The Greatest Spiritual Gift!

1 Corinthians 1:4-9

I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus.For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge— God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

Hello, My Beloved!

I hope you had a wonderful thanksgiving. My apologies for not writing the week of Thanksgiving. I had a fabulous thanksgiving, with a getaway to my parents lake house. It was nice and peaceful, a great time with family, and time to catch up on some much needed sleep. With thanksgiving on my mind, I wanted to pray this scripture over you.

 

As I was praying this over you, verse 7 stood out to me, "Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed." The word gift here was translated from the Greek word charisma, which means: a favour with which one receives without any merit of his own; the gift of divine grace; the gift of faith, knowledge, holiness, virtue; the economy of divine grace, by which the pardon of sin and eternal salvation is appointed to sinners in consideration of the merits of Christ laid hold of by faith; grace or gifts denoting extraordinary powers, distinguishing certain Christians and enabling them to serve the church of Christ, the reception of which is due to the power of divine grace operating on their souls by the Holy Spirit.

 

In other words - it's about God's salvation - the special gift that God gave us, to help us as we await the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ - a gift of grace. It's only through our salvation that we will make it to the day of the Lord, and it is only by God's grace, that we can obtain salvation. And it is through all of this, that we can remain blameless until the Day of our Lord and Savior! Isn't that awesome! Out of all of the spiritual gifts, I think that salvation is the greatest gift, without it, how can you use your other giftings for the Lord? If you have not had the opportunity to gain Christ's salvation, all you have to do is say a simple prayer, recognizing you are a sinner, and asking God to forgive you of your sins, and become Lord over your life. Once you pray that prayer, your life is forever changed!

 

 

Perhaps you have already accepted Christ in your life. Then this is the time to enter into a quiet time with the Lord, with praises and thanksgiving for saving you from the evilness of this world. When I think about how I was before the Lord became real in my life, I was so lost, hurting, and lonely. I was raised in the church, and I walked the aisle when I was 10 to ask Jesus into my heart. I even went through confirmation classes at church, read my Bible, and went to a Christian high school. However, it wasn't until I held my little boy in my arms that God became real in my life. It was at that point, that I could understand a small portion of God's unconditional love. So, go ahead, latch onto God's greatest spiritual gift, you won't have any regrets.

 

 

And with that, I must say my goodbyes.

 

 

Until next time...

 

 

Christina

Seeking Forgiveness!

Isaiah 10:1-4

Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless. What will you do on the day of reckoning, when disaster comes from afar? To whom will you run for help? Where will you leave your riches? Nothing will remain but to cringe among the captives or fall among the slain. Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised.

Greetings, my beloved!

I hope you are having a fabulous week. This week has been tiring, but I am pressing onward. I was interested in all of the political talk after the elections. There is one philosophy that seems to be spreading quickly, but it bothered me a bit. I'm sure you've seen or heard people boasting that people on welfare should not get to vote, as this is a conflict of interest. Being in the filed of compliance, I know all about conflicts of interests. However, this philosophy has bothered me quite a bit. I started praying and seeking God on this, after the past couple of weeks speaking on testing everything, I knew that this new philosophy had to be tested. Then God lead me to this scripture. Do we really want to deprive the poor from their rights? As I continued reading this scripture, I was intrigued with the next part, "making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless." Does this not describe the single mother epidemic that is plaguing our nation today? When I read this, my mind immediately went to the millions of abortions performed right here in our nation - in our city even. Isn't abortion oppressing the widows and fatherless? How many girls are having a abortions, simply because the father is not around? What are we doing to stop this? Do they not deserve the right to live? But because we continue to allow this horrendous act, our country is in turmoil. It's more than that; we have turned our backs on God. As a result, there is so much evil lurking around our nation, and the culture calls it good, and intimidates those that don't call the evil good. It angers me to know that so many lives couldn't be saved, simply because we believe the lie. Why are there so many babies that do not get a chance to live, simply because they were an inconvenience? Then how many lives have our society ruin, simply because we say, "it's a woman's choice," yet no one is around to hold her hand afterward. Everyone is quick to say, have an abortion, but where are they the moment after when the woman is feeling the pain. She recognizes that she shouldn't feel this way, and tries to rationalize the act that just happened. She pushes the pain so deep down inside, and her heart callouses over. So when you ask her, "Were you affected by the abortion?" She simply says, "No," like a robot. But then you get personal, and ask, "When did it happen?" "How far along were you?" Slowly breaking down the calloused heart, until the tears start to flow, and she speaks of the pain and anguish she went through. Not a day goes by that she doesn't wonder, was it a boy or a girl? How old would the baby be today? She feel the regrets, the fears, and the pain. Where are the pro-choice boasters at this point? The day of reckoning is coming, and disaster will strike. What have we done? Where will we go? To whom do we turn to for our help? God's anger will stand firm, for He does not take lightly the shedding of innocent blood. But there is hope. Seek God, and pray. If you haven't had a chance to read what Hobby Lobby is going through right now, for taking a stand against the shedding of innocent blood, please read this article: http://www.lifenews.com/2012/11/01/obama-admin-tells-court-hobby-lobby-must-obey-hhs-mandate/

Let us turn to God, seeking His forgiveness. We must repent, if we expect revival to flood our land during this time of darkness:

2Chronicles 7:14

if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

 

 

Perfection's Sin

This is actually an older poem I wrote in 2004. It is an interpretation of the fall of man, or rather woman. Yet is is not too far off from when we chose to partake in sin, but the redemption of God is so much better. Psalm 34:8a "Taste and see that the Lord is good." 

Perfection’s Sin

Darkness awaited daylight hours,
For he knew what tonight would bring.
Perfection stood in everlasting beauty,
Exploring the pleasure of her powers.

Wisdom came in the form of a tree,
Beckoning Perfection to come and eat.
Yet perfection could not accept Wisdom’s gift,
She didn’t realize the sweetness of the treat.

Seduction came in the form of a beast,
Offering Perfection a seductive delicacy.
Seducing Perfection from celibacy,
Perfection accepted Seduction’s treat.

Oh the sweetness of the serpent’s tongue,
Oh the pleasure of the satisfying juice,
Griping firmly around her crimson lips,
Perfection impregnated with love’s first sin.

She took pleasure in temptation’s first kiss,
Oh the delicacy of nature’s pure sin.
Embraced in pure gratification,
Conviction fell on the virgin’s skin.

 

Greater is He that is in You, than he That is in the World!

1 John 4:4-6

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.

Greetings, my dear friends!

I hope you are having an excellent week! The elections were quite a doozy, huh? I think now is more important than ever to press into God. When the world is collapsing all around us, filled with hurt, pain, and suffering - the best thing to do is to press into God. He is right there waiting for you, and as this verse says - "the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." So, what do we have to fear? It is so hard for me to understand why people, media, etc... believe the lies of this day and age. We do not watch a lot of television, yet there are times that I do, only to be disheartened in how they make it appear that if you do not believe the same way they do, you are an idiot. However, their belief system is off, way off. We are seeing an age where they call good evil and evil good. How did we get so far from the truth of God? With schools more focused on teaching kids to take a test than to critically think for themselves, we are raising a generation who cannot think for themselves. Perhaps the damage has already been made, as it seems that media sways people to believe in their tainted ways. Is it wrong to believe in biblical values? Is it wrong to believe in truth? The first part of 1 John 4 says to test every spirit:

1 John 4:1-5

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

It is so important to test everything you hear, whether it be in church, on the television, on the radio, your best friend, or even my devotions. It is so important to test these things against the word of God. As the day of the Lord grows nearer, it is so important to stay diligent. Let us not be the 10 virgins that run out of oil, but be the 10 virgins that carry the extra oil. I'm not sure what the next four years have in store for us. I'm not even sure if the next president is going to be any better, but I know that as long as the Lord is on our side - greater is He that is in us, than he that is in the world.

 

Have faith my friends!

Christina

 

Thankful for Christ's Love!

Revelation 1:12-16

I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.

Greetings, my beloved!

I hope you are having a fabulous November morning! I cannot believe it is November already - Thanksgiving, here I come! I just love the fall, the brilliant hues of oranges, reds, golds, and yellows. It is so beautiful. I love the pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin pies, and Wendy makes a delicious pumpkin cake. And I absolutely love Thanksgiving! There is so much to be thankful for. For one, Christ's never ending love: I love that no matter where I came from, where I'm at, or where I will be - nothing, absolutely nothing can separate me from the love of Christ.

Romans 8:38-39

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord

This past Sunday, my husband taught during our connect group on the depth of insight on Christ. We say that we know Jesus, and that he knows us. We say that we love Him, and we do. But what is it about Jesus that you know and love? Is it that He is always by our side:

Hebrews 13:5b

because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

Is it because He chose us?

1 Thessalonians 1:4

For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you.

I believe it is all of these things, and so much more. We know and love Jesus, because of who He is: the son of the Most High God, the alpha and omega, the first and last, our redeemer, our friend. Can you see Jesus standing before you? Look into His eyes of fire, can you see the love in His blazing eyes? What about his hair, white as wool, showing purity and love, forgiveness and grace. Can you hear his voice, the sounds of mighty rushing waters like the waves crashing in the ocean? Or perhaps it's the still quiet voice, like the babbling brook? Jesus is so beautiful! No wonder we cannot keep our eyes off of Him. And not only that, He has the name that is above every name - that at the name of Jesus the enemy has to flee, at the name of Jesus, the name that is above every name! Let us seek to know God on a deeper level today.

In Christ's Love!

Christina