A Story about our world RIGHT NOW in 2014...

In this world there are troubles...I feel that media is a way to get the word out more about what we need to do. We each DO have meaning and purpose and right now that is coming together in community and praying for OUR WORLD-GODS WORLD-GODS KINGDOM!

Let's take this time to be thankful for our lives and then lets WAKE UP and OPEN OUR EYES to what is going on! I am convicted of my selfishness and in recent months my eyes have been opened to more of the evil in this world.  We need to realize that God gave us all a purpose to pray for our brothers and sisters!

LETS COME TOGETHER AND BE KINGDOM FOCUSED FOR GODS GLORY!!

Right now we need to pray- 

I received in the mail, a newsletter from Samaritan's Purse. The article written below is by Franklin Graham who wrote about just one person's story being affected by the evil in this world. 

'CONVERT TO ISLAM, OR DIE BY THE SWORD'

"As Islamic terrorists called ISIS have seized much of Iraq and Syria, they have been merciless and gruesome in their efforts to wipe out Christians and other religious minorities. We hear of children cut in half, people buried alive, believers crucified, journalists beheaded, and young girls abducted into sexual slavery. In my generation, I've never seen worse wickedness and evil. 

Just a few miles from the front lines in northern Iraq, Samaritan's Purse is working to provide food, shelter, bedding, and other assistance for Christians and others who have fled for their lives. We've set up hundreds of tents in Erbil, where our team has been ministering to refugees, meeting their daily needs, and sharing the hope of the Gospel.

Many of these refugees are Christians, at least nominally. ISIS doesn't care if you're a Catholic, a Chaldean, or a Baptist. If you bear the Name of Christ, you've declared you own death sentence. 

On August 7, ISIS forces stormed into Qaraqosh, known as the largest Christian town in Iraq. This is in the plains of Nineveh, where Jonah preached. A church worker named Diana described what happened next: "We were given three choices: Pay a tax, convert to Islam, or die by the sword." They had 10 minutes to leave town. 

I was in northern Iraq last December, when Samaritan's Purse helped refugees from the civil war in Syria. The collapse of much of Iraq has made the situation in the Middle East even more dangerous. Over a million Iraqis have fled into Kurdistan, the only part of Iraq where Christians and other religious minorities are protected.

Next door in Iran, jailed ISIS militants have threatened to kill Pastor Saeed Abedini, an American citizen imprisoned for his faith in Jesus Christ. Saeed's wife, Naghmeh, has organized a nationwide prayer vigil September 26 and has invited me to speak the night before in Washington, D.C. There will be events in cities and towns across the country, and I especially ask that you pray for Saeed and other persecuted Christians around the world. 

When you watch the news, it seems like our world is falling apart. Christians are under persecution around the globe. 

None of this should surprise anyone who has listened to what Jesus said in Matthew 24, warning us about wars, famines, plagues, disasters, tribulation, betrayals, hatred, and false prophets. "And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come" (Matthew 24:12-14).

That's our mission- to share the hope of the Gospel with a world that desperately, desperately needs it. Thank you for standing with us in prayer. May god bless you.

Sincerely,

Franklin Graham

So, I bring this up because media is a way to get the word out more! Please take time to inform yourself about what is going on in the world and most importantly pray! Plan a regular time to pray! That is the BEST thing we can ever do!

Below are some ways to get yourself or others involved:

1. PRAY! 

        "I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them." 1 Timothy 2:1 (Take time to read whole Chapter too!)

Pray that we take time to pray. God is the reason we are all here living and breathing today. He is sovereign over all. May we trust in his mighty works and put our faith to action in this time of NEED for our world! God has been here since day 1! Lets recognize his presence and let HIS WILL BE DONE!

2. Pray for Pastor Saeed Abedini. HERE

      As mentioned in the article! Pray for him, for his family, for those who are doing the persecuting, for all people affected. September 25 is the day that is set aside for prayer as many all over the nation and the world will be praying together. THERE IS POWER IN PRAYER! Franklin Graham will also be speaking in Washington, D.C at this time.

3. Inform yourself

     With all the media today it is hard to know what the true facts are. A site I like to use is CNN. HERE

4. Do Something

     While there are so many problems and trials in the world, whether it is global, community, or personal, DO SOMETHING! This is a problem and we cannot sit back, relax and act like nothing is happening. Take the time to pray for each other, go do ministry, volunteer your time, let someone know you are thinking of them. We cannot waste time! SHOW LOVE TO ONE ANOTHER! CHERISH THE MOMENTS YOU HAVE TOGETHER! GO DO SOMETHING! 

    We are getting in the the Thanksgiving and Christmas season soon! Prepare your heart for making a difference for Gods Glory! Maybe its volunteering at a shelter, maybe its getting involved with Operation Christmas Child and packing a package for a child overseas! HERE Maybe its giving money to relief during this international crisis HERE

    

Whatever it is lets get the focus off of ourselves and on Jesus Christ- the one who SAVED US! May we then take the time to be in community with those around us! THE TIME IS NOW! LETS PUT OUR FAITH TO ACTION! I myself am challenged and feel that we just need to get the word out there! 

To live a Life...

Are you ready to live? Are you ready to die? Are you looking for hope? Are you still not feeling satisfied?

In reading the book "Angels-Gods Secret Agents" by Billy Graham there have been so many topics of life revelations! I want to share just a snip it of this excitement! 

"Are you ready to face life? Are you ready to face death? No one is truly ready to die who has not yet learned to live for the glory of God. You can put your confidence in Jesus because he died for you, and in that last moment- the greatest crisis of all- He will have His angels gather you in their arms to carry you gloriously, wonderfully into heaven" p. 160. 

NO ONE IS TRULY READY TO DIE WHO HAS NOT YET LEARNED TO LIVE FOR THE GLORY OF GOD! Are you serious! Let's start living!! What does it actually mean to live even- much less living for the glory of God?! It's a mystery, and it's a mystery worth living for! It is God himself who gave us life in the first place! May we give back to him by glorifying his name in all we do! 

Billy Graham made reference to 1 Corinthians 15:58 "therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of The Lord, because you know that your labor in The Lord is not in vain". 

seriously! STANDFIRM!! LET NOTHING MOVE YOU!! May we stay strong and live for God in all we do! May nothing in this world change, tempt or deceive us!! Our world is lost, we are confused! We have work to do for The Lord!! May we encourage one another and share joy (the joy if The Lord!) We have lives to save!! Be thankful you know our SAVIOR who came to save the world! He's coming back!!

 (Commercial) If you feel you do not know The Lord personally!! I want you to know God Loves you!! John 3:16! If you believe God died on the cross for yours sins and rose from the dead, you will be saved! Ephesians 2:8-9! Praying right now for you that you experience this change of heart today right now in this moment!! I already love you and I may not even know you!! Gods love is even greater!!! May you grow and experience your faith today!! 

We know this world does not satisfy! That's why we hold onto hope! A hope that there will be joy and peace! Yes, there is joy and peace in the presence of The Lord our God! I pray you experience that today!

Get excited! The day is coming when we will die! And when we choose to live for God we will be carried by the angels gloriously and wonderfully into heaven!!!

How can we not get excited for the Glory of God!?

Feel free to comment on ways you feel we can/should/would live for God today!! Go encourage someone today! We all need it! Celebrate the Joys of life!

Rynae :)

"The Curtain Was Torn"

Christ The Lord is RISEN! HE saved us all! He died and rose again! This just blows my mind! I cannot even fathom what the empty tomb looked like!

This Easter was a great year of understanding and reflecting what God truly did for us!

...I want to share my deeper understanding with you! Mostly because it's like the Gospel and we need to talk about it more and more because it's THE BEST NEWS I HAVE EVER HEARD AND LOVE YOU TOO MUCH TO NOT PROCLAIM IT! 

Well, since the Thursday before Easter I would post a YouTube video or two a day on twitter and Facebook pertaining to what Easter was about- I posted them because they were a great reminder in understanding the MOST IMPORTANT LIFE EVENT IN HISTORY! I also posted them because it's encouraging to see postings of Gods truth throughout the web! (I know I get encouraged and convicted at times when others post scripture or something about what God did in their day!!) 

Okay, I'm sorry this is getting long but, I want to share a bit of what has been challenging me recently!  

Lines from the song "cornerstone" by Hillsong Hear song HERE! :)

"...Lord I trust in your name..."

"...You are my cornerstone..."

"...You are Lord of All..."

"...My anchor holds within the veil..."

These are all lines that remind me of who God is! They have a lot of depth and meaning to them and as I wrote them in my journal I thought...I have to believe this truth! These words are truth!! God is truly our EVERYTHING!! There is so much JOY in knowing: God is Cornerstone, God is Almighty, God is Warrior, God is Savior, God is Rescuer, God is Peace, God is Restorer, God is Merciful, God is Grace, God is... God is God! AMEN!! 

I then thought about when the curtain was torn, when Jesus died on the cross! Whoa! Imagine the temple destroyed! Ahh!!! 

Passages that talk about the curtain:

Exodus 26:30-33 this passage is about when the curtain was built! It is so specific- it's amazing thinking about the most holy place in the temple separated by the curtain!!

Mark 15:37-38 These verses describe what happened to the curtain when Jesus died. And when Christ died, THE CURTAIN WAS TORN! THE TEMPLE WAS DESTROYED! Just as it was prophesied! John 2:19-22 refers to this as well. 

Hebrews 10:19-35 as I read this passage it reminded me of so much truth!(I mean it is Gods Word and I believe it to be true! :) therefore this passage helped me continue to believe!!- glad I could clarify that!!) I put the whole passage on here (below in text and word art!)- but I encourage you to go read it on your own as well!! It's speaks so much of what the resurrection means to us and that we have NEW LIFE IN JESUS CHRIST! We must come to him daily! (This is why I am posting this!) I am a sinner. I will never become righteous. It's is only Jesus Christ that lives in me that makes me worth it! My life is nothing- Christ is everything. I may keep failing but, I know Gods truth is my firm foundation!(I share general information of my personal life on here because I am NOT an open book on the Internet! As I get to know you, I will tell you more about my personal life story and how God continues to renew and restore me!) 

Now this brings us into Galatians- the law vs. freedom. It's hard to understand how to live each day! We are free, be we are also prisoners of sin. We are Gods children but we are stuck in our sinful nature. We MUST LIVE BY THE SPIRIT! I hunger and thirst to be more like him! (It's hard to describe the message of Galatians in a few sentences- I encourage you to read through it and study on your own, in a group or with a couple friends if you want!- there's something about studying Gods word with others to gain more and different perspective!!--ahh!! The community of believers!!)

 And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins. There is only the terrible expectation of God’s judgment and the raging fire that will consume his enemies. For anyone who refused to obey the law of Moses was put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Just think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the covenant, which made us holy, as if it were common and unholy, and have insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to us. For we know the one who said, “I will take revenge. I will pay them back.” He also said, “The lord will judge his own people.” It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Think back on those early days when you first learned about Christ. Remember how you remained faithful even though it meant terrible suffering. Sometimes you were exposed to public ridicule and were beaten, and sometimes you helped others who were suffering the same things. You suffered along with those who were thrown into jail, and when all you owned was taken from you, you accepted it with joy. You knew there were better things waiting for you that will last forever. So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised. “For in just a little while, the Coming One will come and not delay. And my righteous ones will live by faith. But I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away.” But we are not like those who turn away from God to their own destruction. We are the faithful ones, whose souls will be saved. (Hebrews 10:19-39 NLT)

Alright, I have shared some of what I wanted to share! I hope you are encouraged by this! It is just a little bit of my understanding of what the resurrection is about! And seriously there's no way I could talk about everything! It's so much more than I can fathom! All glory to God for such a mystery of his salvation and resurrection!! He is risen! He is alive! We serve a living God!!! 

Now that is what the joys of life and living life is about!