Archive for Life

Aug
22

The Will of The Lord?

Posted by: Matthew Dykstra | Comments (1)

Hello,

In the last few months I am been in a mental battle and in a battle of weather I fit in or not or weather I belong where I volunteer. Well.. This morning as I was getting ready for church something hit me. I asked myself this question

“How Do You Know If You Are In or On Your Way To The Destiny  That God Has For You?”

I have been working in the church Week and Half shy of 4 years and started to really wonder this question I look at people like Pastor Matt, Pastor Derek, Faytene Kryskow and Even Ron Prestage and wonder am I in the place that God has for me. Am I really to do what the Lord wants?

My Mother always told me I would work in the church, do something in ministry and do something for the Lord. I worked for years to get away from that thinking that my computer talent would take me to places other then inside the church and Well my talent only brought me back inside the church

My talent only got me to meet people I never thought that I would meet, people that would call on me for help to further a ministry and I will never ever leave unless asked. But I still question this. I still question all the people that have told me that I am right under the will of the Lord.

My Mother, Father, Mentors, Friends, Even The Head Pastor at my Church said it to me but I have been in a lot of self doubt about it and really is it the tree or the fruit.. I always tell people when they complain a lot about the same issue time and time again

“If you don’t like the fruit… Check the tree!” Its a slight take on Psalm 1 where is we are planted to the Tree of Living water our fruit will not wither

I wonder if my tree needs to be pruned I wonder if my tree needs to have the dead roots re-examined. One will never know. Oh Well keep praying keep writing and get into the Lords face and maybe the answers will come

Till Next Entry

Categories : Life, Ministry
Comments (1)

Hello,

Over the past few weeks I have been in a stuggle with myself, my disability and weather or not I really fit in where I volunteer and pour my heart out. I have been in more of a mental battle then a emotional one. It was not until yesterday that my emotions got the best of me and I like a volcano errupted

You see I suffer From Fibromyalgia or Fibro (click link for video).. A Disability that effects Women more then Men but yet I ended up with it. I have no problem telling people about my disability and letting them know that I have it and some of the symptoms of it.

This is a hidden disability (see video ) I may look fine or I may look like things are okay but most days things are not I suffer in silence and then at time errupt (see video ) A lot of this has to do with how I am feeling at that moment, how did I sleep the night before, how many times during the night did I get up in pain.

The one part of my disability I never like to tell any one is the part called Fibofog (see video ) this is were at times I forget to do something or think I have done it or even forget that you told me something or the worst part loose track of the topic of conversion. I HATE IT, I HATE IT, I HATE IT!

This I find happens a lot where I volunteer I will have a task to do and think that everything is the way it should be and then when it comes time to submit the task it is not what should have been done. Little parts of the task get forgotten. So I make excuses, lash out or even get offended when someone has to remind me or clean up behind me.

I just wish that people would take the time to understand what I am going through. I wish people would take the time to be patient with me. I wish this would just go away. I HATE IT, I HATE IT, I HATE IT! I have been suffering since 2000 and have seen multiple drs and have had dozen x-rays, 2 mris, 2 sleep studies, bi-weekly B12 shots and medication after medication

I know where I volunteer they are very supportive but I guess I could open up more. I find it easier to open up to people who have disabilities (CP & SB ) and can understand what I am going through even if they don’t have Fibro. I guess I could try to be a little understanding with them as well but I am tired.

I don’t know how much longer I can fight, how much longer can I take the medication and how much longer I can I see drs for the same crap month after month medication after medication.

Maybe I am just venting and maybe I need this once and a while but really this is tough to deal with. I want it to go away, I want to be normal, but I guess this is just the way I am and will have to learn to deal with it. Fibro Fog and all the related conditions to my fibro. (IBS & Overactive Bladder and more)

Till Next Entry

Categories : Life
Comments (5)
Jul
30

A Blessed Man

Posted by: Matthew Dykstra | Comments (1)

Hello,

It is 10:19 and as I sit here I am Watching “Touched By An Angel” and just began to think about all that I have going on in my life. I am such a blessed man right now. More blessed then anyone person can ever be.

I have met the most incredible gal a person who has kept me more grounded in the last few months then I have ever been. I am so blessed to have a gal that is so encouraging of my hopes, dreams and ambitions. A Gal who when I need to talk listen, when I need to vent is there, When I need advice gives it honestly. I am a very lucky man.

You Know Something This is the first year I have taken any meaningful holidays since I started to volunteer at the church in 2006. I was thinking about that and since 2006 I started in the fall so that don’t count, then 2007 I spent the summer cleaning up the family center and getting the new sound system in order, Again 2008 I worked at the church and took care of my grandmother so mom could have a holiday. For 2009 I took two weeks but I moved from Oshawa to Whitby and so this year I had an opportunity to do something with the family and did.

Speaking of Lucky I am also lucky to have an awesome family. I have never had more fun with them then I did in the last week. From camping, to paddle boats, to a night in a hotel nothing else could be better. I have never seen a family so connected with each other in all my life.

I know so many people who’s families are distant, broken or just plain in need of help. I know of some relationships like that also. A Very special person in my life calls my family “The Fairy Tale Family” never ever understood that but some day I will know

Now as for what is going on that is not so good in my life.. My health is not so good in the last two days I have had massive headaches, fibromyalgia flair-ups and just general pain. I have just been taken it easy and not doing anything. I don’t know if I over did it over the holidays but… I want to be ready for the next adventure.

But as this entry like all of them are getting long I will try and wrap it up. I am hoping this fall to have a regular up-date once a week. But we will see what happens

Till Next Entry

Categories : Family, Friends, Life, Ministry
Comments (1)
Jul
25

Greetings From Owen Sound

Posted by: Matthew Dykstra | Comments (0)

Greetings from Owen Sound,

Here I am finally taking some time off and spending time with the family.. My Parents, My sister and even the kids came along for this trip. It has been an exciting journey. At first I was not going to bring my laptop but when I heard that dad was bringing his I broke and brought mine.

So far we have had an amazing time. We have not done that much but that is what traviling for me is all about just sitting around and doing nothing. So I put my churches live feed on and began to type.

We are right now in a private camp ground and just enjoying the morning sun. What beauty is all around us that we miss when we are in the city I truly am enjoying myself and just loving the time I can spend in the nature and with the family. What could be better nature, the church live and my laptop.

I do miss each and everyone of you back in Oshawa and all though this is a short trip I will be back on Monday Afternoon and back to the grind.

C U All When I Get Back

Categories : Family, Uncategorized
Comments (0)
Jun
17

An Update

Posted by: Matthew Dykstra | Comments (1)

Hello,

Here I am sitting at the church listing to Lorna play after just having been done at the Dr’s office and really just thinking to myself.. what an amazing 4 weeks I have never been more excited about life then in a long long time. I recently started dating the most amazing women in the world. I never thought that I would ever date her in a million years. We met when we were 10 and well from time to time we lost track of each other and in the last few months have been connecting.

When I love about her most is how she is so independent.. how she takes charge of what she wants and goes for it. When she knows what she wants there is no stopping her. She is so amazing a person inside and out.. We talk about everything.. there is almost nothing that I don’t tell her. Late night chats on the phone.. time apart so I can do my church thing and then we catch up. She is so supportive of what I do here at the church. She is all around the perfect women (at least in my eyes)

What else is been going on.. well not much… I am turning 31 on Saturday and going from there. I am going to be visiting with a friend of mine who is also having a birthday on the same day. So it should be an exciting weekend. This weekend is also fathers day and my mothers birthday all in the same day.. How fun is that. So this should be a very exciting week.

As for the church we just finished up the online store and its products. take a look at www.theembassyofgod.com/store/ Pastor Matt and Ron Prestage did an awesome job on the covers for the cds and boxes and I worked hard on getting the sermons in order and edited for sale. We together were as Ron said a machine in getting the website done and running. WordPress is the most awesome tool in the world for this stuff. We are going to unveil it to the church this Sunday

What else has been going on.. well just doing my stuff for my self.. I am working on getting all of my movies and tv shows on to my portable hard drive and into my Itunes so that I can watch them on the computer at anytime I want.. I have my MacBook setup to run off the TV . I can in my Itunes watch anything I want from movies to tv to listing to music It Rocks! Plus I am still doing all of the church stuff that I normally do.

Really working hard at the church these days.. The store took up most of our time.. but I am still doing sound and media work.. Joined the intercessor team for the Worship team and working hard on my proverbs study. My gal is now doing it along side me. She is always challenging me to go higher in the things of the Lord and I love her for that. She wants to make sure that we have put God first before anything else in our relationship and that has always been my primary goal with this relationship is to put him first. She is awesome!

Not much more then that is going on. I really don’t have much to say. So I will close for now.

Till Next Entry

Apr
18

A Journey

Posted by: Matthew Dykstra | Comments (1)

Hello,

I have just been though a month of “Gardening” or what some people would call removing old roots and I have come to realize that one there was a lot of crap in my life that I had to deal with and secondly there was a lot of stuff I had held on too for way to long. As I sat back and asked the Lord to reveal what he had been telling me I began to realize that a lot of this was holding me down health wise. I never knew how much anger, resentment and defensiveness could keep a person in bondage.

But this was only the beginning of what was to come in my life. I never realized how much this was going to change me and how much this was going to leave me with a very empty feeling. I have been walking around with an empty spirit, holes in the garden were anger, resentment and hurt once was. I am now at a point in this time of transition where I need to be filling it with things of the Lord. But what really is that?

How do you begin to fill the holes that were once full of garbage. How do you begin to find what it is that you need to not walk around lost and confused. Well the answer is not that simple. I am only in the 3rd week of April and I still have yet to find out what this is.

I cannot believe that taking the month away from things and taking the time to look into all these roots was only the beginning. My mentor said that the Lord is never done with us until we are in heaven. I want to be the best person that God has called me to be. I want to be the best leader that I can be. But what does this look like. What does this really mean?

The question is not that simple. There is a lot of sacrifice that has to be made when do this. I just got through an intense 5 Days in His Presence at the church and I went non-stop with everything. I ran hard and really never took any time to just sit and soak in what the Lord was doing. I did get hit with stuff and was able to give a word to a friend but really never just sat. I hated not being able to sit and take in and I love it all at the same time.

Strage from a guy who after 5 days has not done anything in the Sound booth on Tuesdays. I really want to lead and over see things rather then just doing. This is a hard concept for me. Especially when one place I volunteer @ never schedules Media Shout people separate from Recording. I always end up doing Media Shout when one of the ladies is on Recording. So I never just get to take in and hear from the Lord. I do hear from the Lord when things are going on but not my undivided attention.

Sometimes we need to just sit in his presence and take in what the Lord is doing. We need to know what he wants for our lives and what he wants us to change. I know this because he asked me to remove my cable tv from my home and to spend more time in his word and just listing to what the people around me (mentors, friends, pastors etc.) are saying. So this is what I am trying to do. Now I know it only takes a few min a day to be in his presence but there is so much more to it then that.

I am finding that if we really want to live the life that the Lord is calling us to live that we must first put him first. Secondly be willing to leave everything behind and thirdly do what the Lord commands of us. If we can do that and be willing to sacrifice everything then we can do anything. We are called to be Sons and Daughters of the most high God and to be secure in that. If we can get that in our hearts then everything else is gravy!

Here is my thing though. It is hard I know that through Christ all things are possible (Philippines 4:13) but I am just encountering a few things lately that have got me held down, confused and at times upset. These situations are leaving me lost, clouded and confused at what to do. That may seem strange but we all encounter things that do this to us. A few of the situations I have had to leave in the Lords hand and walk away and just continue to pray for them. I know that is hard!

The decrement team say to me during 5 Days in His Presence that if it becomes a burdon and it starts to feel really heavy then it is time to walk away and leave it in the Lords hands. But continue to pray for that situation. We must continue to pray till we see the break though that the Lord want to show/give us until then we are not doing praying.

Starting this month I am joining the prayer team at our Young Adults department and I have never been more thrilled in my life to be on this team. I love to be in prayer, I love to study his word. My only down fall is concentration and time. But with the added bonus of having no tv except the videos and movies on my portable hard drive and dvds I should be able to make the time to sit in his presence and learn what it is he has for my life.

But I now have to get ready for church. Have A Blessed Sunday!

I do though want to leave you with this video from Misty Edwards call “My Soul Longs For You” just sit back and listen to the words as Misty Sings

http://www.vimeo.com/5789875

Till Next Entry

Mar
15

My Prayer Life

Posted by: Matthew Dykstra | Comments (1)
This entry is part 15 of 19 in the series Self Improvement

Hello,

It is 5:27 am and I am wide awake after having a semi-good night sleep and you might be asking yourself what would anyone care about that? Well you may not but it is strange to me. I just read an old entry called “Handling Your Own Affairs” and It reminded me that I had wanted to get up every morning between 5:00 – 5:30 and spend two hours with the Lord starting and prayer and seeing where he wants me to go.

Well it is strange that I was never able to keep that up like I used to. Life for me is difficult. I get up in the morning weather at 5:00 am or 10:00 am and find myself having to take some time to just sit in bed and let my body wake up. If you have been following my blog/journal/diary then you will know that I suffer from Fibromyalgia and it takes me a long time in the morning to get going. I take a boat load of pills for that and it is related conditions and then I get going for the day.

Well this old post reminded me that back in January of 2009 Pastor Derek was preaching a series on the Power of Continual Prayer and that was around the time I made a commitment to myself to get up early before anyone in my house and spend 2 hours a day in prayer.. Well March came by I got sick and BAM! all was done.. by June nothing and by August my prayer life was next to nothing.. It was not until my mentor sparked something in me that I decided to get back in to a prayer life.

Well here we are back in March 1 year later and back in the same position trying yet again to get this right. Plus this month is a month of changes in my life. Yet I look back and it was this time last year that I was still not into a full prayer life. I look at people like Andrea Smith, Pastor Derek, My Mentor and i think to myself “they have it all together” they some how know how to work prayer into their daily schedules and still do all the things they need to get done.

So me being a single man with lots of health issues should be able to do the same.. nadda I suck at this part of my life. Yes I can do the afternoon a week at the church and get some time in with the Lord but that is not enough 1 day a week does not cut it. So I began to think to myself what is it that is keeping me from the lord?

What is it that I am doing wrong. What is it that guys like Ron, Matt, Andrea and Derek have that I don’t. Why is it a man who is called to ministry of some sort still cannot fit in even 15 min to pray. What a looser am I. If I can make time almost every day to write in my blog. then why can I not make time to pray. My priorities are out of whack.

My life this month seems out of balance. My life seems to have the scales tipping towards the world more then the things of God. Is that bad? Yes! Should I re-evaluate DUH! I really gotta sit down and look at my life and Go okay now what? What needs to change.. is it the time I go to bed.. is it the time I spend on the computer, tv, internet etc.. well DUH again this is only part of it.

If I don’t get the most important part of my life in order then nothing will ever fall into place.. I look like I have it all together but really inside my spiritual life is the biggest mess of all right now. Strongholds getting the better of me. Joke I make with friends, and even my thought life right now SUCK!

I find that when I spend time with the Lord my life always falls into place. My jokes are better, and things in ministry seem to get done. That two hours or the time I spend seems to get redeemed back. There is a no secret to going after the things of God put that first and the things of life will fall into place and when you look like you have it all together you do!

I have learned from experience and from my mentor seek the kingdom first and all the things of life will fall right into place.

Try it. I will be this week for sure. Give 15 min and find some one to keep you accountable. My Mentor has been working with someone else like this and his prayer life is off the wall. So why after 3 years with my mentor do I struggle with this. I should be way farther then ever before and yet I am not.

Am I an idiot, am I lazy none of the above. Should I make excuses? No. So what is wrong with me? At the church when I am all alone and there is no technology except my laptop and some music I am fine. At home with two computers, pvr, tv, stereo etc… I cannot turn off ministry I cannot stop working on the things that Lorna, Matt, Sunday needs to get done. Yet I know the key to getting all that done and don’t do it.

Well it is Monday the start of a new week. So lets get my butt in gear and get on this quit talking about it. Move it. Put that music on and get in to the prayer life I so want.

If there is anything the Lord is teaching me it is “I have told you enough now.. JUST DO IT!” I know things from the Lord that I really should not know anything about and yet he still shows me after such a crappy prayer life. Now is the time do it or shut up

Till Next Entry

Categories : Prayer, Questions
Comments (1)
This entry is part 11 of 11 in the series Random Thoughts

Hello,

Have you ever had one of those days you wish you could just crawl under a rock and hide from it all.. I do.. that was today.. I have been going through a month long transformation and I have been dealing with a lot of things from my past I have never delt with and well to be honest.. it is hard to deal with my past and to deal with what I have held in a locked box for a very long time. Some of them as been easy to let go of and some have not been.

I just wonder what the next 2 weeks will hold. I just wonder what life will have in store for me. But today I let my stronghold get the best of me and since then I have locked myself in front of my laptop and tried to forget that it even happend.

Yesterday I had a chat with a man who I admire more than anything in the world. He gave me some excellent wisdom into what the Lord is doing with my life and some things that are to come even though I did recieve it I began to wonder why did the Lord choose me.. why am I in the place that I am now.. did I make choices in my life that lead me to the person that I am now.

What could I have done to change the path that I took what could I have done to prevent some of the things that are going on in my life right now. Some of my life right now I am very happy with and some I still want to rip out of me and say “Stupid, Stupid, Stupid!”

I have to say some of the best things that happend in my life are this. 1 and the first of all things is meeting my mentor and friend here is a man other then my parents who has kept me grounded and on the path that my mother knew all my life that I should be on.

The second thing was finding a good church. I had been church hoppin’ for some time.. going back and fourth from one church to the next and back to the church I grew up in and it was not until my long time friend Serena brought me to “The Embassy” and I have stayed put ever since.

The third thing was meeting a man who seems to have it all together. A Wife, 3 beautiful kids and a very technologily setup home. I really wish I had gone the path that he did and that my mom knew I belonged on and maybe I would have been like him too.

Should I after stating all of that really be upset with my life? Well ya.. don’t we all have something in our life we would like to change? I do.. but that will happen in time. I have to keep dealing with the root of the issues rather then cutting off the bad fruit.

Here I am sitting alone in my apartment with nothing but me, my computers and television and yet I spend all day working on stuff for DHOP and watching tv when I could have spent time in the word, reading my book and keeping good things around me.  Maybe then my strong hold would have not gotten the best of me.

I am right now watching Fame the 2009 remake and I am watching people who know there place in life and are working towards it. After the last two weeks I question my place in life. I question weather I am on the right path. I question weather God really wants me to do things in technology when there are so many more people in the church who can do what I do so much better.

This year is only just begun and I feel more unshure of what my purpose is now then when Pastor Derek spoke on finding your place in the kingdom with his series “His Kingdom, Your Purpose” and I guess that stems from watching a guy take my place as leader in the Media department of This Generation get further along in 2 weeks than I ever did in 3 years. Makes me doubt myself and feel really small. It is not him but it is me..

Do I have what it takes to do what my mentor is asking? Do I have what it takes to do what it is the Lord wants. Will I ever see the fullness of my Kingdom Purpose or will I be on my death bed going “why why why”

I don’t know some days.. I don’t know if I will ever really know.. taking a step back.. yes I did that. I did what the Lord is asking except the one thing that opens the door to my stronghold.

My life may look in order, my life may look like I have it all together but don’t be surprised if I struggle internally with who I am and what it is the Lord wants me to become.

Matthew 22:14 says
“For many are invited but few are chosen” (HCSB)
“For many are called but few are chosen” (NASB)

A good friend said to me the other day that “The Lord Does The Hiring and He is Calling Me” but am I ready? Can I Do It? Can I make those sacrifices that are needed to be done in order to see the fulfillment of my destiny? I really don’t know anymore. I thought I was ready for what this month had in store but now I am unsure.

Just me wondering and maybe even being in self-pitty again but just Random Thoughts that are running in my head.

Categories : Embassy, Questions
Comments (0)
Feb
23

Handling Your Own Affairs

Posted by: Matthew Dykstra | Comments (0)
This entry is part 19 of 19 in the series Self Improvement

Hello,

You might be asking yourself, what is with all the writings this past month and really I don’t know either. I am starting to wonder myself and it is because my spirit is stirring. There has been a lot going on and a lot that has been happening.

This past week I have decided to go back to getting up early every morning (5 out of 7 days and 1 afternoon a week) and get into 2 hrs of quality time with the Lord. I decided that it was time to get my house in order. It is like the apostle Paul said in 1st Timothy 3:4-5 he said

5 (If anyone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of God’s church?) (HSCB )

For if someone is unable to handle his own affairs, how can he take care of God’s church? (MSG )

5 (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?); (KJV ) (NKJV )

For me this was a big passage. It got me to thinking that I really need to get alot of things done and get my life straight. For the past little while it seemed to me like things were getting out of control in the spiritual side. I had ask the Lord to keep me in the hidden place. I wanted everyone else around me to be put into the lime light so to speak. Well he said to me are you sure? I answered yes! He reminded me to be careful what you ask for.

Well he did it. So many times I have seen things that I thought they will ask me to do that or Pastor Derek will mention me in a sermon and BAM! It gets turned to someone else. I started to get up set and the Lord reminded me that you asked for this. I began to realize why I asked for this and started to get things in order.

The first thing I did was setup a calendar on Google and started to plot out my days so that my time with The Lord, Family and Friends were made avail. I then began to look at my ministry stuff and plot all of that in and realized I spend a lot of time at the Church , None the less I know that is where I am called to and will stick to it.

After all of that was done I realized that I still did not have enough time in there for the Lord one full afternoon a week was not enough. A prayer here a prayer there was Good but flair prayers don’t always get the job done.

Pastor Derek was teaching a series on Persistence and Diligence and talked about how he made 2 hours a day for the Lord and how that changed his life. The Lord reminded me that you used to do this. What happened to you?, Where are you my son?

So that was it! I now every morning except Tuesdays and Wednesdays get up at 5:00 – 5:30 and prepare to spend 2 hours a day with the Lord.

Now before you ask what about Tuesdays and Wednesdays, well it is like this Tuesdays my mentor has set aside for me to spend the entire afternoon in prayer and studies so that morning is free for me to get ready to come for my ministry day at This Generation and Wednesdays is my 7th day that is the day I go visit my parents, see my grandmother at the nursing home and babysit my sisters kids Lilly and Ivy (see photo on front page ) nothing interrupts that day.

How has this changed my life? well let me tell you this much, there is nothing like putting on the IHOP Live Feed and praying along side the worship and hearing what the Lord would have me pray into for my life, my friends, my family, ministry and yes even my mentor

You should try this! You do not have to do it like me but if you cannot get your own house in order how do you expect to help in the church or even mentor to others. We need to keep God first in our lives and we need to remember the important stuff in life.

So I will leave you with this thought from Matthew 16:26 it says “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (KJV )

Till Next Entry

Categories : Embassy, Family, Prayer, Questions
Comments (0)
Feb
16

Fruit, Good or Bad?

Posted by: Matthew Dykstra | Comments (0)
This entry is part 8 of 11 in the series Random Thoughts

Hello,

This past 2 weeks have been very interesting, very fun, and very draining on my spirit and on top of that my health has been so so. But I have tonight noticed something in me that really needs some work.

I have a huge stronghold and I know is keeping me from my full true destiny in Christ and has kept me down for years now and tonight I noticed something. I only let this strong hold get the best of me when I am tired, sore or my mind is clouded from “Fibromyalga (Fibro) Fog ” now you might be asking what is that.. click the link and you will know more.

But in all of this you have to ask yourself, what is it that causes me to let my strong hold get the best of me? What hours of the day does this happen most? What is the situation that can open the door to this beating me and me not beating it?

Well I can answer all of these but during a Fibro Fog moment these questions and answers don’t matter. When I am in a fibro fog moment all of that is out the door.. nothing much makes sense to me number, thoughts, or even what is going on around me. This is when I fall most in to my strong hold.

But in saying all of that we must remember that each of us have something that can keep us down. But when do you say Enough is Enough! When do you say I want to overcome my stronghold.. When do you say I Give..

I have been saying this for years! But since my health started to decline in early 2000 this has not been an easy thing for me to over come.. I can use all the excuses I want.. I can even use my health as one of the causes.. but in the end is it not just me.. is it not just saying no I won’t let this get to me enough?

Yes and No.. somethings in our life are not that easy to say no to.. even the situation that we are in is sometimes hard to say no to.. Something so simple as a movie at a friends house, that bottle of booze on the table at dinner out with a friend.. what ever the situation we have to learn to be strong.

We have to rely on God to help us get through all the things that cause us to fall down go boom!. My Pastor, Mentor and Friend keeps me accountable in my stronghold and always reminds me of this verse from Romans 8:1

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (NIV ) (NASB )

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (KJV )

So now, those who are in Christ Jesus are not judged guilty (NCV )

Therefore, no condemnation now exists for those in Christ Jesus (HCSB )

THEREFORE, [there is] now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live [and] walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit. (AMP )

It is a verse (in many versions listed above) that I hold dear to me every time I slip up.. Every time I fall in to the hands of my strong hold.

My Pastor and Good Friend are going to be working with me a lot in march to over come these things.. It all comes down to what my good friend (RIP) Josh Wiedrick said to me once.. “If we get rid of just the bad fruit we only get rid of the problem for a short time, but if we get rid of the root we get rid of the entire issue and the problem is gone.”

For those of you who did not get that.. I was helped to understand it this way. Think of a tree that has fruit on it but it is always coming up bad.. so you remove the rotten fruit and for a time you get good fruit. But just when you think that everything is okay.. BAM! Rotten fruit comes back on that same tree.. It you remove the root that is causing that fruit to come back time and time again you then totally remove the problem. It Reminds of me of another favorite verse from the Book Psalms Chapter 1

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.

2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.

3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.

5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. (NIV ) (NASB )

1 How happy is the man who does not follow the advice of the wicked,
or take the path of sinners, or join a group of mockers!

2 Instead, his delight is in the LORD‘s instruction, and he meditates on it day and night.

3 He is like a tree planted beside streams of water that bears its fruit in season  and whose leaf does not wither.  Whatever he does prospers.

4 The wicked are not like this; instead, they are like chaff that the wind blows away.

5 Therefore the wicked will not survive the judgment, and sinners will not be in the community of the righteous.

6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to ruin. (HCSB )

That is what we as Christians need to do. Look at the fruit you are getting and look at the cause of the fruit. If we don’t like what we see then we need to examine ourselves and see how to change the fruit we are getting

Yes the month of march scares me because I am the type of person that has everything in order and needs to know what is coming up next. But.. this is a month of ????? I will not know what the Lord will have me do, what will my mentor have for me?, what will a month of not being in sound booth of This Gen look like? Am I Ready for this?

No I am not ready for this! but are we ever ready for this? But are we ever ready to walk into what the Lord would have us do? If we truly want to walk into the fullness of our destiny there are sacrifices that we all need to take. So Yes March scares me and Yes I wonder what will happen.. but I have to say “Here I Am Lord, Use Me!”

Till Next Entry

Categories : Embassy, Questions
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