True Gifts Are Absolutely Free!

Romans 4:4-5 "Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,..."

Christ's righteousness WAS and IS a gift. We don't get paid for "good works." Being a Christian is not a "job," but I think a lot of us treat our salvation as such. Jesus paid it ALL, therefore, anything we do cannot compare, add up, nor amount to what Jesus did on the cross, or what He did while He walked this earth in perfect love. If anything, we need to be paying Him... with our LIFE!

Being a good person has nothing to do with being a child of God. There are atheists that are "good people" who may feed the poor, donate to charities, and help an injured stranger on the side of the road. What makes a believer of Christ so different?
It is the inward change which becomes an outward display of HIS glory and affection for all mankind! It's not forced nor is it our own ideal that if we do good, then we may be accepted by man, and pay off any debt we owe to God.

Romans 9:30-33 What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; ³¹but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. ³²Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, ³³as it is written,
 "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense;
  and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame."

My dear friends =D we do not have to perform works to make ourselves right with God. Christ has already done a perfect finished work! And He expects nothing from you but your heart... your life. And He protects and nourishes your heart and life because it is apart of His heart and life! Please, rest in the salvation of Christ, and He will do all the "work" through and for you! And it will be a work that you'll enjoy and that pleases Him!


♥ Kamaria

Just Got Saved 101

John 8:31-32 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, ³²and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

People talk about how they want to stop living in sin. Sadly, they don't put forth any real effort aside form their own self will of trying not to do wrong. Jesus said himself, "if you abide in my word, you'll know the truth and the truth will set you free. 

The chapter goes on to talk about how anyone who sins is a slave to it. But if the Son (the Word (John 1:1)) sets you free, truly you are free indeed.


By abiding in His word, we renew our mind, by that regeneration we are set free from slaves of sin, to slaves of RIGHTEOUSNESS! 
  
♥ Mari

Anyone Thirsty?

Setting: Sychar located in Samaria

Plot: Eternal Salvation

Star Players: Jesus, The woman at the well.

A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) ⁹The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?" ( For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) ¹⁰Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water." ¹¹The woman said to him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do You get that living water? ¹² Are You greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock." ¹³Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." ¹⁵The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water."¹⁶Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here." ¹⁷The woman answered him, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband'; ¹⁸for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true." ¹⁹The woman said to him, "Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. ²⁰ Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship." ²¹Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. ²² You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. ²³But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. ²⁴God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." ²⁵The woman said to him, "I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things." ²⁶Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He." John 4:7-26 ESV

There are 3 things that count against the Samaritan woman:

1) She was a woman

2) She was Samaritan and NOT a "pure" Jew (Jews often avoided going throughSamaria)

3) She was immoral

How beautiful is it that our God is so humble! Jesus humbled Himself. Despite Him being a Jew and her a Samaritan, Jesus showed no bias. Instead, He gave this woman life, and truth. In an one on one setting, He related to her, called her out exposing her sin and showed her how important it is to have a personal, intimate, one on one relationship with God [Himself].

We can drink of the living water and never thirst again because the living water never dries up. Because of what Jesus has done, we can always commune with God. We can always sit by His still waters and drink of Him. We should be like trees, planted next to rivers of water [God], that produces [GOOD] fruit in its season Psalm 1:3 

God's love refreshes, restores and fills us up with our cups overflowing IF we let Him pour into us.

True worshipers can commune with God anywhere. True worshipers drink of His living water. We worship God through Jesus! There are no limitations on where we can worship! We can worship God in school, at work, on the sidewalk, wherever! Worship comes from the heart, and the truth is Jesus and His word! We worship in our actions, by our words, and through our lifestyle. The important question is, how and whom do you worship?

Jesus dealt with this woman personally. How is He dealing with you today? What has Jesus spoken into your heart? What has the Holy Spirit convicted you of?

Everyday, our hearts are thirsty for Him. Sit by the rivers of water today, drink of God, allow Him to water the ground of your heart. Let us, let God fill us up.

*Interesting fact: when Jesus said salvation is from the Jews in verse 22, He was hinting that the Messiah would come from the Jewish people, Himself!

♥Mari

Well done or Well... you're done

Just wanted to share this, courtesty of my brother Phil...

“God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clear...ly see his invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn't worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles. So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other's bodies. They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen” Romans 1:18-25 NLT

Brothers and sisters, the fact of the matter is God is real and we were created to worship Him and Him alone. My prayer is that none of us get too wrapped up in things of this world. This isn't some religious thing man has mandated to us but the fact that we ALL have been saved by grace and a life lived with faith in Christ is the only salvation for our souls.

Now you may be saying you already know this but I just want to reiterate that we are in the LAST DAYS. Though we have been saved by grace this does not give us a license to sin. The more we continue to “play around” with things we KNOW does not glorify God….God forbid we are cut off from his free grace. I’m not trying to scare anybody or talk down or sound condescending, at any rate, I just want to implore us people who say we are Christians that Jesus Christ is coming back quickly for a holy and righteous people….not those who are lukewarm. I must say this because it matters enormously if I alienate anyone from the truth. Knowledge and understanding of these things without application is very dangerous. I’ve been going through my own trials and thank God I’m forgiven. None of us are perfect so let’s come running to the King of Kings who is faithful and just to make us as perfect as He is. Please, I beg of you in the name of the Lord, because I love you all and would like to see you in heaven. Don’t waste your life away on things that don’t matter. Repent from cussing, lying, fornication, wild parties, etc. Do you want to hear “Well done!” or do you want to be well done?…..


To those who may not believe I promise you that a relationship with Jesus Christ is the most important relationship you can ever have. Don’t let anybody tell you different. Life in Christ is better than you could ever imagine. I plead with you to not look to things of this world to gratify you. Christ is the ultimate satisfaction. Trust me.
I pray we all set our minds on things above.

 

-Phillip Shobo

Can't Box Him In

The Holy Spirit spoke to my heart one day and said, "STOP TRYING TO PUT GOD IN A BOX!"

I paused for a second and said, "wow, You're right." I began meditating on that and realized how much I WASN'T expecting because I was feeling like it was "too big" for God to handle. But, whenever I think something silly like that, I always go back to... "Wow, God of all the universe, the Maker of the Heavens and earth, the ULTIMATE Judge... can't handle my situation???? Really?" -___-

But ALL GLORY to GOD!!! 2 Timothy 2:13 If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself. Then again, Luke 1:37 For with God nothing will be impossible. And again, Matthew 19:26 But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Mark 9:23 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”

This is what God has been speaking into my life, "Just have faith and trust Me." Simple as that. But to some, and even to myself sometimes, it doesn't seem "that simple." But didn't Jesus say Himself, "if you have faith the size of a mustard seed..." [Luke 17] Jesus said this after His disciples asked Him to INCREASE their faith.

I pray that God will continue to build us up in faith, may we not focus on the temporal or the things of this world, but place our thoughts on the things above. May God's thoughts toward us become our thoughts. May God's ways become our ways. May what He desires for us become so deeply rooted in our hearts that we will live that reality!


LORD, INCREASE OUR FAITH!!

♥ Mari

For Such a Time

A VERY brief synopsis!

The Book of Esther paints a beautiful picture of redemption, favor, grace, humility, and how a  devastating situation can do a 180 degree turn!!

Esther was beautiful woman who found MUCH favor in the sight of the king. Out of the many women who tried to catch the king's eye, Esther excelled above them all! The moment King Ahasuerus [a.k.a. Xerxes] first laid eyes on her, he pretty much fell in love [awwee how precious lol]. I would like to think it was her outer and INNER beauty combined that really captured his heart.

Haman [who thought of himself as most favored of the king], an enemy of the Jews who also greatly despised Mordecai [Esther's uncle] sought to annihilate all the Jews [out of pride].

Now, instead of using her beauty to glorify herself, Esther used it to redeem her people. Through corporate fasting, Esther prepared herself spiritually to face the king to attempt to redeem her people. Esther boldly took the chance of being killed to go into the King's courts to plead for the redemption of her people.  "Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this." Esther 4:14 NKJV

Esther, of course, found favor in the king's sight! A chain of events unfolded where the circumstances changed, Mordecai found much favor in the king's sight, and Haman was no longer "the king's favorite." Long story short, the device Haman built to kill Mordecai [which didn't occur because the king favored Mordecai] was the same device that the king had  Haman killed with. [Esther 7:9-10 ~ Psalm 7:14-16, Psalm 57:6]

This is when Mordecai asked Ether to go to the king and make supplication: Esther 4:13-14 "And Mordecai told them to answer Esther: “Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" NKJV

Because of one woman's boldness, a people were redeemed! My friend, is there a place in your life where God has called you to speak up, speak out and be bold? You have two choices, you can either sit back and say nothing, or step out in courage and do what God has called you to do. Know this: there is ALWAYS someone else God can use to perform His perfect will. He doesn't really need you, so count it an honor to even be elected by God "for such a time as this." Take heart and be courageous... who knows? You just may redeem a people, a city, a nation through an act of selfless faith. God Bless!

♥ Mari P.

A REAL LIFE Fairy Tale

I know many are wondering, and very, very few know the full story. I hope this post brings clarity, encouragement, and much joy :^)

So.... Kamaria (that's me!) got a man!! HAHA!! Not just "a man..." or "any ol' man" but a GODLY MAN!!! THE MAN she has prayed for! PRAISE GOD!!! HALLELUJAH!!! I know many are speculating but I'm here to clear the smoke and shine some light on this.

How did we meet?

Initially we were Facebook friends, but we never really "talked" to each other like that. Just were, I guess, "cordial" on Facebook. Jonathan stays in Alabama because that's basically where his entire life is. But we actually did speak a few times outside of Facebook, nothing real serious. Actually, the first time we spoke, we prayed for each other!! Much like how our relationship is now :o)
Anyway, while he was on Spring Break, he came back to Atlanta for a few days. Around this time, I was transitioning churches, so I actually JUST started going to a new church. THAT is where we met. The timing and how it happened couldn't have been more perfect... nothing BUT God! When we saw one another, we spoke, but kept the conversation fairly short. Or should I say, I kept the conversation short ;^) LOL We were actually in this orientation-type session for people who wanted to know more about the church. Afterwards, I left, and he texted me. And honestly, the rest is history.... nothing but God's hands all over, around, and through our relationship!

How long did you "wait?"

Long enough. LOL about as long as God saw fit! I came to a point in my life though where I said, "Lord, all of this is in Your hands." True enough, I expressed to God what I like in a man [as if He didn't know] but I also asked the Lord to keep my eyes and my heart open, so I wouldn't miss out on THE ONE He has for me. There also came a point where I realized that whether I'm single till the end of my days or not, I would always find my joy in Him. Nothing/no one else.
Fact of the matter is, I made up in my mind, and made a declaration that I was going to wait on the Lord. And in the meantime, I'd make sure I'm doing whatever my Father was telling me to do. WHICH INCLUDED [but was not limited to] no casual dating & no wasting my time just talking to people. God called me to cut a few people off and let some people go, and honestly, I was fine with it. LOL Single isn't really as bad as some make it seem either. It gives you time to prepare, and helps ensure that you have a strong foundation with Christ.

Are you happy?

Words cannot EXPRESS how happy I am!! Waiting on God was the best decision I have ever made! Jonathan is everything I've asked for and then some! Exceedingly, abundantly above all I could ask or think! God really SHOWED UP and SHOWED OUT with this one hahah! ;o) And I am not ashamed to say that I am so much in love with him!! The amount of growth WE'VE experienced these past few months is beyond amazing. All glory to God!!!

Is it REAL?

Is God real?? LOL Of course, thru many answered prayers, I can rest assured knowing that I am in God's will. Knowing that Jonathan and I are in God's will. None of this is just by happen chance or "coincidence." Our initial meeting and everything that happened leading up to us meeting was divinely orchestrated. But, it took obedience, prayer, and just knowing, hearing, and taking heed to the voice of the Lord.

My prayer is that many will be encouraged to wait! I will leave you with this scripture:
Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart. [ESV]


♥Grace be unto you,
 
 Kamaria and Jonathan