That you would prosper....

Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.

                                                                                                   -3 John 2:1

John pens this prayer, in his third letter,  to encourage his friend Gaius. We can also pray this prayer and promise over our own lives, as it was inspired by the Holy Spirit, and is obviously in the will of God.

Let's look at some definitions:

The Greek word for prosper is euodoo, which means to have a successful journey through life; that things would go well with you.

Prosper - To advance, make progress, succeed, be profitable, and to thrive;

Health - A state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being.

Soul - the "psyche" consisting of the mind, will, and emotions.

Rephrase:

Beloved, I pray that you may (advance, make progress, thrive, succeed, and be profitable) in all things, and be in (a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being), just as( or at the same time that) your soul (mind, will, and emotions) are advancing, making progress, succeeding, being profitable, and thriving.

Prosperity of your soul includes,

Being transformed by the renewing of your mind
Submitting your will to God's will in all things
Being emotionally stable, and balanced in your mood, temperament, and personality.

Thank God that we are able to advance, make progress, and prosper in these areas by God's grace and by the power of His Holy Spirit!!!!

I pray that you would take hold of this promise and that it will manifest in your life, as it continues to manifest in mine. :-)


With lots of  Love,

Apple of His eye :-)

Whatsoever things are lovely - stress management

Be anxious for nothing, but in all things by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God, and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and mind through Christ Jesus. Phillipians 4:6-7

This is one of my favorite scriptures. Paul tells us : don't worry about anything, but pray about everything. Make your requests known to God. The bible also tells us to cast our cares upon the Lord because He cares! We can find peace in placing our burdens in the hand of an all-powerful God, who knows the beginning from the end, Who has great plans for us, and who delights in giving good gifts to His children :-) I love the next few verses of this chapter. Paul, Being led by Holy Spirit must have realized that even after we have prayed we might be tempted to become anxious and discouraged when we don't see things happening right away, or when things don't work out the way we think they should. The word tells us:

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy- meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace WILL BE WITH YOU. Phillipians 4:8-9

We are instructed to think about And meditate( focus on, chew over, mull over)things that are good and true, noble and praiseworthy. For me personally, I think about the goodness of Jesus, I think about His sacrifice on the cross, and what that means for me, I think about my righteosness in Him, I think about all the victories He has won for me in the past, and I think about all the promises of God in the Word for me. Holy Spirit may bring a scripture to your remembrance that is specific to your situation that you can recite, or He may remind you of a specific time where He came through for you before. This concept can and has been diluted to "thinking happy thoughts", but the Word of God is living And powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword...(Heb 4:12). God's word through the power of Holy Spirit is able to break through fear, anxiety, confusion, and stress. When we continually meditate on these things, we develop an attitude of gratitude. Which will eventually make trials and hardships seem like water off of a ducks back. When we do these things we create an atmosphere in our minds and in our environment that is welcoming to the Presence of God. Verse 9 tells us that the God of Peace will be with us!!! He will be with us, walking joyfully through the valley until we get to our high place. He will be with us while we rejoice and thank Him for the victory. God is sooo good!! Practice His Presence, and watch your life change, until it is totally and completely IN HIM that we live and move and have our beings :-) Be blessed! Apple of His Eye!

Pray yourself happy!

The bible tells us to persist in prayer.

 Matthew 7:7:11 Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks RECEIVES, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who if his son asks for bread will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish will he give him a serpent? If you then being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly father give good things to those who ask Him. ( Luke adds: give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him) 

 Well, I had an especially awesome time in prayer this morning. I felt empowered by the Holy Spirit to pray, and by the time I was finished I just wanted to leap and shout Hallelujah!!! I know that something supernatural took place. Something was birthed or called forth into existence. I don't know what it is yet, but I know it's GOOD!!!

 Acts 2:4,6 - and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, ...And the multitude came together and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language

 The bible tels us in Romans 8, that we don't even know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit helps us out. The Holy Spirit makes intercession for us according to the perfect will of God. When we pray in the Holy spirit, we are praying the Perfect will of God. Although our understanding may be unfruitful at the time, our mind is lining up with the mind of Christ and our Spirits are lining up with the perfect will of God. When we pray in the Holy Spirit, we are praying those things which God has already prepared for us into existence 1 Corinthians 2:9-12. 
 We also build ourselves up in our most holy faith, according to Jude 20. We strengthen our faith muscle so that it is well equipped to be put to use! And we know that all things work together for good to those who love the Lord and are called according to His purposes. Romans 8:28 - so go ahead and pray through your breakthrough!!! :-) 
 If you haven't yet been filled with the Holy Spirit,with the evidence of speaking in tongues, ask and you will receive that your joy may be full!!! Ask the Father to fill you with His Holy Spirit. It is His good pleasure to give you the kingdom!! If you have already been filled, stir up the gift of God on the inside of you! Become fluent in your prayer language by practicing. In the car, in the shower, on your bed. You don't have to feel a rumbling in your belly to pray in the Holy Spirit. Just open your mouth and let it flow!!!! 
 Daddy has great and wonderful things in store for you!!!! 
 With Love <3 Apple of His Eye!!! ( I love calling myself that :-)

Those who are alive and remain, may YOU rest in peace!

In those last moments standing in the presence of the one you love, surrounded by family and close friends nothing else really matters besides the one you've lost. Suddenly sad memories fade away and are replaced by happy recollections of your time together. Things you've done, places you've been, things you've said, lives you've touched, and legacies that will live on forever. As family members share embraces, tissues, and tears, suddenly it doesn't really matter who hurt you, made you mad, owed you money, or talked about you behind your back. Suddenly you realize that there is so much more to life than what you have been living. You are grateful for all that you have, all that you have accomplished, and all that you are privileged enough to still be able to do. You give thanks for the impact your loved one made in your life, and you rejoice knowing that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (where the real party begins) and hopefully you'll remember that in life, there is no greater accomplishment than to love and to be loved! Enjoy it! Letting out a heavy sigh as I say goodbye to someone whose love, faith, and zeal for life has touched the hearts of many!! He will be soo greatly missed, but Congratulations brother Lou. You made it!

Do Not Judge

Matthew 7:1-5
Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgement you judge, you will be judged; and the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, Let me remove the speck from your eye; and look there is a plank in your own eye? HYPOCRITE! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

Krino is the Greek word used for "judge" in this text, and it means to "condemn" or "avenge".These verses warn against a critical/condemning spirit. The King James version uses the word mote instead of speck. You will often hear the type of people described in this verse referred to as mote-hunters, or fault finders. I have noticed in my time spent among different types of people; that people who are quick to point out others short comings, who are quick to criticize and condemn others don't have to talk very long before they are exposing their own sins, their own frailties, and their own shortcomings.

The bible tells us to deal with our own "logs", or our own sins or shortcomings before we can try to deal with somebody else's.
Once we have truly examined our selves and allowed God to deal with our shortcomings, then we will respond to our brothers and sisters out of love and we can say with a sincere heart: If God can do it for me, if he can change me, then He can do the same for you.
It becomes a total shift in perspective, because we understand that it is only by the grace of God that we ourselves are not slaves to the same bondage.
Luke 22:32 - Simon, Simon! Indeed Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I (Jesus) have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren!
Love builds up, hatred tears down!

Fellowship of the Unashamed!

This wasn't written by me, but it was sooo good, I had to share! Happy Resurrection Sunday everyone! I pray that you all personally experience the POWER of the resurrection in Christ! Be blessed... apple of His Eye :-) 

FELLOWSHIP OF THE UNASHAMED!  

I am a part of the ‘Fellowship of the Unashamed.’ I have the Holy Spirit Power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, sight-walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions, mundane talking, chintzy giving and dwarfed goals!   I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits or popularity. I don’t have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded or rewarded. I now live by presence, lean by faith, love by patience, lift by prayer and labor by power.   My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my Guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, diluted or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity or meander in the maze of mediocrity.   I won’t give up, back up, let up or shut up until I’ve preached up, prayed up, paid up, stored up and stayed up for the cause of Christ.   I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until He returns, give until I drop, preach until all know and work until He comes.   And when He comes to get His own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My colors will be clear.   ~Author Unknown

The Blame Game

Our society's moral condition is at an all time LOW. The world is pointing the finger at the church, and the church is busy pointing the finger at each other, and of course at the world.

 To the church:
 The lack of love and compassion in the body of Christ today is very saddening. Especially when the bible clearly tells us that: By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:35) Today we are seeing the church looking less and less like the disciples of Christ, and more and more like the carnal Christians described in Collosians 3:5-11. Instead of taking our rightful place as the warrior bride, seated in heavenly places with Christ, we've chosen to take a much lower seat with the enemy and launch vicious attacks of hatred, judgement, and criticism towards our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. It is about time that we all just GROW UP into mature men and women of God, more like the new man described in the latter part of Collosians 3 verses 12-17. The bible tells us that the weapons of our warfare are not CARNAL, but mighty IN GOD for the pulling down of strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:4), and we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers (Ephesians 6:12). We seemed to have forgotten who the real enemy is. So what should we do with the people? What the word says; pray for one another (James 5:16), Restore one another in love ( Galatians 6:1),Settle the matter between the two of you, or take 2 or 3 witnesses (Matthew 18: 15-16). Agree to disagree, and if all else fails, part ways in peace (Hebrews 12:14)
None of us are perfect, not one. For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.(Romans 3:23) We are not called to perfection, but to be models of progress in the faith. We should all be striving to look like little Jesus'. This, I believe is a lifelong journey in which we have something to look forward to because we know that when we see Him, we will be like Him! 1 John 3:2-3 The awesome thing about God is that He gives us His word( which is Himself) that we can look into and be transformed; if we would allow it! Lastly,here's something to think about: Matthew 24:12 "Because sin abounds, the love of many will grow cold, but he who endures to the end shall be saved. 13. 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.

 To the rest of the world:

 Yeah "those Christians" are phoney, they're hypocrites, all they want is your money, and they are oh so judgmental. At the end of the day, however, every individual is responsible and will have to give an account to God for their own actions. It is the goodness of God, not the people, that is meant to lead you to repentance. Please don't let the actions of a group of people be the reason for you neglecting to get to know this Precious Savior, and spending an eternity apart from him in hell. That excuse will not hold up, and it is totally not worth it!

Moral of the story, take responsibility for your own actions, and let God take care of the rest!

 With love,
 The apple of His eye :-)