Change the way you Praise and Persevere 🙌🏻

Hi! I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving, today I want to bring a recap of what was preached on Sundays service which was pretty bomb. This is something that I can give testimony that it works, but only if you are willing or open. 

Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.”
So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!”

Exodus 3:3-4Have you been to a place where the atmosphere is so heavy; that you feel like you’re suffocating?. At first, you start getting a really bad headache as if someone were to be smashing a hammer to your skull. It’s a terrible and painful feeling that while I’m praying sometimes its impossible for me to go deeper into the prayer because of that feeling.  The atmosphere is so heavy nowadays that sometimes it feels as we are fighting against a wall of darkness.

It’s in that moment that you got to persevere in your prayer, worship or trial. It’s in that moment when the breakthrough might happen or you have gone a step higher then before. I been dealing with this type of issue in my prayer and so so in my worship ; sometimes it has become difficult for me to pray. There are moment when I feel like I can’t deal anymore and I probably only just say “Heavenly Father” and three to four sentences and stop. But there are moments that instead of backing away I persevere in that prayer and there’s a breakthrough moment in it; where I can just feel God’s presence.

A few months ago I was called by God to the pastoral ministry and in the youth revival service about three Sunday’s ago; it was confirmed. I am not going to lie and say that I’m not fearful of the calling that has been given to me of course I am, being a pastor is such a huge step but most of all a huge responsibility that God gives you. You are been called and anointed to bring people into God’s path but also be an example of Christ and his love for us.

“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” 1. Corinthians 10:13

This verse reminds me that God will help in whatever situation that might rise up; there’s so much incredulity outside and even within the Christian faith. When I was called to be the youth leader so many obstacles rose up, but I am so grateful for them because I was able to grow and mature not only personally but also spiritually. Becoming a pastor would bring those obstacles or trials 2x harder then before but I know God has my back and he will not let me go.

Your worship is so fundamental that it disrupts and even confuses the plans or attacks of the enemy. Worship in the midst of trials and in the middle of blessings; worship when you don’t feel like it and when you feel like doing it. Combine your worship and prayer together and you have a nuclear bomb that will overpower the enemy and it’s attacks. Your worship as your prayer makes God move and show you the unexpected.

What is in your heart? Guest blogger- Israel Ramos

IMG_0304

 

God bless on this beautiful day; today’s blog post I will have a guest in my blog. He is the vice leader of the youth ministry in my church. I asked that he transformed his preaching of Friday night to a blog post today as through his preaching all of us received on Friday night I also believe that whoever reads this blog will receive from the word .

In Mark 28:34, the word says;

And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.””
‭‭

To understand the message of tonight or today as God directed me to this bible verse to preach on youth Friday I will dwell in four things that we need to work in the ministry. In my work I met a pastor who spoke to me and the words of wisdom that he gave left an impact; he said that many of us have a title; however that most of all believers only say that they are christian and actually do not know their real title and purpose in God.  That all of us are called with a purpose but we need to submerged ourselves deeper into the waters to see the purpose that God has for us because what you might think it’s for you it could actually not be. The main purpose of this preaching or post  is not to only use words but also actions to describe being christ like but also to scrutinize your heart and find the purpose that you have been called to do.

One of the main points is you got to have HEART; you got to love God with all your heart and have a passion. When you love someone you want to let everyone know; you want to shout it out and that’s the same way it should be for God. However what we lack with God, we without restraint give it for the world or for things that have no meaning. It’s really beautiful the first stage of falling in love as you can’t stop thinking about the person that you are interested in or can’t stop talking about that person to family members, friends or even telling that person. How many times do you proclaim your love for Jesus to the unbelievers or the world? Do you proclaim it when you feel its necessary? When you remind yourself? Or all the time? As you are grateful for what he has done in your life. As humans we are fickle minded and also selfish it’s a flaw and work of the flesh but when we come to God we are created as a new creature in him.

Second point is our Desire in Proverbs 8:11 says;

“for wisdom is better than jewels, and all that you may desire cannot compare with her.”

in this verse it talks about wisdom but also our desire. Just by  having wisdom is better than having materialistic stuff that will not go with you at the end. The desires of our flesh or wants for things that are passing through will not help us in times of tribulation. One thing that King Solomon asked of God when he became king was not the riches of the world but to be wise in guiding the people of Israel and he was tested in the situation with the two women and the child in 1 of Kings 3:16-28. Wisdom will give you the words and strength to keep moving forward as also help you in times of need.

The third point is FAITH. In Matthew 17:20; Jesus chastise the disciples after encountering a man who  had brought his son to Jesus to be delivered as the disciples were not able to because of their lack of faith.

“He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.””
‭‭

Faith is an important aspect in our walk with Jesus; it’s through faith and grace that we are able to call God our father. Another example is the disciple Thomas; that after Jesus having presented/showed himself before the other disciples and him not being present he said he would not believe he had resurrected if he was not able to touch his wounds and his side.

“Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believe”

Always remember that God has called you to the ministry; because you are able to deliver what he wants from you. Our faith could be as a mustard seed or a grain of sand so small, but God’s faith in you is bigger and more powerful than anything. Many times of our lives we have God showing us his love and mercy in each daily thing  but we still doubt him and his work.

Last point is Never Stop; doing what God has called you to do. It’s so important that you believe this and engraved it deep into your heart; their will be moments of insecurity, fear, doubt but God is always there in the midst of all. Keep moving forward and continue to grow where he has planted you and you will see God’s hand at work.

All my life I spoke or said that God was my Lord and savior; I let everyone know who he was but spiritually I never grew. I was not doing anything I was only seeing and hearing the words come out of my mouth. The first time I truly felt his presence was one time in worship. When I felt this warmth inside my body and I started to shout and praise; I realized that is not only through words but also action I will show of God. I started to do it more and more at church, home, work and that’s when I started to see the growth in my spiritual life. God started to use me in songs, preachings, motivational speaking to the youth. I’m not letting fear stop me; I’m asking myself daily what’s in my heart? Am I hearing God? Seeing him work? Those are my questions to myself but I ask that you go deep within your heart and scrutinize and ask ; What’s In my Heart?

P.S. Thanks to my brother Israel Ramos for this beautiful message that he brought to the youth and congregation on Friday; I believe that God will continue to use him more and more within the ministry of the youth as his own. I ask that you keep my family and I as well the North Carolina residents in your prayers as we are in the trajectory of hurricane Florence. I’m at peace in knowing that God is covering us with his precious blood; however there are people who unfortunately can’t say the same. Keep us in prayer I’m hoping that the hurricane will not affect badly my city as I don’t want to be without power😞😞😭😭but we shall see by tomorrow. God bless and I shall see you in next blog post, Shalom🕊🗣

Who are you in God?

784a5e12-eeac-43e4-9ac3-006f58472206Good morning on this beautiful day, today I will be writing about an issue that many youths, young adults and adults have gone through or are going through this moment in our lives. I will be speaking in the book of 1. Samuel 1:5-8. Hannah was the favored wife of Elkanah an Ephraimite; however, God had closed her womb and she was barren. Now this man had two wives; the second wife would belittle and provoke each time the family would go to give sacrifices to the Lord at Shiloh; Hannah would become sad and she would weep bitterly.

And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the Lord, and wept sore.11And she vowed a vow, and said, O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man-child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.

Hannah was a woman who had been mistreated not by her husband but by her husband’s second wife and had a view of her self as someone not worthy because she was barren and could not give her husband lineage from her. Hannah’s sorrow and low self-esteem became a tool in God’s hand as he remembered his servant and she was able to conceive.

Many times we doubt ourselves and we do not know who we are in God because of our low self-esteem. We have a distorted view of ourselves as objects of no great importance that cannot come up to something, but that is not who we are in God; in Genesis 1:27 it says;

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

We were created by God and to resemble him not in physicality as God is Spirit but in spiritual qualities as well as moral and mental obedience to worldly laws. Low self-esteem comes from different causes for example;

  1. Physical Features: we as humans are so focused on our image that we distorted what beauty is and we scrutinize ourselves and find flaws in our person. Proverbs  31:30  says; ” Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.” We do not consist of only flesh but spirit also; someone who might be beautiful on the outside could be ugly on the inside; that leads us to our next point.
  2. Emotional, Physical and Substance abuse: Sometimes we make choices that bring a lot of pain into our lives. We might be in a relationship that becomes abusive mentally, emotionally and physically. This relationship can be a friendship, parental, dating or even work environment. This type of abuse will lead us to have a low self-esteem and will make us want to subdue or escape the pain in any which way and takes us to substance abuse. Many try to forget the pain by looking for oblivion in drugs or alcohol which instead of helping just makes everything worse as that could become an addiction or could bring a lot more severe consequences later on. This brings us to our next point which is,
  3. Tragic Past: Sometimes we have a low self-esteem because of the actions of our past that we have done or have been done to us. When I was younger I had a distorted view of myself because of my past; I thought I was unworthy of love or affection. I saw myself as ugly and lacking in everything; my friendships became my cornerstone which was unhealthy as I was depending on someone else for my happiness.
  4. Sin: From experience, I can testify that sin leaves deep scars that make you feel unworthy and give you low self-esteem. Many times when I remembered all that I had done during my teenage years I would get sad because of the choices that I made; I had to travel a harder road and also that brought my self- esteem low in my personal life as well in my ministry. I felt like a dirty, unclean and tattered rag that was unwanted.

Hannah’s low self-esteem and afflictions became God’s tool. There is a verse that Hannah says is chapter 2 of 1. Samuel and it’s;

Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogance come out of your mouth: for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.

We might have a beautiful face and our self-esteem could be up to the roof but if our hearts and actions don’t reflect God what is the point of all. God looks into the inside and not the outside; he knows our every thought and desires. We might be able to fool men but not him.

img_1832

P.s. Thank you for hanging out with me today; hope to see you on my next blog post which will be a ” Called with a purpose” post. Remember that you are worthy of love and mercy; that God gave his begotten son for you and me in the cross. Don’t let opinion nor words of discouragement bring you down; instead, remember that you were chosen by him and through him, you have been saved. Shalom

Not Letting the Current Overwhelm Me🌊

img_1926

I’m finally back; and foremost I want to apologize because I had written on the last blog post that I would be posting my next Call with a Purpose post; however as I wrote on the post The Brook we are in a situation where at this moment most of the time to be truthful I do not even know how my days go by.

We have been on the search of a house to buy for quite some time now and many of the proposals that we have done to the owners of various house that we have liked; have not gone through. Maybe is because that is not the house that God has for us or maybe we were too late; I just know that my days are being spent on the looking for houses and work and church.

One thing that I have tried my best this two months is to not let the circumstances overwhelm me. There have been moments where I have shouted my frustrations as a release but mostly have prayed over them. In this river of life; we are thrown of balance by the things that happened around us or in us. I have tried to take my attention away from what’s going on by doing certain activities with the youth. For example; last monday the group of girls from the ministry we decided to go roller skating. I can say that I suffered that day; I fell so many times and broke a bunch of my nails plus ripped my dress on the back. I had a lot of fun that day though, so I cannot complain.Through the midst of this God has been there for my family and I seen my father and younger brother start to shake off what had them tied and unresponsive to God’s call.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Overall this month of august has been a blessing as three members of our church got baptized two Saturdays ago. Those three members were youth that decided to take that step of faith and give their life completely to Jesus. I have seen growth within our youth ministry; we are seeing many of the youth that were asleep have started to wake up. It gives me such a joy to see all of this happening in my personal life and ministry. Glory be to God because he is the one that is working on the lives of this individuals and mine.

On the next blog post I will be speaking about Nehemiah and his call to build the walls of Jerusalem.  This will be the next Call with a Purpose post. Stay tuned, would love to hear from you. Let’s not forget to take at least a day off to reflect and appreciate the beauty that God has left us in this earth. Don’t let your circumstances overwhelm you to the point that you are absent-minded from  your own life as I have been. Go out and smell the roses or fresh air and thank God that we are still here today to give glory to him.

img_1934

P. S. Two days from today I will be guest blogging again from Ms. Callie Susanna’s Blog https://calliesusanna.com ,Shalom🕊🌸

Reconcile🕊🕊➕➕

Missing one brother😞 Left( father, mother,youngest, oldest,myself, sister in law, and third oldest)

Happy & Bless Thursday !!! This week actually this whole year of 2018 I seen God’s hand move in my life and family. And what a tremendous pleasure it gives me to glorify and exalt the name of God because he is good. I can attest to that; I have seen his hand move to restore, lift and bless my life and my family.

My first blog post of the  series named ” Called with a Purpose” has been published on the blog ; go check it out Blessing within a Curse. I will not be speaking about that; it’s with immense joy and gratitude that I’m going to tell you what happened on sunday. Maybe some of you will not believe me or might think that I’m making up stories but with certainty and with my heart in my hands I tell you the blessing that our household received this last sunday.

Some of you know as I have spoken— well written in the blog that my mother and I and  the brethren in christ have been praying for my father and brothers for them to come to God’s path back again. As I posted in the blog post I’m a Warrior  , my father had started to rise up in the ministry after being in the backseat for many years. It’s with immense joy that I say that he took the step to reconcile with God on sunday and not only him but my youngest brother and the oldest( the firstborn) who arrived unexpectedly that day to our church from Texas. I could not have imagined nor predicted God’s perfect timing; truthfully I can say that God has been beyond good to me. A word that my pastor brought and spoke to our church was that we needed to start declaring that dried bones needed to come back to life; we needed to start prophesying over our family members; we needed to start declaring that their spiritual lives needed to be resurrected but having faith that it will happen.

I can almost see the comments rolling in; saying that we should not believe that nonsense as it’s not written in the bible anything about that. But your relationship with God cannot be compared to someone else’s. God has given us the authority to cast out demons, to prophesy that the land where we at will be ours; why then is it so difficult to prophesy over the lives of our family members?. I’m a pentecostal gal and will always be and I truly believe that God moves in mysterious and innumerable ways you and I cannot imagine. One verse that summons everything up to me is in Isaiah 55: 8-9;

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts

As I write this I know this is the first step and that their walk is not going to be easy. Since my father started to rise up in the ministry again; he has been attacked him in different ways. His finger almost got cut off at work; he did not work for almost a week because he needed stitches which meant not much pay for rent. A concrete fell on his knee on the week he had to sing( yes he sings) for the men’s service; this upcoming friday he has to preach and I know the enemy will have something in wait to discourage him from continue to pursue his ministry but I believe that he is covered with the blood of Jesus and no principality nor any spirit that tries to touch him will be able to. As I always say God has call each one of us with a purpose; it depends on us if we let the enemy have control of our lives. We cannot let fear overpower us because fear is not from God; instead we need to pick the armor that God has provided for us and continue moving forward.

I encourage the person who is reading this blog post and you have years of praying for that person that does not want or does not know of God; to never cease praying and declaring them for Christ. There are mysteries in our walk with God; don’t be like everyone else instead learn to listen and discern what is from God and what is not. Ask God and he will let you know. All I know is because God has revealed through his word or through elders. They are more battle ready then the new generation; seek counsel when you feel like quitting because there will be moments when you don’t even want to open your bible nor will you want to bow down and pray. But it’s in that moment that you need to be in your knees seeking God and declaring salvation over that person’s life.

P. S. On saturday I will be posting the second blog post on the “Called with a Purpose” series. Do go check out👉🏻👉🏻👉🏻👉🏻 Callie Susanna blog; I’m guest posting tonight there. Would love to hear from you, let’s chat in the comments. Also thanks a million times for the new followers that have decide to get on board this crazy ship to who knows where; I appreciate you💕💕💕— let’s say a hello down here👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻 Shalom 🕊

Building Jerusalem

Among these dark Satanic mills

Life & Faith

Raw topics, real faith

Grace Upon Grace

A life-long journey of faith, visions, dreams and living them out all by God's grace alone. “For from His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” -John 1:16

Andrew Thomasson

Fixing my gaze on heaven with my feet planted on this muddy earth