The Lord is my rock and my fortress

Monday, October 24th, 2011

The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
My God, my strength, in whom I will trust;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. - Psalms 18:2

     Throughout the Psalms this is a repeated theme all because of one of the greatest realizations: Let the Lord be your all. When you cannot fight, when you are hurt, when you are angry, when you are depressed - whatever may befall you in life, Let the Lord be your fortress and the one who will deliver you out of any and everything. Let him be your strength when you are weak and always put your trust in Him. He is our shield and the horn of our salvation and our stronghold. 

     Don't worry about things because when you do, you are telling God that you don't think He can take care of it. Put things in God's hands and let Him work it out and rest assured that He will.

New Christians

Congratulations! 

You have taken the first step to eternal life.

I am so proud of you and remember that all the angels in heaven are celebrating and rejoicing for you right now. "Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” - Luke 15:10

Let me tell you that this is not an easy road but in essence is easy because as you live it and apply it, it gets easier and easier. It is the most rewarding lifestyle there is. Be encouraged!

These are some steps that will hopefully help you stay on the right path and walk the path God has laid out for you.

1.                   Pray everyday

2.                  Study your bible

3.                  Develop a relationship with God - Get to know who He is

4.                  Get to know who you are in Christ

5.                  Join a church that teaches the

Matthew 5 - Love Your Enemies

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor[g] and hate your enemy.’ 44But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,[h] 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brethren[i] only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors[j] do so? 48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. Matthew 5:43-48

Oh how easy it is to love those who love you and hate those who hate you. It just seems logical don't it? But Jesus didn't come to preach what was logical or the "in" thing to do. In fact he made reference to what we have been conditioned to think and refuted the thought and gave us another way of living. There is often a struggle between what we have been conditioned to think (those things that we see as being right) and what

Matthew 5 - Go the second mile

38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’[f] 39 But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. 40 If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. 41 And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away."

What would compel someone to do the exact opposite of what is expected of you? Can you imagine even doing something like what Jesus is asking us to do? It seems outrageous don’t it? Well, its not outrageous, it’s Christ-like.

Jesus looks at what the past culture was, an eye for an eye  and a tooth for a tooth. Then He says to go beyond our vengeful nature and tap into our

Life is a blessing ...

Life is continuous and its not going to stop for you when you have a bad day or when things don't work out as planned. Your only refuge is in God. Our source of strength, wisdom, love and so much more. When you feel tired, drained in all facets of your life, it's time to take a break and move closer to God's presence and retreat there and stay there. God is able to get you through those bad days and make those good days miraculous.

In my life...

Every day is a blessing

Every new person I meet, God's creation

Every conversation, honored 

Every smile, heartwarming

Every hug, delightful

Every kiss, adored

Every kind word or word of encouragement is a

Matthew 5 - Let your Yes be Yes and Your No be No

33 “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ 34 But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one. - Matthew 5:31-37

Heaven is God's throne and the Earth His footstool, Jesus reiterated this as it was written in Isaiah 66:1. Can we truly understand the magnitude of that concept? Can we even imagine what that means. If we can, the mere thought of swearing by heaven or earth wouldn't even

Matthew 5 - Marriage is sacred and binding

Right after speaking about Adultery, Jesus' next topic, surprisingly, deals with marriage and this is what he has to say in his sermon on the mount in Matthew 5:31-32:

31 “Furthermore it has been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.

I can't think of marriage without thinking about my parents. They didn't believe in divorce, for better or worst they stuck it out even when they said they would leave, they stayed together. As children, my brothers, sister and I growing up, we got to see what a real marriage

I Will Rise - by Chris Tomlin

This song is just beautiful! It reminds us that our time here is short, and in the end those who are the true believers and followers of Christ, will rise when He calls our names.

Matthew 5 - Adultery in the Heart

Can you truly commit adultery in your heart? Well Jesus said you can and if he said it - it's truth my brothers and sisters. In his sermon on the mount he continues to reveal to us the sins of the heart and how those sins have eternal consequences. Let's continue our bible study in Matthew 5:27-30.

27 “You have heard that it was said to those of old,[c] ‘You shall not commit adultery.’[d] 28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and castit from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.

Firstly Jesus looked at "Do not commit murder." Now he refers to another commandment, "You shall not commit adultery."  With both of these commandments there was a consequence according to the law but Jesus is saying

Matthew 5 - Reconcile before it's too late

Matthew 5: 21-26 continues Jesus' sermon on the mount where he reveals further how important keeping our heart pure is.

21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder,[a] and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause[b] shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire. 23 Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. 26 Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.

The church I attended as a child put so much emphasis on being pure at heart before giving your tithes that before that part came up at every service, the pastor would say

Matthew 5 - Jesus Christ Came to Fulfill

In Matthew 5:17-20, Jesus tells us what He came to do while giving his sermon on the mount.

17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. 19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

Fulfill means to accomplish, complete or realize. Jesus came not to do away with the law but to bring both the law and prophets to fulfillment.

It can be likened to a relationship. First, there is the initial period where