NCarolinian

  "Love Me Tender" by Elvis Presley. Performed on Twitch Sings platform by me and Joliet4. Enjoy.

The following is a video I want to share of the song "Hero" by Mariah Carey. This was done on the Twitch Sings platform where one person (usually on the left) records their half of the song and the other person comes to that person's presence on Twitch Sings and completes the other half (usually on the right). This is me and BatSam. Hope you enjoy.

In the movie "Shawshank Redemption" Red says to Andy - "Hope is a dangerous thing my friend, it can kill a man." Andy replies, "Hope is a good thing, maybe even the best of things. And good things never die." God gave the world Hope thousands of years before Christ arrived. Many Christians who study the Scripture know of Old Testament passages that reveal the prophetic word of Jesus' miraculous birth, His life, suffering and death for the redemption of all.  However, how many of us know or research the Old Testament passages that foretell Christ's resurrection? Paul mentions this prophetic support  of Christ's resurrection in the O.T. in his letter to the believers in Corinth. “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, . . . that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in ...

Jesus was different. He taught peacefully, most of the time, about many good things. However, all His words and miracles depended on having some kind of relationship with Him.  Sometimes the relationships were established before He spoke or performed His miracles. Sometimes the relationships were established after and due to His words and/or miracles.  The Savior had come to save and that was a shock that sent ripples throughout the world, but the way He saved was different. How can a Savior King save while hanging from a cross instead of ruling from a throne in Jerusalem over the Romans and all the Earth?  He was received at first, criticized, shunned and eventually rejected or crucified.  The Holy Spirit is God, but He too was received at first, criticized later and found so different to many that He has been shunned or ignored.  The creation has the audacity to say to The Creator, the Holy Spirit is weird, if anybody is weird - we are weird.  I heard it ...

There are two mountaintops that people, Christians in particular, have their feet on the summit of and cannot make a decision which peak to live on - Mt. Fear or Mt. Hope. Hebrews 12:18-24 states it like this -  "You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, because they could not bear what was commanded: 'If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.' The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, 'I am trembling with fear.'" But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, to Jesus the media...

I want, seek and pray to be a man of integrity. In Paul's second letter to Timothy the charge is made - "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth." (2 Tim. 2:15) Paul advises Timothy and all Christians striving for integrity that to be of sound moral character - We should be accountable to God We should work as employed by God We should correctly handle God's Word. Not all of us surrender these on a daily basis, therefore we deal with our own consequences when we respond to issues in a day from a non-Godly guided manner. If we are Christians who are presenting ourselves to God as approved, then that means we are seeking what God's Word says meets His approval and doing it. Paul challenges the believer to act in the faith as a worker who is not ashamed to be employed in the service of The King. The words - He died for me, I'll live for Him - are easy to type but...

Psalm 139:23-24 "Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." (NIV) Recently I discovered that the word "anxious" in the phrase "know my anxious thoughts" from Psalm 139:23-24 was missing in other translations like the King James Version, New Living Version and perhaps others. This is a big deal to me because I want God to know my anxieties. I know God knows all my thoughts for earlier in the same Psalm, David declares "you perceive my thoughts from afar" (v.2) . However, if David was praying for this and Christ prayed three times for His anxieties to pass in The Garden of Gethsemane then I deem it an important word to keep. The actual word, Sarappiym , is found only in two places in The Bible - Psalm 94:19 and Psalm 139:23-24 and only in the plural form, therefore meaning not just one troubled thought, but many. The Psalm 94:19 pass...

  None of us want to be at fault and for this fact we are masters at excuses. The world views shame and embarrassment as awaiting those who take responsibility for mistakes and correction. However, responsible people are the individuals who will mature and develop more as a person.  We are influenced by many factors in this life - mental, physical, spiritual and social - however we still pull-the-trigger on our thoughts, actions and words. I am not saying control is easy, but the first step toward a more responsible, healthy life is to make the decision you will take ownership of all of what you do, say and think before you assign blame where it does not belong. Remember the saying - when you point your finger at someone, you have four other fingers pointing back at you. We eat improper stuff in abundance and then blame someone else for a failed diet program. We make excuses. We stay up late hours watching a television program knowing we need to be up early the next morn...

  Lately the Earth has experienced the nearest asteroid fly-by on August 15th at 1,830 miles above the Indian Ocean. In the past we have also experienced Super Moons and Blood Moons, both of which are signs of things to come. We have years where the Sun has been abundant with its flares and sunspots. These are heavenly signs that I believe will continue as God tries to get humanity's attention here at the end of The Last Days. Back on earth,  the abundance of active storms in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico should not be a surprise for those who read the Bible and/or study Biblical Prophecy. There are five tropical storms in the Atlantic Ocean for only the second time in history plus named storms all the way to letter "V" (for Vicky) and a possible "W" coming off the west coast of Africa at this writing. For the future of this planet I have a mixed delivery for you. First, the conditions of this world are going to get worse exponentially very soon. However...

How does a stick divide the Red Sea? It doesn't. How does a massive amount of people simply marching around a city, blowing trumpets and finally shouting - collapse the city walls? In and of itself, it does nothing. How does placing those who worship God with singing and the playing of instruments at the front of an army make sense? To the enemy attacking and observer of the battle it looks absurd, delusional and certainly suicidal. The difference in all these events was the obedience within their relationship to Yahweh. Has God ever challenged your faith to believe and act in obedience toward His miraculous provision? Paul stated God's mode of operation, especially as the Believer obeys to Christ in manners we would question. 1 Corinthians 1:27 says - "But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong." Remember David before the giant, Goliath? Is it any wonder that Goliath and all his men thou...

Have you ever had someone you featured in your life to others? Did you ever have anybody you bragged about and took pride in on a regular basis? Grandparents do this a lot and many times the grand-kids don't even do anything but just grow up being family. Others have a friend who saved their life or did them a great service so they praise them at every opportunity. Still others live through athletes doing amazing feats of physical skill and talent by following their career and speaking of them regularly.  These are types of Associations that turn into Introductions. There is a powerful dynamic within these relationships that urges that person to recommend his or her Association for your benefit or enjoyment. Growing up and to this day, if I find somebody or group of people enjoyable to be associated with, I feel comfortable and almost compelled to share the treasure with others.  An example of this relationship treasure(s) that I cherish and have always desired to share is the...

All of who I was, all of who I am and all of who I am to be - Christ Jesus has orchestrated. God saw my unformed body and my unmade days beforehand ( Psalm 139:16 ). Then the Lord took great care in creating all of who I am in my mother's womb ( Psalm 139:13 ).  He made me - a human saturated with rebellious tendencies but with the potential for a radically changed lifestyle. He placed me in an environment that fostered Christian growth and development. At age nine, I decided to follow Jesus. I am now 50 and cannot imagine life without Christ Jesus my Savior. He has been, is and will always be The Lover of my Soul. With nothing short in supply to worry about these days, having not only someone but the Lord of all creation as the lover of your soul is extraordinary. Anxiety about anything and everything is easy and commonplace for many people now-a-days. North Carolina experienced a tropical storm and an earthquake within a week on top of dealing with a world-wide virus. I even have...

I'm so glad that worship is not pigeon-holed into one category of our lives such as singing. Worship is a Christ-like lifestyle. That being said, I am also grateful for the specialization or Calling that God places upon the believer's lives, including that of music. Some worship and serve Christ through teaching, others through the children's ministry, some through the janitorial needs of the church and still others through the administration, but I fall into the music Calling and ministry.  I feel blessed to have been gifted by God a voice to sing. I have sung non-Christian songs that bring joy into the lives of others as well as myself. However, the ability to sing is an honor and privilege as I sing for, to and about my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  I have sung in choirs, I have sung in teams or smaller groups and I have performed solos. I am thankful for all these different types of scenarios but any song I sing does not bring full meaning unless I can share it with so...

Our brain is an awesome creation of God. Our mind is a terrible thing to waste. David knew all too well the struggle of keeping a mind in right standing with The Lord. In my favorite Psalm, David penned about having and surrendering "anxious thoughts" (Ps. 139:23) . David also admitted to an enemy who influences our thought life, he said, " How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?" (Ps. 13:2) However, David also wrote about a God so personal that The Lord's thoughts were precious toward him and us and knows all about our dealings. Psalm 139:2 says, "You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar." And Psalm 139:17 says, "How precious to me are your thoughts God! How vast is the sum of them!" This personal interest in my thoughts and own precious thoughts toward me by God strongly encourages me to get my mind right and try to keep it ...

Jesus was gracious enough to appear to Paul. Christ knocked him off his donkey, onto the ground, introduced Himself and blinded him until he met Ananias in Damascus. Then Paul understood who he just encountered and how his life must change.  For many Christians, not only is our personal salvation or conversion story a mighty convincing proof of Christ's love for us, but in many life challenges afterward as well. The accounts I have heard from the testimonies of others meant the provision of protection, deliverance and resources came only from God. The same can be said for Paul.  One of Paul's well known phrases that proclaims this and that I love is  "I am convinced..." .  It is one thing to hear a silver-tongue orator who is excellent at the word-smith skill to persuade his/her audience. It is another to hear a well educated speaker present his/her findings on a topic for our information or enlightened purposes. There is a totally different and convincing...

Is it better to have never loved at all than loved and lost? I know that saying is switched, but the following is the same mentality. Is it better to stay a sinner, in disobedience to God, than to accept His salvation gift - Christ Jesus - and His lifestyle only to return to your old nature through a powerful, sinful enticement? Peter says, yes, these individuals should never have known, tasted or experienced right standing with God. In Peter's second letter, he defended and explained the role of prophecy in Scripture while revealing there were past false prophets who did harm and there are still future, harmful false teachers to come - " there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you." The deceiving, manipulative and enticing power these false teachers within the faith will have is staggering. This second chapter of Second Peter lines up with the lukewarm church that is depicted to be present at the end in Revelatio...

God's love reaches side-by-side with His justice as He gives us the choice to live this life and the next with or without His presence in our lives. Because of the belief in a lie, humanity disobeyed God and ever since, our relationship with Father God has been torn asunder. Then Christ Jesus was sent and has restored ALL of humanity's relationship with Father God. No matter the degree - past, present and future sins have been forgiven through our faith in His sacrifice.  Yes, from birth we are the walking condemned . However, since Christ's sacrifice the same walking condemned are walking saved individuals. These people just have to accept His free gift of love. What will you activate and live out of - a disobedient, rebellious nature OR acceptance of a Christlike lifestyle. The degree of God's love is unfathomable, but I still set my mind, heart and imagination on it. The degree He gave up, the degree He suffered and the degree He will still go to love on ...

Ever since the virus of 2020 hit the globe in March, I have been questioning God -  Where are you Lord? What are you doing? I have listened out for His voice in my spirit for the answer. I have listened in the sermons and teachings of others for His answer. I have asked others on a one-on-one level and listened for His voice in that setting.  Many of the answers I receive are appropriate due to the omnipresent, all-powerful, all-knowing God that Christians put their faith, trust and hope in. Answers like God is on His Throne, everywhere and inside of us. Answers on the line of God is orchestrating history and this virus is just a step toward the chaos of The Tribulation Period.  However, just like a two-year old in the faith, I always come around to the "why" question. I ask God, "But why Lord, knowing you are all that we need, you are All-in-All, and we have been crying out to you, will you not respond favorably and rescue the world from this virus and not...