The Simple Gospel in a Nutshell

If you don’t yet have a personal relationship with the living God, today is the day of salvation. Invite Jesus into your life, give Him your heart and surrender yourself to His will. It will be the best decision you will ever make entire life.

If you believe in God and that He sent His only begotten Son to die for you, (John 3:16), that you may have eternal life, say this simple prayer- “God, I admit I am a sinner and am in need of a Savior. I believe in You Lord and that You sent Your only Son, Jesus Christ, to pay for my sins through the shedding of Jesus’ blood on the cross. I receive this free gift of salvation and ask you to come into my life and make it new. You said old things have passed away and new things have come. I want this new life in You, Lord. Cleanse my heart, forgive me for my sins, those in the past, present and future. Thank you for saving me. I am now a new creation and ask for your guidance in my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen”

If you prayed the prayer of salvation, congratulations! You now have eternal life with Jesus. No longer do you need to fear death, no longer do you have to persevere extreme trials and tribulations alone. God promises you in Hebrews 13:5, “He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” God is your advocate now and with God on your side who could possibly be against you?

Living a Victorious Life

I attend one of the most on fire, radical life-changing, uplifting the spirit and soothing the soul churches anyone could ever hope to go to and yesterday was one of the MOST endearing services I have been to.

The topic was a prayer model to follow, the chosen lead scripture was Matthew 11:28, ironically the same exact one that a sweet adopted daughter of mine gave me just this past week. The concept, A.C.T.S.

Pastor Dan was explaining how we all find ways to escape our greatest struggles, failures and obsessions. God instructs us to come to Him because only He can give us rest, true rest. And what do we do, we go to everything else for a fake calm before the next storm of life blindsides us. We turn to other people to make us happy, shopping to anesthetize us to the realization we don't have it all, to substances for numbing against the pain, to busy-ness so that we don't have to face rejection, to job security so we don't have to trust a Being we cannot grasp a hold of with our human hands, and even to denial so we won't believe we need God.

What's up with us frail humans? We think we have it altogether when our lives are falling apart. When we become desperate, it is then we might finally turn to our loving Father and beg for His help. Pastor Dan likened this to his daughter who calls out to Him for a hug and eventual popsicle, being perfectly content with the popsicle. I liken it to partying our lives away and when we get caught up in our troubles it is then we need bailed out; now God is there to help us with open arms and a smile on His face. In a way this may be true as He says He will never leave or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5), but what God desires of His children and those who have not yet accepted Him, is for us to come to Him anytime, every time, all the time. With whatever spoils we have to lay at his feet, He can turn them into precious gems of infinite value, if we will only come....as we are.

The model of A.C.T.S. is a wonderful foundation we should all adopt on a daily basis. One in which will bring glory to God, support for our overburdened souls, strength in our spirits and rest for our weary bodies and minds. God expanded on this concept with me and made it quite simple.

A- adoration; adoration for our God, adoring Him above everything and everyone else in our life

C- confession; confession to our Lord; confessing those things we say, do and think that are displeasing to God

T- thanksgiving; thanksgiving for Jesus Christ; always being thankful for the One Who gave us eternal life

S- supplication; supplication from on high; receiving our daily supply of what we need from almighty God, precious Jesus and the ever comforting Holy Spirit

Wow! Concepts to change my life, give me strength, draw me closer to Jesus, provide rest for my body, mind and soul, help me grow in the ways of the Lord, give me hope, support others, pray with power, share the love of Jesus with all who cross my path, be humble before my Lord, loosen all power the enemy could have over me, and to give me abundant life on this earth.

Okay, am I missing something here. Hmmmm, turn to imperfect people for help or trust a most perfect God; spend money on things that will perish one day or savor time with someone Who can provide me with what I truly need not want; use and abuse substances that will alter my thought processes or remember God says I have a sound mind and He can heal my pain; remain too busy to hear from God or seek His plans and purposes for me to further His kingdom and glorify Him; find my security in a job that I can lose at any given moment or have my security in the Creator of all heaven and earth; believe in myself and deny I even have issues at all or know Jesus is worth believing in and trusting for every detail of my life, let's see which do I chose to live by?

HA! Who are we actually kidding?! When the world says, "Look to yourself", know that God says He is always near and waiting with open arms for you to rest in His care, His love, His peace, His salvation, His support, His protection, His comfort, His knowledge, His grace and mercy.



* Supporting scriptures are listed below to look up and concentrate on, contemplate their meanings and apply to your life. Believe and be blessed!


Adoration: I Chronicles 29:10-13, 29:20
Confession: I John 1:9, Psalm 32:1-5, James 5:16
Thanksgiving: Psalm 13:5-6, 69:30, 95:2, Philippians 4:6-7
Supplication: Philippians 4:6, Matthew 6:8, 7:7-11, I John 5:14-15, Ephesians 3:20-21

* To take part online in the wonderful service I commented on, go to
www.pureheart.org and listen to Sunday August 1st service under the column Items of Interest, Sermon downloads and sit back with a cup of coffee, tea or bottled water and enter into rest, rest that will change your life.

Easter!!! A Time to Remember - A Time to Reflect - A Time to Be So Thankful

What do we think of when we let the words of 'Easter'gently roll off our lips?
Decorating eggs? Family reunions? The Easter bunny? Perhaps it's just another over-commercialized holiday like so many others.

What should it be?
A day to remember. The day Jesus rose from death after 3 days of a journey like no other man has ever or will ever experience.

A time to reflect. Jesus chose to take upon Himself your sin, my sin, and our children's sin's of the past, the present and the future.

A time to be so thankful. Had Jesus Christ, (the Son of almighty God and Creator of everything) decided not to be punished and whipped for our sins, wearing a crown of thorns and carrying our burdens amongst His entire body, being nailed to the cross and scorned, ridiculed and beaten, what hope would there would have been no hope for you, me, our children or our future generations to receive eternal life.

So what does this mean to you?
I don't know, but it means the world to me.

Today, take a moment to remember...to reflect...the be so thankful for the blood Jesus shed for YOU, to know that God loves YOU so much He gave up His one and only Son Jesus for YOU so that if you believe on Jesus Christ died for YOUR sins, you can be saved and have eternal life.

If you realize you are a sinful being in need of a Savior, pray these words from your heart.
"Lord Jesus, I confess my sins to you and ask for Your forgiveness. I repent, turn away from desiring the things in my life not pleasing to You. I believe You sent Your Son Jesus to die for me. I accept Your forgiveness and free gift of salvation. Come into my life and make me new. Give me the strength to let go of past sins, the wisdom to walk in Your path now, hope for a better future and change my heart as I grow closer to You each day. Thank You for saving me. I am now Yours and surrender my life to Your will. Guide me in Your ways and truth, from this day forward.In Jesus name, Amen."

Congratulations! You've just made the most decision of your life!

Wait! It doesn't doesn't stop there!
To help you learn about your new life in Jesus you need to begin reading the Bible. If you don't already have one, email me at created2blessothers@yahoo.com and I will send you one, FREE of charge.
To help you grow as a new believer, begin attending a church that supports your belief in Jesus Christ ans Lord and Savior. If you need help finding a church family in your area, email me and I can help get you connected with those on the same journey as you.
To get prayer, receive words of wisdom from those going through similar events as you perhaps, and to deepen your relationship with others in the faith look into home groups that may be offered through your church.

Most of all, enjoy your new found journey of purpose, hope and peace!
Some of my favorite scriptures in the Bible - John 3:16, Philippians 4:13, John 1:9, Jeremiah 29:11-13, Philippians 4:4, Psalms 150:6, Romans 8:28.

The Joy of the Lord is My Strength - Nehemiah 8:10

Nehemiah penned these exact words long ago and we would be wise to embed these words into every crevice of our hearts. God's joy is what makes us strong when we are so spent and weak. It is He in us Who is greater than he that us in the world.

As we look upon the Lord to fill us with His strength to make it through the day, to encourage others in their own ways, to serve our families, uplift our friends, pray for relatives and give what we have to the poor, keep in mind our own strength in this life is just not enough. If you haven't already figured that out, you will soon enough.

We believe our strength can be multiplies, extended, built up and exercised without limits, but even Jesus had times He knelt before His Father in weariness to get refueled, energized and recharged Himself. Now if the Son of God had times He plugged into God's strength to continue what was called of Him, do we not think ourselves to be in need of almighty God's strength as well?

Living this life on our own, without tapping into the awesome strength provided by God and through Jesus, is like running a marathon on one leg, dehydrated to the hilt, weak and without hope. Jesus equips us to do all we are called to accomplish, He is our living water, strengthens us beyond good measure and fills us with hope when the finish line has not yet appeared.

Take a moment today to kneel before Father God, humbling ourselves at His feet as we come boldly to the throne of grace. God is able to do exceedingly more than we could ever imagine, Ephesians 3:20, if we let Him. What are you waiting for? Be strengthened today!

Psalm 16 - Trusting God

Preserve me, oh God, for in You I put my trust. Oh my soul you have said to the Lord, "You are my Lord, my goodness is nothing apart from You." As for the saints who are on the earth, "They are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight." Their sorrow shall be multiplied who hasten after another god; Their drink offerings of blood I will not offer, nor take up their names upon my lips.

O Lord, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup; The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Yes, I have a good inheritance. I will bless the Lord Who has given me counsel; My heart also instructs me in the night season. I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.

Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; my flesh also will rest in hope. For you will not leave my soul, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.

You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Choosing to Blossom Along the Journey

The other day I was thinking about how a seed is rooted in the ground, nurtured with water to sprout, emerges either strong or weak, is pumped full of vitamin D from the sun and grows useful or dies pitifully. Kind of like the human life, wouldn't you say?

From before we were born, God knew us (Psalm 139:13-16) and had plans for us; plans for good and not for harm, plans to give us a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). He knew us as a seed yet formed, rooted, nurtured and growing. WOW! How awesome is that?!
But, because of His great love for us, He gave us a choice. A choice to choose Him, to choose life through His Son Jesus, or to choose the world and all it has to offer, to choose death and eternity in hell (John 3:16).

When we choose life, just as with the seed rooted firmly in the soil, we can choose to be rooted firmly in Christ. God is a gentlemen, He will not force us to choose to love Him and accept His Son Jesus Christ. It just isn't going to happen. God created us with our own wills, (remember Adam and eve in the garden of Eden?), ya. We become firmly rooted when we spend time with God, reading His words to us in the Bible, filling our minds with heavenly things and being obedient to all He says. Sure, we are human and make mistakes. That was the whole reason we needed Jesus to be our Savior, but what little effort it takes to confess our wrong doings and receive Jesus' forgiveness, go on and become better because of God's unconditional love for us.

Our nurturing takes place when we love Jesus will all our hearts, minds, souls and strength, are daily spending time in God's word, memorizing scripture so that we don't sin against our Lord (Psalm 119:11), praise Him (Psalm 100:4) and allow the Holy Spirit to wash our lives with His word, empower us to lives well pleasing to our Lord and to be blessings to those God puts in our paths.

Time spent in the sun adds vitamin D to our bodies thereby enriching our very beings. So it is with time spent with the Son of God. Our lives are enriched beyond measure and as we grow in the knowledge of Him (II Peter 3:18) our lives are transformed into the image of Jesus (Romans 8:29).

Our lives are a journey of blossoming into what God has called us to become. We can either radiate the fragrance of lavander or emminate the vile stench of a corpse flower.
We can choose to grow or choose to shrivel up and die. It is all about choice; and it is a matter of life and death.



For further reflection I highly recommend-
(http://www.americamagazine.org/content/article.cfm?article_id=3206)