NCarolinian

If you purchase something, you are agreeing the Value or Worth placed upon the thing is what is willing to be surrendered to attain it.  I submit to you then that, you would  have to experience something or someone far greater in value in order to consider gifting that earlier, obtained  something. Said another way - have you ever purchased an extremely high quality and expensive product that was meant for yourself but then the exact person that could use your purchase came to mind?   Remember the sisters of Mary and Martha and their brother Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from the dead? Well, I take you back in time, specifically to John 12:1-8 , after Jesus had raised Lazarus, to the house of the siblings. They were holding a dinner in honor of Jesus. As Martha served and Lazarus reclined at the table, Mary took a pound, a pint or half a liter of some of the most expensive perfume of the day and poured it all on the feet of Jesus. Then Mary proceeded to take her ow...

Humanity would be in a mess if Christ only came for one type of person - the rich, the educated, the popular, the political savvy, the religious minded and so forth.  When you examine the life of Jesus, the Son of God - one might think that because He is the Only Son of God that He would receive a more royal and fanfare welcome into this world than a birth in a manger in a stable. However, His first visitation was prophesied to arrive this way. He was also foretold not to be anything to behold and associated with suffering and pain. The prophet Isaiah said it this way many years before Christ came on the scene -  "He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem." - Isa. 53:2-3 In addition to Christ's lowly arrival and His unattractive appearance ...

I get in the way of the Lord's favor and plan sometimes. Thank God, He does not close off access to Himself because of my dumb decisions. In fact, 1 John 1:9 states to believers -  "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." John is speaking to believers here ( 1 Jn. 5:13 ), of a relational confessing of sin - a making things right within a personal relationship with God through Christ.  " All of our sins are forgiven 'positionally' the moment we receive Christ as Savior. This positional forgiveness guarantees our salvation and promise of an eternal home in heaven. When we stand before God after death, God will not deny us entrance into heaven because of our sins. That is positional forgiveness. The concept of relational forgiveness is based on the fact that when we sin, we offend God and grieve His Spirit ( Ephesians 4:30 ). While God has ultimately forgiven us of the sins we commit...

I believe, in a person's journey of faith, one will have to come to a point of realization that in spite of how we see the world and what we desire to see transpire in our lives - God is Sovereign.  I believe there is too much structure and design,  by The Designer - God,  to thwart the idea of meaningless existence and world cultures with useless laws and morals because of a non-sovereign God. What does it mean that God is Sovereign? God's all-knowingness, all-power and ever-present presence - all flow from His Sovereignty.  "The fact that God is sovereign essentially means that He has the power, wisdom, and authority to do anything He chooses within His creation. Whether or not He actually exerts that level of control in any given circumstance is actually a completely different question. Often, the concept of divine sovereignty is oversimplified. We tend to assume that, if God is not directly, overtly, purposefully driving some event, then He is somehow not soverei...

Are you familiar with people who have a commanding presence? There is something about them that when they walk through the door of a room others immediately notice them. There are several things we might attribute the command of our attention to - maybe a new hair-cut, perhaps an impressive physique or a particular tone of voice. My hope and prayer is that the way I carry myself, I would exude a strong presence of Christ Jesus in my life. Walking into any room, my desire is to introduce you to Jesus Christ without any words if possible. Said another way, if you had "spiritual glasses" on - I would want you to see Jesus walk-in with me and speak through me in any given situation. I would want you to know and experience me as a Heavenly scent and light in your midst.  2 Corinthians 2:16 says, that believers in Christ Jesus should have a "Heavenly Scent" about them that is so pleasing that it draws all people to them. "To the one we are an aroma that brings death...

As a Christian, healing is not so much about the requesting of the ailment to disappear, although that is part of our role - to place ourselves humbly in prayer before God. Even agreeing with others about a physical condition to be healed is Scripturally supported but does not guarantee a favorable answer or total healing. Healing is all about during your request to God, being aligned with God's desires and timing and submitting to both. If you pray "thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven" on a regular basis then you have to apply that prayer to this category of life. 1 John 5:14 states -  "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us." Notice three things according to John -  Because of Christ, believers have confidence in approaching God. Christians can ask about anything but the catch is the request must align with His will. God hears us. John did not say in which direction God would dec...

Have you ever had a reflective moment? Some would call it a stop-and-smell-the-roses occasion. Others might deem it a come-to-Jesus instance. While still others may name it Pow-Wow time. Whatever you might title your personal review of life at the moment, my strong encouragement is to not only include God in your review but consult The Lord, Jesus Christ first and throughout the process. In other words, Get Personal With God. Paul was sitting in a Roman prison when he had time to reflect on his life like this. As Paul studied his journey thus far he obviously included prayer to The Lord in his counsel. He had time to write so he wrote the believers in Philippi and revealed this very experience to them. "Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 3:1...