Essential Oils for Christians: Proceed with Caution

I believe essential oils are a gift from the Lord, as we know from His Word, He made all the plants (Gen 1:29) and their leaves for healing  (Ez 47:12) But the Lord flashed the yellow light at me while I was racing around the essential oils track. And we all know what the yellow light means...proceed with caution.

It wasn't anything physical, although I do believe we need to inform ourselves on the safe use of essential oils. No, it had to do with the thief and how I'd left my house without a burglar alarm in the past and let him come in and steal my joy and steal my peace before; the Lord was warning me not to do it again.

John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. (NKJV)

Jesus came to give us life. The thief, Satan, wants to steal that life from us. Satan's the oldest thief, he knows what he's doing and he is very sneaky. So please let me be a burglar alarm to wake up those who are asleep as I was several years ago and allowed him to steal from me.

In my early 20's I had some health issues and someone suggested I try yoga and meditation. I learned some basic yoga stretches and some breathing techniques to help me relax and I really liked the practice. I started reading information on yoga and got a tape on meditation. The idea was to empty your mind. Well I grew up in a Christian home and I knew that emptying the mind was a bad idea. So I didn't pursue yoga meditation, and I thought the yoga exercises were just that, physical exercise. But I had opened my mind to a false spirituality without realizing it.

In 2001 as my first marriage was falling apart I was introduced to Qi Gong aka Chi Kung. This is the"mother" of all martial arts. Qi or chi being the 'energy' or 'life force' that moves through the body, so they say. The meditation part intrigued me because it was about focus and visualization. We were not taught to empty our minds and so I thought it was okay. Instead we were encouraged to bring in good energy, positive energy, release any negative emotions or energy. That type of thing. How could that be bad? It was very relaxing and I was content.
  The problem is these practices come from a foundation of idol worship and this false spirituality lulls you slowly into a self confidence that excludes the Creator. I was living a life of self deception really. I was full of pride. I was self sufficient, I didn't need the power of the Lord, I thought I had it all together. Not even close. My relationships suffered tremendously. I started having all kinds of physical problems, with my stomach, my digestion, my back. It got bad enough I was missing a lot of work and I finally went to a primary care physician and realized I was suffering from depression. The opposite of what the spiritual meditation promised. But in the process of these illnesses, I had gotten lazy about meditating and I quit doing it. God in His mercy used my sin to bring me out of it. It wasn't overnight, it was a process.

So too was it a process to come back to the Lord. The biggest turning point was when I had a dream, I saw Jesus, He was so beautiful. And I heard the Lord speak to me saying, "Anyone who comes to me will have eternal life". I picked up my Bible again and began to read it every day. I still do. The Word transformed me. (Romans 12:2)

So I speak from experience when I say be careful when you are researching, buying and using essential oils. The new age (which is a misnomer because it's really old) has hijacked the essential oil market in a lot of ways. And I have found a lot of blending between the Bible and false spirituality that I find disturbing. Like I said the thief is sneaky, he can be very subtle, he's not going to announce himself. He even uses scripture to lull us into thinking it's of the Lord when it's the enemy trying to deceive us. He always sprinkles in some truth with his lies or else we would see right through him immediately.

Before I go on I would like to say I am not trying to tell anyone where to buy or not to buy essential oils. Whether you should or should not use them. What I am saying is seek the Lord first and do your research.

As of this writing, the only oil company I have purchased from is Young Living, however, I will not be buying from them again because that yellow light I mentioned was Holy Spirit highlighting some things about this company that have me concerned. Such as the way they are touting the use of essential oils in the Bible and at the same time promoting new age spirituality.

Their webpage and their product guide use the following to describe some of their oil blends.
Abundance "is created to enhance the frequency of the harmonic magnetic energy field that surrounds us."
Aroma Life "pulsing with life, this vibrant blend energizes your life force."
Harmony "is an exquisite blend that promotes physical and emotional well-being by bringing harmonic balance to the energy centers of the body."
Envision "helps awaken and renew that drive to overcome fear and begin experiencing new, more rewarding dimensions."
"Sacred Frankincense is ideal for those who wish to take their spiritual journey and meditation experiences to a higher level."

On the Young Living website you find a link to the founder D. Gary Young's blog where you can read this.

"I believe that the essential oils are a conduit between us and God, and I truly believe without question that they increase our ability to communicate on a higher level than ever before. As you start using the oils, one of the first things you will notice, if you don’t have a specific ache or pain, is that your spiritual relationship with Father in Heaven will magnify over and over and over. If you use the oils for no other reason than that alone, they will change your life." To read the entire blog post click here.

There is nothing biblical to support essential oils bringing us into a relationship with 'Father in Heaven'. In fact anyone who believes they can achieve a closer relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ without the Holy Spirit of God is deceived. But then again, Young doesn't mention Jesus Christ in his blog, or anywhere else that I have seen so one must wonder what god he is in a spiritual relationship with.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying we need to check out every single place we buy from and make sure the owner believes in Jesus Christ. That would make our lives very difficult indeed. However, when I go to other websites to make a purchase, amazon, target, hobby lobby and countless other places, I am not confronted with false spirituality.

And maybe your thinking, what I thought at first, that it doesn't matter because I don't believe in that new age garbage anyway, so it won't effect me to buy from this company. That may be so. But remember, the Lord has called us to be examples for others.We are not to cause another to stumble. I've decided I don't want to take the risk of leading another person astray by calling myself a Christian and then affiliating myself with a company that promotes a spirituality the leads away from Christ.

There are alot of  essential oil companies out there and unfortunately many of them have new age lingo in their marketing and some don't sell 100% pure essential oils. However, when I sought the Lord on this matter, I did find a few companies that sell 100% pure essential oils and do not promote a false spirituality. As a bonus, they are a lot less expensive than Young Living, (even at wholesale) most likely because they are not multilevel marketing companies.

Like I said, I'm not trying to tell you what to do. Wait a minute, yes I am. I'm telling you to seek the Lord first in all things. (Matt 6:33) Let Holy Spirit guide you and you will not be led astray.

Psalm 34:10 The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

Broken Tooth, Broken Pride

When I was 13 I did something stupid. Hard to believe, I know, at 13 I was so wise, ha! An older friend of mine had shown me a way to get a head rush. I was always willing to try something new so of course I was game. You put your head between your knees and breathe deep for a few minutes, then quickly put your head back and press on the jugular veins until you see stars and sometimes lose consciousness briefly. Stupid. But I thought it was a cool thing to do and one day a friend of mine and I were in the locker room at school and decided a metal and concrete box was the perfect place, no one was around. We thought we were being smart about it because we spotted each other, that way we could catch each other if we did lose consciousness, we were being responsible in our stupidity. I went first, I lost consciousness, I came to with a bloody mouth and half a front tooth missing. My friend told me I fell away from her and smacked my face, tooth first into the concrete wall. Please do not try this at home, at school or anywhere!

I couldn't tell my parents the truth, that I was a complete idiot, so I told them I tripped in the locker room and fell into the wall. So that was my story and I was sticking to it; only my close friends and God knew the truth. My mom took me right to the dentist's office where he put a "temporary" cap on my tooth, telling me it would need to be replaced with a crown someday. That was in 1986.

On Sunday August 18th, 2013 after church while I was eating a vegetable wrap, my 23 year old "temporary" cap fell off my tooth. I spit it and my food out onto my plate and dumped it in the garbage as I ran my tongue over the jagged backside of my front right tooth. I was surprised by how little tooth there was on the back side, it was broken close to the gum line. The front side had more tooth. I went to the mirror to see. It was ugly, I didn't want anyone to see it. I knew the next day was a workday I could miss so I  decided I would walk in to the dentist office and show them how desperately I needed immediate help.

That afternoon I received a call from my cousin Lisa asking if I could come over one day to help her paint. I told her I would love to, the only day we could get together was Wednesday and I told her it would be no problem unless that was the day the dentist could get me in, then I would need to do that and I told her about my tooth and that getting it fixed was my top priority. She understood completely. Of course she did, she is sensitive to others needs like that. But was I? 

That evening Chad and I then went to my parents house for supper; with family around the table I told them about my tooth and that I planned to go to the dentist in the morning and that getting my tooth fixed was my top priority. In that moment, as I spoke those words again, they felt wrong. I wasn't sure why and the conversation turned to something else and I forgot my tooth for awhile. 

Later that evening we ran into a friend and I told her my plan to go to the dentist in the morning and she said she spent over $2000 getting a broken tooth fixed. That was a shocker. We'd been living paycheck to paycheck with little extra here and there. I knew we could barely scrape together $200 let alone $2,000 but I figured, this had to be done and we would figure it out later, make payments or something.

Monday morning I was up early, around 6am, I had a couple of hours to wait for the dentist office to open, so I finally brought my concerns to the Lord. As I prayed for the Lord to guide me to the right fix for my tooth and for the finances needed to pay for the fix, I praised Him and thanked Him for His answered prayers and then this popped into my head... "don't go to the dentist". Why would I think that? 

I believe our thoughts come from one of three sources; our flesh, Holy Spirit or the enemy. Let me explain. You know those "gut feelings", those "intuitive" thoughts you have, the ones that are always right? Those thoughts/feelings come from Holy Spirit. His still small voice (1 Kings 19:12) He is the Spirit of the Creator, God. The Spirit of Jesus, our Savior. He is always trying to keep us on the right path, the one He created us to follow. But God gave us free will and flesh bodies so we have our own thoughts and feelings. God the Father also gave the angels this freewill to choose, the devil and his demons were once angels in heaven who rebelled against God, choosing to hate God, they hate everything God loves and so they hate humans. They whisper in our ears lies to get us out of the will of the Lord. Those thoughts you have like, you're ugly, you're not worthy, you're a loser, nobody cares about you, you're alone. Those are all workings of the devil as Jesus said in John 10:10 the thief does not come except to steal, and to kill and to destroy. I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly. (NKJV)

This thought "don't go to the dentist" was jarring to me. It could not be my own thought. Was that the enemy? Of course I was hoping it was the enemy because then I didn't have to listen. I wanted to go to the dentist and get this ugly jagged, broken tooth fixed, if the enemy didn't want me to go to the dentist, then of course I should go. But wait, why would the enemy tell me not to go to the dentist? That didn’t make sense. Why would the Holy Spirit tell me not to go? Unfortunately that made more sense because I didn't have the money to pay to get my tooth fixed. And I had made it my top priority, putting it above helping a loved one. 

I had been meditating on Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths. (NKJV)

For months I'd been reading this verse, writing this verse, speaking this verse, thinking this verse. And so I decided to live the verse; to go to work and forget the dentist for now. To trust the still small voice of the Lord.

It was difficult to talk to people and I wonder what they thought of my ugly tooth. I tried to make light of it, like it was no big deal and I’d get to the dentist at some point; like it was not my top priority. Every time I spoke to someone who I had not seen since it broke I was conscious of it and wondered what it looked like to them. Some told me it wasn’t even noticeable. I wished I could say the same. I was constantly aware of the jaggedness; my tongue was always running over it to the point the tip of my tongue became sore day one. But the minor discomfort was nothing compared to the constant self conscious feeling when I would talk to people. 

By no coincidence that week I was invited to join a women’s group that meets on Wednesday’s called Holy Spirit Gathering; a group of Christian women who believe in Jesus Christ and His promise to send us a helper, the Holy Spirit. (John 14:26) I had thoughts that the Lord would miraculously grow a new tooth for me during our time of prayer. That meeting I was prayed over and one spoke words that I would carry with me for months, that this tooth would not stop me from smiling. My tooth did not miraculously grow that day but I believed that it would one day.

That weekend my husband Chad and I went to New Creations church in Mankato,MN for the Prayer Summit. That’s a whole other long blog I won’t get into now but I was sure I would have a whole new tooth by the end of the weekend. I even felt throbbing in the root of this tooth that had died and had a root canal done on it. I was sure that meant it was coming to life. I was ignoring what the Lord was whispering in my ear. The first night we were asked for any prayer requests to be written down and their intercessors would pray over the weekend. I had written my request for a new tooth.  At one point during my own prayer time I had this thought…you’re praying for the wrong thing.

Mankato, MN

James 4:3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. (NKJV) 

I did not see at the time that I wanted God to not only fix my problem but do it the way I wanted Him to do it and when I wanted Him to do it. I did not see that my pride was getting in the way because truly trying to control God is pride. I was not trusting God with all my heart, only part of it. 

James 4:6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud. But gives grace to the humble.” (NKJV)

September 22, 2013 Word of Faith Dominion Church, Pastor Steve Johnson led a healing service that day. He instructed the congregation that he would preach but any time someone felt lead by the Holy Spirit for healing to stand and he would come to them and pray, he said some people he would have speak. So the first lady stood, brave soul, he went to her and prayed quietly and then he went on teaching about Jesus’ healing ministry, I think, I don’t really remember what he spoke. At some point I felt I should stand. I met Pastor Steve in the isle and told him about my tooth. He brought me to the front where I spoke to the congregation, telling them of my tooth, leaving out the part about how it was broken in the first place, but emphasizing that I felt the Lord had instructed me to not go to the dentist. He prayed over me and again, I expected my tooth to be miraculously healed and again it was not.


As time passed and I didn’t see any change, doubt crept in at times. But the Lord was working on healing more than just a broken tooth. 

Journal Entry Oct 6, 2013 Sunday 13:45
Val (at Holy Spirit Gathering) had given me the packet on the Seven Steps to Freedom and we’d planned on talking about the process but that didn’t happen. I started feeling like I didn’t want to wait for whenever someone else would be available to walk me through it so Friday morning during my prayer time, I started going through it on my own, well with the help of the Holy Spirit of course. God is using this time to reveal some things from my past. Like vanity and a desire for others to look at me with envy. And my broken tooth helped me make that connection. Because the desire to have my tooth whole is purely vain. It doesn’t hurt, it doesn’t prevent me from feeding my face, it is pure vanity. And there are times that I don’t care what my broken tooth looks like but there are other times I wonder if I look like a meth addict. So this morning I repented of vain thoughts and feelings and I know I need Jesus to lay my vanity to rest because I cannot do it on my own. 

Definition of vanity: the quality of people who have too much pride in their own appearance, abilities, achievements, etc. Something (such as a belief or a way of behaving) which shows that you have too much pride in yourself, your social status, etc. 

This is good for me to look at. That was me 10-11 years ago. Totally after Ted and I were divorced and I started taking QiGong lessons. I was full of pride, full of vanity until my world came crumbling down around me and it was purely my own doing. I had rejected Jesus and accepted a false spirituality that led me to disaster. I thank God my pit did not bring me lower than it did and I believe I owe that to the prayers, the faithful prayers of my parents and others, and God who answered of course. 

Is this tooth thing pure vanity now? I don’t think I’m as vain as I used to be, but does a little linger? Lord I repent of any vain thoughts and vain actions, I repent of thinking more highly of myself than I should. Forgive me Father in the name of Jesus, thank you Father for Your forgiveness. Amen. (end journal entry)

October 2013 was a month of much repentance for me as I went through the Seven Steps of Freedom. It was not easy to look back on all my past wrongs, bring them to the Lord for forgiveness and healing but the hardest by far was when the Lord prompted me to confess a lie I’d told to many people in the early 90’s. I don’t care to reveal that lie here; the point is the Lord gave me the courage and strength to confess the lie to those I’d betrayed. I was blessed to find each one forgave me and I was released from the guilt and shame of the lie I told.

That month Chad and I had been asked by one of the church deacons if we would like to be greeters one Sunday a month and we said yes. November 10^th, 2013 was our first day of greeting at the church. We arrived an hour before the service was to start and I was surprised by the number of members already at the church, the worship team was already practicing. We put on our pins labeled greeters and stationed ourselves at the door. I enjoyed seeing everyone arrive and extending a hand of welcome with a smile. It wasn’t until later in the day I realized it was the first time I could remember smiling at people and not thinking about my broken tooth.
Right before the service was to begin a woman came in, I recognized her but didn’t know her name. She said, “I have to talk to you.” She took my hands and pulled me to a corner and told me that day I spoke in the church over a month ago about my tooth, she felt a stirring. It grew stronger as time passed and then she said, “I want to fix your tooth.” I thought, is she a dentist? Then she said, “Who is your dentist?” I told her and she said to make an appointment and send the bill to her. I was stunned. She said, “Praise God!” I said, “Yes, praise God.” Although I didn’t feel it at first, I was so blown away. I should not have been because I had faith the Lord would take care of this but to be honest I’m ashamed to admit, I was a little disappointed because that is not how I thought the Lord would do it. Pride.

After church she gave me her name and phone number with a note that said, smile Jennifer, Jesus never fails! Amazing, she had practically given me a blank check because she was following the Holy Spirit and loving the way Jesus loves, selflessly. But I did not immediately make a dentist appointment; I was still struggling with control and calling it trying to be led by God. I thought maybe I should ask for x-rays because then the dentist could see my tooth is growing; it would be proof of what I believed, as if my thoughts and feelings are higher than God. I was not ready to let go and let God. I still wanted to be in control. Pride. I trusted the Lord only as far as having faith that He would do things my way; I was not to the point of letting Him direct my path. 

I was no longer in a hurry to get my tooth fixed. I was thankful to the Lord for His forgiveness and healing of vanity which is a form of pride. But it took another month for me to fully humble myself enough to accept another person’s gift to me. You see I had deceived myself into thinking I was waiting to be sure this was God’s path when reality was I was still holding onto pride. I did not want God to use someone else to fix my problem. It wasn’t until a friend reminded me that Christians are the hands and feet of God; that this woman who was giving me the finances to fix my tooth, she was the hands and feet of God. 

Then Chad told me he had been speaking to a friend of ours who is not living for the Lord that he believed the reason we were being given this money was because we’d been faithful to tithe, that we were getting back what we’d given. How we always got back what we gave and then some. I realized the Lord was using this to minister not only to Chad and I but also to our friends about how His kingdom finances operate.

Malachi 3:10 “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts. “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.”

Finally I made the dentist appointment and was given two options, another temporary cap for a couple hundred dollars or a permanent crown which cost around a thousand. I brought the options to the generous donor who told me to choose the permanent fix. Praise the Lord! I was finally in a humble position to truly praise the Lord. And I received a whole new tooth, just as I prayed for, and all it cost me was vanity and pride, which despite my stubbornness, I don’t want anyway. So I am thankful to the Lord for His answer. I am thankful to the donor for obeying the Lord and being the hands and feet of Jesus. I am grateful that I know the Lord will pour abundant blessings upon her as well.

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths.

I learned that trusting the Lord is having faith He will answer our prayers, in His time and in His way, which is always the best path. Believing the Lord will answer our prayers is faith, believing we direct the path he has set us upon is pride. I know the Lord could have healed my tooth in the miraculous way I wanted Him to; it’s not that He didn’t have the ability to do it. He chose to lead me upon the path that would heal much more than my tooth. Thank you Lord.

"Whatever He says to you, do it."

Recently when I was in prayer I saw myself laying a hand on someone and praying for them. I said to the Lord, "Do you really want me to lay my hand on this person and pray? If you do I need scripture to back it up." I opened my Bible to search. I turned to Isaiah and skimmed a few scriptures, then went to Psalms and perused there, when suddenly a thought popped into my head, Jesus turned water into wine. I knew it must be from the Lord because it didn't logically fit the situation, water to wine was the furthest thing from my mind.

But I went to John 2 and began to read the story of Jesus' first miracle.

John 2:1-11 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana  of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, "They have no wine." 
Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come."
His mother said to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it."
Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. Jesus said to them, "Fill the waterpots with water." And they filled them up to the brim. And He said to them, "Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast." And they took it. When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. And he said to him, "Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!" This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him. (NKJV)


When I read these verses the first thing that struck me was what Mary said to the servants...'whatever He says to you, do it'. I knew I was to touch this person as the Lord showed me and pray for them. But it doesn't end there, we are to do whatever Jesus says. Jesus tells us so much in the scriptures. In Matthew 7:7 Jesus tells us to ask, to seek and to knock. Mary in this story was asking Jesus to do something. When I first read this story I thought it was a trivial thing, running out of wine at the wedding feast but according to the notes in the 'Life Application Bible', wedding feasts were week long celebrations and it was considered a law of hospitality to provide wine throughout the feast, it would have been an embarrassment to run out. So to Mary there was cause for concern. In the grand scheme of things it was probably as I had first labeled it, trivial. 

How often do we fail to ask Jesus for something because we consider our concern too trivial?

Regardless of the size or weight of the request, look at Jesus' response to her, a question..."What does your concern have to do with me?" What would your response be if Jesus asked you this question? Would you turn it into a statement, "Your concern has nothing to do with me." But to believe Jesus would respond that way is to not know the nature of Jesus. He is concerned about our concerns, no matter how trivial they may seem.

So why did Jesus say this to Mary? I believe He was looking for faith. Isn't this what Jesus is always looking for? Jesus responds to faith. In fact Jesus Himself proclaimed those He touched and were healed, that their faith healed them. See Matt 9:2, Matt 9:22, Matt 15:28 for a few examples.

Matthew 21:21 So Jesus answered and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' it will be done."


I love Mary's response to Jesus, she doesn't even address Him, she turns to the servants and says do whatever He says. She doesn't say to Jesus, "oh come on Jesus, please do something, I know you can if it is your will to do something." No, she responds with action, sure that He will do something. She knows He can and she knows He will. How does she know this? Because she has a personal relationship with the Father and the Son. Now you may be thinking, of course she has a personal relationship with Jesus, she gave birth to Him and raised Him, but she first had to have a personal relationship with God the Father before she was trusted to give birth to the Son. How great Mary's faith was from a very young age. 

What if Mary had she responded with doubt. They would have run out of wine, people would have been embarrassed and others been disappointed and after not much time at all no one would remember, it would have been no big deal really.  

But look at what Mary's faith produced, a miracle that was recorded in the gospels that we are reading and learning from 2,000 years later. And it caused the disciples to believe.

How many miracles do we pass up with doubt? How many times do we think our concerns are trivial? That Jesus is too busy, has more important things to take care of? Why do we limit God? He is limitless. Don't be naive, God does not put a cap on miracles. It's as if we think God has one phone line and because we're talking to Him about a bill we can't pay, the person calling about a loved one dying will get a busy signal! That's not the way it works. He is everywhere, all the time, and is probably offended when we don't bring our cares to Him. 

 1 Peter 5:6-7 Therefore humble yourselves under the might hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you.

And there it is...humble yourselves. Check your pride when you believe your cares are trivial. Sometimes we don't ask because we are too proud to ask. We are self sufficient, or we want to be. Our flesh makes us believe we have to be strong and take care of ourselves. But the truth is, it takes strength to admit weakness, it takes strength to humble ourselves. 

But when we put our faith in Jesus and do whatever He says, miracles happen, Jesus is glorified and people believe.

Painted by Louaine Jordahl

Are We Ready?

Ready for what? 

Judgement Day.

As much as we like to ignore the fact that there is more than this life on earth. Whether it's after our death or if Jesus returns while we are still alive, we will face Jesus Christ and He will pronounce judgement on us. 

I read something startling in my Bible recently. Something Jesus said that all American's should pay attention to. In Matthew 11:21-24 Jesus tells the people of the area who were refusing to repent that it will be worse for them on judgement day than for the ancient cities of Tyre, Sidon and Sodom. These cities were destroyed by God for their wickedness, and yet Jesus was telling the people of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum that their judgement would be greater. Why? Because they saw Jesus Christ with their own eyes, they heard Him teach and preach, they saw the miracles He performed, and yet they did not repent.

Why should American's pay attention to this? How much access do we have to the Bible? Is there one in your home? How many places can we go to hear the Word of the Lord? Is there a church in your city? Most cities have several churches. Here you are reading this blog, the internet has unlimited access to receive the Word of the Lord. And do we open our Bibles? Do we hear the Word preached? Do we repent? With all these resources at our fingertips, what excuse do we have? Will our judgement be greater than that of cities the Lord destroyed for their wickedness?

Are we ready? Are we ready for judgement day?

How do we get ready? Come to Him. Jesus gives us a beautiful promise in the same chapter of Matthew.

Matthew 11:28-30 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gently and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.

Those were Jesus' words. He says come to Him and to learn from Him. Let us American's get ready,

for we do not know the hour we will come face to face with the Lord.

I do not think it was a coincidence the sermon I heard at church today was on this chapter. It was awesome check it out at... http://www.holyfire.net/ click on 11/23/2014 Guest Speaker Terrance Chong.
 

TWO-G

 

Mount Valley Township

Are you depressed? Are you sick? Are you worried? Are you stressed? Are you angry? Are you discouraged? Well, you've come to the right place. There's an old cure you should use called TWO-G. It comes in seed form and must be taken several times a day for maximum benefit. It's great,  and all natural; you buy it once and it can be reused over and over and over again, it actually works better that way. If you have the internet, you have free access to it. Actually you may have TWO-G in your home right now collecting dust. I know mine did for years while I struggled with all of the above.

So what is TWO-G...The Word of God. You know, God the Creator, the one who made me and you and the earth and everything in it. The one who knew us before the foundations of the earth. His Word, the Holy Bible. When taken correctly TWO-G will give you the best high you've ever experienced, the more you take, the better you feel. Possible side effects include joy, peace, freedom, salvation, redemption, love, etc.

So how do you take the Word of God correctly? First I'll tell you how not to take it. When I was in high school or maybe college I decided I was going to read the Bible cover to cover. I tackled the task like a school book ready to learn with my intellect. What I came away with was, mistrust, doubt and confusion. I did not understand that the Almighty God, the one who created all things can not be learned through intellect. This causes lots of people major hangups  because we humans want to understand everything. And when we don't understand, we doubt it's validity. 

The Word of God comes to us through His Holy Spirit. We must approach the Word of God with our spirit and with our heart, not our intellect. We must come to it with a humble heart, just as Jesus came to us. And so before reading the Word, pray, Heavenly Father, let your Holy Spirit, open the eyes of my heart to give me revelation, understanding, joy, or whatever it is you are needing from the Lord.

Philippians 2:5-11  Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those in earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Here's another helpful hint that I got right out of TWO-G.... It works well with prayer and thanksgiving.

Philippians 4:6-7 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

That's true, I have felt the peace of the Lord that goes beyond my understanding. But it didn't come instantly, I'd been taking TWO-G daily for several years and doing what the Word says here, giving thanks and praying and just spending time with the Lord. It is definitely not a quick fix. But something I've come to realize is there is no such thing as a quick fix. There may be a quick temporary relief but those temporary fixes usually leave us in a worse state than where we started. 

It may sound like too much work, read the Bible, ugh, I don't have time for that. I'm not interested in that. Yes I used to think that way. But remember we are here on earth temporarily but what we do has eternal consequences. So how about start with two. Take two minutes out of your day. Pray for one minute, Lord thank you for (whatever your thankful for). I am about to read Your Word, please give me revelation, in the name of Jesus, Amen. Open the Bible, read one verse. 

This is how I started out, and at first nothing changed. Remember, this is not a quick fix but if you will remain faithful, someday you too will be amazed. As circumstances come my way that used to cause me worry, anguish, fear, I am at peace. And it does pass all understanding because it does not make sense to me but I feel joy. 

I can't say that I never worry or that I am always full of joy or that I am never stressed. No, I am still a human living in a broken world, but the Lord is still working on me. And as I continue in The Word of God, I am blessed more and more and I want that for you too. How about it, commit yourself to two minutes of TWO-G a day, you will not regret it. 

Isaiah 55:11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

Seven Day Feast

Journal Entry  Day 728 Sept 17, 2014 Wed. 11:48 Home

Jesus what do You want me to write about in my next blog post? Just take over Jesus, Holy Spirit take over. Just pour out  Your Words of wisdom, whatever You want us to hear from You Lord. What is the Father saying in this hour? What do You hear in heaven? What do You want us to know right now?

"Look at My Son. In Him I am well pleased. Follow Him, hear Him. His words are My words. They are life to the dead bones walking on the earth today. They are truth to the lies of the media, the entertainment industry, the drug trades, the human trafficking. They are the solution to your social problems. Look at Jesus, hear His words, walk the path He set before you. His way is the way to eternal life. Open the word, read the word, hear the word."

Ask Holy Spirit to reveal His truths to your heart, for with the heart one believes unto righteousness. (see Romans 10:10) Notice it does not say we believe with our minds. The Lord created us with a spirit with which to believe and have faith, even when it doesn't line up with what we see and think. The only thing our spirit should feed on is the Word of God where the truth is.There is a drought in the land, there is a famine in our country. People are starving for the word of God.

Amos 8:11-12 "Behold, the days are coming," says the Lord God, "that I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; They shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord, but shall not find it." (NKJV)

End journal entry

Over the past several months facebook has been full of nominations and challenges to people to do and say various things, the ice-bucket challenge, to give to charity, to list things they are thankful for, etc. I nominate everyone reading this post to a 7 day feast on the Word. Open your Bible each day, ask the Lord to open your heart to receive His word and then read the Word of God, which is life...You can start right now...Lord open the heart of the one reading right now in the name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

Jesus said in John 5:24-25 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgement, but has passed from death into life. Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live." (NKJV) 

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." (NKJV)

Walking in Healing Through Faith

As I prepare for a trip south to help my daughter, Alex, decorate her new living space, I can't help but reflect on a similar trip just over a year ago.

It was August 2013, my mother, Louaine, an artist, and I traveled to Ames to Alex's new apartment to celebrate and decorate. We celebrated Alex's birthday and her move up, she'd graduated from Iowa State the previous May and it was time to move out of the undergraduate apartments to a building with more mature neighbor's, post-grads. 

Her new apartment was slightly bigger, with a garage and a view. 

We were excited to spend time with Alex and help her put the finishing touches on her new home. First things first, we went shopping. We purchased a stand with cubbies that hold baskets for extra storage, assembly required. That was okay, Alex and I are handy and with grandma to supervise, what could go wrong...right?

Wrong...after unpacking the material and beginning assembly we had the whole living room floor covered in cardboard, bubble wrap, particle boards, strange looking screws with special tools, instructions, everything we needed. Not far into the process as I was putting two boards together, Alex was walking across the living room floor when I heard a terrible thud and my mother gasp. Alex had miss-stepped and in the mess we'd created she couldn't correct it in time. According to my mother's eye witness account she twisted to a horrifying degree and fallen straight down on her ankle. By the time I looked up she was on the floor, in shock and said she couldn't move.

This was serious, I sensed it immediately. Growing up Alex was notorious for spraining her ankles, she always got up. I quickly went for an ice pack and Ibuprofen. We applied the ice there on the living room floor, her leg still off to her side and sort of behind her. She looked terribly uncomfortable, my mommy heart was breaking for her. Oh, there is nothing worse than seeing your baby in pain. 

But it wasn't just her pain bothering me, I saw all our weekend plans dashed as I envisioned her laid up for days. Plans to put all the finishing touches on her new home, organizing, decorating, putting furniture together, going out to eat, exploring the city, but most of all spending time living, laughing and loving together. I know our time together is precious, since she left for college 4 years prior, we often go months without seeing each other. 

That's when Holy Spirit prompted me to lay my hands on her ankle and pray for healing in the name of Jesus. I prayed with complete faith that Jesus would heal her and He did. Not long after Mom and I helped her up and over to the couch. She was already able to put weight on it. By the next day she had a little pain but we shopped most of the day and it was only slightly sore and swollen at the end. She told us later that as she sat there in pain she was sure her ankle was broken. She too was having horrible visions of her next trip to the hospital for a cast. She knew it was worse than any sprain she'd ever felt. But by the power of Jesus and by Alex's faith in Him, she was healed. 

Matthew 9:22 But Jesus turned around and when He saw her He said, "Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well." (NKJV)

James 5:13-18 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six  months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.(NKJV)

Some who have read this may be thinking it was the ice and the pain reliever and that it was not broken, after all how could she know that for sure. To you I will say this, I know by her testimony and by being a witness, that her previous 5 ankle sprains took up to a week or more to heal. So even if her ankle wasn't broken, the pain she felt in her ankle and the swelling it caused was worse than any other sprain she'd experienced, ice and Ibuprofen did not heal her almost instantly.

1Peter 2:24 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness - by whose stripes you were healed. (NKJV)

Thank you Jesus for your healing power, thank you that you are the author and finisher of our faith.

Hebrews 12:2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (NKJV)

Praise the Lord!