John 6: 35-37: 35) “Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. 36) But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. 37) All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.”

        In my former life I “hungered” for what the world told me I needed in order to enjoy life. To live freer from my troubles and pains. But I never found that life. I sank deeper and deeper into the hole that I had created. I became more “famished” as I searched for the “food” that my selfishness told me that I had to have. I finally came to the end of my searching, laying at the bottom of my sinful life’s pit.

          But out of His unconditional love, He came to me in order that I could eat His “bread” and drink His “water” from the well that springs forth life. “I am the bread of life” (John 6:48) entered into me and I began to get my strength back. The more that I ate, of His word, the more I began to be filled. “And to know this love that surpasses knowledge---that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:19. “For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.” Psalm 107:9.

          As Christ continues to feed me through His word, my spirit became less dependent on this world, and more on Christ, to take care of my hunger. I began to look more to Jesus, and less on myself in order to be led where I could “eat” the life giving word and so begin living to accomplish the work that He has designed for me before the creation of the world. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” Matthew 5:6.

          The Spiritual food that Christ Jesus was now feeding Me began to fill the true desires laid inside my heart. The desire for peace, hope and joy. I began to have a different outlook on life and began to love others. I took notice of my change, how I was beginning to be “filled.” I began to see Jesus as my sustain-er, the way to everlasting life.

          “You do not want to leave too, do you? Jesus asked the twelve.” (6:67) “Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” John 6:68, 69. So I then began to see what Peter, and the other eleven, saw. The words of Jesus fill my needs for bread because He is the “bread” of life. He is my “Living water.” Through the power, found in His words, has given me a desire to tell others. My inner desire is for others to also be fed, and watered. So that their lives can mirror mine. So that they too may be fed and water, just as I am fed and watered by Christ, through the power of His word, I desire to tell others. So that their lives can mirror mine, and begin to enjoy the peace, hope and joy that I have.

          Christ will, and does, call out to ANYONE to come feed on Him. To come drink from Him, and in so doing become filled with Him. I can NEVER walk too far from his well.

Peeling the layers

        Yesterday, July 26^th, was a taxing day for me. I went for my first evaluation. We went over what we had talked about 7 years ago, and some things that needed to be brought out into the open in order for the healing to start. On the drive home I thought about an onion. The session was like someone peeling an onion, layer by layer exposing each of the layers to the light in order that they can be examined.

          Peeling those layers away was very stressful because they had to be brought out in the light. My past must be exposed in order that the healing and understanding of my disease can take place. I was spent, exhausted by the 2-and-a-half-hour interview. It was on the drive home that my feelings began to flood over me. First hurt, then regret, then sorrow. But hope came in too, along with the knowledge that Christ it walking right alongside of me. There was some disappointment, knowing that it will be at least 6 months before I am able to see and interact with the grandkids. But that is alright because Jesus will use that time to further guide my steps, so that I can walk closer to Him.

          It was times like this, during my incarceration, that the Holy Spirit would make His presence known in my heart. It’s hard to describe the peace that would wash over me. My heart would no longer be tossed and turned by the emotions that this sinful world told me that I should have. There would be rough seas some times. But for the most part I would allow myself to be still and open my heart to the Holy Spirit. Yes, I would have to make a conscience effort to open my heart. Jesus does not do that; we must open the door to our hearts in order that He can come in. And when we do, He is faithful. Coming in and silencing the storms that rage in us. He uses the same power as when He was in the boat.

          All the “dirt” that was dug up yesterday, I felt utterly filthy!!! And, as I said before, many negative thoughts were running thought my mind. But the Holy Spirit was there and came in to remove the curtain, if you will, from between Jesus and myself. His shed blood covered my sins, He again told me that. See, even for believers, there are times when we do feel unworthy to even think about Jesus, to even contemplate, the love He has for us. Our sinful nature gets in the way, clouding our thoughts and casting doubts in our own faith. But peeling the layers off our lives is how we can allow Jesus’s healing to truly begin to work in us and on us. We must remember that all along the way Satan is right there screaming that we are not worthy, our sins are much too terrible for God to forgive us. And we may, for a while, believe that, but the Holy Spirit comes through and silences the devil and his lies, reassuring our hearts that the Father does love us and cares for us more that we will ever know.

          For me peeling away the layers of my sins is the only way that I am going to find a peace. It will be the only way that I am able to deal with my addiction and manage it effectively. It is also how God will use me to express to others the pain and suffering that not only I have gone through, but also my family. I learned yesterday that peeling away any layers of my life is very difficult and painful, especially when my sin will affect my life, for the rest of my life. But peeling away myself also allows my Savior to enter in, in an ever more powerful way. Peeling the layers away will enable myself, or anyone for that matter, to lay naked in front of the Father and allow Him to begin His healing. A healing that many will never experience. But in my healing, our healing, Christ is able to use me to further His kingdom here on earth, giving me the strength and courage to step out of my comfort zone and share with others the amazing, powerful love that Jesus Christ has for not only me, but for ALL that He created!!!

          Peeling away the layers of sin also lightens my “load.” The load that I thought I needed to carry because the world told me I had to, “why would Christ carry anything for you, you are worthless,” was all I ever heard. I now know that Satan was whispering lies into my heart. So as I go further in counseling and treatment, and continue to peel away the sins of a past life, I will grow. Grow in my understanding of the love of Jesus. Grow in my understanding of His plan for me. Grow in my understanding of the gifts that He has graciously given to me to use in order that He is glorified. I will also grow in my understanding that my Savior loves me for who I am because He made me special. Made me to speak of Him and His ways to others in order that they too may gain an insight into His love, power, grace and mercy for them.

          My past, your past, has been wiped clean through the blood that Jesus shed on the cross for us ALL. Yes, it is hard to believe, but that is due to the fact that Satan does not want you to know any of this. He has power over you now and does not want to give that up. That is why he is constantly whispering his lies you’re your ear. But remember that the blood of Christ overcame him in past, when Jesus rose from the grave. And today, giving you the strength and courage to stand up to Satan, and know that the right hand of God is resting on your shoulders, guiding your steps in order that you too may walk in the light of His glory

Joy in the storm

 

 

                1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: 16) “Be joyful always; 17) pray continually; 18) give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

        In today’s world how can we begin to stay continually joyful? Where do we look for joy? In what ways do we find joy? Do you find joy in the work that you do or the ways you live? Does the world affect your day to day, or hour to hour, mood? When times are tough, at work or at home or at school, do you think of praying?

          My circumstances of the last 6+ years were stormy! I have been prison. But Christ was there through it all. Even though my heart, at times ached, my spirit told me that I was in His hands. He was tightly holding on to me. That gave my spirit hope, peace, and joy. My voice, quiet as it was, rejoiced that the Maker of the universe loved me even in my sinfulness and shame. He willingly shed His blood for me, dying to spare me the pain of eternal separation from Him. “But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you.” Psalm 5:11 (NIV).  “Rejoice in the lord always. I will say it again: rejoice! Philippians 4:4 (NIV). Before my incarceration I did take refuge in Christ. He filled my spirit through His Holy Spirit, which allowed me to stay focused on His ways made for me, giving me the strength to praise His name every day. Yes, some days where harder than others but Jesus made His presence known to me in many different ways which encouraged my heart to stay focused on Him, because I was living in the light of His glory.

          Many times the hustle and bustle of this world wears on us, to the point that, at times, we lose hope in our lives. We pass over prayer because we think “That just won’t help me now.” Satan, then, has won another battle in our lives. We have surrendered to his. His lies have infiltrated our minds, again, and we have surrendered in defeat. But allow me to say, prayer DOES WORK!! Allowing yourself to just sit for a moment, quietly, clearing your mind and opening your hearts door so that you hear God’s soft and LOVING voice speak to you, clearing out the debris that litters your heart from all the destruction that Satan has left there. Prayer is the avenue that we have been given, by our Father, to enter into His throne room. Prayer affords us the opportunity to sit at God’s feet as He showers the joy and peace and comfort He so desires to give to His children. Yes, you are His child! He created you. Now you may be saying “Wait a minute! My parents made me!” Yes, they came together at one time, but God the Father created you, and He had designed a gift only for you, even before the earth was created! “Wow, wait a minute.” You are saying that I was thought of before the creation of this earth!! Yes, we all were. So now knowing this, that sheds a whole new light on prayer. No matter your past, and take it from me my past was nothing to write home about, Christ Jesus, being God in human form on earth, showed His love for you and me by going willingly to the cross. So we now see that coming to Him in prayer is easy, and that He desires it, He longs to have us in His presence, because He loves to converse with His children, who are made in His likeness. Prayer opens the doors for us to gain insight into His ways, that He created for us to walk. Prayer opens the way for us to gain peace in times of storms in our lives. Prayer open the way for us to be guided in our walk and be given direction on helping others. Prayer calms our hearts from the troubles we are facing and gives the strength and courage to challenge Satan’s actions that are meant to only derail us and heap on us the burdens of a past we no longer need to carry!! Prayer takes practice, and I have had plenty of time the past 6 years to do just that. For me also, prayer meant getting away from my problems and focusing on the storms in other’s lives. Praying for them ahead of myself. Christ continues to teach me to “die to self” in order that I gain true life in Him. “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” Matthew 7:7 (NIV). “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” Matthew 26:41 (NIV).

          Now I am in a thankful/thanksgiving mode, daily studying the word in order to stay deeply rooted in Christ. With the Holy Spirit in my heart, the peace and joy that I now feel leads me to be always thankful, always giving thanksgiving to Him. Through the God of the universe, my life now is on the path of sharing what He has done in my life. Through words and actions my desire now is to share Jesus with those who are walking in the dark. The strength and courage that I now possess has come through the power of the word. My heart is thankful for the fact that Jesus Christ found me to be worthy to do His work here where I am. I can only be thankful for what He has done not only for me, but what He has done for the world. I try to live my life now in a way that shows others how I am thankful for Christ’s death on the cross. I enter into each day with a thankfulness that today my Father will use me, in a way that I may not see, to bring encouragement to a hurting world. That will be used to bring the light of His glory into the spirit of someone. Someone that the Lord wishes to speak to. “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.”  Psalm 100:4 (NIV). “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.” Colossians 3:15 (NIV). So living with the peace of Christ in my heart, thankfulness and thanksgiving flow from me. Giving back to Him who graciously has given to me. Me, one that did not deserve anything but eternal death. I have been delivered from that, now, so my lips speak words of praise and thanksgiving. Through all this Jesus has calmed the storms inside my spirit, and that has enabled me to share with others the amazing power of Jesus. A power that broke the chains of addiction and pain. The power to break the stone that encased my heart, giving me a heart of flesh that beats with the love of my Father.

          Yes, these changes have occurred because of His healing and transforming power. “Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.” Psalm 143:10 (NIV). So I walk in His ways, guided by His directions. My purpose is to further His kingdom, to tell and show others that the Creator of the universe loves them unconditionally. Their pasts are gone, in God’s eyes, because of the blood that He shed on the cross. Many folks still have the misconception that their pasts somehow effect how Jesus looks upon them. They strive to “do good” so as to be noticed, “Hey there God look at me and what I am doing here!!” Having a heart that is now been transformed by His love, I see that for me to “do” anything is hopeless, and that is not what God is looking for in a follower. Taking the “me” out of the equation and “putting” others first is what He desires. Doing His will, preforming the duties that He has set before us is what brings glory and honor to Him. Allowing Him to guide and direct us, and not getting in the way, enables Him to fulfill His plan. By walking with Him, then, means that He does not need to stop and correct our thinking. He is able to continue on, speaking to others through us, working to fulfil His plan for not only us but the ones we encounter.

Before our conversion, how often were we hungry to find some type of meaningful fulfillment? How often were we thirsty for some type of truth? Our hearts searched endlessly groping in the dark and finding nothing. And what about the times when we did find some type of happiness, only for it to wither away, leaving us empty again? Relationships, cars, boats, houses and jobs…. they came, and went. The false hopes in our sins left us destitute, broken and many times, alone. There were no alternatives left, nowhere to turn, all was hopeless--or so we thought.  But one day the end, if you will, came. We took what we knew, from a place in our hearts we may have never been, and cried out to God, to save us. And out of His mercy, grace, and love He has for us, He reached out and brought us out of the darkness. He led us into His glorious light. He quenched our thirst. “He will drink from a brook beside the way; therefore he will lift up his head.” Psalm 110:7 (NIV).

           Jesus bandaged our hurts. He began to heal our pains. He had brought us through a fire, a refining process. He had taken, and paid for, our sins, He started the ongoing work of changing our hearts. He led us to the well of life, His word, by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in our hearts.  “Therefore with joy will you draw water from the wells of salvation.” Isaiah 12:3 (AB). And so we did, because now we had finally found the joy we had been seeking. We could feel the peace we had longed for. And His word assured us of our salvation. We finally felt accepted, because there is NO condemnation for our past failures or downfalls or sins, going to the “well[s] of salvation,” our sins were separated from us.

          So now we walk, unencumbered by our pasts. Christ has opened our hearts in order for us to see our worth, to Him. And as we continually look into His word, His living water wells up inside us. The “spring” of the Holy Spirit continually waters our souls. Even through our trials and hardships, our desert walk, we will not perish or grow weak. Our faith, with its roots deep into His word, will continually flourish because of the living water inside us. “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” John 7:38 (NIV).

          And so now we have gone from groping around in the dark, to being in the light. We had been lost, but now we we’re found. We had been thirsting in our desert, but we now were being watered continually. And we praise God for the darkness of trials which we can endure because of the light of His Glory in our hearts. For being lost in our sins, in order to fully appreciate the forgiving Power of Jesus’ blood. And our thirst, for its rejuvenating power in us.

          Now that this transformation has taken place in us, the living water of the Holy Spirit begins to flow out of us. Because our lives, actions, attitudes and words changed. The Holy Spirit wells up in us a desire to share this “living water.” We cannot help but want others, in the situations we had once been in, to experience what we have been given. To be obedient to our Father is to share our testimony with the thirsty, the lost, those in the dark. Through the Holy Spirit in us, we desire ALL to come to Christ. So that we may equally share with them the inheritance awaiting us in heaven. Our desire must be to share this living water in us because others are also thirsting the desert of their lives. And since Christ has opened our eyes and ears to see the hurting and hear the pain in their voices, it becomes our desire to water those who need it. The living water that comes from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ flows from us into others’ lives, in order that He may become their Savior also. “But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:14 (NIV).

Encouragement to others

 

 

Ephesians 4:29, 30: 29) “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30) And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”

          Unwholesome talk, could be taken many different ways. And many fight each day to speak positively about people to people. We have opinions of others, but many times our opinions need to stay within us. “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.” Ephesians 4:31 (NIV). As believers growing in our faith, and understanding of the Lord Jesus, our words MUST pass through the filter of the Holy Spirit in us. We must always be aware of the world around us, who, by their very sin nature, listen for words we say to condemn us. To claim we are not as “Holy” as we act.

          “Words from a wise man’s mouth are gracious, but a fool is consumed by his own lips.” Ecclesiastes 10:12 (NIV). So as our understanding expands so must the words we use to express ourselves. The way we treat others will also show our understanding and obedience to the Lord, the one we now live to serve, and please. “But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort.” 1 Corinthians 14:3 (NIV). Our words to others must be ones we have learned from Jesus, through our study of His word. By using His words, we are able to uplift others, healing them with the power of the Holy Spirit who is in those words. Christ gave us examples all through the gospels. So in being obedient in our lives we use His words to help others through the struggles that their sin has led them into.

          “They will tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might.” Psalm 145:11 (NIV). As we speak to others, let our words proclaim His love for them, in order that they may come to an understanding of their status as children of God, how their pasts have been atoned for by the death of Jesus. How we, too, were once blinded by Satan’s lies and deceiving ways, but by accepting Christ the burdens of our pasts, that we had been carrying because we were told that they would never be separated from us, have now been laid at His feet. Our sins have been paid for. We are now able to walk upright and tall because the Savior of ALL has taken the yoke of selfishness and self-centeredness off of our shoulders and put on us His yoke of ease. We now are able to boldly walk in the path He designed for us.

          “Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us; We know it by the Spirit he gave us.” 1 John 3:24 (NIV). Again, as we are obedient in the study of His word on a daily basis, the Holy Spirit comes out of us helping those around us.  By its leading, we speak words of encouragement to others. We love others through our actions toward them. We share Christ with others, through our lives. We show others how Christ walks with us and how we look to Him to guide us through the trials and difficulties that come into our lives. We share with others, them how by daily going to God in prayer our hearts are open to listen to His guiding words. And His power gives us the strength to carry out His plans. We show those who are struggling to walk, in darkness, that accepting the power and forgiveness of a loving Father, they can move out of the darkness of regret and into the light of His mercy and grace.

 

Gift of God

 

 

          Ecclesiastes 5:19,20: 19) “Moreover when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil- this is a gift of God. 20)  They seldom reflect on the days of their life, because God keeps them occupied with gladness of heart.”

          When we read the first part of verse 19, “Moreover when God gives someone wealth and possessions,” do we think of material things? Things acquired by the work of our hands? In context of this verse that is what we may think, but let’s take a moment and think about the words “wealth and possessions” in the spiritual sense. The “wealth” is truly knowing Jesus Christ and the “possessions” is His word in our hearts, filling us with the Holy Spirit.

          1 Chornicles29:12: “Wealth and honor come from you, you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exult and give strength to us.” The wealth is what we receive as we continually give more and more of our heart to Jesus, and His leading, the more honor He will give us through the possession of the Holy Spirit that is in our hearts. The burden of gathering monetary wealth or righting a wrong done to us or looking for what is coming to me, will be lifted. Jesus will take away those feelings. By concentrating on His word and the life He wants us to live, God directs our lives and His hands have the strength to break the chains that bind us, and our hearts, to sin and our sinful ways. So as we are obedient to not only study His word but live our lives as His word leads us, His power exults us and gives us the strength to overcome life’s difficulties. His power exults us because we exult Him and lift up His name for others to see through our words and actions.

          In 2 Chronicles 1:12 God says this to Solomon, “Therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given you. And I will also give you wealth, possessions and honor, such as no king who was before you ever had and none after you will have.” By truly honoring Christ I believe our Heavenly Father could be saying the same to us. We daily gain wisdom and a deeper knowledge of Him, if we go and seek Jesus through the reading of His word and the opening of our hearts in prayer. Wisdom and knowledge are obtained first before blessings are bestowed. Our Father will freely give, but only if we freely give to Him what is due Him, our hearts, minds and souls. And what little we have to give to Him, compared to what He has already, may seem of no importance to us, to God it is tremendous. It shows Him what truly lies on our hearts, and yes, God already knows but He wants to see if we will try to fool Him or honestly come to Him with open hearts. And this through His mercy and grace. At times we are emotionally overcome by the gifts He gives to us, just as we are by the love He has for us. Even though we are not kings, it does not matter to Christ. Our obedience and desire to follow Him is what He asks of us. By setting our hearts on His precepts, and on His ways, He showers us with blessings so we have the “ability to enjoy them.”

          Ecclesiastes 2:24: “A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? To the person who pleases him God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”

          Ecclesiastes 3:13: “That each of them may eat and drink and find satisfaction in all their toil- this is a gift of God.” As each believer begins to honestly “toil” in their understanding of Jesus Christ. And to earnestly follow His ways. The Holy Spirit enters into our hearts and we are spiritually filled with satisfaction. As we draw near to our Heavenly Father we please Him. Through our drawing near, by our continued study of His word, we gain knowledge and understanding. He (God) gives us wisdom, knowledge and happiness. We “eat and drink” in the wisdom of God through the bible. Our “toil” is in the bible studies we attend, the Christian music we listen to and the prayers we pray for others. By “gathering” in His word, we begin to leave the selfishness of our lives behind. Self becomes smaller. Others become bigger. Our “toil” is to show others Christ’s love that He has for all of us, no matter their social status.

          Deuteronomy 12:7: “There, in the presence of the Lord your God, you and your families shall eat and shall rejoice in everything you have put your hand to, because the Lord your God has blessed you.” As we continue to guide others to an understanding of who Christ is, our “hands” are doing His work here on earth. His wisdom and strength is what He gives to us in order that we can “toil.” The knowledge and understanding we gather through His word, and prayer with Him, assists us in our work for Him. Those words strengthen our heart so that we can accomplish our tasks. The gift then is the satisfaction we attain by leading others to Christ so that they too can experience the joy and peace we have by our obedience to Christ Jesus.

                   As we continue to glean a better understanding of how Jesus wants us to live, we better understand how to travel along the road he has set before us. We can then begin to leave the distractions of this world behind. Our focus will begin to be more Christ, on His leading and directions for us. As we give up more of our heart to Him, the less there is for us to concern ourselves with self-interest. John 3:30: “He must become greater; I must become less.” As we give up more and more of “us” and begin to give Christ more and more, our hearts will feel the peace from Christ, the “gift of God.”

The power in us!
 

          One of Jeremy Camp’s latest song, “Same Power” is so powerful. I continue to tear up as I sing along to it. Just think about it, “the same power that raised Jesus from the grave!”

          Just as our Heavenly Father loved Jesus, He too loves us. Many people today do not really think about this. They are too much into the world. Satan has blinded them to what is truly important. Accepting the Savior of the world for one. How many of you out there feel that you are in control? Are you able to successfully live your life and attain all you have set your eyes on? Do you constantly strive to please everyone in your life? Are your walls beginning to seem too tall to climb over?

          I have been there. I was on the run all the time. My heart longed for things that I did not, and could not, attain. I was in a relationship that was smothering me. I played church, going every Sunday and praying and singing right along with everyone else. I was living the BIG MASQURADE!!!! My heart was as cold as stone, because that was what it was made of. My walls kept getting taller and taller, and they soon came tumbling down on me. I was under the debris of what my life had been.

          But the “same power that can calm a raging sea” came into my heart. Jesus, our Savior, smashed the stone that was encasing my heart. What laid underneath was a heart that was flesh! A heart that God had created! A heart that He loved, and wanted for His own. Truly His own. He made my heart, yes, but He allowed me to ‘use’ my heart as I wanted to do, that was the freewill that He put in me, and everyone for that matter. The “same power that moves the mountains when he speaks” has transformed me into what He had predestined from before the creation of the world.

          I am now the transformed son that came back from the pig pen of this world. The transformed son that was met by the Father out on the road, He put a ring on my finger and sandals on my feet. He put His power in me so that His glorious light would shine outward from inside me. Shine His light into the lives of others that I come in contact with, so that they will see Him in me. I live my life now guided and directed by His powerful hand. His love, for not only me but for all the world, flows through me and overflows onto those I am around.

          “The same power that commanded death to wake” has now commanded me to go out into the world and proclaim His love for this world He made. To show others that as I have His power in me I need to share that others can have the same love because Jesus’ desire is for them to also have His love flowing through their hearts. Which brings me the song Lauren Daigle “How can it be.” How can it be that this can be? We worry about our pasts too much. It seems that our pasts and all the trouble that we had is a burden that way too many people carry. How can it be? It can be because Jesus died for you. He willingly went to the cross and died upon it, shedding His blood in order that it would cover ALL of your sins, past/present/future!!!! He covered all of mine, and now I have the same power to become all He wants me to be, so that He is praised and lifted up. How can it be? It can be because He created us, you and me, and desires to have a long lasting relationship with us. A relationship that will enable us to be with Him for eternity in the house He has built for us in heaven. My sins landed me in prison. But the power of OUR Savior went right through the fences and He made His home in my heart. See my past made no difference to the Father, because the blood of our risen Savior had covered the sins of my past. I was made whole, in the Father’s eyes. He no longer saw me as broken and bleeding. In His eyes I was a whole son that He loved me more that I will ever know.

          So see the Father in Heaven loves you too. He desires to have a personal, loving relationship with you. Just as my past is my past, your past the Lord no longer sees. It is separated from you “as far as one scared hand is from the other.” If you are laying in a pile of your shattered life, know that Jesus knows and wishes for you to come to Him and accept his unconditional love! Yes, unconditional love!! Come to Jesus and allow Him to take your pasts off of your shoulders and put them on His. Decide right now to walk unimpeded, walking tall, filled with the power, mercy, grace and forgiving power that only Jesus can offer. I did and my life is now filled with the peace and joy that flows from the heart of our, OUR, Father.

Whisper above the clamor

 

Whisper above the clamor

The clamor of the world today is almost deafening. Both believers and non-believers are bombarded by the trappings of a sinful world. "You need this or you need that" in order to HAVE happiness. The world, and those who live for it, look to the material things, the tangible,"the let me hold it in my hands" things. Not really realizing that these things will eventually disappear or fade away. The non-believer has no peace in their souls or in their lives. They are constantly working at "getting ahead." Looking for the richer life, more luxury, a better something." The ladder of success is never ending. Always calling them higher and higher. And it seems they are in a race, because as fast as they are climbing, someone else is climbing faster. The non-believer has bought into the lies of this world. But if we look closely, we see some believers are under the world's spell also. They have taken their focus OFF of Christ.

So to the one's still focused on Jesus, and are faithful, He calls on them, to lovingly turn ALL who have went astray back to the Father. To show those in internal turmoil the peace of heart Jesus can give. "To shine upon and give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to direct and guide our feet in a straight line into the way of peace." Luke 1:79. Through our lives, Jesus is able to shine onto others. Christ can guide some back onto His path that leads to eternity. Let's think about it. Were we not, at some point in our life, in the same place? Were not our lives in turmoil? Were we not racing alongside others to gain ALL we could? "The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace." Romans 8:6.

The key words in that verse are, "controlled, life and peace." The believer now feels the inner "peace" and is aware that they now have "life" because they have laid aside their agenda and are now "controlled by the Spirit," of Jesus Christ! And because of this life changing experience, they are obedient in sharing with others this change, telling others that they can have this same inner peace and new life. They must express to ALL that Christ does not look to their pasts, but will freely give the Holy Spirit to them to enrich their life now, and in the future, all that is needed is to come to Christ and confess their sins.

"The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace." Psalm 29:11  Knowing first hand of the life changing power, when the Holy Spirit entered into them, believers take time to praise Christ, taking the time to reflect and rejoice that Jesus heard their pleas for help and rescued them from death. So now that rejoicing and praise turns to pleasing work, in sharing the love Christ tells us He has, in His word, for His creation, in the world. Our story of redemption not only helps the non-believer, it will also encourage the follower. The words will not only break through to turn the non-believer form sin, it will also uplift the follower, encouraging him/her to prayerfully ask God to guide, direct and heal them. In order that Jesus Christ will use them more effectively. Submit to God and be at peace with him; in his way prosperity will come to you" Job 22:21.

So as we believers continue to study His word in order to obediently walk in His ways, we will reach out to others, our lives, actions, words will be an example because Christ lives in our hearts and minds. How we handle trials, circumstances and situations will show others the power of Jesus in us. By sharing how Christ has changed us, from our former life, that will show others the power of His shed blood. Our desire must be to continually sow the seeds of His redemptive power. Sow the seeds that show others the love of Jesus and how that love can by theirs! And we can "show and tell" other the inner peace we have, even in the face of our storms and trials. And how that inner peace can be theirs to have also, by trusting in the Lord Jesus and asking for His saving grace!

Take up your cross

Luke 9:23,24 “Then he said to them, whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cress daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever losses their life for me will save it”

                   Giving up, letting go, surrendering ourselves. That is why, at time, our crosses are heavier than at other times because we can’t, or won’t, give it up. It is our refusal of Christ’s help in our lifes. The attitude of “I can do this or that, or I can win over Satan and this sin, only adds to the weight of our crosses.

          To honestly and truly accept Jesus Christ as our Savior in the ONLY way to begin to shed the weight off our crosses. I believe we ALL carry crosses. But when we dive into His word and begin to understand it, we begin to allow God’s way of living to replace our way. We die to self and our selfishness which allows the weight of our crosses to become lighter. Carrying the cross of Christ means we lose a little more of ourselves daily, but we gain a life full of Jesus, where He is the center, the main Person in our hearts.

          Jesus came into the world as nothing. He came to lead by example, to serve. He gave up living in a sinless place to come and live in a sinful world to show us just how much God loves us. Jesus was a slave, it you will, to God His Father following His instructions. “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by Himself, He can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” John 5:19 “By myself I can do nothing, I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me,” John 5:20 Jesus took up the ‘cross’ of obedience to the Father, just as we must take up our ‘cross’ of obedience to Christ Jesus. “Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved y my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.” John 14:21.

          Just as Jesus was naked on His cross, we too must strip away the layers of selfishness and come naked to Christ. Come humbly bared before Christ in order to be clothed in His mercy, grace and love. When we begin to carry our cross of obedience, others may look at it as suffering because they will see us hurting both physically and emotionally because we will be seen as being “beaten down” by those who we have trusted because they do not understand our stance for Christ. We will be different, not of this world. It will be at these times when we fall to our knees, with arms raised up, praying to Jesus Christ so that He can pick us up, like His small child, and hold us tight.

          Truly, “there is no comfortable way to carry our cross of obedience.” But our Savior will be right beside us, to keep us on our feet so that we can move forward advancing another step, and going further down the road He has paved for us to walk on. Even though we will walk through storms and hot dry areas and time of tranquility, Christ Jesus will also be there walking with us. Holding our hands. At His calling out encouraging words, we must keep our hearts and ears open to hear His voice and opening our eyes to look upon His word and understand His teachings. These words, and our understanding, will enable us to maneuver around the worldly objects that bring on the stormy weather, the desert like times. His words will lead us to the peaceful ports and the ‘oasis’ where we can ‘rest’ and be ‘refreshed’ by our Maker, our Savior, our King.

          Let’s look again at Luke 9:23,24. In our daily lives, how often do we die to ourselves? How often do we sacrifice ourselves on the alter? “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and Sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” Romans 12:1. “Walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” We too must offer ourselves daily. Ephesians 5:2. We must start each day in dying to us, in order that we live for Him. “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lops that openly praise His name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others for with such sacrifices God is pleased” Hebrews 13:15,16. As we praise our Heavenly Father, His Son, we place Him ahead of us. We step behind Christ, we ‘die’ then to ourselves and our troubles. We then place ourselves on the cross of “self” in order to die to the one (ourselves) the world says should carry our burdens.

          We literally need to start with outstretched arms—like on the cross. Dying! Giving up! Giving in! By dying daily, we live! We live with Christ in us! By living in Christ we are able to suffer, because Christ walks with us. “For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. Romans 6:6,7. At our acceptance of Christ in our hearts we make the decision to die to self. We nail our ‘selves’ to our old cross and leave it, then begin to carry our new cross—Jesus Christ. To carry our cross daily is hard but as we study His word and begin to meditate on it, carrying our cross will become a desire we full embrace and it will then become easier for us.

          The cross, it is where our sins were forgiven, where His love for us was fully seen and understood. The cross, is what we carry in our obedience, and desire, to follow Jesus. The cross is the object that connects us to Him. As we desire to look to Him for direction and guidance then our cross will not be a burden but a desire we joyfully accept daily.

Confession is needed

1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

       It is never easy to admit that you made a mistake is it. It wasn’t for me. Protecting one’s self from the embarrassment of a wrong committed is utmost in almost all of us. I did because I was more interested in me, than anyone else. Satan lies to us; he says that we are the most important person. The world, powered by the devil, tells us the same thing. It’s all about me!! But then something happens, a bad decision, a job that fell through, the death of a loved one, a spouse that leaves or children that rebel. It is then that “me” seems not to matter anymore. I committed a crime, went to prison, suddenly it was no longer anything about me and all to do with the family left behind. At times like these Christ is heard loud and clear. But the doubt in our heads still echo with the phrase “you are not good enough, you suck! No one loves you anymore, especially Jesus!!!!” I thought this. But then something happened, Jesus spoke to me! I audibly heard His voice! “Todd I love you!” Right then I confessed, I laid it all out before Him. Of course Jesus already knew what I had done. That’s the funny thing, God sees and hears ALL WE DO!!!! He knows before we even say anything to Him. When I confessed, I took the burdens off my back and put them on Jesus’s back. See, Christ has the strength to carry our burdens. Just think, He had the power to get up out of the grave!! For too many years I was carrying the weight of my past, all the sins and missteps and failures. When it got to be too much I collapsed under the weight, I was shattered and utterly destroyed. Confession allowed Christ to come in and take over. I was no longer in charge, but I finally felt free. Free from all my past faults, failures and disappointments. ‘” Only acknowledge your guilt----You have rebelled against the Lord your God, you have scattered your favors to foreign gods under every spreading tree, and have not obeyed me,’ declares the lord.” Jerimiah 3:13 (NIV).

          In my confession, God came into my heart making His home in me. And by doing so the Holy Spirit instilled in me a desire to follow and obey the one Man who died for me on the cross. Jesus shed His blood in order that I could be washed clean. My sins are covered, no longer seen by the Father. I can enter into His throne room and talk with Him face to face. I lay my burdens down at His feet. Satan continues to shout at me but the voice of Jesus now over rides him. Again, confession is a tough thing to do, but the rewards in doing it are so great, so unimaginable. It must be done though, in order for you to find the peace that you have been looking for. The inner peace that only confessing to our Lord and Savior can give. When I laid shattered at the bottom of the hole that I had actually dug, confession was my only option. It was the only thing that would save me. Some might say that it was a leap of faith, yes it was. I did not have a personal relationship with Jesus so I had no idea if He would actually come to my rescue. He did!! And He also brought along forgiveness. He knew that I needed that in order to get myself out of the pit of sin. It was at that moment when Christ lifted me up that I knew His love for me was even greater than I could imagine. Even all the times that I slapped Him in the face because of my sinfulness, He came to me. He ran to me and helped me to my feet. His forgiving me has taught me to now forgive others, to follow what He has taught me through His word about the love I need to show others. The hard thing for the world to see is that Jesus forgives no matter your past, and no matter your present. Like I said His love for you and me is more than we will ever be able to comprehend. “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of god’s grace.” Ephesians 1:7 (NIV).

        Through our confession, and His forgiveness, we are pardoned. Our transgressions are separated from us “as far as the East is from the West.” How far is that? Pretty far! It took me some time before I came to sense this. It was all new to me. Of course I had not been in a situation of breaking the law and heading to prison before either. Anyway, I began to learn, through the study of the bible, forgiveness and pardon went hand in hand. I learned that by being pardoned Jesus looked at me as whole, clean, without blemish. And by my obedience at confessing my sins, and being made whole through the washing of Jesus’s shed blood, now afforded me the knowledge that I was His brother, and a Child of God. Now you may be thinking that what I am writing only happened to me. NO! You too can have this same transformation in your life too, by confessing your sins to Christ you too can become a brother to Jesus and a child of the living God. Yes, the first step is not easy, like I have said before, but doing it will change your life forever, and for the better. My life was in a shambles. And yours may be too, but taking the step of faith may be the only step you have. Christ will meet you where you are now, He will run to you and hold you and comfort you. Allowing Him to change your life will be the best decision you will ever make. Allow Christ to come into your heart now and give you the peace and joy that a pardon for sins, His forgiveness, can give you. “Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our god for he will freely pardon.” Isaiah 55:7 (NIV). “who is a god like you, who pardons sins and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy.” Micah 7:18 (NIV).

Love is a laid down life

1 John 3:16: “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.”

        When Christ came into my life, you could say that scales fell from my eyes, and my heart was torn open. The light bulb went ON inside my head. I suddenly saw Christ for what He did for me. He died for me and the sins that I committed, and the ones that I will commit. The yoke of trying to live by my rules was lifted off my shoulders, freeing me to concentrate on God and what He had for me to do. In doing that I was able to, for once, concentrate on my walk, showing others the changes. Living a life that exemplified my Savior, and what He did in order to free me from the fires of hell. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? Romans 8:35. Before my commitment, I thought Christ was so disappointed in me that no matter what I was not accepted, loved, or able to get back to Him and His love, that I knew He had for others but not me. It took me being completely broken, in order that I was able to actually hear His voice. In that voice I heard the love that He had for me. I learned that this previous verse was true for me. And then through prayers, and listening to His voice during those prayers, I was filled with a desire to tell others who may be in the same boat that I was in, that there is hope in the Lord Jesus. I do not want others to go through what I had. If I can head off a disaster, so that others will not end up as I did, then I have obediently done what the Lord has directed me to do.

          With His love in my heart, now, I understand more and more what Jesus did for me. He did not just die for me, but for the whole world. Now this may be hard to believe for some, and for a time, it was hard for me to fully comprehend also. See God knew what gifts He had for me to use, and at the right time, Jesus allowed the devil to use me, in order that my fall would show me those plans. And that they would have to, for a time, be taught to me away from family and friends. The time that it took, almost 7 years in prison, seemed to quickly fly by. The obedience I lived, made my time there purposeful. I was guided and directed how to treat others and live my life with His light of glory, shining out from me. I also began to have a better understanding of how His sacrifice on the cross redeemed me, took my sins away, washed me. I saw what He did for me and began to believe it. His statement on the cross “It is finished” meant that my sins were separated from me once and for all. Finally allowing that to sink into my mind and heart was VERY liberating. It freed me to finally live for Him, opening the way for His plan, for me, to finally materialize, so that I could use the gifts He had made for me before I was born. “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.” Revelation 1:5.

        Christ’s death on the cross finally made sense to me when I opened my heart to Him. His death allowed me to know without a doubt that He does love me. And that knowledge has allowed me to acquire the joy and peace and happiness that I had so long searched for. I looked at His sacrifice and death in a different light, the light of His mercy and grace. I did not deserve it. I couldn’t get it by what “good deeds” I did, or how often I volunteered at church. Jesus’ death showed me that God loves me and He requests my presence in the Throne Room in order that I continue to walk God’s path for me. To be self-sacrificing, in order to lift others up. Christ’s death, on the cross, allowed His grace to be poured out on the whole world. And as believers our commission is to share that mercy and grace with others. Dying to self in order to lift others up, by our treatment of them. As believers we “die” more and more each day, allowing the healing power of the Holy Spirit to infiltrate our hearts and minds. By doing that our lives take on the power of Jesus Christ so that power can be shared with others we come intact with. “and he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” 2 Corinthians 5:15.

Rescued from Darkness

Colossians 1:13,14: 13) “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14) in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

       Accepting Christ as our Savior brings us into His light. A light that many search for, some for all their lives. A light that exposes our total being, in His light our hearts are laid open. In the darkness we could not see where we were, and our sinful life was leading us to an eternal death of which we did not realize. In His wisdom Christ allowed our sins to trip us up, bringing us down, falling into the hole, we have dug, that utterly destroyed us.

          It is hard to think that God loves us when we lay at the bottom of our hole. But we were created by God and He loves us unconditionally. “You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.” 1 Timothy 5:5 (NIV). Jesus comes to us in our time of need, if we open up our hearts and allow Him to. By finally giving up, by admitting that we are helpless in our ways and utterly weak to change anything, our hearts door opens wide allowing the healing that is needed to flow in, overtaking us with its power and sweeping us into His arms of love and forgiveness. We return to the Father who created us. We enter into His kingdom and inherit a house made for us, and stored, in heaven. We then become aware of the other “children” around us. His children that have also come into the light of His love and mercy and grace. Their lives, like ours, changed forever by the washing in His blood.

          From six calamities he will rescue you; in seven no harm will befall you.” Job 5:19 (NIV). God rescued us from ourselves, if you will. One, we were not living as He had told us to. Two, He had a purpose for us and we were not obedient in following that purpose because we were living as we thought was right, walking along the path of our own making. The path that led us to tumble over our sins, causing us to fall, shattering into a million pieces when we hit the ground. But Christ came, out of His love for us, and healed us. He mended and put us back together as only HE CAN. He picked us up and lovingly embraced us. And we felt His presence in our hearts and we wept, allowing the tears of joy and the peace that we finally found, to wash us clean. By coming to us we finally realize that it is not what we can do that saves us but what He HAS DONE that clears out our transgressions.

          His death on the cross, of which He willingly did, is what clears our sins away. His blood, and the power contained within, is what brings us into His light, as a new person. At our defeat, because of our sins and the power they had on us, we cried out to our Father for help, hoping that He would come. In our minds though, Satan’s lies has us chained to guilt and shame. We just knew that God looked on us as trash, and we were unworthy to call out to Him for help. But Christ did come. He came because He had defeated Satan when He rose from the grave defeating eternal death for us. Satan was defeated in his control over us. Christ picked us up, and we finally knew that His love for us was more than we could ever know. We finally heard His sweet gentle voice, lovingly calling out our names and restoring in us the light that we had thought was extinguished long ago. We now see that what we thought was a power over us was in reality weakness. Through our study of His word we now know that Satan is powerless against Jesus Christ. But Satan’s lies are powerful, to a soul that is weak and sin laden. As we walked on our paths, Satan guided us to our eventual downfall and destruction. But in His love Christ came and restored us to the person that He had created! A person that was designed to accomplish the plan that He had laid out for us at the time the world was created. “to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.” Acts 26:18 (NIV).

          Who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.” Titus 2:14 (NIV). So now we have accepted Christ as our personal Savior and we have been washed in His blood, cleansing us. We are filled with His Holy Spirit and now have the desire to study His word, His map for our lives. And as we study, the power from those words fills us more and more with the Holy Spirit. In order that we look now to Him for guidance and direction in our walk. Our redemption has given us new eyes in which to view Jesus. As the loving Father and Creator that He is. Also through our studies we are continually filled with the knowledge that He walks with us continually, always, never sleeping or slumbering, but always at alert to call out to us to follow Him. And even in our trials and storms, His word assures us that He holds us tightly in His hands never letting go but carrying us through those storms to the other side where His light again will fill our lives and hearts. Instilling in us even greater knowledge of His love and affection for us. So it is that knowledge that we are commissioned to take into the world. Telling others of His unconditional love for them. A love that will never fail no matter what their pasts were. His words of love and kindness must be shouted to all who will hear, so that they may accept Him and receive the healing of the Holy Spirit as we have. Our lives MUST portray the life that Christ commands we live in order that others see and are encouraged to follow Him. Leading them to live that life that the Father has for them to live, so that they too may further His kingdom. Together we can tell others of His power and might. But most importantly His love, mercy, grace and forgiveness for ALL that HE CREATED!!!  

A loving instinct

          Sitting today in Denny’s there was a young couple that came in, they had with them their young child. As I sat there Christ brought to my mind of the love that exists between a mother and her child. She carries a creation inside of her for at least 9 months. She creates a bond with that child that will not be broken. Technically God made the baby inside her, but she carries it. And just as her love for that child will never fade, the same can be said for Jesus and the love He has for us.

          As I sit here now I think about how she will raise that child, with the help of her husband. They will use the technics that they learned from their parents as they raise this little girl. The love this mother has will grow as her daughter grows. There will be disappointments along the way, but for the most part this mother’s love will not diminish as time goes along. Just as God’s love for us will not diminish. His love for us will continue to grow. His voice will always call out to us, beckoning us to walk with Him. Some of us will do just that, while others will walk the path they find less restrictive, freer from what they seem is more restrictive life, by following Jesus. In the future years this child may live a life that will hurt this mother, but the mother’s love will not be broken beyond what she can repair, with God’s help of course.

          My life, and yours too, are much like this little girl’s life. And God is like the mother. We will live our lives, at times, following our own path, going our own way. Our freewill will be deceived into living a life that is contrary to the Father’s way. How many times have we rebelled? How many times have we sulked in the corners of our lives and pouted? How many times have we have stomped our feet in disgust to what our Father has told us? And just as this child’s disobedience will bring about some type of discipline, so will our disobedience bring discipline to us. And just as this mother’s love will forever grow toward her child, so will God’s love toward us grow, no matter what kind of disobedience! This mother will undoubtedly always tell her daughter that she loves her unconditionally, God likewise wishes to say the same thing to us, on a daily basis. But our ears are deafened to His voice, and just like this child, we too will think we know best, then go that way in our lives. That is the sin nature in ALL of us! A nature that is always rebelling against the Lord. A nature that wants to walk our own ways and not His. A nature that wants to continually listen to what this world says.

          This mother love will not abandon her daughter. God’s love for us will not abandon us either. God’s love for us is so much stronger, the bond is so much stronger than anything we can ever imagine. So as a believer of the Lord Jesus Christ it is my commission to further His kingdom. My life, being completely changed by the Lord, now has the desire to share my testimony. Telling, and showing, others how the Lord’s love for me was NOT affected by my disobedience to Him. Through the discipline that came because of my disobedience, I was shown that the Lord loved me unconditionally. I could never walk away from Christ, because He constantly walks with us in ALL we do. No matter what the world tells us, God cares for ALL He creates. Cares enough that He willingly went to the cross, dying for our sins, our disobedience, our sinful ways. That is how much the Lord loves us, and that love NEVER grows weak or leaves us. Now it is hard for some to believe this, because the world is so ingrained in their lives that the voice of Jesus is drowned out. Their lives believe the lies of Satan, the mistruth that he wants ALL to believe. Know that the creator of this world loves you and will always love you no matter what. Know that the love God had for His Son raised Him from the grave, and that same power can do the same for you. All you need is just to believe that and then confess your sins. Just admit that you are helpless to live a life worthy to save you from eternal separation from Christ. By letting God come into your heart, your life is then in His hands, your future will be with Him for eternity. I allowed Jesus Christ into my heart and take the burdens of my past off my shoulders and lay them at His feet. I pray that you will allow Jesus to come into your hearts and allow His healing power to overcome you and heal you completely.