AS a teenager, I used to sing a chorus at Youth for Christ city-wide rallies :

Something beautiful, something good
All my confusion, He understood
All I had to offer Him was brokenness and strife
And He made something beautiful out of my life.

My family and I had dinner at a Christian owned café which employs almost all autistic staff except the owner and the chief chef. Each staff member had been given a niche role in the café, after several months of training in rotational assignments, from floor sweeper, assistant in the kitchen, bus boy and the ultimate role of serving and interacting with customers – taking orders and ensuring good customer service and cashier.
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We had the best service, where staff served out of sincerity and quiet confidence and did their best to meet all our service requirements – thank you, may I help you?, may I clear the table? Enjoy your meal! Can I top up your drink? How was the soup? Sorry to keep you waiting (when the main dish was served with a slight delay because the café was full and there were others waiting to come in) Would you like to order desert? Thank you for waiting,

Here’s the bill – there is no Goods and Services Tax, and no Service Charge.

The confidence, the pride in delivery, the courtesy – they all deserved the missing Service Charge! Yes they were worth more than 10%. They served as chef, as order-taker, food server, crew for clearing the tables, as cashier and as public relations customer service providers.

Let us support those who are helping and encourage those social enterprises which are really making lives worth living and excel, which others have given up on.

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done [it] unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done [it] unto me. Matthew 25:40

The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. Matthew 11:5

Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? Matthew 21:42

Jesus was rejected and crucified by the Jews, became an atonement for the sin of the world. He was raised again from the dead, a proof of his conquest over death and sin, and a pledge of immortality to his followers.
He became the foundation on which the salvation of mankind rests, and the corner stone which unites Jews and Gentiles, beautifies, strengthens, and completes the whole building, as the head stone, or uppermost stone in the corner does the whole edifice. He is hereby rendered the object of the joy and admiration of all his followers and the glory of man. This was done by the Lord, and is marvellous in our eyes.

To the rejected, Christ represents hope and when He is accomplished in their lives, we can only say “the Lord has done it, and it is marvellous in our eyes.”

Let us be loving and kind one to another, give others a chance.

http://strongholdsmashers.com/bible/free-from-a-stronghold-of-condemnation/

No matter how much we repent we are still subject to sin as long as we live on earth in our earthly bodies. This is not science fiction. It’s a scriptural fact. If we sin, we are condemned.

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. 1John1:8
Even if we isolate ourselves from the entire world, as some groups do, we can’t avoid sin, temptation, or sinners. In fact, Jesus commanded His disciples [us] to go among sinners. We can’t separate sinful flesh from spirit. But we do have a responsibility to resist the temptation to sin.

An isolated person or group won’t help those in prison, or those who live on the streets, or who are lost, to see the love of Jesus. Self righteous judgment harbors a spirit or stronghold of condemnation. Not ministering to the hopeless or homeless is just as much a sin as any other.

Jesus didn’t separate himself nor did he tell us to separate ourselves. If we are separating ourselves from the world in order to stay pure [free from condemnation] it’s not going to happen.

The internet is filled with all sorts of temptations to sin. Life [in the flesh] itself is filled with all sorts of temptation to sin. So, what’s the answer. How can we be sure we are free from the stronghold of condemnation?

6 Biblical tips to break condemnation:

1. Don’t judge. Really. Don’t judge a sinner in their sins. If you do, God will judge you by your own measure.

Romans 2:1-29 Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. 2We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things.

2. Follow the commandments. If you are truly in Christ you will turn from your sins.

1 John 3:6 Those who live in Christ don’t go on sinning. Those who go on sinning haven’t seen or known Christ.

3. Cleanse yourself by the renewing of your mind in Christ.

John 5:26-29 The Father is the source of life, and he has enabled the Son to be the source of life too. 27“He has also given the Son authority to pass judgment because he is the Son of Man. 28Don’t be surprised at what I’ve just said. A time is coming when all the dead will hear his voice, 29and they will come out of their tombs. Those who have done good will come back to life and live. But those who have done evil will come back to life and will be judged.
1 John 3:9 Those who have been born from God don’t live sinful lives. What God has said lives in them, and they can’t live sinful lives. They have been born from God.

4. Crucify the flesh daily. That is, make a daily commitment to follow Christ and turn from [fleshly desires] sin.

Matthew 26:41 All of you must keep awake (give strict attention, be cautious and active) and watch and pray, that you may not come into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Galatians 5:24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus (the Messiah) have crucified the flesh (the godless human nature) with its passions and appetites and desires.

5. Don’t continue associations with false Christians.

1 Corinthians 5:9-11 In my letter to you I told you not to associate with people who continue to commit sexual sins. 10I didn’t tell you that you could not have any contact with unbelievers who commit sexual sins, are greedy, are dishonest, or worship false gods. If that were the case, you would have to leave this world. 11Now, what I meant was that you should not associate with people who call themselves brothers or sisters in the Christian faith but live in sexual sin, are greedy, worship false gods, use abusive language, get drunk, or are dishonest. Don’t eat with such people.

6. Relax in knowing that, following Jesus is a daily commitment like any marriage. But it is also a life of celebration from the freedom of death caused by sin.

Romans 8:1 THEREFORE, [there is] now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live [and] walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit.
Proverbs 16:6 Unfailing love and faithfulness make atonement for sin. By fearing the Lord, people avoid evil.

• (Genesis 3: 15) The fall … in the garden of the Eden (The original sin)
• (Genesis 6: 5) …the imagination of the thoughts of his heart was evil continually…
• (Genesis 8: 21) … the imagination man’s heart was evil from his youth.
• (Psalms 51: 5) … in sin my mother conceived me, (born in sin)
• (Psalms 58: 3) …the wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray as soon as they are born speaking lies.
• (Jeremiah 17: 9)… heart is deceitful…
• (Ecclesiastes 9: 3) …the heart of the sons of men is full of evil.
• (Isaiah 55:8) “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are my ways your ways”, says the Lord.
• (John 7:7) … the world hates me because I testified to it that its works are evil.
• (John 3:19) … and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
• (John 3: 20) …for everyone that does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, for fear that his deeds should be exposed.
• (Romans 5: 19) … for by one man’s disobedience (Adam) many were made the sinners.
• (Romans 5: 21) … sin reigned in death… (the sinful nature)
• (Romans 7: 5) … when we were in sin…
• (Romans 7: 9, 10) …I was alive once without the law but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.
• (Ephesians 2:3)… we had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind: and were by nature to children of wrath.

Do you see what the Word of God says about man? Do you see why fallen man need’s a Saviour? The language of the Bible doesn’t paint a pretty picture of man without Christ. Take time to see what God says about fallen man. Leave human opinion out of the picture. Let God’s Word have the final say so. Ponder the Truth. Be a good judge of the language of the Bible. See what God shows you.

Sometimes life happens, and supper as planned is not happening. Or it is going to be a really busy week. Or the refrigerator decided to die…goodbye food. Whatever the case may be, sometimes it is great to be able to drive in to a fast food place, and order what you want, and be on your way in minutes. Why, because it is fast and easy.

God on the other hand is not like fast food! Do you ever wonder why God won’t just take away what is troubling you? Or why God seems to be so slow to answer a prayer, or bring about the change needed in your life or someone else’s? I need this God…right now please.

Why in the world can’t God be like fast food? You know…fast?

We live in a culture where everything is fast, at least a lot of us do. I am guilty of this fast paced life quite often. The microwave is not fast enough, the traffic light takes to long, and for sure my computer is too slow! I work with computers and the Internet for a living, so I always want the customer’s computer to work faster. The point here is that we tend to want everything to be fast, right now…what do you mean I have to wait? Young people today are especially bad this way, not all but many, (remember I pointed the finger at myself first)

God does not work fast, not normally anyway. I wish God would make many things happen faster, but God works in His time, not mine. God’s ways are not my ways, thankfully.

Lets look at some reasons why God does not do “insta-fix”,

1. Patience, God wants us to learn this. God’s Word tells us that lack of patience is a sin. Things done in haste without proper planning and thought often don’t work well.
2. Appreciation, if things are just handed to us for free, we don’t tend to appreciate them. If however we have to put some effort into things, then we appreciate them.
3. Learning our lessons, if life’s troubles are all fixed for us, (like the parent who mistakenly steps in to “fix” everything for their child) we don’t learn anything. God gives us the tools, shows us how to use them, and then we need to put in the work, this way we learn and the lesson sticks with us.
4. Character building, the fastest way I know of to build character is to go through some trials in life and come out on top having learned some valuable lessons.
5. Teaching moments, how can we teach and model what we have not experienced?
6. God’s Glory, if we have suffered through adversity in our lives of any kind, and have through the experience become better Disciples of Christ, this glorifies God.
7. God’s love for us, as His children, God wants the best for us in everything. God says we must be patient, therefore He is not going to do “insta-fix”. He is not going to just step in and take care of it, we need to fall down and hurt ourselves on occasion and then call out to our Father for help. We do the same for our kids, why would we think God would do any different? Just where do you think wise parenting started anyway?
8. Our love for God, as we go through life and experience all manner of things, especially the negative events in our lives…we move closer to God. After all…if life was always good, would you call out to God as much or need Him…honestly?
9. Choice, we have two options in our trials, embrace God and do what He tells us to in order to bring about healing, or we can go our own way and hope things work out. Choosing God’s way is always best, make no mistake…God is watching how we choose. God wants those that choose Him and His ways and put aside the world’s ways.
10. Obedience, God desires our obedience…if everything in life was given to us without cost on our part, or our mistakes were all nullified with no effort on our part…why be obedient? After all, Daddy would just fix everything, so go ahead and do whatever you want. There are no consequences, so why worry? If however there are consequences for our actions, we learn to obey God, and therefore avoid those unpleasant negative consequences.
11. Our wills, God gave us a will. So…we want to be in charge, it’s only human. Problem…God wants our wills to be in submission to His. Read the above reasons why God does not do “insta-fix”…they are how we learn to submit our wills to His. God’s will is always better than ours!
12. Allegiance, God wants our total and complete allegiance to Himself, no other. Total commitment to our God. If you have lived life with Christ for any length of time, then you have hopefully learned that Christ is the answer to the problem; any problem, at any time, in any place, in any circumstance. God wants us to choose Him by our own free will, not because He made us do so. Willing allegiance to God is powerful, forced allegiance would be no allegiance at all.
13.  Dependence, God desires that we be dependent on Him, not ourselves. Why? Because we as human beings have only limited vision, our vision is not all inclusive like God’s is…so we need to depend on Him even when things make no sense at all, especially when things make no sense. When your human brain and heart can make no sense of what is happening in your world…God can make perfect sense out of it, trust Him!
14. Growth, if we are to grow in any meaningful, substantial way…it takes time and life lessons. We don’t come to Christ as mature believers, we come as babes and progress through teaching, life experience, mistakes, and often yes…lessons learned the hard way.
15. Wisdom, God desires us to obtain wisdom and not be foolish. Only through life experience combined with our learning of God’s ways do we attain wisdom. Very few are wise at a young age, although they think they are. (I was guilty of this!)

God is much more like that meal that takes all day to make! Actually, we are that meal, and God is the Chef. Let God prepare you properly, so that when you step into eternity, you will hear, “well done good and faithful servant”.

gth                                                                                                                                                    2/22/12

Alone among earthly creatures, humans have the ability to think, to reason, to plan ahead, to make complex decisions, to analyze and to love as no other creature can love.

We can never attain the full character of God. We are human, mortal, after all. And we are tainted by the Sin of Adam.

One aspect of our faith that many of us struggle with is “Free Will.” How can an all-knowing, omnipresent, timeless God know our destiny and at the same time give us Free Will?

God wants us to come to Him not because we have no choice, but willingly. And this is the very basis of Free Will.

We too often confuse “Free Will” with the ability to make decisions. We make decisions in virtually everything we do. “Paper or plastic?” “Fries with that?” These are examples of the very trivial decisions we make all the time.

Much more important and life-impacting decisions are “Whom shall I marry?,” “What career shall I follow?,” or “Will I have children?”

When we dig down a bit, all of the decisions and the thousands of others we make each week are or should be influenced by our personal relationship to God.

However, the exercise of “Free Will” comes down to only one basic decision.

“Do I accept and love Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior?”

“If you love Me, you will follow My commands.”

When we truly accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior we become “a new creation.” Our hearts are changed, our minds (and decision-making processes) change. All of our decisions, whether major or trivial, are driven to glorify the Father and the Son. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is guiding everything that we do.

So, Free Will is really not some mysterious, complicated concept. Its simple!

Accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

If you truly do, the rest will follow.

If you don’t well, you’re on your own.

My sincere thanks to Bruce who brought me this ah-ha moment!

Shalom,
Art
Alive in The Word

While the following statements are paraphrased, their meaning is right on.

A single priest stood to confront Hitler. ‘Herr Hitler, we are not worried about our souls, for we know we are saved. It is the soul of our nation that we worry about.’

The silence of the assembled clergy behind him was deafening.

Seeing his opportunity, Hitler responded: ‘You may worry about the souls of people. I will take care of the soul of Germany.’

We know the result. Not only this assembled group, but people throughout the world stayed silent.

Nations do not have souls. They have history, cultures, values. Those are the things that determine a nation’s stance and status in this world.

Here in the US and throughout the world countries founded on Christian values, and Christianity itself, are under relentless attack. Revisionist history, international migration are having their impact. Materialism rules.

Each of us must prayerfully consider what we will do to counter these things.

But there is one thing that nearly all of us have the privilege of doing:

Shalom,

Art

Psalm 91:4

He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection.

http://strongholdsmashers.com/bible/free-stronghold-bullying/

We all hear about atrocities that are occurring in our school systems, society, and social gatherings in the US. Every time we encounter hate, rage, harassment, violence, irrational coercion, or verbal abuse repeatedly we can be sure that bullying is most likely at its core.

Definition: Bullying is an act of repeated aggressive behavior in order to intentionally hurt another person, physically or mentally. An individual behaving in a certain way to gain power over another person.

A host of bullying may or may not have been abused as a child. But there is a good chance that somehow the host learned to get his or her way by force or coercion at an early age. For example, a bully host whether male or female will even threaten a parent.

The bully host will insist on compliance or else–with the intent to cause physical harm, verbal harm, refusal to comply to parental guidance, division, chaos or much more in the life of the target. In this case, a parent. If left unaddressed, a bully may carry a stronghold of bullying to school and continue on through adulthood. Essentially in every area of life.

The values that a host of a stronghold of bullying assumed, or was taught, are not of God and certainly not what Jesus Christ taught us in his Word.

Bullying has stalked our nations for generations. It demands a right to power and will do whatever it can to grab that power. Fascism, socialism, Islamic government, communism, and other forms of government may have some aspects of bullying in its governing in order to hold its power. If bullying is a stronghold in its leaders, these governing powers may even deny its citizens a right to object or to vote.

5 Biblical tips to overcome bullying:

1. Be self-aware. Are you coercing? Are you gossiping? Are you using threats to get your way? There is no love in threatening. Instead point out consequences of wrong choices. If you are irrational or selfish in getting your way, more than likely you are a bully.

Proverbs 3:30-32 Don’t walk around with a chip on your shoulder, always spoiling for a fight. Don’t try to be like those who shoulder their way through life. Why be a bully? “Why not?” you say. Because God can’t stand twisted souls. It’s the straightforward who get his respect.
Proverbs 22:8 Whoever sows sin reaps weeds, and bullying anger sputters into nothing.

2. If you are the host of bullying, stop. Repent and learn the way of Christ.

1 John 2:9 Whoever says he is in the Light and [yet] hates his brother [Christian, born-again child of God his Father] is in darkness even until now.
Romans 12:18 If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

3. If you are being bullied, seek help. Is there someone who can defend you, or advise you according to God’s will?

Titus 1:7 This is because supervisors should be without fault as God’s managers: they shouldn’t be stubborn, irritable, addicted to alcohol, a bully, or greedy.
Proverbs 22:10 Drive out the scoffer, and contention will go out; yes, strife and abuse will cease.

4. Pray, choose, and vote wisely. Whenever possible, if you have been bullied by a friend or family member, keep a distance or get help. If you have been bullied by a boss, change employment or seek help. If there is an area you frequent where you are bullied, avoid that area. Vote according to God’s will. Get to know the consequences of your choices and what you can do to avoid being bullied now and in the future.

Isaiah 3:12 “Skinny kids terrorize my people. Silly girls bully them around. My dear people! Your leaders are taking you down a blind alley. They’re sending you off on a wild-goose chase.”
Psalm 73:6-10 Pretentious with arrogance, they wear the latest fashions in violence, Pampered and overfed, decked out in silk bows of silliness. They jeer, using words to kill; they bully their way with words. They’re full of hot air, loudmouths disturbing the peace. People actually listen to them—can you believe it? Like thirsty puppies, they lap up their words.

5. Be patient. Positive change doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time, wisdom, and commitment to deal with bullying of any sort.

Romans 12:12 Rejoice and exult in hope; be steadfast and patient in suffering and tribulation; be constant in prayer.
Galatians 6:9 And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint.

Somedays you feel you just cannot win, when everything you touch turns awry in the face of frontal attach from the enemy.  ”When the devil tries to remind you of your past…you can just remind him of his future.” – Cal Pierce

That is where regrets come from …the devil wants to remind you of the past to freeze you in the present.

Don’t let that happen as the devil is the father of lies as he tells you “you are not good enough”, “you failed before and you can fail again”, “God does not care as he has so many others to care for”.

STOP! The devil was kicked out of heaven and is headed for hell. You don’t want to follow him there!

For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is God’s mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us. Psalms 103:11,12

The past is forgiven and there is hope today for “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalms 118:24

Today is the day of salvation from your past. For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succored thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. Corinthians 6:2.

Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long. For surely there is an end; and thine expectations shall not be cut off. Hear thou my son and be wise, and guide thy heart in the way. Proverbs 23:15-19

Let thy mercies come also unto me, O Lord, even thy salvation, according to thy word. -So shall I have wherewith to answer him that reproacheth me: for I trust in thy word. And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth; for I have hoped in thy judgment. So shall I keep thy law continually for ever and ever. – And I will walk at liberty; – for I seek thy precepts. – I will speak of thy testimonies also before kings, – and will not be ashamed. – And I will delight myself in thy commantments, which I have loved – My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments, which I have loved, – and I will meditate on thy statutes. Psalms 119:41-48

Jesus said “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day; the night cometh, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” John 9:4-5… Yes, let us walk in His liberty and do His works.

Yes friend, on days like this, turn to the Word of the Lord and listen to Him for a change… turn a deaf ear to the enemy and shun him as he deserves it. Do not shun the Lord but turn your face to Him. Look into His wonderful face and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.

Even your transient feelings tell which way your face is facing. Look to the Lamb of God for He alone can save you from those nerve-wrecking feelings. He will fill your heart with cheer beyond human understanding in the face of overwhelming odds as He says “Remember, I am with you even to the end of the age.” When you have the company of the Son of God, you really do not need the company of depraved sons of man and Belial.

Praise the Lord.