all my Abigails and Men of God, you heard it to: G-O- D!

The month of May is dedicated to “The Family” and my church organized last night a 2 hours seminar under the theme “A Christian and godly family” and the guests that we had for this seminar were Pastor John and Helen Burns from Vancouver, who share tips and steps on “How to have a family grounded in Christ” First, I want to praise God for letting me participate in that seminar in Jesus name. The room was packed with married couples and singles people like me and it was a surprising pleasure to see how people were eager to know about that subject. We were blessed to have the chorales from both 9:00am and 11:30am Sunday service mixed together to give us an incredible 30mns of worship to our Creator. And after, we were all warmed up to listen on how married couples and single people needed to better represent God in their relationship with respectively their spouse and future ones.

And…..bing! The pastor gave us that revelation: “Did you know that God is the greatest romancer?” People were looking at each other from left to right. “Yes, He said: God is the greatest romancer, and romance is God’s plan for men and women!” And He blew us away when he started to teach about it.

During my early morning prayer with God, I asked Him, what do you want me to talk today for this Tuesday godly fact, do you want me to pursue as scheduled or you want another subject? And He simply put in my heart this title, and I praise Him for giving me the opportunity to glorify Him through this post in Jesus name. So here we go! Sometimes, as humans, we tend to take things for granted, but when we think about it, we realize that revelation from the Pastor IS SO TRUE and makes you go WHOOOOOOOO!

Now, let’s take a look on what is the meaning of romance. From the Wikipedia website, we have this definition:

• Romance is an expression of one’s deep and strong emotional desires to connect with another person intimately or romantically.
• A feeling of excitement and mystery associated with love.

From God’s dictionary, our Bible, we find clearly the definition of romance in the Songs of Solomon (In French: Cantique des Cantiques).  And not only Bible scholars think it is as portrait on how God feels about us, but there other passages where God called us His beloved in Jeremiah 11:15 and His bride in Revelation 21:2.

MY TESTIMONY: When I was a teenager, I used to read every book I could find in the French “Arlequin Collection” passionately, but when I got saved and God putted in my heart that I needed to pray for my future husband, and guided me to declare and profess every day a group of verses on his life, myself and on our relationship in order to prepare to meet and receive my husband in my life from Him, the following verses of: Solomon 1:2/Solomon 7:11-14 and Solomon 8:1-3 were among them. And I was so curious to find out what they were about. And I remember when I started to read it, I could not stop and at the end of the 8 chapters, I was like: Why God, why only 8 chapters??? So much you find pure and divine passion and desires behind every word. And I realized this is what God wants for all of us to experience in our relationship with our earthly beloved. God wants every man to love and pursues his wife like Jesus-Christ loves and sacrifices Him for the church (Ephesians 5:25) and for every woman to love, cherish and be good to their husband every day of their life as in (Proverbs 31:12).

But, do you know what God wants initially? For Him to be your first beloved. Just look on how He is pursuing us NON-STOP, since we were created, He makes ways and ways to draw us to Him, He loves us even when we are sinners. He is longing to be with us and be gracious to us (Isaiah 30:18). And if you say that you serve Him, then He needs to be the center of your life.

Today, I invite you to look into your life and meditate on these 7 questions:

1.  Is God the center and the priority of your life?
2. Do you serve God on your own terms, and not based on His Word, the Manuel of life?
3. Do you organize your schedule around Him, or do you organize Him around your schedule?
4. Do you prefer to continue to sleep rather to wake up and respect your morning prayer with Him if you take that engagement with Him?
5. Do you prefer to go to a game activities on Sunday instead of attending service to worship and hear His word? In place of organizing to worship and hear His word first, and then go do whatever you need to do during the day for His glory? Is your excuse might be that you can worship Him everywhere? which is true, but you know that is part of the seeking Him and how good and resourced you feel every time you do?
6. Do you serve God whenever you want to just resolve a problem? Or to fix a situation in your life? And neglect Him, whenever you see your requests are not manifesting because it may not be according to His plan for you, and has better ones for you? (Jeremiah 29:11)
7. Do you love your husband, wife, mother, father, families, job, the world, your life more than Him? (Matthew 10:37/Luke 14:26)

God loves us so unconditionally that He gave everything for us including His only son. (John 3:16)God is pursuing us night and day to spend eternity with Him. (1John5:13) Do you realize that?

And He is asking you also to love Him with all your heart, mind and soul in (Luke 10:27) and to never stop seeking Him in (Matthew 6:33). Now take a second, and ask yourself, what did you do to deserve this love. N-O-T-H-I-N-G. Remember God does not possess love, HE IS LOVE. Think about it, it is the same thing for your husband or future husband, when we have “the one” in our life, we want to daily prove our affection and love to that man or woman and do whatever it takes to make him happy, but do you do that for the One who is the true romancer in your life?

If you answered no for one of the questions above, you have the power and the choice today to press stop on the red button in your life to think about it, and to ask God to help you and to give you wisdom to make it right with Him, because as Psalm 127 teaches us: Let’s not build our life in vain!

As women, independent, feminist or not, we are longing to hear these 3 words in our ears as often as possible: I LOVE YOU! Even for men, who are teached to be visual and not emotional and to remain strong, they need that also, although the “I love you” for women  is equivalent for men to “I am proud of you” and “You are my hero” but they need to hear that in their ears. All this to say, don’t you think it will more than natural to say to the One who created You how much you love Him? To take a second during your day wherever you are, and simply say: “God, here I am before You in Jesus name to simply say I love You and I need You so much” It is the same thing if you send a text message from your phone to your beloved. And This is called having a relationship with God and demonstrate Him that you are seeking Him every second.

Question of the day: The Bible teaches us in Matthew 6:19-24 that where your treasure is, will be your heart. You that love and serve God, what are your non-negotiable to treasure your relationship with God in your heart and life? Or, what do you intend to do from now on, to develop and nourished a great relationship with the One that is the greatest romancer in your life?

Until then, all the Abigails of God, remember you are the Joy of God, stay blessed in Christ!

 

SALVATION? Did you understand that great word and its impact on your life?

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Ephesians 1:3

New King James Version (NKJV)

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.

Last Monday, we started the great godly adventure to share our salvation experience, and today, we will take a moment to look at that word of  9 letters that changed everything in our life: SALVATION

What does that mean Salvation?

• In the human dictionary, we found this definition:

SALVATION: deliverance from sin and its consequences, believed by Christians to be brought about by faith in Christ. (Synonyms: Redemption, deliverance, reclamation)

• In the Bible, God’s dictionary, we have this definition through Acts 16:30-31:

Acts 16:30-31: Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

In the Bible, Jesus and the apostles (guided by the Holy Spirit) taught us what steps to take to be saved. Below, here is a compilation of the steps according to the Word of God and their reference:

1. HEAR (John 6:45/Romans 10:13-17/Revelation 1:3)
2. BELIEVE (Acts 17:30-31/Acts 2:38/Luke 13: 3-5)
3. REPENT (Acts 17:30-31/Luke 13: 3-5/Acts 2:38)
4. CONFESS (Matthew 10:32-33/Romans 10:9-10)
5. BE BAPTIZED (Mark 16:15-16/1Peter 3:21/Acts 2:38/Acts 22:16)
6. LIVE accordingly to the Word of God (John 14:15-24/1John2:3-6/1John 2:15/Romans 12:1-2/2 Peter 1:5-11/Titus 2:11-14)

STORY OF MY LIFE: As I told you in the last post, my salvation process started with the reading of the 10 commandments of God. I must say that I used to meet people asking me “if I was saved”, and I did not understand what they were talking about. I was looking at them like they came from another planet, and I was saying to myself: “Great, another religion” because in my head, I though I was already truly serving God as a catholic. But, the word of God opened my eyes and set me free from my foulness as Jesus said in John 8:32: “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

 And when I actually look at what God said about salvation, I found this in the Word of God:

• WHAT SALVATION IS NOT: “Salvation is not a religion, Salvation is not a tradition or rituals, Salvation is not a race, Salvation is not a color, Salvation is not a leader, Salvation is not an image, Salvation is not an idol, Salvation is not a celebrity, Salvation is not a culture, Salvation is not a denomination, Salvation is not a church, Salvation is not about having special features, Salvation is not a degree, Salvation is not a diploma, Salvation is not about being beautiful, ugly, rich, poor, intelligent, dumb, strong, weak.
• WHAT SALVATION IS: SALVATION IS JESUS! How? From God’s word, salvation is to believe that JESUS who is the ONLY way (John 14:6) to the Father God who is the One who created the Heavens & Earth (Genesis 1:1) was made human among us, was crucified and died for our sins at the cross at Golgotha and was resurrected and is seated at the right hand of the Father in all His glory. (Colossians 2:14-15)

What you should understand is that when Jesus said: “It is finished” at the Cross before dying and there was this earthquake, it was because all the chains of sins and darkness that kept us captive by satan were broken forever, and the way was established, through Jesus, to be reconciled with God, and have a relationship with Him. Something that was not possible before since our ancestors Adam and Eve ate that fruit and commit the first sin in the world (Genesis 3). Receiving salvation is nothing else than this, based on the Word of God! Do you want to take that important and ultimate step in your life? Say that prayer:

PRAYER OF SALVATION

Father God, I praise you for choosing me to receive salvation in Jesus name. Lord Jesus, I need you today. I believe that you died on the cross for my sins. I ask you for repentance because I have sin in thought, in speech, actions, omissions, error and ignorance. I open the door of my life and heart and receive You as my only Savior and Lord. I consecrate to you my spirit, soul and body. Thank You for forgiving my sins, registering my name in the book of life and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life and heart now and forevermore. Make me the kind of person You want me to be. In Jesus name I pray. Amen

When I received my salvation, this was the ultimate experience and the most beautiful day in my life! And although I had no idea the life experience I was going to live in Jesus, but I took an act of faith, say that prayer and decided to give Jesus the rest of my life. Did you pray that prayer of salvation today? Let us know at: patriciavaugh@yahoo.com so we can welcome you to the Abigails of God’s Community.

Next time, we will talk about: We received salvation, what is next?

Question of the day: What did you think the first time you heard this word “Salvation”

Until then, all the Abigails of God, remember you are the Joy of God, stay blessed in Christ!

GOD loves YOU (Isaiah 43:4-3)

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Picture from: thebeausejourpulpit.wordpress.com

Isaiah 43:3-4

New King James Version (NKJV)

But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob,
And He who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name;
You are Mine.
² When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.
³ For I am the Lord your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I gave Egypt for your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in your place.
⁴ Since you were precious in My sight,
You have been honored, And I have loved you;
Therefore I will give men for you, and people for your life

For this Friday’s inspirational day, I would like to share this great promise we have in God in Isaiah 43:1-4: GOD LOVES US! A love that is beyond our understanding! A love that will make Him give a powerful country for our ransom! A love that will make Him give away men and an entire nation to keep us safe!

I was in awe the first time I saw these 2 verses so much I felt that powerful love that our Father has for me, for us, for His children. So many times, as women, we tend to look for that unconditional love and faithfulness, that feeling that we belong somewhere. But this promise teaches us that we do not belong just somewhere, we belong to God, the One who made Heavens & Earth, the Almighty, the One that no evil, nor any evil fruits or situations in your life can face, the One that said to us: YOU ARE MINE (verse 1). God is the Father that we have been looking for all your life, and I invite you to experience this promise on our life this morning, and every time we might hear the enemy says or tries to convince us otherwise. Say it out loud!

I am loved by Father God, I belong to Him, the One that created the Heavens and Earth, the one that no one, nor nothing can dare to resist, the one that guides and protects me from all evil in the Mighty Name of Jesus-Christ of Nazareth! Amen

What do you feel when you read this promise?

Until then, all the Abigails of God, remember you are the Joy of God, stay blessed in Christ!

OUR SALVATION EXPERIENCE IN JESUS – Do you remember where Jesus took you?

Picture from: Christthetruth

Ephesians 1:3

New King James Version (NKJV)

Redemption in Christ

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

This blog is all about sharing our experience in Jesus for the Glory of God! Our testimonies are a great worship to our Creator in Jesus name! So, let’s start by sharing our salvation experience in Jesus to move for the glory of God! It is the greatest experience of one’s life and so worth it to tell it!

STORY OF MY LIFE: I was born, raised up, go through to the whole process of baptism, holy communion, confirmation, profession of faith in the Catholic world. While growing up, I search and search for “a place to belong” and I probably experienced so many things from being a “yogi” practicing Bhakti and Yoga living in a cosmic consciousness to invoking spirits, practicing rituals, traditions to being a “Rosicrucians” (where I was asked not to come back since I was asking too many questions, lol)

At the end, I think I was all over the place, but the funny thing is that in my head I was sincerely serving God, until I turned 35 years old where I started asking questions about who I was, why was I on this earth, where do I belong and how to get rid of this “emptiness feeling” in my heart that did not seem to be satisfy in anything I did, nor in family, friends, boyfriend, job, fame, success and the spiritual world I knew. I must say that a few times in my life, I used to hear people talk about “Salvation” and I used to say: “Great, another religion, these people are crazy, it is Jesus that I served, no one else and I am in the best religion ever!” until that day where I felt so caught up in so many things in my life, being at my lowest, feeling smash and useless, and I cried out to God, no sure what I said, I guess that awful feeling in my heart speaks for itself!

I remember clearly that I just started to say the 7 Psalms of penitence each day (Psalms 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143) I guess the only book, beside Chapter 1 of the Book of John that I knew in the Bible like most Catholics around me.

And one day, my brother in law just opened the Bible in Exodus 20, and asked me just to read the 10 commandments. I think my eyes and inner self were frozen on the 1st and 2nd commandments:

1. You should have no other gods before me.
2. You should not make for you any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You should not bow down yourself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

For some reasons, I was caught up in those 2, and I was especially looking back and forth at the 2nd commandment and all the graven images of Mary, St-Michael, cross,  medal on my wall and in my bedroom, and I remember saying O-K-A-Y with my eyebrows lifted. I put the Bible down, and called my father where I asked him, why the 2nd commandment said that we are not to make any graven images of anything, and they have so many graven images, statues of saints in the Catholic religion? I thought the Bible was the word of God? He answered me that there was nothing wrong with it, because we are humans, we need a representation of God to better pray Him and be in His presence, but we are not worshiping the image.

And my answer was: “But there is no “Nota Bene” that said you can make a representation because you are human, actually the “N.B” actually emphasize what will happen when we do this. And not worshiping the image? I never saw not one Catholic enter a church, after doing the cross sign on them, and not bow or not do the reverence movement and lifting their eyes and hands in front of a statute, images or cross. Or go to these charismatic meetings where they have the statute of Mary and everyone bows and contemplate her while saying the rosary. Isn’t that we called worship? bow down? Exactly what is forbidden in the 2nd commandment? And I look deeper on more verses in the Bible about graven images, and found these:

Exodus 20:4/ Exodus 20:1-26/ Exodus 20:4/ Exodus 20:1-26/ Leviticus 26:1/Acts 17:29 / Deuteronomy 4:16-19 / Exodus 20:5 / Isaiah 42:8/Exodus 20:4-5 / Isaiah 44:15 / 2 Chronicles 3:5-7 / Hebrews 13:17 / Romans 11:4/Exodus 20:3/Genesis 1:26 /Romans 11:19-22/Isaiah 2:12-17 /Numbers 21:9-10 /John 1:1-51 /Psalm 1:1-6/1 Samuel 24:8 / Psalm 115:4-8

From that revelation, my journey to my salvation begun and it was the greatest experience in my whole life! Next time, we will talk about the meaning of salvation, and I will leave you with this verse:

Romans 10:9-10

That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

So, stay tune, join us by subscribing and participating in the discussion.

Question of the day: What about you, how did it begin for you, do you remember where you are in life when Jesus saves you?

Until then, all the Abigails of God, remember you are the Joy of God, stay blessed in Christ!