No Prayer Is To Small, Ridiculous or Insignificant

We wanted to encourage you to increase your prayer life. No prayer is to small or insignificant. When you are lead to pray about something, the Holy Spirit can exactly take you in a different direction. The Lord revealed this to me Thursday night. My sister and I were watching the NBA finals game. We were rooting for the Celtics and they were down by two at the half. The series was 2-1 and the opposing team was up.
At half time, I turned to my sister and said let's pray that the Celtics win. She gave me this look, like "Are you serious?" I told her it couldn't hurt. It might seem like a shallow prayer but why not try. So she said okay and I lead us in prayer.
My prayer started with praying that the Lord would bless the team and coaching staff. Than my prayer took a turn. The Lord brought back to my remembrance that Nate Robinson, a Celtics' player, thanked God twice for helping him to play well in a playoff game that they won. So than I started to pray for Nate and other Christians that might be on the team. That they would pray, motivate and encourage their teammates to do the same. Towards the end of the prayer, I prayed that God would get the glory at the end of the game. Regardless who won, that God would be glorified.
Into the second half, the game started to take a turn. Certain players were playing the best game they have ever played! It was amazing! I started calling shots before they happened! God was really answering my prayer. What was so interesting, was that when the game was in favor of the Celtics, they started to get bogus calls from the refs and some players lost their composure. There were two technical fouls called and the two excellent free throw shooters from the opposing team missed both shots! It was like God was not allowing the negativity to block what He was about to do.
Well the Celtics won and the players that made a difference (both who are bench players) for the Celtics were interviewed. Glen Davis and Nate Robinson gave God the glory three times! How amazing was that! God is so good! He answered a simple prayer and got the Glory! Not only that, but by them thanking God it might have planted a seed in someone who was watching the game, a team player, or someone on the coaching staff. After the game we prayed that the seed would grow in whom ever it was planted in.
So sometimes we think that we are praying for one thing and the Holy Spirit steps in and moves you in pray for something else. Be encouraged and open yourself up to the Holy Spirit for He is the one you leads us in prayer and teaches us how to pray. Christ said, "Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it" John 14: 13-14. The clip of Glen Davis and Nate Robinson is below.

If you Love me, obey me

The Lord has been speaking to me about being obedient. This has been on my heart for some time now. I know when some of us think of obedience, we think about the Ten Commandments or other scriptures in the Bible that instruct us on how to live our lives for God. The type of obedience I am talking about is when God personally instructs you to do something.

The Lord spoke to me about certain things he wanted me to do and not to do. Some of those things were hard for me to grasp. For example, to stop going to the movies, this was a hard one for me to understand. I was talking with the Lord to make sure it was Him! Like why would he want for me to stop going to the movies? But later I understood that He was keeping me from being idle and actually spending more time on Him and His Word. Now, I am not saying that everyone should stop going to the movies but this is just the conviction that God put on my heart.

I want you to know how God revealed to me that disobedience will hurt your relationship with the Lord. Now because you are born again you have a personal relationship with Christ but it will not grow if you are walking in disobedience.

There was a time when I was in a state of confusion and depression about why I was not where I wanted to be in Christ. I knew that I was called to serve the Lord and to be used as an empty vessel. But I felt like God was not using me at my job, ministering to friends, family members or people on the street. I did not have that boldness I had been praying about. I felt useless. I was constantly comparing myself to the great patriarchs, prophets and apostles in the Bible, friends and people in my church. I would ask God “Why can’t you use me like you use them?”

Then at a prayer meeting at my church, one of the pastors said that we must walk in love and obedience in order to fulfill our call and to have a deeper understanding of who God is. Then I remembered that my friend told me once that in order to love Christ you must obey Him. In John 14:15 Christ said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” And in John 14:23-24 He says, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. ²⁴ He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.”

That is when I realized that I was walking in complete disobedience. I was not doing what the Lord told me to do and that is why I was stagnant. I was not showing my love for God because I was not obeying Him. How can God use me as an empty vessel if I still had stuff inside of me that had to be dumped out. All the great holy men and women in the Bible became who they were by obeying God! They had a deep personal relationship with God and it was based on the fact that they trusted and obeyed Him. Obedience is the only way and the key to having a abundant relationship with God. We obey God because we love Him and not out of fear. We do it because He knows best and He tells us what to do or not to do out of love.

I encourage you stromriders to trust and obey God when He commands you to do something. You will be shocked and amazed to see what God can do in you and through you. Praise the Lord!!!!

*Image from reflections of a mirror website

No Need to Fear

Psalm 27: 1 The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?

Fear is defined as an emotional response to a perceived threat. We often fear physical things, such as heights, snakes, spiders and the like. But for many Christians we tend to sometimes fear that which is unseen. We fear the very things that our faith instructs us not to fear, mainly, the devil. We fear him because we can’t see him and often times we are afraid that he is doing everything in his power to ruin our walk with God. I am writing to remind you that there is no fear with God. Because Jesus Christ has conquered death and shame on the cross and defeated the devil we are now victorious. We have been set free from the fear of the enemy. If Jesus resides in our hearts and in our lives then His very existence in us causes us to be victorious. We are no longer slaves to fear, sin and shame; we have been made whole and victorious by the Blood of Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:57 says; “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

In His name there is victory, in His blood and in His presence there is victory. I remember as a child, when I would have a bad dream, my mother would tell me, that if I ever got scared in my dream that I should say out loud, “In the name of Jesus, all bad dreams go away.” As a child I started to understand the awesome power that is found in saying the name of Jesus. He is mighty to deliver us from all fear and restore us to a right frame of mind. 2 Timothy 1:7 states, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” We have power through Jesus residing in our hearts, the love of God in our life and a sound mind that rests on our firm foundation which is our faith. God has given us that which we need to combat fear.

· Power

· Love

· Sound mind

All of the above mentioned things are found in Jesus Christ. So if we have Jesus we can and should be fearless.

1 John 5:4 says, “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.” Through our faith we are victorious and we need not fear, fret nor worry. God is our light and our salvation whom shall we fear? He is our light in the darkness. While we were still in the dark wallowing in our sin, He was the Light in the world that brought us salvation that we did not deserve. If God was and is the Light that conquered our sin He was and is the light that pierces through our fears and delivers us from the “terror of night” (Psalm 91:5).

He is the strength of our life, whom shall we fear? We should never forget what a mighty God we serve. If we believe that we serve the one true living God; the God that:

· Stood in the fire with the 3 Hebrew boys and saved them from the furnace

· Delivered Jericho into the hands of the Israelites without weapons

· Parted the Red Sea for the Israelites to cross over while Pharaoh was behind them

· Defeated death and sin by nailing His only Son to the a cross

· Slayed a giant by using a young Sheppard boy

· Opening jail cells for Peter

· Shut the mouth of the lions for Daniel as he sat in a den of lions

What then do we ever need to be afraid of? The aforementioned examples aren’t even the half of what God has done, but serve as a testament to what He is doing and will do in times to come. Our God is strong beyond measure. He is awesome and the scriptures say, “If God is for us, who canbe against us? (Romans 8:31) What should we ever fear? Our God is our strength. When we are weak, He lifts our head, He sustains us and fights our battles for us. He is matchless in all His ways.

I hope that this encourages you. Put all fear where it belongs, under the nail pierced feet of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. There is no need to fear, for God is on our side. He is mighty to save us from any form of attack. Walk in victory always and don’t fall victim to fear. Remember, through His blood, we are no longer victims but victors! Lay claim to this truth and watch your heart and mind transform as you release fear and embrace the freedom of God.

The Lord Glorified In The Rescuing of A Missing Girl In Florida

I read an amazing article today at Yahoo.com about James King the man that rescued 11 year old Nadia Bloom in the swamps of Florida. Mr. King said it was God that directed him to Nadia. Nadia's father said in one article "Let God be glorified." Hallelujah! God is Good! I pray we hear more about God being glorified on the news. This is a great testimony about God protecting His children and showing how much He loves us. And thank God for a man like James King who humbles himself and gives God all the glory. He is a true Hero. There is a link below to the article and a clip of Mr. King on Good Morning America and The Early Show.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100414/ap_on_re_us/us_girl_found_in_swamp

A Day of Remembrance: Good Friday

Praise the Lord!!! It is Good Friday!!! The Lord is worthy of all the honor and the glory. Let us give thanks onto the Lord for all He has done for us. And what he did 2000 years ago on Calvary. For the past couple years, we have made it a point on this day to remember what Jesus did for us by watching "The Passion of the Christ." I recommend watching this movie because it gives us a good visual description of what Christ went through for us.
Also please take the time out to remember all the sins that He wiped away with His precious blood for you. He took away all your iniquities and forgave you of all the offenses you did against God. Remember how he saved you from sin and death and brought you life everlasting. Between the hours of noon and 3pm today, which was the time Christ was on the cross and died, please pray for your love ones that don't know the sacrifice that was made today for them. Ask the Lord that they would come to a place of repentance, so that they might be able to experience His love and mercy.
I would like to leave you with a sermon that Peter preached to the people after he and John healed the lame man at the temple called Beautiful. This is in Acts 3:13-26

13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. ¹⁴ But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, ¹⁵ and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses. ¹⁶ And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.
¹⁷ “Yet now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers. ¹⁸ But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. ¹⁹ Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, ²⁰ and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, ²¹ whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began. ²² For Moses truly said to the fathers, ‘The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you. ²³ And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’ ²⁴ Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days. ²⁵ You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ ²⁶ To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.”

May the Lord's face shine upon this glorious day! Here is a video of clips from "The Passion of the Christ" with the song by Hiilsong United called Lead Me To The Cross. God Bless you all.

The Real Face of Jesus? GMA article

Good Morning America did an segment on "The Face of Jesus" which is a program on the History Channel, which I believe is airing this week. Many Christians might think this is crossing the line or that it is not important or it is blasphemy. I personally do not believe that the shroud of Turin is real. It is not mentioned in the Bible therefore I do not consider it to be anything of importance. But we are posting the segment because it will have many people talking about Jesus. Paul wrote in Philippians 1:15-18 that

Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill: ¹⁶ The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains; ¹⁷ but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. ¹⁸ What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.

At first I took to offense at what these scientists were doing and I told my sister that they were wasting their time. But she said to me what if by doing their research they come to know God. And in that I can rejoice and pray that the millions that watch that program will be lead by God's spirit to Him. What the enemy might have planned to confuse people God will use it in His own will.
Since Easter is a few days away let us pray that many will come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

Who Are You?

The Bible says that we are created in the image of God yet most of us live our lives trying to measure up to the standards of man. We were all created for a higher purpose but so many of us believe the lie of the enemy and don’t realize that there is more to each of us than what can be seen with the physical eye.

Often times the enemy will come up with a lie for you to believe. He will tell you lies about who you are but more significantly he will tell you lies about who God is. If the Lord put His breath of life in us and said that He would make us in His own image then we should rejoice that we are God’s very own creation.

So to understand who you are, you must know what God’s word says about you.

Genesis 1:26: And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

We are made in the image and likeness of God. God molded us after His likeness. How awesome is that! In the creation account in the Bible, no other creature was made after the Lord’s image. God told the waters to bring forth aquatic creatures; God told the air to bring forth birds and likewise told the earth to bring forth animals and creeping things. However when it comes to man, God spoke to Himself and in a way told Himself to bring forth man in His own image. We are a reflection of God, which is also why the enemy is afraid of us and wants to diminish the image of God. If the enemy can get us to believe that we are less than who God says we are, he is also diminishing the image of God. It’s a twofold plan. Convince man that he is worth nothing and simultaneously diminish God’s image. If you start believing that you are less than who God says you are then you are also saying God is less than who He is. We need to stand firm on what the Lord has told us.

Psalm 139:14: I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

The psalmist states that he is fearfully and wonderfully made. Often times the enemy will sow a seed of doubt in our hearts that we are not good enough, that we are not worthy enough that there is something wrong with us. But the psalmist knows that it is a lie. Why would God create anything that is not beautiful and wonderful? Why would he create something that is not worthy of love or blessings. Don’t let the enemy lie to you about who you are. The psalmist in the same verse says, marvelous are thy works. We are a work of God and that makes us and the things that the Lord does in our lives marvelous. We are unique and special in the sight of God.

Matthew 5:14: You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.

We are a light to this world. The world is a dark place. Everything around us is a breeding ground for sin. Many of the movies, ads and music that we are subjected to are provoking us to be apart of the darkness. It lures us into a world that feeds our flesh and lustful desires. Yet, God says that we are a light unto the world. Don’t let the devil convince you that the darkness is fun that it is attractive. You are a light in the world. You are an example of the truth of God and the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ.

1 John 3:1: Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!

John writes that we are loved by God. One translation uses the word lavish, that He lavishes us with love. A big lie of the enemy is that we are not loved. When we believe this lie, so many of us start looking for love in all the wrong places. We start looking for love in other people, sex, drugs, money and so much more. We try to find live and acceptance wherever we can get it instead of knowing that God loves us above everything else. He loves us. He loved us so much that He gave His only Son for our salvation. That’s a pretty big deal. That God himself would come through space and time to take on human flesh and dwell among us and die for us. The Bible says that there is no greater love than a man lay his life down for another and that is what God did. He died so we could be free from sin and shame. He loves us so much. John goes on to say that this love was so great that he has called us his children. We are the children of God. You are a child of God. He is your Father and would do anything for you, even die for you. How great is our God!

The first lie the devil ever told was that God was a liar. Genesis 3:1-5 says:

¹ Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”

² And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; ³ but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’”
⁴ Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. ⁵ For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Notice that the serpent says, you will not surely die, which contradicts what God said, therefore the serpent is trying to convince Eve that God lied to her. If the devil can convince you that God is a liar then he can coerce you into voiding every promise, every truth, and the knowledge of God. He wants to defile not only your image but the image of God in you. You cannot allow the devil to do this to you. You have to know what God says about you. How he loves you and wants you to know Him, because the more you know God the more you learn about yourself. The enemy will try to hurt you with fiery darts (lies) and cripple you, but if you know that you are a victor and not a victim you can serve the enemy notice that all his lies will never be greater than the truth of God which resides in you, Christ Jesus. Don’t allow depression, low self-esteem, the nasty things people say and the like take root in your life. God wants to show you who you are to make you strong in Him. If you are saying to yourself, I don’t know if this is true, then I would strongly recommend you ask God. Ask God who you are and He will show you. He will show you that you are loved, fearfully and wonderfully made, His child, a light unto the world, marvelous! Let God show you who you are. Take hold of it and believe it, because this truth is the door to your freedom.

Hosana in The Highest: Palm Sunday

Today is Palm Sunday, which is one of my favorite Sundays. Today 2000 years ago Christ rode on a donkey into Jerusalem and was welcomed by the people with palms in their hands praising him. "Hosanna in the Highest!" I recommend reading in all of the 4 books of The Gospel about Palm Sunday. Here is a link to an article from the Washington Times of Christians who are celebrating Palm Sunday in Jerusalem. All praise be to God. Hosanna Hosanna blessed be the Rock of my Salvation.

Here is a song by Hillsong United called Hosanna. God bless you all this Palm Sunday

Not of This World

Lately the Lord has been placing many things upon my heart. He has exposed me to many of the enemy's plans and tactics to destroy the church (the body of Christ), to deceive the world into believing a false doctrine ( The New Age Theories) and pushing the Anti-Christ agenda. It is in all the popular movies (Avatar, Transformers, Sex and the City, Twilight), music ( Lady Ga Ga, Beyonce, Rhianna, Jay -Z), television (Lost, True Blood, Dexter) and books (Twilight, Harry Potter, The Secret).
The funny thing about it is that the Bible already warned us that these things will happen. Paul in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 tells us:

But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!

This passage speaks to the times we are living in. The economy is the way it is because people have such a love for money and wealth. You have movies, songs, TV shows, singers, actors, magazines, books and TV personalities that blaspheme God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit (which is an unpardonable sin). Our society tells us to be lovers of things and ourselves, to be a go getter and go for yours. Instead of loving one another and doing the will of God.
The sad part is that many Christians are participating in this behavior. Believers who say they love Christ but yet they disobey His word. Jesus said in John 14:15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments." Okay, so many of you will say but I don't do any of those things Paul speaks about in 2 Timothy. Paul also stated in Romans 1:32

who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.

The word approve means "to speak or think favorably of"and "agreeable or good". So by definition if you are listening to these artist, watching these shows or movies or reading these magazines or books you are in a agreement with them.
Brothers and sisters because we are dead in Christ we are not of this world. We are not to practice nor participate in the things of this world. In John 15: 19 Jesus said "If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you." The Lord brought me this word a while ago and I had to search my own heart. I still enjoyed reading some fashion magazines that dealt with vanity and sex. I own movies that are totally against the Word of God. I had to stop listening to worldly music as a whole and make a decision to be on the Lord's side. It is a difficult thing to do because the flesh lust after the flesh. But we have to die to all our desires and lay everything on the line to God. I have to repent and ask God to give me His heart and His desires for my life.
We are the light of the world! We can not blend in with the darkness. We are set apart from everyone else in this world. We are heirs of the Kingdom of God. I pray that this word encourages and motivates you at this time. Jesus is coming very soon and I pray when He comes he sees His people living out His word.

1 John 2:15-17 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passes away, and the lust thereof: but he that does the will of God abides forever.

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True Stormriders: Christains Martyred in Iraq

Here is an article about Christians being killed in Iraq from crosswalk.com VOM page. Many Christians are being shot to death because of the parliamentary election this month. The minority Christian vote will become a factor this election season. Please pray for our brothers and sisters over there who are just living their everyday lives and are being persecuted because they have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. And pray for the Christians living in countries that do not accept them. Keep riding the Storm.

Jesus said, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you...." John 15:18-20.

Three Christians have been killed in Mosul recently, and community leaders warn that violence will increase leading to the March 7 parliamentary election, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).

On Feb. 16, unidentified gunmen shot two Christian students with an automatic weapon. Police told AFP that Zia Toma, a 21-year-old engineering student, was killed in the shooting and Ramsin Shmael, a 22-year-old pharmacy student, was wounded. Both men were Assyrian Christians, according to police.

The violence is thought to be related to the upcoming parliamentary election, in which the vote of minority Christians could be a factor between Arab-Kurd rivals. "We don't want elections, we don't want representatives, we don't want our rights, we just want to be alive," said Baasil Abdul Noor, a priest at Mar Behnam church in Al-Arabi neighborhood, where the shooting occurred. The student's murder occurred one day after gunmen killed shop owner Fatukhi Munir, an Assyrian Catholic, in his business. On Feb. 14, another shop owner, Rayan Salem Elias, was shot to death outside his home; Elias was a Chaldean Christian.

These incidents are the latest in a series of attacks on Iraqi Christians in recent months. The Christian community in Iraq is estimated to be 3 percent of Iraq's population of 26 million, or about 780,000 people. Islamic extremists have targeted Christian leaders, churches and businesses in Iraq since 2003. As a result, many believers have fled.

The Voice of the Martyrs actively supports Christians in Iraq with Action Packs, resources for Christian leaders and evangelistic literature. VOM also distributes the New Testament in Arabic and supports widows through the Families of Martyrs fund in Iraq. VOM encourages you to pray for those who mourn these murdered believers. Pray that the killers might come to know Christ as their savior. Ask God to embolden the Christian community in Mosul to proclaim the gospel even while being persecuted, and pray that they will be filled with Christ's peace during these difficult times.

article courtesy of crosswalk.com

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