True Worship

Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.

- John 4:23-24 (NIV)

Oh, I had a wonderful time worshiping the LORD this morning. You do not have to be at church to worship the LORD (though that is fabulous too). You can worship God anytime, anywhere.. because wherever you are, HE IS THERE. I have a wonderful time worshiping the LORD with my church family. I also have a phenomenal time worshiping God right at home or in my car. Sometimes, it's much easier to "let loose" and worship God more freely when God is the only one watching. He loves it when we pour out & give it all to Him. I love to start my time with the LORD in the mornings with worship music. I have had some of my favorite worship sessions alone with God. Twice in the last week, I have been so filled with the Spirit of God that I was dancing in the Spirit across the living room floor. If you have not received the Baptism of the Holy Ghost, you are missing out. There is nothing in the world like it. And I'm not crazy, either. This is all 100% Biblical. Read the book of Acts. Also, check out 1 Corinthians chapters 12, 13, & 14 (This is explains several different manifestations of the Spirit. i.e.: speaking in tongues, interpretation, prophecy, etc.). God desires that all of His people receive the Baptism of the Holy Ghost. He says that in the last days, He will pour out His Spirit on ALL PEOPLE.. But God who is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8), desires that we all be filled with His Spirit continually, like those in the Early Church in Acts. In Mark 16, Jesus says the speaking in tongues is a sign that will follow believers. Nothing can fill you up as wonderfully as God's Spirit can when you let Him have His way. Oh, there is unspeakable joy, comfort, peace. There's no words in Webster's dictionary that can describe this phenomenal feeling. I imagine that being filled with the Holy Spirit is the closest we will ever get to experiencing Heaven in our earthly lives.

A little something I wrote when I was so overcome by the Beauty & Majesty of our LORD this morning:

Oh, my God, I am overcome by You this morning--- by everything that You are. By the depth, height, length, and width of Your love that envelopes the hearts of those who seek You, those who pour out their heart's perfume upon you, who have given it all up that they may gain Christ. After all, after we have tasted and seen the goodness of the LORD, everything else pales in comparison. God is irreplaceable. Nothing can fill me up like His Spirit. No person or sin can satisfy like the one who created You can, if you let Him. 

Thank You God, that those who seek You find You & that You love those who love you (Proverbs 8:17). We know that we demonstrate our love for you by keeping your commands (1 John 5:3). It's not that complicated to keep Your Commands when we indulge in Your Presence every day.. when we make diving into You our first priority.. nothing else can hold a candle to you. We know that when we sin, we are separated from You.. even if only temporarily (temporarily if we repent & turn back to God .. eternally if we don't turn back to Him). After we have fallen head over heels in love with Jesus Christ, the absence of Your Presence is excruciating. No. No sin is worth such agony.

Thank You that You do not show favoritism (Acts 10:32). Thank You that you do not reject any one who comes to You with a heart full of repentance, those who turn from their sinful ways because they realize knowing You is immensely better. What is greater than Your Love? Is life? Is death? Is drunkenness? Is pleasure? Is temptation? NO! Sin is not great at all, though social media glorifies it. Those who indulge in sin believe living in sin is more fulfilling than serving You. Oh, my LORD, these people have not even caught a glimpse of You! They have not seen a portion of Your vast holiness, Your Never-Ending Love, Your mercies that are lavished upon us anew every single morning. They have failed to taste and see how good, loving, and forgiving You are. Oh, how it brings me grief that they have not known my Lord. They have not allowed Your Spirit to fill them, because if they had, they would see that there is nothing else that can fill the void in their hearts. Oh, if they had only given my Lord a chance, they would see that they can only be complete in Him. You alone can save them, heal them, deliver them. LORD, You alone, can give them the desires of their hearts when they delight themselves in You (Psalm 37:4). 

It saddens my heart that those who let sin rule over them believe they are "living it up". The righteous let you rule them & we are not deceived, for we know Your Word. We know what the world has taught "living it up" & "enjoying life" by living according to sinful ways only leads to destruction (hell). We know the only way to truly live is to be alive in Christ, to be a new creation in Him, to fulfill Your Will for our lives. Only in the center of Your good and perfect and pleasing will can we find joy unspeakable... peace in every situation... fulfillment & contentment.. all these things come from knowing You alone. Oh, the world is desperate for happiness, peace, to be fulfilled.. but because they are looking for it in all the wrong places, they remain unhappy... and will continue to come up empty every time until they take heed to the voice of the Lord God & repent. They seek these things the ONLY You can give.. in a bar, in the bottom of a bottle, in pleasure.. oh but they always come up dry & do not know why! May the eyes of their hearts be opened to the way sinful pleasures drain them & take them farther away from You! Show them how sin only enslaves them, how the devil only betrays them. Reveal to them the goodness of Your Love, Mercy, and Grace. Let them understand how You yearn to set them free from the bondage that has entangled them. Show them how You can change them if they come to You.
In JESUS' Powerful Name,
Amen. 

I heard an awesome TRUE story based off the knowledge of 2 Corinthians 5:17, which says,
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone, the new is here!" At one of our revivals at church, Evangelist Peter Dobie shared this story with us. This happened in South Africa, where the tribal people take the Word of God very literally, as we would do well to learn from. A man named Joe heard the Gospel and got saved. His friends mocked him & reminded him of his past, of all the things he used to do. Joe boldly inquired, "Who are you talking about: the Old Joe or the New Joe?". Let us all learn from Joe. Your past does not have to be your future. You can become new in Christ. New on the inside. A changed person. Sometimes, I feel so much guilt when Satan reminds me of who/how I used to.. but I have to remind myself that he is referring to the old Rachel. I am a new creation in Christ. I have been made new. The old Rachel has gone! The new is here! Believe me, I never thought I would be a preacher.. But God changed me. And He can change you, too, if you let Him.

In His Overwhelming Love,

Rachel Marie

THIS RIVER NEVERS RUNS DRY

On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

- John 7:37-39 (NIV)

I wouldn't trade the Baptism of the Holy Ghost for anything in this world!!!!!!! There is absolutely nothing like it! I cannot get enough of being filled with His Spirit! Thankfully, the river of Jesus' Living Water NEVER runs dry!!! I love getting filled up by HIM continually, day by day! Glory be to God!!!!! Praise the LORD! You never find true contentment, joy, peace, love, and happiness until you find Jesus Christ. Don't mistake: I'm not saying everything will be perfect, but you can find peace, joy, love, and comfort in every circumstance through Jesus Christ!! I'm so thankful to be filled with the Holy Spirit!!! Though I have been a Christian for quite some time, I didn't receive the Baptism of the Holy Ghost until about a year and a half ago & my life has never been the same since. I don't want anyone to miss out on this phenomenal gift from Jesus. My life is forever changed to a million times (PLUS!) better because of this wonderful filling of the Holy Spirit that the LORD God Almighty has given unto me! One of the greatest gifts God has ever given was pouring out His Spirit upon His people. To find out more about being filled with the Holy Ghost, check out the book of Acts in the Bible. Also, you can learn more about the spiritual gifts He gives in 1 Corinthians chapters 12, 13, 14. In 1 Corinthians 12:1, the Holy Spirits tells us He does not want us to be uninformed concerning spiritual gifts. So, I would like to greatly encourage & urge you to please start learning about them through reading what God's Word says about it through reading the Scriptural references listed above. 

In His Loving Kindness,

Rachel Marie

JESUS IS COMING BACK: Are you ready or will you get left behind?

by Rachel Marie

"But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."

- Jesus in Mark 13:32 (NIV)

This verse clearly tells us that NO ONE knows the DAY or the HOUR that JESUS is COMING BACK, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but ONLY GOD THE FATHER. What we do know for sure is this: Jesus is definitely coming back. No doubt, whatsoever. It is what the Bible tells us. The day of the LORD will come like a thief in the night (1 Thessalonians 5:16, 2 Peter 3:10, Revelation 16:15).

However, we do not know when the LORD's coming will be. So what can we do? We find the answer in verse 33 of Mark chapter 13.

"Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come"

- Jesus in Mark 13:33

We are supposed to "be on guard"! We are supposed to "be alert". We are to be prepared for HIS COMING! Are you ready? Are you living for Jesus? Are you living in a way that is pleasing to Him? Or will you get left behind when Jesus comes to get His people?

We are to seek God daily. Stay in the Word of God (the Bible). Read the Scriptures every day. It is vital to your walk as a Christian. Regardless of how much you know of the Bible or how much you have read, we have to "feed" on the Word. I love the way Kenneth and Gloria Copeland put it once, "Just as the physical body cannot go for days on memory of it's last meal (physical food), your spirit cannot go for days on memory of your spiritual food (last Bible reading, memorized verses, etc.). That's not verbatim, but that is something I read from them once.

If you just don't have that desire yet to feed on the Word daily, ask God to give you "spiritual tastebuds" for His Word (I learned this in a devotional once). Begin reading the Bible daily. First, it will be something you do daily in obedience to God, but as you persevere to keep this time with God, you will begin to crave it and enjoy it thoroughly. You will look forward to it. You will be refreshed by His Word. It will a relaxing learning experience for you. God will meet you there. He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).

If you have never received Christ, you can do so now. Regardless of you past, you can start over right now. You can give your life to Jesus. "For everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved" (Romans 10:13). This means you make a commitment to serving God through His Son, Jesus Christ.  This means you begin to read His Word. You begin to get to know just who He is (through His Word and as He reveals Himself to you). You strive to live in ways that please Him. The first step though, is just coming to Him. Afterwards, He will help you, show you, and guide you in the way He wants you to live, which is ALWAYS according to what THE BIBLE SAYS! If you are just learning about God, you can begin in the Gospel of John (after Mark, in the New Testament).

Salvation: In the Bible

Here are a couple of things the Bible says about salvation:

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.

- Romans 10:9 (NIV, emphasis, mine)

For it is with your HEART that you BELIEVE and are JUSTIFIED, and it is with YOUR MOUTH that you CONFESS and are saved.

- Romans 10:10 (NIV, emphasis, mine)

Also, as mentioned above EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED (Romans 10:13). Not one, not a few, not some, but EVERYONE who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

"For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people."

- Titus 2:11 (NIV)

The grace of GOD offers salvation to ALL PEOPLE! Jesus is the way the truth, and the life (John 14:6). No one comes to the Father, except through Him (John 14:6, continued). If you would like to give your life to Christ, you can do this:

1) Confess that you are a sinner. Ask for forgiveness of your sins

2) Acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God and came to die on the cross to offer us salvation through Him, as well as healing (John 3:16-17, 1 Peter 2:24)

3) Ask Jesus to come into your heart. Surrender your life to Him.

**Now, begin reading the Bible daily and living according to what the Bible says, as you learn to do so :)

--

Back to the return of Jesus Christ, my LORD and Savior! I hope He is yours, too. If He is not yet, He is willing to be, if you just call on His name and surrender your life to Him. No one knows when the LORD is coming back for His people, as pointed out in the verse above. Here is more of the Scripture:

v. 34) "It's like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.

35) Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back---whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. 36) If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. 37) What I say to you, I say to everyone: 'Watch!' "

- Jesus in Mark 13:34-37 (NIV)

The Day of the LORD

(See 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11)

According to 1 Thessalonians,

verse 2: "for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night."

verse 3: "While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape."

For those of you who are following Jesus:

verse 4):  "But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. 5) You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. 6) So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and SOBER.  9) For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

- 1 Thessalonians 5: 2-6, 9

Those of us who follow Jesus have nothing to fear. The coming of the LORD is soon. Those of us who are followers of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ will go to Heaven with Jesus when He comes to get us :)

Are you ready?

God's Love is All-Consuming, Passionate, and Fulfilling,

Rachel Marie