To be or not to be that is the question?

God has radically changed my life! No longer am I bound by the sins of my own making. He has brought me out with a purpose. He wants me to reach the lost, the dying, the hungry, and the hurting. It is never too late radically give over your life to the Lord. I thought God had forgotten me in my sorrows and that he had left me behind. He knew the journey I would embark and he knew the choices I would make to bring me where I am today. Jesus was 33 1/2 when he began his ministry and as I am only 32 there is much that God can do with my life. It is never too late and the gifts of God are without repentance.  "For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance." Romans 11:29

The past few weeks have been spent pouring my heart out to God seeking his will. I feel I have received some answers and I know that there is much for me to do in the kingdom. It is not quite the right timing for what He has for me but while I wait I must begin to labor. I have a promise from the Lord, "IF" I walk through the door he is faithful and is bound by his word to meet my every need. If I turn away from my own desires he is faithful to give me what I need. "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place." 2 Chronicles 7:14-15

I prayed this past week and God told me if I walked through the door He would do the rest. God in his amazingness sent an evangelist to Michigan Ladies Conf to speak to me those same words. He confirmed his word over and over to me this week in every message I heard. It was and is now my duty to walk through the door!

To be or not to be! It's time church to get beyond our comfort zone and narrow minded ways...

Today was the first day of me new life!

~Journal Entry on Monday July 30, 2012~

4:49pm: I am just leaving the dollar store where I spent $19.28. I purchased 2 bottles of water, 2 granola bars, 2 packages of crackers, 1 toothbrush with toothpaste, 1 bar of soap, and 1 bottle of hand sanitizer. Enough for 6 bags...

I began by praying over the items asking God to bless those who would receive the items. I felt the love of God and his people wash over my heart as I sat in the parking lot with tears streaming down my face. For today I would step outside my box and my comfort zone. I would begin the labor in the field. The homeless people of Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti were my target.

I wrote in my journal that I kept with me all day. "It is not much but its a start. I will attempt to impact 6 peoples lives today. I will attempt to do this once a week. The weekly goal is to hand out 6 care packages. I must go because God commanded me to go into the highways and bi-ways." I am reminded of the scripture, "And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled."

5:07pm: I then began to drive around the city of Ann Arbor and I begin searching the streets looking for homeless people in need. I keep looking but I don't see any!

5:37pm: Still looking with no success

5:45pm: # 1 Wheeler Park/ Fourth St

I see the first one sleeping on a park bench. I had to circle back the park and find a place to park.

All around there are loud, angry sounding men and women. They looked a little rough and honestly I was petrified! I prayed and asked the Lord to have them move away from the man on the bench. They began to move away and I walked very quickly and with vigor to the man sleeping on the park bench. My heart went out to him! Here he was an old man who was spending his older years sleeping on a park bench. I quickly placed the bag of goods on the park bench and moved quickly away from the rough crowd!

As I got back in the car my heart was racing and continued for about 20 mins....

6:30pm: #2 Washtenaw Ave Exit Ramp

I had driven for about an hour and I didn't see anymore homeless. I then remembered that there are homeless next to exit ramps. I made my way toward the church and stopped off on Washtenaw Ave. Here is where I met Wayne. He had a ruddy complexion with a beard. He was walking with a sign asking for help. I motioned him to the car and where he told me his name. I told him I would be praying for him and he said he would do the same for me. Please take a moment if you are reading this and say a prayer for Wayne. "Lord, you know where he is at in his life, please help him to make his way to you where he can be saved and forever be changed from this world to the next."

6:56pm: Church wide prayer...Also I organized Monday Night Singles Prayer on Encounter Ministry.
I pull into the parking lot. I feel the burden and urgency as I know God is calling me to pray. Now is the time church! We must pray if we intend to impact and change the lives around us! I felt the need to bind together with my friends in prayer. Single people also often have the most time to devote to the things of the Lord. Jesus and Paul were single and they both impacted more lives than anyone else. I too am single and in my singleness God has made a way for me to reach out to those in need. I prayed for Wayne and the man sleeping on the park bench. I also prayed for all the needs of my single friends. (I love everyone of you)

The slogan is true: People don't care what you know until they know you care! We must bind together in prayer in these last days. We must have a spirit of unity if we are to reach this lost and dying world!  If you are not praying then you will not care and then people will be lost because you have failed to care about those in need. Jesus said, "So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep!" John 21:15-17 This is in the physical and the spiritual. We are commanded to feed his sheep!

8:00pm: I began the drive to Ypsilanti. On the drive, God continued to work on my heart and I wept the entire way. Lord I prayed help me find at least one more needy person.

8:30pm: #3 Michigan Ave

I saw a homeless man sitting on a bench. He had his head down and looked very sad. I circled the block and came back to the corner where he was sitting. He had started walking down the street. He had a slight limp, his hair was un-kept, his clothes were dirty, and he had very few teeth. I pulled up beside him on the street. I called to him, "Sir," He responded and came to the car. I said, "Hello, I would like to give you something." He said, "Why?" I responded, "Just because no strings." He was very happy and thanked me. He shook my hand and told me his name was David. I told him my name as well and he was so happy to meet me. Please take a moment if you are reading this and say a prayer for David. "Lord, you know where he is at in his life, please help him to make his way to you where he can be saved and forever be changed from this world to the next."

8:45pm: I made it home from the long day. Yet, today I feel happy and fulfilled. There is not much else I could of done for the Lord in one day. I did everything today that I was supposed to do as a member of the body of Christ. Now I must formulate what to do next. What will you do when you read this? Will you think oh that's nice for Linda, or will it inspire you to do more?

Let's embark on this journey together. I have been inspired by a friend who is doing an amazing work for God. Will you be inspired by my story? Do you really want to impact change? There is so much more for us to do together! I am willing to try anything once. Now is the time to pay it forward. Do unto others as you'd have them done unto you. If you were in need you would want someone to reach out to you!

God told me to "GO" and do so many times this week. Whether it be to pray for someone with cancer, to speak words of faith to a friend, or to step out and give to the homeless; Yes, you too can make a difference! What is God calling you to do?

I hope from this moment on that I answer the call of God in my life. When I hear that still small voice I must respond. Declare it in faith and God will be there "if" you do it! You have nothing to lose because God is the one who does the work, we are just the vessel. I am reminded of a sermon; "Our job is to throw the seed, whether it land on the ground, in the soil, or on the rocks. We don't make it grow it is just our job to plant."

It is our job to be reaching, helping and loving. The rest is up to God and he will reward our faithfulness and our faith as we step outside our box....

To be a difference or not to be a difference that is your choice...

I only found 3 people so I have 3 more people to find this week and I know God will help me do it!

Trapped??? Was I going up or down?

Imagine you're trapped inside an elevator door! You run to jump into the elevator so as to not miss the ride to the top with the up button. Yet, it seems somehow you don't quite make it inside. It's just too hard to pull that other foot inside and submit to the ride up to the top. Isn't it easier to just let one foot dangle down towards the ground floor? And, why am I constantly struggling with the door that traps me right down the middle?

One foot inside is going up and the other is firmly planted down. As you stand in the middle it has you trapped into a yo-yo affect not going down but never really going up. You often feel the pain, struggles and agony of this world as the door closes in around your body. The elevator tries to incline up but you still have one foot down on the ground floor. As the elevator inclines you can't seem to let go of down and make it all the way up inside the door.

Is this not how the church is today? We are caught in the middle of the world but we are trapped in an elevator repeatedly going up and down. We repeat the same trials over and over and we never seem to overcome our bad habits. The same trials plague us again and again. We never seem to be able to quite make it in between Sunday to Sunday. We condemn ourselves and we never seem to quite believe that God can save us and forgive us from our repeated sins. Then we walk away because we fear we are a hypocrite and God really can't use us in our sinful state and we can't ever get good enough to get God! We are hanging in the balance and at the least bit of trouble it pushes over the edge and we fall completely back to the world!

The church itself has also gone this route as a way of appeasement. We no longer have to stand for truth and righteousness. Holiness is old and archaic and we have to find our own path with the Lord. We just have to love and accept those who struggle. Nothing is really a sin anymore and if we are struggling with something we don't really have to be delivered from it anymore. We just have to ask Jesus to forgive our sins but no real change is needed. No need to ride the elevator  up to more of God because down on the ground floor is good enough for me. And if we compromise on holiness and righteousness then people won't feel bad and they will come back to church. They don't have to change how they look or act and as an act of trying to make them feel good. It's OK for me too, I will let down my standards so they will feel comfortable. We are now the Community Church!

Wake up church!!!!!!! These are the last days! We cannot sit idly by and expect without prayer fasting, and reading the word of God, that we will ever ride up the elevator to the top! Why do we think that living for God hard will make our lives easier? Now is the time that we must stand to girt up our loins with truth. "Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on a breastplate of righteousness;" Ephesians 6:14

We are being called back to a life of holiness where we no longer partake in the things of this world. God commands us to be holy, "Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy." 1 Peter 1:16 We are commanded to live holy. We cannot partake of this world and have one foot going up the elevator and one foot going down. It's true that we must live in this world and that we will have things come our way but the Lord made a way of escape. "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved." Psalms 55:22 If we want to hang onto this promise we must be righteous and holy. If we are not living a life of holiness then we cannot expect this promise in our lives!

"Yes, we do have the promise that we will not be “tempted beyond what you can bear” (1 Corinthians 10:13), but we need to understand what that verse is saying. It says that God will not allow Satan to bring temptation, or enticement to sin, into our life that is too much for us to say no to it. When we are tempted to sin, God will make a way for us to resist it. That is because He wants us to live holy, just as Christ who calls us is holy," (RonEdmondson) http://www.ronedmondson.com/2009/03/god-will-allow-more-than-you-can-bear.html

I'm not saying let's not live in the world that we are not able to relate to those around us but we have to pull our heads out of the sand. God is requiring more from us, He has personally been dealing with me about Television and movies, He is calling me to set them aside.  They are often not pure and holy. We have a command, "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." Philippians 4:8

 I heard it said recently that the media clouds our minds with clutter. Television, Radio, Internet, Entertainment, Music, these things are not bad in themselves but they have become our focus and they are weights. "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us," Hebrews 12:1 I don't want to live with weights in my life anymore! I no longer want to be trapped inside an elevator crushed by the world as I can't make up my mind whether I want to go up or down!

What are the steps I must take to ride the elevator to the top?

1)  1) You must first have the truth in your life. "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved!" Acts 4:12
Jesus is the only saving name whereby we can be saved.
The Apostles in Acts asked Peter what they had to do to be saved, "Then Peter said unto them , Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost". Acts 2:38
What is the Holy Ghost? "And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." Acts 2:4

2) We are then to be separate and holy from the world. Without holiness in your life you will not see God. "Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord" Hebrews 12:14 We are called to live a life unto the Lord that will not make sense to those around us but we are commanded to be this light in the world. We cannot be the master and the servant at the same time! He has called us out to be a peculiar people, "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;" 1Peter 2:9 We don't have the luxury to be like everyone else!

3) The church never has the option to walk backwards! We cannot become a community church lazily coming to church and never affecting change in the lives around us. Once you have the truth you must buy it and sell it not! "Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding." Proverbs 23:23 Much is required of those who hold the truth in their hands. "...For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required:..." Luke 12:48 The church who walks backwards from holiness and righteousness will be blinded. You can't expect to be saved if you reject the truth you once knew.  ^"And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."

2 Thessalonians 2:10-12

Conclusion:

For such a time as this, God wants to take your elevator up to the top! We must cling to the truth through the steps of salvation. We must come out and be separate from this wicked world. We do this through holy living, prayer, fasting, and reading the word of God. We must stop trying to live in the middle of the elevator! Once we have the truth and are living a life of holiness we can never walk backwards. Once we do we lose the promises of God in our lives and we become blinded and start to believe a lie. Our lives are not our own. Surrender all and you will live for God easy and you will enjoy all the promises of the Lord. Now is the time to set aside every weight that comes to easily sidetrack your life! For we have been called as such a time as this to live a life unto the Lord so that we might be saved, see others saved, and enjoy the promises of the Lord!

Raw Oak Tree or Varnished Deck?

How many times as Christians do we varnish our lives? We say we want to be used of God but we have put up a wall of protection that no one can enter beyond that wall even the Lord. We may not even realize that we have so many walls but we have been hurt, used, and abused. This hurt in our lives causes us to pull away from loved ones and the one who loved us so much that he died for our sins so that we might be free from the bondage of sin and oppression in our lives.

How do we build walls? Every hurt and every pain adds anouther coat of varnish the decks of our lives. Instead of handing over our pain to the Lord we slowly and steadily year by year add a new coat of varnish as a shield of protection to our lives. Each new coat of varnish simulates an imagined protection from the storm, the heat, the cold. This translates to the problems in our lives, the firey trials, and the times we can't feel the Lord because we are so cold and distant. Walls and coats of varnish do not protect us!

Isn't it easier to hide ourselves from this world? Then we can't be hurt and the walls protect our lives right? No! This is a sudo imagined protection that can only last so long before we crumble and we break down. The devil uses our fears against us and we even allow our ownselves to be our worst enemy. We tear ourselves down and we imagine that we cannot be used of God. And if we were once used of God then we are too bad to be restored. This is a lie! "For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance" Romans 11:29

We cannot allow the varnish on our decks to become so thick that there is no raw oak for God to use to create something more beautiful in us!

Everyone was not meant to become a plank on a deck floor. When we are a raw piece of oak the possibilities are endless. We may be formed into a dresser or maybe a mirror or even possibly a beautiful dining room table. Yet, when we allow our deck to be varnished we lie flat and year after year the protective coat builds up but we are still lying flat and we are going absolutely nowhere. A dresser is formed and can be moved at will and a dining room table is beautifully carved and go from house to house. Don't be a varnished deck who lies down and allows the varnish of this world to become thickened on your life!

How does one become a raw piece of oak wood?
1) You must first have the truth in your life. "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved!" Acts 4:12
Jesus is the only saving name whereby we can be saved.

The Apostles in Acts asked Peter what they had to do to be saved, "Then Peter said unto them , Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost". Acts 2:38

What is the Holy Ghost? "And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." Acts 2:4

2) Begin by praying and asking God to strip the varnish off your life. This is done by daily prayer and by asking God to shape and to mold you. You have to want to change! You must fall in love with Jesus he must be your everything. Seeking him first in all things! "Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face continually." 1 Chronicles 16:11

3) You have to forgive those who have hurt you. "But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses." Mark 11:26  This is a process and it probably won't happen over night. As the Lord strips away at your varnish you will feel the peace and forgiveness in your life and it will come. You must forgive the ones who have hurt you, you must forgive God for allowing you to go through the pain in your life and you must finally forgive yourself! You are not perfect but you are wonderously made and God doesn't want you to live in condemnation. "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Romans 8:1

Conclusion:
Are you willing to become a raw oak tree or are you content to stay a varnished deck? The choice is yours! You have the power to overcome the obstacles in your life. There is nothing you cannot do with the lord by your side. You have to want to change!

I will leave you with my personal testimony: I was raised in church all my life, went to Christian Schools, and attended Bible school right out of high school. I came home after four years; I taught Sunday School, praise singer, outreach, youth leader, all the things of God.

I began to become very disappointed in God because I felt he had left me all alone. I was disappointed and that turned to resentment, anger, and then bitterness. I became cold and distant and allowed the walls in my life to pile to the ceiling. I was vulnerable and I allowed the things of this world to draw me in, I slowly began to slip away and I applied varnish to the decks of my life.

I was in a church that lulled me to sleep for five years and then I met someone he seemed amazing and he is a wonderful person but he pulled me away from the things of God. I began to do and say things I never thought I would for four years I hated life, myself, and everyone who was around me. Then finally I broke, he was never going to marry me and I was left standing all alone. I cried out to God, Lord I don't want to be this person anymore!

It was then the process changed in my life and God began to make me over in October 2011 at General Conference with Bro Stoneking. The power of God fell so strongly that I never wanted to be the same again. I met with my pastor and together we formulated a plan and began to pray over that plan!

I then began to let God strip away my life and I surrendered it back to him. In the meantime my life fell apart, but God told me in prayer, "You will be in the fire but you will not feel the affects of the fire, I am there walking beside you!" It was at this point in my life that I began to radically change my life for the Lord. I surrendered everything I had and gave it back to him.

 I asked the lord why I had felt the way I did when I came home from bible school and was doing his work, he said, "you were so concerned with all you were doing for me, Lord I did this and this, but he said you were not focused on me." I was so humbled and I fell to my knees and I have never wanted to not be seeking him in all I do. The lord has given me promise after promise and has shown me in his word that yes, even I who was a sinner could find my way back to the cross.

He also said unto me, "Do unto me because you love me not because you are expecting me to do something for you and because you love me I will bless you!" These are the promises of God and if they are for me then they are for you! Don't let the varnish pile on in your life but allow God to mold you and shape you into a beautiful dining set that can be moved anywhere God wants you to be used!