Posted by: the warrioress | July 26, 2014

Are We Doing This Right?

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I ask myself this question pretty much daily, in regard to Christianity.

“Am I doing this right?”

I believe it boils down to personal instinct/opinion. We read and interpret the Holy Bible, the instruction book of our faith. We try our best to grasp the overall bigger picture –instead of getting bogged down in the nuances and particulars, and missing the forest for the trees. In the end, all we have to go on are our own internal guts, but if we are truly born again, we have the mind of Christ.

 

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My mind and soul tells me loud and clear when something’s wrong. I trust the promise that when I became a new creature in Christ, God gave me a new mind, a spiritual mind, a mind led by the Holy Spirit. I can ask myself anything, using the measuring stick of “what would Jesus do?”

 

 

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In reference to anything I wonder about, I can be assured that Jesus already addressed how we are to love and behave as people who follow Him, who are born again. Jesus already expressed this in the Holy Bible.

Jesus is our example in that Bible.

We are not living under the weight of the law any longer, we are living under the law of LOVE, of “love thy neighbor as I love myself.” If my actions don’t exhibit that kind of love, I am doing whatever it is wrong. Period.

Sure enough! Yes, it really is just that simple. There is no need to make it complicated.
Take any political issue out there — yes, anything. Is the behavior expressed loving toward all concerned? If it isn’t, it’s wrong, so fix it.

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God made following Jesus very simple, because the old ways of “an eye for an eye,” and heavy handed rules that no one could manage didn’t work. When we master loving ourselves and others like Jesus does, we’ll have it right. Until then, how does what your doing, saying, or acting like look when comparing it to what Jesus would do? If you can’t perceive of Jesus murdering innocents in cold blood, or greedily demanding money for Himself while the child in front of Him is starving, then get a clue!  If Jesus wouldn’t do something a certain way, why are you doing it that way? Jesus already showed and told you and I how to behave in this life.

If Christians really try to be like Jesus, people won’t go around noting that alleged Christians act the least like Him.

Some of us, many of us, have completely wandered off that very narrow road of love and are walking on the worldly highway of hate. Wake up. Now, please. Please.

If this is your state of being…wake up now. You have fallen and you can’t get up. Get back to the narrow road that Jesus walked.

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Posted by: the warrioress | July 22, 2014

On Vacation in New Braunfels, TX

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I’m so grateful that God has seen fit to allow my daughter and I to go on a mini-vacation where we are staying in a lovely riverfront condominium. We’ve been dining out, swimming, hot-tubbing, sleeping late, and exploring the grounds here.

 

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I’ve been in the river and it was breath-taking cold, but in this heat, refreshing! My daughter is having so much fun going out for late evening swims and soaks. We plan to explore the town a bit tomorrow afternoon after some hot coffee. We are very blessed to have this well-needed break.

The only thing that continues to weigh very heavily on my mind is the unceasing and needless loss of valuable human life due to the fighting between Israel and Gaza. This upsets me greatly. I have spent time begging God to intervene before more children and innocent civilians are murdered; this war causes me anguish and I hate it. May this awful travesty stop soon. It grieves my heart and the heart of our Lord to watch what human beings are constantly doing to one another.

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Posted by: the warrioress | July 16, 2014

Do We Complicate Christianity?

People love to complicate Christianity. Jesus gave direction that was not complex, if one was open to it with a sincere heart. Ed explores how we can complicate something that is really quite simple.

efchristi's avatarEd Christian's World

In my post “The Simple Life” I showed how prayer is a two-way street. That when God speaks to us we should be listening to what He has to tell us. We have learned to pray as Christians but have we learned to listen?

In my post “Two Ways To Live” I wrote how we have the choice to be positive or negative in our life and our choices determine who, what and why we are who we are.

I followed up with my post “The Silver Lining” where I tried to show our every thought, word and deed is tied to our relationship with God and how close He watches over us.

Now let me try to bring it all together. We as Christians believe Jesus died for our sins and that the Bible is God’s Word. We have faith that what God promises will happen and hope that…

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Posted in bible, Christianity, God, inspiration, life, Love, people, personal, religion, religion and spirituality, spirituality | Tags: , , , ,

Posted by: the warrioress | July 14, 2014

God & Racism

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I was stunned to find out that a friend/long time acquaintance of mine is racist.

I posted a political quote by President Obama on my Facebook page and this friend commented that President Obama needed to be impeached. From there things went from bad to worse:

My Friend: “IT’S TIME TO TAKE THAT NIGER OUT OF OFFICE!!”

I was sincerely blown away. Never have I been exposed to blatant, in my face racism like that before, by someone that I had been close to, whom I liked. It made me embarrassed for him; it made my heart hurt.

I thought about God…about what Jesus thinks about this — hating other people because they differ from us physically, their skin color, their ethnicity:

Galatians 3:28 ESV. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

John 7:24 ESV. “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”

Romans 10:12 ESV. “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on upon him.”

1 John 2:9 ESV. “Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness.”

James 2:9 ESV. “But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.”

Romans 2:11 ESV. “For God shows no partiality.”

 

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I regularly read right-wing opinion pieces to try and understand the perspectives of those with whom I differ, and I see a lot of this blatant racism, but those people are virtual strangers in my life.

What is even more daunting is to see the hatred and racist commentary spewing out of the keyboards of people who claim to be following Christ. I haven’t quite grown accustomed to seeing hatred and rage flung about so callously by those who proclaim Jesus. I know there is something terribly wrong with that picture, but how can so many, many people think they are good Christian people and in truth they don’t act as if they belong to The Father at all; they never knew Him!

At the very least, they are mired in sin and don’t even realize or know it. I am going to pray for these people and for my racist friend, but this ugliness confuses me — these individuals think their behavior is perfectly fine in the eyes of God. How can they be so blind?

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Posted by: the warrioress | July 9, 2014

Just Jesus

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“Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12

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“There is none other, no other way, no other hope, no other ground of trust, no other refuge. There I see the gate of heaven, and if I must enter it, I must creep on my hands and knees, for it is a low gate; there I see it, it is a strait and narrow one, I must leave my sins behind me, and my proud righteousness, and I must creep in through that wicket. Come sinner, what sayest thou? Wilt thou go beyond this strait and narrow gate, or wilt thou despise eternal life and risk eternal bliss? Or wilt thou go through it humbly hoping that he who gave himself for thee will accept thee in himself, and save thee now, and save thee everlastingly?” – Charles Spurgeon

 

 

– See more at: http://god.com/top-100/86-acts-412/#sthash.byMMz9Fy.dpuf

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Posted by: the warrioress | July 4, 2014

On July 4th

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This country’s flag is flying high, lit up against the summer night sky.
We are grateful for the brave men who fought and died,
On Fourth of July, the nation’s Pride, Independence Day.
Oh God, we do pray,
Bless our land, the home of the free, land of the brave.
Thanks to those who were unafraid, whose hearts they gave,
So we could worship as we choose — where none can refuse each American’s personal religious belief.
No one must ever take this right away,
For I think we would die, yes even today…
For the freedom and right to bend our knees and pray,
To live as our forefathers saw best, at peace they will rest,
Because we will live free — there is simply no other way to be.

 

 

 

By Adrienne, the warrioress
Copyright July 4, 2014, all rights reserved

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Posted in Christianity, family, Fourth of July, God, life, Patriotism, people, Politics, religion | Tags: , , , , , ,

Posted by: the warrioress | July 2, 2014

Do You Do This?

 

Do you pass around political lies and slander on the internet?

Do you share absolute untruths with others on Facebook and claim these tidbits of maliciousness are valid researched truth?

Do you hate the President of the United States of America so much that you find reason to slander him publicly on a regular basis through the internet, via social media, or in person?

Do you consider yourself to be a “follower of Jesus Christ?” A Christian?

What does the Word of God, the Holy Bible, tell us about this kind of behavior and these kind of unloving actions taken by foolish men and women who claim Christianity?

“I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak,” Matthew 12:36

“The one who conceals hatred has lying lips, and whoever utters slander is a fool.” Proverbs 10:18

“Whoever slanders his neighbor secretly I will destroy. Whoever has a haughty look and an arrogant heart I will not endure.” Psalms 10:15

“Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.” James 4:11

“To speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.” Titus 3:2

“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” Exodus 20:16

“You shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with a wicked man to be a malicious witness.” Exodus 23:1

I do believe it’s time to repent and change your tune.

If this shoe fits….kick yourself with it.

 

“Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, from the throng of evildoers, who whet their tongues like swords, who aim bitter words like arrows, shooting from ambush at the blameless, shooting at him suddenly and without fear.” Psalms 64:2-4

“But no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.” James 3:8

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Posted by: the warrioress | June 30, 2014

Cry Out To Jesus

 
Lyrics:

To everyone who’s lost someone they love
Long before it was their time
You feel like the days you had were not enough
when you said goodbye

And to all of the people with burdens and pains
Keeping you back from your life
You believe that there’s nothing and there is no one
Who can make it right

There is hope for the helpless
Rest for the weary
Love for the broken heart
There is grace and forgiveness
Mercy and healing
He’ll meet you wherever you are
Cry out to Jesus, Cry out to Jesus

For the marriage that’s struggling just to hang on
They lost all of their faith in love
They’ve done all they can to make it right again
Still it’s not enough

For the ones who can’t break the addictions and chains
You try to give up but you come back again
Just remember that you’re not alone in your shame
And your suffering

When your lonely
And it feels like the whole world is falling on you
You just reach out, you just cry out to Jesus
Cry to Jesus

To the widow who struggles with being alone
Wiping the tears from her eyes
For the children around the world without a home
Say a prayer tonight

Words by Mac Powell / Music by Third Day / ©2005 Consuming Fire Music / ASCAP. All rights administered by EMI CMG Publishing. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Behind the Song:
‘We have come a long way since we first started, and have been through a lot as both individuals and as a band during the 11+ years we’ve been together. We have grown from young bachelors with hardly a care in the world into happily married ‘mature’ men with many children and responsibilities. The one thing that I have grown to realize is that not only do I have more burdens and responsibilities, but I am able to see and understand how others have the same burdens and trials. When you are younger, you know that they are there, but you can’t fully understand their impact until you are older. As a band, we have had many friends and family who have experienced significant hardships and loss over the past couple of years…so a song like this was a natural extension of what we have been going through. In each verse of Cry Out To Jesus, there are specific people in my mind… when I sing each line…they are directly connected with someone I know. My hope is that you are able to also connect personally to each verse through your own experiences. Not only do we all know these people, but we are these people. In those times of trial, I hope that we can remember we can find our strength, peace and hope when we cry out to Jesus.’ –Mac Powell (Third Day)

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Posted by: the warrioress | June 27, 2014

When We Die In Christ

Donald passed away after midnight, Tuesday/Wednesday morning.  He always was a night owl that would stay up all night until the wee hours.  My daughter and I are just like him …all night owls.

Where is my best friend, Donald, now? What does the bible tell us about what happens when we die before Jesus returns?

Gotquestions.org tells us the following:

“Eventually, the body of the believer in Christ will die. What happens then? The spirit of the believer goes to be with Christ (2 Corinthians 5:8). The believer does not become an angel. It is interesting that both Elijah and Moses were recognizable on the Mount of Transfiguration. They had not transformed into angels, but appeared as themselves—although glorified—and were recognizable to Peter, James and John.

In 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Paul tells us that believers in Christ are asleep in Jesus; that is, their bodies are dead, but their spirits are alive. This text tells us that when Christ returns, He will bring with Him those who are asleep in Him, and then their bodies will be raised, made new like Christ’s resurrected body, to be joined with their spirits which He brings with Him. All believers in Christ who are living at the return of Christ will have their bodies changed to be like Christ, and they will be completely new in their spirits, no longer having a sin nature.

All the believers in Christ will recognize one another and live with the Lord forever. We will serve Him throughout eternity, not as angels, but along with the angels. Thank the Lord for the living hope He provides for the believer in Jesus Christ.”

Source:  http://www.gotquestions.org/become-angels.html#ixzz35tgccUlQ

See you one day soon, Donald! I will miss you, but I know you are safe with Jesus Christ. Until we meet again, my dearest friend…

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Posted by: the warrioress | June 22, 2014

Just Sad

A close personal friend of mine had a massive stroke about twelve days ago now. The stroke left him unable to communicate at all and doctors think he’s also blind. He’s unresponsive, or so I’m told.

Don played so many different roles in my life.

Friend, beau, best friend, father figure, and finally as he’s been aging: someone for me to look after, protect, and care for.

I’m not a blood relative so I guess I don’t “rate” but Don’s wishes do.. or did.

My best friend has been removed from my life and the life of my teen daughter. Nevertheless, he’s in all of our family portraits and photos from the time she was just a baby. He was as close as family can be and in my case, closer.

We haven’t been allowed to see Donald in seven days or more and may never be able to see him again. We no longer have any control over what happens to Don. We thought the paperwork was in order; unfortunately, my endless warnings to Donald went unheard while he was in moderately good health.

All we can do now is mourn and look on at various events in shock, bewilderment, and sadness. All I’ve been able to do is wake up and try and get through the day, striving impossibly to fill the empty places that Donald has left in our house, our daily living experience, our lives.

My daughter and I are terribly sad and this is why I haven’t been writing.

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