Reflections - Second Day Of Moving Towards My "Year Of Jubilee" Pt 2 Pt. 2

I went to my churches Tuesday morning service today.  In the pre-Service Bible Study, our pastor's wife spoke about humbling yourself before God. In the text she used (James 4: 10 - 17), she said that one of the ways that we should humble is by our speech. We should not judge other people, because if we do, we set ourselves up as judges of others. Only God is the righteous Judge.  The other way we should humble ourselves in our speech is by not assuming that we have time to do everything we need. We need to say "as the Lord wills" to show that we know that only God has our times in His hands.

In the Deliverance Service the preacher spoke about the house of God and national repentance. Her text Scripture was 2 Chronicles 7: 12 - 14.  She spoke also about humbling yourself. She said that humbling yourself in prayer entailed seeking God for Who He is and not only what He can do for you. To turn from our wicked ways, repent and do what is right. Then God will hear from heaven, forgive our sins and heal our land.

I gained some insights from the two sermons. In the first, I learned that you shouldn't judge others, because when you do, you open the door for the person to also judge you. This is really true! I have found this especially true in my dealings with my neighbors. In the second, I learned that our Lord Jesus Christ is within us, and we don't have to worry what others think about us, for He Who is in us is greater than he that is in the world.

After the message was the prayer service, and as I was prayed for, the Lord gave me mighty deliverance from the heaviness in my spirit due to the onslaughts of the devil and those he uses. In a sense this is what God did when He declared Jubilee unto the Israelites, as we will see in tomorrow's blog.

"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath send me to bind up the brokenhearted. to proclaim libery to the captive, and the opening of the prison door to them that are bound. To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord (Jubilee)...to comfort all who mourn." Isaiah 61: 1 - 2 (KJV

Reflections - Moving Towards My "Year Of Jubilee"

I'll be celebrating my birthday on Thursday.  Usually,  I'm excited about my birthday, but this year I'm ambivalent about it.

It's not about the how old I'll be. Hey, fifty is a GREAT age.  You're still young enough to enjoy life and do all the stuff you want, well, almost all. But then, you have the experience and wisdom of years under your belt. Sometimes I think that you're now getting the hang of life, and then its like time's passing so fast. 

Almost two months ago my country celebrated its 50th year of Independence. They called it, "The Golden Jubilee"year. Jubilee is a word that comes from the Bible and connoted great things for the Israelites. I'm so happy that my Jubilee year is coming. During the days leading up to my birthday, I'll explain what it is and why I'm so excited.

Fifty days ago, on the sixth of September, I started a time of prayer apart from my regular times of prayer. During this time I am seeking the Lord my Heavenly Father for direction for the rest of my life, and for situations that I'm encountering now. I'm believing God that these situations would be reversed and resolved in this year of Jubilee.

God even gave me a song. When it first came into my mind, I didn't know all of it. But when I googled it on youtube, played the song and heard the reference to Jubilee and the words of the song, I KNEW that God was speaking and this song was for me for my year of Jubilee.

So as I countdown towards my birthday and the beginning of my "Year of Jubilee" I will continue to reflect on what Jubilee means and what it means, not only to me, but to all believers.

"And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year; ...a jubilee shall that fiftieth year be unto you." Leviticus 25: 10a - 11a

Dogs That Do Extraordinary Things - So Can We!

This is the last blog in the series for "Adopt-A-Shelter Dog"month.

We humans glibly label dogs as "man's best friend." But in so many ways they do give credence to this saying.  Here are some videos that highlight dogs that "love, protect and serve."

This first video shows a German Shepherd that sniffs cancer in people.

This next video features a Border Collie that herds deer from a town in Canada to make the environment safe for its inhabitants. 

This one will REALLY surprise you! Watch THIS!!!

Wasn't those videos inspiring? 

These dogs this week showed us humans  how to be 'human..' These loving animals have put their lives on the line to protect us, to make sure that we are healthy, to bring cheer to our hearts. Faith demonstrated to us that having a handicap doesn't have to stop us from living life to the fullest.  Its size has not kept the brave little Japanese chihuahua form serving its country. And what makes dogs - and other pets - so wonderful is that they do not discriminate  between in its owner's race, gender, creed, social status. It does not care if its owner is healthy or handicapped. That pet is there just to love and be loved.

God has a plan for each of us. It doesn't matter who we are. He has given us gifts and abilities to help one another. No matter what, we can dream big dreams, and be whatever God intended us to be. And like the dogs in these videos.and pet dogs everywhere, lets "love, protect and serve" everybody, no matter who they are.

"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good work, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10 (New International Version)

A Bit Of Faith! An Amazing Story!

Today, I am continuing the series of blogs for "Adopt-A-Shelter dog" month.  I will highlight the story of a dog that taught its owners live and caring for the weak and helpless.

One day, Reuben saw a mother Labrador sitting on one of its puppies, intending to kill it. He rescued the puppy and brought it home. Only on showing the pup to his family he realise why Mama Labrador was trying to kill her baby. The tiny dog's front legs were small and misshapen. What did that family do? See the video below

Reuben's mother, June, said that taking care of the dog they named "Faith" taught her to be more considerate of people who are disabled or slow. What can we learn from Faith The Two-legged Wonder  Dog? 

• A will to survive
• The ability to learn new skills
• A warm heart in spite of disabilities
• Dignity
• A love and appreciation of life
• Patience and respect for those who are physically challenged
• To be thankful for what we have and who we are

When children do not learn patience and respect for those who are elderly, weak and challenged in some way, they end up bullying and harassing them. But its up to us parents and caregivers to teach our youth what is right. But if we don't know how to do right, how can we teach our children to do right? Knowing Jesus Christ as Savior, praying, reading and living by His principles through the word of God, the Bible, will help us not only to "talk about the walk" bu actually to "walk the talk."

"I warn you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else...give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5: 14 - 15, 18 (New International Version)

Waring: Feed The Animals, If You Please!

                                                           My dog Habias. Copyright @2010


In the USA, this month is Adopt-A-Shelter Dog. To commemorate this month I will write a few blogs on animals this week.
I think I have mentioned already that when I was a youngster, we always had a dog in our family. Although they were mongrels for most part, they all were loving pets, fearless watchdogs whose puppies were prized  and sought after.

Fluff, for example, was like his name, with soft, long hair and a mean bite. His fur was a little bit like md present pet, Wheppie. Where we lived was on a hill and the yards there were not fenced; dogs were able to roam freely. But not Fluff!  Since we didn't have a fence we kept him chained to a post. Woe betide if he got loose though. A loud cry of "Fluff's loose!" would send neighbors scrambling to reach their houses to barricade themselves in. Someone poisoned him, though.

Us children learned to take care these dogs from early.It was fun for us to do so. Feeding them in the evenings, and -oh boy!- helping my aunt Jan to bathe them. Of course, by the time we kids finished we would be wet throjugh and would have to bathe too.
Taking care of animals are a good way for children to learn how to be kind and caring. When a child learns to be kind, caring and loving to animals, this lesson quickly passes on to being considerate to humans, especially the elderly and other children . God exhorts us to teach our children to obey his word. And taking care of a pet supply great object lessons for this.

"A righteous man cares for the needs of his animal, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel." Proverbs 12:10. (KJV)

Proverbs 12:10

The Storms of Life

Today the Island of Trinidad and Tobago are experiencing what the Met Office is calling a "low pressure pattern,"  This simply  means that while a hurricane is not heading towards us at the moment, we are certainly in for a lot of rain, strong winds and thundershowers later this evening and during the weekend.
I'm concerned about what could happen. The last tome we had rain, the Diego Martin river burst its banks and swept into low-lying homes along the Diego Martin Highway. The force of the water destroyed homes, wall, cars and even caused the death of two people. Last year November, it was a little more personal. I was to a women's conference in the southern part of the country, when a torrential shower came down for an hour. I have never seen the amount of water that poured through our yard that Saturday; thank God that our house on a slanted piece of ground and so the water had no chance to do any destructive work. But on the main road and further up the hill from where live landslides broke down two houses. Gigantic boulders rolled down the street all the way down to the bottom of the hill. Longtime residents felt said that they had never seen anything like that!
But I think that though those storms are bad enough, the storms of life leave so much more devastation than a natural storm. But God is our help, our Protector, our Anchor even in the midst of the storms and the floods that threaten to wash us away.



'The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floos have lifted up their voice, the floods have lifted up their waves. The LORD on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea." Psalm 73;  2 - 4 (KJV).  

What Kind Of "Bread" Do I like?

                                                Picture Taken From Bog "From Me To You" by 

I'm responding to Faithblogger.com Prompt #4.

"Man does not live by bread alone, but every word that proceeds out of the mount of God."

Jesus quoted that verse of Scripture to Satan when he tempted Him to make stones into bread.  He was quoting from Deuteronomy 8: 2 - 3. 

As the verse of Scripture in Deuteronomy suggests, physical nourishment is not sufficient for a healthy life; man also has spiritual needs. That why to live a healthy life in spirit, soul and body we need to read the word of God everyday. Reading, studying/meditating on the word of God can give us  "spiritual nourishment" from it. But we can't be strengthened by it if we don't OBEY IT!

I don't really have one 'favorite' Bible translation. I read the King James Version for my daily devotionals because that is the main copy I have, and I have learned all my verses from it. But for my blogging, I have discovered the God's Word Translation that really makes the Scripture easy to understand, which I like because I hope that all kinds of people will read my blog. But I really love the Amplified Bible; it brings out the meaning in the King James Version of the Bible so well that you can understand what God is trying to say.

But no matter what Bible translation' that I eat, I must make sure that I obey what I read, so that I will reap the full benefits of the 'spiritual bread' that I 'eat'. 

"And He humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna...that He might make you know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live." Deuteronomy 8: 2 - 3 (King James Version)

Related Blog Post 

http://www.reddit.com/r/Christianity/comments/117h3l/what_is_your_personal_favorite_bi

I Pray For My Readers

This blog is in response to Faithbloggers.com Prompt #31

I didn't think of praying for my blog and its readers at first. Which is very strange for me, because I pray for anything and everything that concerns me, or whatever I do.. Prayer is so important to me. But I was going through so much when I started this blog (and still am) that it just didn't occur to me.

Hooking up with Faithbloggers and Courtney reminded me of this.  I read the article she wrote in which she said that she prayed for everything and then she didn't worry about it anymore, including her blog.  It touched me deeply because here I am, praying and still worrying about everything in my life. Plus I was feeling the challenge of getting new content and the daily business of running a blog (I am a newbie and still feel quite lost), so i started praying fervently.

I now pray both for the blog and the readers. I usually pray before I start, and now, even as I get the ideas to blog. I know some people imagine who their readers are (mine are children and the people who take care of them). I don't. As I write, I pray that they would benefit and be blessed by what they read. As I say constantly, I really want children and adults who are hurting from various forms of abuse would get answers, a sense of God's comfort, and information that they can use to help them in their daily lives. I pray that they would know that God can take their broken, banged up, horrendous lives and make it brand new again. I pray for this for all children and adults who have been hurt in their childhood, including my blog readers.

"First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be made for all  people.."2 Timothy 2:2 (Eastern Standard Version)

Hey, You! Drink Your Milk!

This is the second day of responding to one of Faithbloggers.com prompts. This is Prompt #50. 

How do I read my Bible? Good question.

When I decided to make a consistent effort to read my Bible daily, I started out using the study guide from Scripture Union. This guide had a devotional reading, a Scripture verse for the day, a daily Bible reading plan, and an application part where you get to apply the Scripture that was given in your life.

But after a while I couldn't get the Scripture Union monthly study guide, so I started using The Daily Bread. This devotional book also has a Scripture reading, a verse, and a daily reading plan, but alas, no application guide.. It usually goes through the whole Bible in a year, but there have been deviations.One year the Psalms and Proverbs were rused, and another next year only the New Testament was read through the year.

I've managed to read the Bible through about twice.Most times I admit that I get left behind because I do not read all the chapters set forth for the day.  But one thing I do know. Daily Bible reading has helped me to live as a Christian. It has strengthened me, cleansed me, and helped me in good and bad times. Thank God for His Word!

"Desire God's pure Word, like newborn babies desire millk, Then you will grow in your salvation." 1 Peter 2: 2 (God's Word Translation) 

Why I Started This Blog

This week I'll be answering five Faithful Bloggers Prompts. This is in reply to Prompt # 74.
At first, I started blogging because a friend of mine suggest it. I thought it was a good idea at the time. It was a good way for me to keep writing and to make my presence known.

My initial intention (and still is) is to give a biblical view of situations that children and their caregivers go through. Incidences of abuse, rape, domestic violence and bullying were increasing in my country and around the world. I have a deep concern about these things  As a Christian with training in Guidance and Counseling and Biblical Studies, I felt that I was able to do so.

I can't say that God told me to blog. I'll be lying if I did. But my intention is to let my readers know that God can come into the midst of these ugly, dangerous, heartbreaking and seemingly hopeless crises and put the wounded child or adult back together again. 

I should know. God took me out of a life where I was slowly going under because of alcohol, smoking and sexual relationships with men because I was looking for love, for someone to build my self-esteem. Even now, twenty four years later, God is still working on me.

I didn't start off blogging with the right intentions, but I know that God can still use me and this blog to bring glory to His Name.

"And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."  Colossians 3:17 (Eastern Standard Version)

Run For Your Life!!

Yesterday I blogged about what happens when a person views pornography. We saw that the person who views pornography opens the door for Satan to 'break the hedge'  around him and devastate his or her life.
Where can a porn addict do to get freedom? Only from God our Maker. A Biblical counselor would consider a 3 pronged attack:

• Pre-Deliverance Counselling 
• Deliverance Session (s)
• Post Deliverance Counselling

In the Pre-deliverance Counselling deals with the porn problem itself, asking the client to confess to God and his/her family the sins of porn watching, reading or listening to lewd and/or violent content. The person also confesses any sins done against his/her family and /or whoever else they have hurt. If they are willing, to be saved, they should say  a salvation prayer. Then they  renounce and get rid of whatever form of pornographic material they have.

In the Deliverance Session the client will again renounce the pornography in the name of Jesus. Then he or she is then prayed for by people who are trained in this area of ministry. The demonic aspect of the problem is thus dealt with here. Several deliverance sessions may be necessary according to the severity of the addiction. Even in the counselling sessions, deliverance may occur as the person deals with the root of the problem.

The Post Deliverance Counselling deals with the underlying issues that caused the person to become addicted in the first place. The family is also counselled (spouse if married, or relatives or friends if not). The person also may have to deal with any legal aspect of their problem, if any. 

I hope that these past few posts will show you the dangers of pornography, both to adults and children. Please parents, don't allow your children to view this stuff, you are setting them up for hurt and pain in  later life. Live pure and holy before God. 

"Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body." 2 Corinthians 6: 18 - 20 (ESV)

Don't Break The Hedge Or The Serpent Will Bite You

There is a both natural as well as spiritual consequences to the viewing of pornography.  In the natural there is addiction, which eventually leads to acting out if not dealt with. The results may lead to rape, murder and incarceration even death.

The spiritual consequences in a sense is the precursor of the natural. When someone, whether child or adult, starts to read, watch or even listen to this ugly materials (many songs nowadays have profane language and pornographic descriptions in them), then they allow the devil access into their lives, and he uses this to destroy their lives. Let me give you an analogy. In King David's day, when an army wanted to conquer a city they  besieged the city by building a ramp up to it, set up camps against it and put battering rams around it. The battering rams break into the walls. When a breach is obtained, the besieging army can enter into the city and conquer it.

Picture of an Old Testament city bieng besieged

This is the how Satan attack a person who starts watching porn. The devils always tries to attack us through the 'gates' in our bodies, for example the eye gate and the ear gate. When he gets into us, he gets a toehold in our minds. Demons come in and plant evil ideas in our mind, and then the evil actions begin. When we actually read or view the stuff, we break a ' breach' in the 'hedge of protection't that God has placed around each person to protect them from satanic attack. Tomorrow, our last post on this subject is about solution to this problem.

"...whoso breaketh through a fence, a serpent shall bite him." Ecclesiastes 10:8 (New International Version)

Addicted To "Love"

Yesterday I mentioned the young lady who was scared because a young man said that he was planning to rape her. This is what someone who is addicted to pornography would act. It is now known that many serial rapists are actually porn addicts.  The notorious Ted Bundy actually admitted to this    Serial killer.rapist Ted Bundy
Another type of porn addiction is more insidious and evil. These are those who devour child pornography and so prey on children. One of the former keepers of our national zoo, Hans Boos, was convicted of being in an international child pornography ring.
Reading porn makes a person unfeeling. For the addict/rapist-murderer, it is not about sexual pleasure; It is about control, intimidation, power. A person who may seem to have it all, but in fact have low self-esteem, or some emotional problem, may use this material to bolster their self image.




Porn addicts tend

BEWARE! TOXIC MATERIAL!

I decided to blog about pornography because I heard a pastor last week on the radio speaking about it.  My attention was caught when he described the five stages of pornography addiction. Because of the prevalence of this ugly habit all over the world and the heartbreaking results of porn addiction, I am going to give some info on it.

• What is pornography?

It is art, writings, cartoons, TV shows and movies or any other media that contains visual and/or pictures of sexual acts or of the naked body. These things are created to incite sexual arousal and some sort of action by the viewer. There are two main types of porn: hardcore and soft core porn, with various sub-genres. Searching for pornography is one of the most requested hits on the Internet.

There was a time that people thought that only men watch pornography, but studies has shown that women too look at porn. Even children are not immune to this invasion, and may have inadvertently come across it on cable or may have been deliberately exposed to it by  their peers or an adult. Whether child or adult, repeated viewing may eventually lead to addiction.

What are the stages of pornography addiction?

1. Early Exposure. It has been said by experts that if you get a child's mind before the age of 8, then you have the child for life. If boys and girls are exposed to porn at an early age, Satan would open a gateway into child's life.
2. Addiction. Just as someone can become addicted to drugs and alcohol by repeated use, so when someone continues to watch porn they become addicted to it.
3. Escalation. As the person gets used to watching the pornographic material, they get bored and start looking for more graphic sites.
4. Desensitisation.  Eventually the person gets so accustomed to even the most graphic, ugly and disgusting of porn material that porn once thought totally sickening and offensive now has no effect whatsoever on them. That person now need more drastic material to arouse them.
5. Acting out. This is the most dangerous part of the stages. Whatever type of porn that the person has been watching and thinking about is then acted out, to the detriment of the person. 

The pastor told the scary tale of a young woman who came to see him. She was terrified because she said that a guy in her area told her that he had been thinking about her and would come and rape her. Pornography tells demeaning falsehood about its victims to the addict, and this will be part of what I will be blogging about tomorrow, God willing.

"I will not set before  my eyes anything that is worthless. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me."Psalm 101: 3 (ES V)