He’s so FRESH!, I’m so FLESH!

The "flesh" I am referring to is anything that is not of God, or valued more than God. In this fresh to death world, it's easy to be flesh leading to a damned death. However God gave us the power to be so fresh and so clean, clean, that power is found within us thru Jesus Christ. I don't want to sound condemning to the people who are not saved or are not in a close walk with Christ, but I don't want to null "you" in to a false sense of security, downplaying the necessity of Christ. Flesh of this world is everywhere; it covers every inch of your body, trying to find a way to your heart.

Letting go of fleshly things is hard, especially the flesh that takes the shape of a shield to seem like protection. The "shield" around your heart, whatever earthly thing you hold dearest, is always the hardest to give to God. Bear deep in your mind though if flesh is guarding your heart then the Devil’s darts can penetrate the flesh and reach your soul. So trust in the Lord and guard your heart with righteousness. [Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,] Ephesians 6:14

As the title says, I myself am made up of flesh, but I have giving up much flesh since I started my part of the walk, and working on ridding myself of the remaining flesh. It is an impossible task without Christ’s help. Only by surrendering fully to the Lord will one have the strength to live fleshless, plus being more blessed then I even know. Surrendering fully to Him means giving your whole body and every desire to Him. Put on your breastplate of righteousness and belt of truth but also cover the rest of your naked body, with the protection of Christ. [above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;] Ephesians 6:16-17. Surrendering to Him includes your extremities, don’t burn the feet you walk on, don’t let them touch the burning fire of the Devil’s dart, or the sin soaked ground of this world. [For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.] Ephesians 6:15

The Grass is Greener…

“The grass is always greener on the other side.” That statement is only true if the other side has Christ and the side you are on is rejecting the Savior of souls. A damned soul could have all the riches in the world, and I would still rather have the One richness that matters, Christ. Living “good” for 80-90some years is rotten brown in hue compared to living holy for those years then basking in a perfect utopia for the rest of eternity. Pure white is the new green for me. I pray that the green-eyed monster never rears its sinful head at me, and if so I hope it is the mistake of yearning for someone’s relationship with Him. Noticing someone’s walk and wanting your walk to be closer as a result is good thing, and that someone is bringing glory to Him in a godly way. Why than did I say it was a mistake to be envies of another walk? No human’s walk is complete, they will fall in to temptation, and their fire will dwindle and rekindle. The only envy should be directed towards Jesus and His relation with Him, follow His example and love Him as he loves the Father. By being envies of another you most likely want to be like him or her taking your focus off being like Him, the one who won’t let you down unlike all others.

You Sir, have a undeserving Smirk

Everyone knows "that guy" "the smug guy" that screams I am better for no reason, in his tilted smile. O' that guy is a prick among stuck up sticks. I myself have been that guy from time to time, the guy who is "filled" with self-righteousness, as if I have the authority to deem anything righteous. If a freshly graduated high school student tried to self-appoint him or herself into the supreme court system as Judge, the plea would not even be entertained. In the same way we as mere humans should not entertain the manmade belief of "self-righteousness" . We must first have righteousness to judge righteousness.

This is what the Lord says:

“Don’t let the wise boast in their wisdom,

or the powerful boast in their power,

or the rich boast in their riches.

But those who wish to boast

should boast in this alone:

that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord

who demonstrates unfailing love

and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth,

and that I delight in these things.

I, the Lord, have spoken!
Jeremiah 9:23-24

So as it is made clear when we do not do God's will, than we have no righteousness, and when we do His will all glory goes to God who gave us the needed strength. So we can obtain righteousness but only because it is a graceful gift from the Lord, that is why self-righteousness is self-evidently contradictory.

As the Scriptures says

Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls -1 peter 2:11-

Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.
-Ephesians 4:29-

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me -Philippians 4:13-

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. - 1 John 3:16-

Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law. -Romans 3:31-

Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ -Philippians 3:8-

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. - Philippians 4:6-

For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. - John 3:16-

These are some of my favorite verses, they give me peace of mine knowing it is from the inspired word of God. No good advice I have or ever can give is original; God gave us an answer to all our woes way before we even needed the answer. Sometimes you think your prays may go unanswered but maybe you just didn’t like the answer, or you were not close enough to understand the answer. No, is an answer too, and if God says no then it is the perfect answer. The closer you get to Him the better your life will be. Verses can be enlightening, but also misinterpreted, make sure you try your best to do His will. God is perfect no earthly thing is, listen to Him above all others, for He is above all.

Worry not

As you may or may not have been able to tell by the title this is not part 2 of my "testimony" it is still a witnessing blog as all my post are in manner that it is how God works thru my surroundings to give me knowledge, courage, and strength to do His will.

Each and every day everyone wakes up to a plate full of "haves to do", some of them you even worry about. Is it not funny how something that worries you so much on Monday can be forgotten by Sunday? I am pretty sure that most of your troubles of last week have been replaced with a whole new lineup of earthly worries. As for the worries still bothering you form last week, I bet they will not matter five years from now, but your relationship with God still will. Just remember phill 4:6, and think how many things that were so pressing on your mind last week have already been replaced and forgotten. [Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord] Philippians 3:8. I liked that verse and tried to keep it in my mind when times got "hard" like I broke my pencil or forgot my lunch, but it was not until God give me the same message in a different view point, that I got the moving message not just some good advice. This new perspective came about when having a casual conversation with the Lord in mind, you will be surprised how well and often God will guide you when you are looking for Him. All earthly things no matter how prevalent they are at one time eventually become unimportant, a worry only last as long as we are stubborn enough to let it worry us, worrying solves nothing it has no benefit, but trusting in the Lord, truly trusting, gives you peace of mind. The trust probably will not fix the problem, but it will give you the strength you need to deal with it, alongside the knowledge of what to do about it.

My views on things may have no hold on you, and that's ok, God works in different ways with different people, but He will make His message clear in the perfect way, don't be stubborn and let pride stop you from living blessed.

Developing the Faith-ics (My Testimony)

This is my first attempt to chronicle my rebirth bare with me as I work out the kinks ………… Before I was found I didn’t even know I was lost(I even thought I was saved), I didn’t even know of the joy one could have in this life. My part of the journey started about a year ago after a break up with a girl, God works, and has always been working in me, and everyone else, He can work above any circumstance, as He did with this one making this action one that ultimately contributed to my salvation. She knows who she is and if you are reading this thank you, I hope we stay in touch. I walked in the shade before basking in the sun filling me up with warmth. After the break up I went to fill the void, which I did but I found a bigger void along the way. I was stuck in a cycle of trying to fill this void I started to notice in my life. I tried a verity of earthly joys to fill this void, to no avail. My walk was the farthest from Him right before He started working the most in me. On today's lax standards I was nowhere close to every being a BA, I didn't do anything like shoot up or find multiple sex partners, but looking back I now know I did a lot of things that pained God immensely, I still pain Him because I still sin but I am working on it now. All those things I did to fill the void left it larger. Giving me short lasting unfulfilled joy. If any of you are not saved and are currently "enjoying" the sin life you don't want to give up because its "fun", I grantee Jesus will bless you more than any product, service, (wo)man or substance could every even come close to.

It was when I was about to fall I started listening to God letting Him pull me up. I didn't know it yet but God had plans to rebirth me (as he does with everyone this is the time I started listening). Like any conceiving process there is a developing stage(always develop with God you can't do it yourself, don't wait to get right with Him let Him make you right). This is the time I stopped trying to fill that void with earthly things. I was amazed to find when I stop trying to fill the void with my strength alone the hole I made larger with this activity and that one shrink back to the huge God shaped hole it once was. This is where my story hits a major cross road the void stoped shrinking, fortunately God had a plan using those around me to Lead me to Him. This is when the Faith-ics start, and the invitation to Brandon’s youth group picks up. This never ending testimony doesn't stop there, it is the time I began "Starting the Faith-ics" which I will go into with more detail than I had before on my next testimonial blog (my Faith-ics blogs).