Stephen in Acts Chapter 6 starting in verse 8…Was called and full of faith. God pour downs blessings upon Stephens life. And due to Stephens wisdom and Stephens call by God, Stephen is persecuted but the Cyrenians, Alexandreians and those from Cilicia and Asia.

But they were NOT able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke (VS 10)

So they basically made up lies and and brought Stephen before the council and they saw his face and the face of an angel (Vs 15)

Then in Chapter 7 Stephen brings up the Story of Abraham and Abraham's obedience to leave his family and to GO…and Abraham listened to God and Abraham moved him to a new land.

As you continue to read…you see that as we are called to Christ, and we come…typically we are then blessed by God…Then comes persecution…

Many Preach today about the blessings, but do not talk about the Persecution. There is Persecution everyday against Christians and when you commit your life to God and you are obedient to God…You must understand that Persecution will also come.

I have experienced this in my life and it can be Gut wrenching and VERY difficult when the persecution comes. Most of us struggle with the persecution and fall away for become Carnal Christians. This is the route of many. I have had incredible persecution come against me from my own son…who did NOT like me when I turned to Jesus and became a Christian. At that Time I had a transformation and I changed in that moment. My own son, was sick and tired of my ways of walking with the Lord and the revelation that God brought into my life. 

This persecution became too much for me at a certain time and I allowed sin to come back in and old habits to re-surface as I moved away from God due to the persecution.

How many Christians are ready for the persecution that will come?

Are you ready?

It will come…When you are obedient to God and you will get blessed, the enemy will come against you and persecution will come into your life…But, If you persevere and face this persecution and STAY obedient to God, there will be greater blessings that will come into your life. YOU may not even see them in your life time. They may not come right away..them may come through your descendants lives.

Are you willing to walk through the persecution and trust GOD?

I hope you are…Ask God for strength doing those times and press in closer to God and do NOT turn away. Trust me, it is NOT the way to go…I know it is a hard road and it will come with many trials and difficulties…But what is happening here NOW is temporary and will not last…What will last is our relationship with Jesus and the eternal blessings of living forever in his Kingdom.

For more on this topic see the audio recordings done by walk in the word  

2008 is now 14 days old….2 weeks….

Most people have given up on there new years eve revolutions….Now it is time for your new year revelations….

More on this in a few hours…stay tuned 

In my readings today Jan 12th 2008 I came across the definition of faith in the bible.

This faith thing can be so hard some times and I wonder why God doesn't move in my life at times and I find that the answer lies in my faith, Not God. 

Are you ready for the biblical definition of Faith?

You will find the definition of faith in Hebrews 11. Pick up your bible and have a look at what it says.

I will use 2 different versions and write them out here. Hebrews 11:1 Now Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things now seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By Faith we understand that the worlds were formed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.

Another version reads…What is Faith? It is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen. It is the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it up ahead. Men of God in days of old were famous for their faith. By Faith—By believing God—we know that the world and the stars—in fact, all things—were made at God's command; and that they were all made from things that can't be seen.

You can continue to read on in Hebrews 11 and read tremendous stories of great faith from Men of God.

Mark Twain paraphrase says…It is the conviction that God will always do what he promises to do, regardless of the circumstances.

So what is having Faith so hard for Most?

Because people are blind to what they can not see. We want things that are tangible and that what we can explain and reason.

Also more often than not, God has a plan that he is fulfilling and we with our great wisdom and knowledge are moving down a path that is not the path that God has destined for you and I. What happens then is, what we are hoping for and planning for does not come to be as this may not be what God wants for us. But we don't "See" it and we loose our waving faith so easy.

So when we do not get what we planned we are quick to blame God for what he hasn't done. Our feelings erupt and our emotional state moves in and takes over our "faith" and shoves it deeper into a corner of our soul and is ousted not as the dominating force in our life, but some fantasy, intangible that we just can not wrap our minds around fully.

We are becoming more and more a society of instant gratification and "Expect" God to show and shower us on our schedules. Waiting on the Lord and doing his will only comes through the assurance that it will come to be even though we do not see it.

So how can you keep the faith when there is no evidence that God appears to be working in your life?

Press into God's Word…Faith requires belief…I believe our faith is tested often, in little things and God is just waiting for us to fully trust in him and turn our lives over to him fully and trust that All things are possible for us in God. Each time we move deeper into the word of God and pass the tests that is set before us, we get to break down any barrier that may be holding us back from strengthening our faith.

In acts chapter 6 God raises up a average man, Stephen, to do extraordinary things. When God gets ahold of you and fills you with the Holy spirit, you become a new creation. When you believe in that power, God can move in you and do amazing wonders that the earthly non-believing man can not understand.

So what do they do when they cannot handle the truth?

The same thing that has been done to Christians for  a long time now….They persecute.

In Acts 6; 8-15  we see in verse 10 "But none of them were able to stand against Stephen's wisdom and spirit."

So the only thing for those that opose Christ will do at this point is to falsely accuse and lie, and that is what they did to Stephen in Chapter 6 and in Chapter 7 he again is arrested and stoned to his death. Even while Stephen was being stoned and just before he died, he says.."Lord, don't charge them with this sin!" 

As we come closer to the end times, God has already told us that persecution will increase for all believers of Jesus Christ. So take the time now to deepen your faith with God and prepare your hearts for what is to come!

Romans 8:1 So there is now no condemnation awaiting those who belong to Christ Jesus. For the power of the life-giving spirit—and this power is mine through Christ Jesus—has freed me from the vicious circle of sin and death.

This is one of the most power pieces of scripture in the bible. Most of us have felt condemned at one time or another due to our actions. Some walk around feeling condemned quite often.

Today people have become very self serving, we are all just coming off the Christmas day asking each other…"what did you get"?

Self serving is rampant in our society and the image I still hold about this issue is back on thanksgiving night when black friday was upon us and I was watching all the people who missed thanksgiving dinner to line up at best buy to get their $299.00 laptop. For themselves….

Self serving….is Terminal.

Self serving leads to sin and eventually death, it holds no place in the kingdom of God!

When you truely break free from living for yourself and start living for Christ, one of the things that will happen upon your invitation to asking to be led of the Holy Spirit is you will obey God's laws and you will no longer obey the old evil nature that is running rampant on this earth.

Romans 8:5 Those who let themselves be controlled by their lower natures live only to please themselves, but those who follow after the HOly Spirit find themselves doing those things that please GOD! Following after the Holy Spirit leads to life and peace, but following after the old nature leads to death.

I know that my walk with the Lord has been up and down and at times I have reverted to old thinking and old ways of thought. This leads to sin and condemnation. Today my Spirit will leap up and let me know that I am thinking and leading toward a path that is not of God. The terminology that is used is "Quicken"….I will know, thanks to the Holy Spirit that the old nature is not the path God has set before me.

This is a big difference people saved and unsaved people.

It is God's plan that each day we move "higher up"…..Each act of obedience brings us closer to God and more Christ-Like. God sent Jesus as a living sacrifice for your sin and my sin. We do NOT have to walk in the condemnation of our past sin. We can ask for forgiveness and through God's grace, he will forgive us and wipe the slate. This is freedom.

This freedom comes from believing in Jesus, it comes from giving up your ways and seeking God's ways.

Remember and Imagine a life with NO condemnation…..It is here waiting for you in Romans chapter 8….

This story caught my eye and my ear yesterday as Art Conrad of Bremerton, Washington…Nailed a Plastic Santa to a 15 Foot Cross in front of his home in protest to the mass commercialism of Christmas. 

I initially chuckled and actually found myself liking the statement that this man took. But did he take it too far?

Link to the story 

In this day an age when God is being removed from society and we have a whole generation of un-churched youth, Christmas and the true meaning of the season has been over shadowed by the all mighty Santa a the trips to the mall.

As I was doing some shopping myself a couple of days ago, I felt that people were shopping for themselves more than for others. This was very apparent on Black Friday as people sat in the freezing cold temperatures for over 24 hours, missed out on thanksgiving dinner, so they could get a laptop for $299.00 at Bestbuy. Do you think they were shopping for others?

So not only has Christmas been destroyed by commercialism, but now the greed of our society and the need to fill it with "Stuff" has taken us to a place where we are now also thinking about "What Can I Get" at Christmas.

So has this man gone to far?

For me, I like the Stand he made and the fact that most of us go into massive debt over the holiday season for "stuff" that will never fill whatever is lacking in our lives. If you have a hole inside, Jesus can fill it. He came on Christmas day in the most humblest of beginnings and came to save us…

He came to save us from exactly what we are seeing today…

The satisfaction of the flesh, the need to fill our lives with stuff, the selfishness of society….

Step back and think about the statement this man made and ask yourself..

Did he Go Too Far?

How Far Did Jesus Go?

How Far Did God Go to bridge the gap between him and us? 

The greatest moment in history was the birth of Jesus.

It brought the end to the old covenant that was strictly law based and brought in the age of grace. By God's Grace we are saved.

Let's all remember and keep our eyes on the prize…Our Lord, Jesus Christ…

Today, I will finish up preparation for family members and the celebration feasts as I need to go out and get some food items. But after that, at 4 pm we will go and worship the Lord and celebrate the coming birth of our savior at our old church in Portland.

Then at 11pm we will ring in the coming of our Lord with a midnight mass service at our church here locally.

I pray that people will remember and recognize the true meaning of Christmas…and the "Beauty of our King"

Many times in my life I have questioned and wondered…Where is God? Why is this happening? Where are the blessings of God?

I think today I have a better understanding of why or maybe Where are the blessings of God in my life!

In my daily readings the thought for the day was, "Many people receive no blessing because they forgot to thank God for they did not thank God for the last blessing."

We have so much to be thank-ful for and I know in my life I have "over-looked" many of the blessings that God has poured down in my life. How could I have missed the blessings?

Most of us I believe miss the blessings because we are looking for the "big one"…That big prayer we have that may go unanswered due to it NOT being part of God's plan at this time. In the mean time God is blessing our lives in so many ways that we are missing it….and forgetting to thank God for it. I know this is definitely an issue for me. Each day we have the opportunity to connect with God…Thank God..Praise God….Then life steps in and runs over us and takes us out of the blessing shield of God.

How does this happen?

Better yet, how can we prevent this from occuring in our lives?

How can we NOT miss the blessings of God?

Start your day by thanking God for another day. Look for the smaller things around you to be thankful for, there is so much right around us if we will just look.