trying to make it right now with Jesus in my life.
Jesus has answered all my questions about L I F E
in general and some of the things my soul has been
trying to decipher for 36 years.
Like..money, life and death, sufferings,etc.
I don't wana go back to the same person that I was. EVER!
I may have gone through a lot of bad and depressing things
but these are just "those things" that will continue to exist.
What matters most is that, I am now standing on top of them..
I know Jesus is changing me within..enjoying His presence
everytime that happens.
I have ceased to pray in a lot of things.
I keep thanking Him instead.
Just wonderful!
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
An interview with Rick Warren
You will enjoy the new insights that Rick Warren has, with his wife now having cancer and him having "wealth" from the book sales. This is an absolutely incredible short interview with Rick Warren, "Purpose Driven Life " author and pastor ofSaddleback Church in California.
In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said:
People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven.
One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me.
I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity.
We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.
Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one.
The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort.
God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.
We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.
This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer.
I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth.. I don't believe that anymore.
Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life.
No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on..
And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.
You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems.
If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness, "which is my problem, my issues, my pain." But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.
We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her.
It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.
You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life.
Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy.
It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease.
So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72
First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases.
Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church.
Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor , care for the sick, and educate the next generation.
Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free.
We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity?
Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?
When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do.
That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.
Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.
Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.
Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.
Painful moments, TRUST GOD.
Every moment, THANK GOD.
In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said:
People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven.
One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me.
I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity.
We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.
Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one.
The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort.
God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.
We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.
This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer.
I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth.. I don't believe that anymore.
Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life.
No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on..
And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.
You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems.
If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness, "which is my problem, my issues, my pain." But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.
We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her.
It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.
You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life.
Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy.
It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease.
So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72
First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases.
Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church.
Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor , care for the sick, and educate the next generation.
Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free.
We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity?
Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?
When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do.
That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.
Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.
Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.
Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.
Painful moments, TRUST GOD.
Every moment, THANK GOD.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Amen to this...
Daily Devotional message from Pastor Prince.
Though I feel I'm really a bit lost in the world lately.
I cannot say a word and complain to God anymore.
He is in control now. And I know He sees better me.
I may have my own plans, but still God has the last words.
"God Sees Glorious Things In You!
1 Samuel 16:7
7… For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.
Picture David when he was a shepherd boy. Many who knew young David in his pre-Goliath days would very likely have seen just an ordinary youth — one who lived at home with his parents and siblings, enjoyed the outdoors and loved music. But where others saw a typical teenager, God saw a king in young David. He saw David’s name being uttered in honour forever, for even the Lord Jesus is called the Son of David!
Picture Moses after he had settled down comfortably in the desert with a beautiful wife, lovely children and loving in-laws. He might have seen himself happily retiring in the near future. But God had bigger plans for Moses. God had big dreams for him. God saw the Red Sea opening before him and an entire Egyptian army being wiped out in his presence. God saw in him the deliverer of His people.
Now, step back a little less far in time with me. See a little boy standing alone during play time. Nobody wants him on their team because he is scrawny and seen as a weakling. As he grows into his teens, he suffers from an inferiority complex. He stammers and stutters so much that all his friends laugh at him. But today, he is the senior pastor of New Creation Church. Several times each week, he stands in front of a crowd of more than 16,000 people to preach. And he receives invitations worldwide to speak in churches and pastors’ conferences. There was no way I could have ever conceived in my mind what God saw in me in those early years and the dreams that He had for me.
Beloved, God does not see as man sees. He saw in fearful Gideon a mighty man of valour and called him so even when he was hiding from his enemies in fear. (Judges 6:12) He saw in young David a king and anointed him as one. (1 Samuel 16:10–13) He saw in meek Moses a deliverer and drew him from obscurity. (Exodus 3) Today, God looks beyond what man sees and says about you, and He has dreams for you that are bigger than you can imagine!"
Though I feel I'm really a bit lost in the world lately.
I cannot say a word and complain to God anymore.
He is in control now. And I know He sees better me.
I may have my own plans, but still God has the last words.
"God Sees Glorious Things In You!
1 Samuel 16:7
7… For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.
Picture David when he was a shepherd boy. Many who knew young David in his pre-Goliath days would very likely have seen just an ordinary youth — one who lived at home with his parents and siblings, enjoyed the outdoors and loved music. But where others saw a typical teenager, God saw a king in young David. He saw David’s name being uttered in honour forever, for even the Lord Jesus is called the Son of David!
Picture Moses after he had settled down comfortably in the desert with a beautiful wife, lovely children and loving in-laws. He might have seen himself happily retiring in the near future. But God had bigger plans for Moses. God had big dreams for him. God saw the Red Sea opening before him and an entire Egyptian army being wiped out in his presence. God saw in him the deliverer of His people.
Now, step back a little less far in time with me. See a little boy standing alone during play time. Nobody wants him on their team because he is scrawny and seen as a weakling. As he grows into his teens, he suffers from an inferiority complex. He stammers and stutters so much that all his friends laugh at him. But today, he is the senior pastor of New Creation Church. Several times each week, he stands in front of a crowd of more than 16,000 people to preach. And he receives invitations worldwide to speak in churches and pastors’ conferences. There was no way I could have ever conceived in my mind what God saw in me in those early years and the dreams that He had for me.
Beloved, God does not see as man sees. He saw in fearful Gideon a mighty man of valour and called him so even when he was hiding from his enemies in fear. (Judges 6:12) He saw in young David a king and anointed him as one. (1 Samuel 16:10–13) He saw in meek Moses a deliverer and drew him from obscurity. (Exodus 3) Today, God looks beyond what man sees and says about you, and He has dreams for you that are bigger than you can imagine!"
Friday, March 21, 2008
Hosanna by Hillsong United
Great Worship Song WORDS GO LIKE THIS
Verse 1
I see the king of glory
Coming down the clouds
with fire The whole earth shakes, the whole earth shakes
I see his love and mercy
Washing over all our sin
The people sing, the people sing
Chorus
Hosanna, hosanna, Hosanna in the highest
Verse 2
I see a generation
Rising up to take the place
With selfless faith,
with selfless faith I see a new revival
Staring as we pray and seek We're on our knees,
we're on our knees Bridge Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like you have loved me
Break my heart for what is yours
Everything I am for your kingdom's cause
As I walk from earth into eternity Hosanna
Verse 1
I see the king of glory
Coming down the clouds
with fire The whole earth shakes, the whole earth shakes
I see his love and mercy
Washing over all our sin
The people sing, the people sing
Chorus
Hosanna, hosanna, Hosanna in the highest
Verse 2
I see a generation
Rising up to take the place
With selfless faith,
with selfless faith I see a new revival
Staring as we pray and seek We're on our knees,
we're on our knees Bridge Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like you have loved me
Break my heart for what is yours
Everything I am for your kingdom's cause
As I walk from earth into eternity Hosanna
Near-death Experiences Case #5
Thomas Welch was required to walk across a trestle over a dam fifty-five feet above the water where the sawmill was located. He gives this account:
"I was dead as far as this world is concerned. But I was alivein another world. There was no lost time. I learned more in that hour out of the body than I could ever learn while in this body. All I could remember is falling over the edge of the trestle. The locomotive engineer watched me go all the way down into the water. The next thing I knew I was standing near a shoreline of this burning, turbulent, rolling mass of blue fire. As far as my eyes could see it was just the same, a lake of fire. There was nobody in it. I was not in it. I saw other people whom I had known that had died when I was thirteen. Another was a boy I had gone to school with who had died from cancer of the jaw that had started with an infected tooth while he was just a young lad. He was two years older than I. We recognized each other, even though we did not speak. They, too, were looking and seemed to be perplexed and in deep thought, as though they could not believe what they saw. Their expressions were those of bewilderment and confusion. The scene was so awesome that words simply fail. There is no way to escape, no way out. You don't even try to look for one. This is the prison out of which no one can escape except by Divine intervention. I said to myself in an audible voice, 'If I had known about this I would have done anything that was required of me to escape coming to a place like this.' But I had not known."
"I was dead as far as this world is concerned. But I was alivein another world. There was no lost time. I learned more in that hour out of the body than I could ever learn while in this body. All I could remember is falling over the edge of the trestle. The locomotive engineer watched me go all the way down into the water. The next thing I knew I was standing near a shoreline of this burning, turbulent, rolling mass of blue fire. As far as my eyes could see it was just the same, a lake of fire. There was nobody in it. I was not in it. I saw other people whom I had known that had died when I was thirteen. Another was a boy I had gone to school with who had died from cancer of the jaw that had started with an infected tooth while he was just a young lad. He was two years older than I. We recognized each other, even though we did not speak. They, too, were looking and seemed to be perplexed and in deep thought, as though they could not believe what they saw. Their expressions were those of bewilderment and confusion. The scene was so awesome that words simply fail. There is no way to escape, no way out. You don't even try to look for one. This is the prison out of which no one can escape except by Divine intervention. I said to myself in an audible voice, 'If I had known about this I would have done anything that was required of me to escape coming to a place like this.' But I had not known."
Near-death Experiences Case #4
Dr. Rawlings personally recorded this account shortly after reviving a heart attack victim:
"Next thing I remember was going through this dark passage. I didn't touch any of the walls. I emerged out into an open field and was walking toward a big white wall, which was very long. It had three steps leading up to a doorway in the wall. On a landing above the stairs sat a man clothed in a robe that was dazzling white and glowing. His face had a glowing radiance also. He was looking down into a big book, studying. As I approached him I felt a great reverence and I asked him, "Are you Jesus?" He said, "No, you will find Jesus and your loved ones beyond that door." After he looked in his book he said, "You may go on through."
"And then I walked through the door, and saw on the other side this beautiful, brilliantly lit city, reflecting what seemed to be the sun's rays. It was all made of gold or some shiny metal with domes and steeples in beautiful array, and the streets were shining, not quite like marble but made of something I have never seen before. There were many people all dressed in glowing white robes with radiant faces. They looked beautiful. The air smelled so fresh. I have never smelled anything like it. There was a background of music that was beautiful, heavenly music, and I saw two figures walking toward me and I immediately recognized them. They were my mother and father, both had died years ago. My mother was an amputee and yet that leg was now restored! She was walking on two legs! I said to my mother, 'You and father are beautiful.' And they said to me, 'You have the same radiance and you are also beautiful'."
"As we walked along together to find Jesus, I noticed there was one building larger than all of the others. It looked like a football stadium with an open end to the building where a blinding light radiated from it. I tried to look up at the light but I couldn't. It was too brilliant. Many people seemed to be bowed in front of his building in adoration and prayer. I said to my parents, 'What is that?' They said, 'In there is God. ' I will never forget it. I have never seen anything like it. We walked on as they were taking me to see Jesus and we passed many people. All of them were happy. I have never felt such a sense of well being. As we approached the place where Jesus was located, I suddenly felt this tremendous surge of electricity through my body as it someone had hit me in the chest. My body arched upward as they were defibrillating my heart. I had been restored to my former life! But I was not too happy to come back. However, I knew I had been sent back to tell others about this experience. I plan to dedicate the rest of my life to telling anyone who will listen!"
"Next thing I remember was going through this dark passage. I didn't touch any of the walls. I emerged out into an open field and was walking toward a big white wall, which was very long. It had three steps leading up to a doorway in the wall. On a landing above the stairs sat a man clothed in a robe that was dazzling white and glowing. His face had a glowing radiance also. He was looking down into a big book, studying. As I approached him I felt a great reverence and I asked him, "Are you Jesus?" He said, "No, you will find Jesus and your loved ones beyond that door." After he looked in his book he said, "You may go on through."
"And then I walked through the door, and saw on the other side this beautiful, brilliantly lit city, reflecting what seemed to be the sun's rays. It was all made of gold or some shiny metal with domes and steeples in beautiful array, and the streets were shining, not quite like marble but made of something I have never seen before. There were many people all dressed in glowing white robes with radiant faces. They looked beautiful. The air smelled so fresh. I have never smelled anything like it. There was a background of music that was beautiful, heavenly music, and I saw two figures walking toward me and I immediately recognized them. They were my mother and father, both had died years ago. My mother was an amputee and yet that leg was now restored! She was walking on two legs! I said to my mother, 'You and father are beautiful.' And they said to me, 'You have the same radiance and you are also beautiful'."
"As we walked along together to find Jesus, I noticed there was one building larger than all of the others. It looked like a football stadium with an open end to the building where a blinding light radiated from it. I tried to look up at the light but I couldn't. It was too brilliant. Many people seemed to be bowed in front of his building in adoration and prayer. I said to my parents, 'What is that?' They said, 'In there is God. ' I will never forget it. I have never seen anything like it. We walked on as they were taking me to see Jesus and we passed many people. All of them were happy. I have never felt such a sense of well being. As we approached the place where Jesus was located, I suddenly felt this tremendous surge of electricity through my body as it someone had hit me in the chest. My body arched upward as they were defibrillating my heart. I had been restored to my former life! But I was not too happy to come back. However, I knew I had been sent back to tell others about this experience. I plan to dedicate the rest of my life to telling anyone who will listen!"
Near-death Experiences Case #3
As witnessed by Dr. Maurice Rawlings..
Several years ago a book was published, entitled Beyond Death's Door by Dr. Maurice Rawlings. Dr. Rawlings, a specialist in Internal Medicine and Cardiovascular Disease, resuscitated many people who had been clinically dead. Dr. Rawlings, a devout atheist, "considered all religion "hocus-pocus" and death nothing more than a painless extinction". But something happened in 1977 that brought a dramatic change in the life of Dr. Rawlings! He was resuscitating a man, terrified and screaming — descending down into the flames of hell:
"Each time he regained heartbeat and respiration, the patient screamed, "I am in hell!" He was terrified and pleaded with me to help him. I was scared to death. . . Then I noticed a genuinely alarmed look on his face. He had a terrified look worse than the expression seen in death! This patient had a grotesque grimace expressing sheer horror! His pupils were dilated, and he was perspiring and trembling — he looked as if his hair was "on end."
Then still another strange thing happened. He said,"Don't you understand? I am in hell. . . Don't let me go back to hell!" . . .the man was serious, and it finally occurred to me that he was indeed in trouble. He was in a panic like I had never seen before."
(Maurice Rawlings, Beyond Death's Door,(Thomas Nelson Inc., 1979) p. 3).
Dr. Rawlings said, no one, who could have heard his screams and saw the look of terror on his face could doubt for a single minute that he was actually in a place called Hell!
Several years ago a book was published, entitled Beyond Death's Door by Dr. Maurice Rawlings. Dr. Rawlings, a specialist in Internal Medicine and Cardiovascular Disease, resuscitated many people who had been clinically dead. Dr. Rawlings, a devout atheist, "considered all religion "hocus-pocus" and death nothing more than a painless extinction". But something happened in 1977 that brought a dramatic change in the life of Dr. Rawlings! He was resuscitating a man, terrified and screaming — descending down into the flames of hell:
"Each time he regained heartbeat and respiration, the patient screamed, "I am in hell!" He was terrified and pleaded with me to help him. I was scared to death. . . Then I noticed a genuinely alarmed look on his face. He had a terrified look worse than the expression seen in death! This patient had a grotesque grimace expressing sheer horror! His pupils were dilated, and he was perspiring and trembling — he looked as if his hair was "on end."
Then still another strange thing happened. He said,"Don't you understand? I am in hell. . . Don't let me go back to hell!" . . .the man was serious, and it finally occurred to me that he was indeed in trouble. He was in a panic like I had never seen before."
(Maurice Rawlings, Beyond Death's Door,(Thomas Nelson Inc., 1979) p. 3).
Dr. Rawlings said, no one, who could have heard his screams and saw the look of terror on his face could doubt for a single minute that he was actually in a place called Hell!
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