New Orleans, Florida, Tucson--places of the heart--at risk

My heart, anyway.

Our culture is threatened, our economy is threatened, and everything that I know and love is at risk.

I was born in the beautiful Southeast with its sugar-white sands, azaleas and hanging moss, night-blooming jasmine. I lived there many years, gave birth there.

So, I could not imagine falling in love with the cactus and rocks of the desert Southwest. But as someone reassured me just before we moved there, the desert has a beauty all its own. And fall in love, I did. I lived in Tucson for six years and hated to move away again.

But while I was there, one of the local hospitals closed, and another in a nearby small town, did, too. Both went bankrupt. Now, local taxpayers in that small town had no hospital. Because so many women came to Arizona to have "anchor babies." Babies who were automatically citizens and a free pass for the parents. Who will grow up in a few years, and vote for radical changes, if the rhetoric is any indication.

The U.S. is a generous country. We want to help others and we do. But the problem is, in a word, gushing. Oil gushing up, illegals gushing in, money gushing out. How can we keep paying the bills for everyone?

Our borders are so open, anyone from anywhere is coming in. We realize many are looking for freedom and opportunity? What about the others, the OTMs, Other Than Mexicans? Where do they come from and what do they want?

Another place is my beloved New Orleans. My wip is set there. My heroine loves the city: its history, music, charm and food. She adds to its art, its laughter. She gets lost for a while in its alleged dark side. Finds peace with God again in the afternoon sunshine. That's my fiction.

Now, in reality, there's our food. On a recent trip, I enjoyed this delicious soft-shell crab.

Others are dying a slow death, by what is to most living things, poison.



By an accident that could have been avoided. By other things, too, long before this.

Seafood restaurants support fishermen, not to mention the restaurateurs, chefs, and wait staff. If the industry adapted and switched to steak and chicken, I wonder:

Who would go to New Orleans for a steak?

I would. Because of everything else there that my heroine loves. Anybody else? Some, not many.

Today, Louisiana's Rep. Charlie Melancon wept in Congress and I wept along with him as he said,

Our culture is threatened, our economy is threatened, and everything that I know and love is at risk.
After struggling with his emotions, he stopped speaking, got up, and left the room. The chairman assured him in respectful tones that everyone was praying for the people along the Gulf.

I know I am.

"Welcome, Holy Spirit!"Concert Pentecost Sunday's comin'!

 

We sing about God the Father and God the Son at Christmas and Easter. Why not God the Holy Spirit at Pentecost? 

The Jewish feast is held fifty days after Passover. 

May 20 is Pentecost Sunday. It's not just another day on the Liturgical Calendar. It's when He birthed empowered the Church with His presence! GOD in US, conforming us to the image of Christ!
And He promises never to leave us. To celebrate and prepare hearts, I've collected these songs into a "concert." Just click on the titles.  Welcome, Holy Spirit!

Father, I Adore You

Welcome, Holy Spirit

Come Holy Spirit Revive the Church Today!

Cece Winans- Holy Spirit Come Fill This Place

Holy Spirit Rain Down Alvin Slaughter

Holy Spirit Rain Down with lyrics

Come Holy Spirit by Israel Houghton

Let Your Spirit Fall

Come Holy Spirit I Need Thee

Spirit of the Living God

Come Holy Spirit Fall Afresh On Me

Elvis Presley introduces The Stamps - Sweet Sweet Spirit 1972 live

The Amen - Prayer to the Holy Spirit

It's Beginning To Rain

Holy Spirit You Are Welcome Here

Adoration by Mike Adkins

Shine Jesus Shine ... blaze, Spirit, blaze...

Holy Spirit Come

If you have any requests for other songs about the Holy Spirit, please leave a comment. Thanks.

Acts 10:38 is my favorite Bible verse, besides salvation verses.

God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power,

Amazing! Jesus was anointed by the Holy Spirit. The Bible doesn't speak of Him doing any miracles or teaching until then. But then! But then, He

went about doing good and healing *all* who were oppressed of the devil for God was with Him.

I love it because we, too, are commanded to be filled with the same Holy Spirit who empowered Jesus.

We know that God the Father sits in Heaven, and God the Son sits beside Him. It's God the Holy Spirit who lives in us and through us, and heals us and encourages us....

And He gives us the power of the gifts of the Spirit for victory in situations of life and we will receive the fruit of the Holy Spirit for victories within ourselves. And *be being* transformed into the image of Christ!

I Corinthians 12, 13, and 14 are about the Spirit's power, love, and again, power. A Holy Spirit sandwich. And I want the whoooole thing!

http://tinyurl.com/25xh5lu

Jesus up, soldiers down? What's up with that?

An angry, resentful, determined band of men ready to rid themselves of a serious problem strode with Judas to the olive grove.

They were fired up and ready, ultimately, to kill.

Officials of the temple, and according to some Scripture versions, soldiers, approached Jesus and His friends that night.

They demanded to know which man was Jesus. When Jesus answered, they fell backward and to the ground.

But, why would these angry, powerful, motivated men fall down? Let's check it out.

Some versions say Jesus said, I am He. I don't think that's correct.

I believe the versions that say that he said, I am.

Judas, therefore, having taken the band and officers out of the chief priests and Pharisees, doth come thither with torches and lamps, and weapons; Jesus, therefore, knowing all things that are coming upon him, having gone forth, said to them, `Whom do ye seek?' they answered him, `Jesus the Nazarene;'

Jesus saith to them, `I am [he];' -- and Judas who delivered him up was standing with them; --

when, therefore, he said to them -- `I am [he],' they went away backward, and fell to the ground. John 18:3-6

I am. As when God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. Exodus 3:14 

God referred to Himself as I AM. Perpetual. Now. Present.

We are also told that in the beginning was the Word and the Word was God and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. John 1:1-14.

Jesus Christ is God. I AM in the flesh. Emmanu-El. God with us.

And when I AM in the flesh stepped up and declared His presence, I AM, the power in that place was so strong, the enemy could not stand. Friend or foe, the human body cannot stand in the presence of the full power of God.

I had to know where and how this happened in the Old Testament.

I called a rabbi friend and asked about these following verses:

1 Kings 8:11 so that the priests could not *stand* to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD.

Did that mean, in the original Hebrew, that the priest could not bear to move and talk, or that he could not stand up?

The rabbi assured me they could not stand up. That's why a rope was tied around the priest's ankle. To pull him out of the Holy of Holies if he died.

And the word for glory in Hebrew is chabod. It also means weight. Heaviness. It makes sense:

2 Chronicles 5:14 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory (weight, heaviness) of the LORD filled the house of God.

Some today would call it falling under the Power, or slain in the Spirit.

And we have these precedents, Old Testament and New. Tenach and New Covenant.

Jesus' power came, not because He was God, but from His anointing with the Holy Spirit. Acts 10:38 He did no miracles until He was anointed with the Holy Spirit.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were there in that Garden.

If we can just wrap our minds around this concept: the same Holy Spirit, this same power of God who raised Jesus from the dead can dwell in all of us.  Romans 8:11 We are commanded to "be (continually) filled with the Spirit."

He dwells in those who believe Jesus died to take the punishment for our, yes, sins. In those who receive Him into our hearts and lives and ask Him to help us do better.

We can receive power to tell others and to live our lives to the fullest as God the Holy Spirit works through us for our joy and well-being and His glory.

If you're ready to receive this awesome Jesus, be filled with His Spirit, and have a wonderful relationship with God the Father and see His hand in your life, and know you can live with Him forever, just scroll down and click the Ready button.

Go on, do it now.  : )

Sunny walk, dark path--would we have rescued this boy?

An autistic teenaged boy sank in a pond last Saturday at a dog-walking park. He walked through some brush and between bushes, and next thing his mother knew, he had run out into a pond and was sinking, over his head.

The mother screamed and my friend's husband shed his jacket and ran in after him. The boy, who cannot talk, reached for him. The man pulled him out and carried the 120-pounder to shore.

The grateful, distraught mother said she had tried to teach her son to swim, but the teenager couldn't even learn to blow bubbles.

It could have been so tragic but for the selflessness of the man. They called him a hero but he doesn't accept that. He says anyone else would have done the same thing.

Maybe, maybe not. I hope I would have. But we don't know until we're there.

Every day, don't we see people headed for danger, and say nothing?

I know I do. Sometimes the Holy Spirit says that this isn't the right time or place. That they wouldn't receive it right now. I think I'm hearing that, anyway. Sure makes it easier to say nothing.

But the Bible says, "Now is the day of salvation."

And in Ezekiel 3 it says to warn His people even when they won't listen.

Some may reject us. Some may reach for us. But we won't know until we try.

My heroine's mother-in-law was like this man, ready to plunge in and rescue people. She plunged into conversation with the man who loved the heroine, challenging him to explore his faith further.

He did. All the way to Israel. A whole new world opened up to him and he found more than he sought--including the Six-Day War. Trained as a US Air Force pilot, he flew and fought for Israel after someone dear to him was shot. Eventually, he returned home much richer in spirit, with more to give the heroine--and her mother-in-law.

And then the fun began.

Ever wonder if God loves you?

He created us to be a pleasure to Him. When we failed to please Him, look what He did for us to make us a pleasure to Him again like He wanted in the first place!

These things I have written to you that believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ that you may KNOW you HAVE eternal life. 1 John 5:13

For more information, scroll down and click on the red Ready button.

My MC Maggie says, "God is love." But she finds that some things still bring consequences. So she decides God doesn't love her, after all. Three different men in her life bring her tragedies and triumphs that result in restoration of her fun-loving nature and the knowledge that God does love her and welcome her home.

Divination for children--made easy....

Ever play with a Ouija Board?

In college, I lived in a big old house off campus from the U of Florida, in a student area, and on an inside door someone had painted a design that included a cross and  XPI.

This was before computers and xpi Zip drives. It was Chi Rho Iota, the first three Greek letters of Christ.

One summer night between semesters, back home at my parents' house, my mom and I were playing with a neighbor's Ouija Board, and the planchette moved to X, then P. I was very careful to be sure I wasn't guiding it in any way. My mom and I had decided not to tell each other our respective questions for the board so the other person wouldn't  influence it. And she didn't know what I was thinking, so she wasn't unconsciously guiding it. And it slowly moved to I.

I threw up my hands and gasped. "Something is trying to deceive us!"

I had never been warned or taught about the occult and that God hates it. But the Holy Spirit let me know in my baby-Christian spirit that it was not Jesus writing the familiar letters.

We gave the board back to the owner and never played with it again.

Some will say I had to be guiding it without realizing it, by what I was expecting.

Maybe, maybe not. I believe not.

Point is, years later, I read in the Bible how God hates dabbling in any powers not from Him.

Now, Hasboro Toys is selling pretty pink and glow-in-the-dark Ouija Boards in big chain toy stores and marketing them for little children!

What a convenient way for young ones to learn to do what God hates and calls an abomination or detestable--divination--going to a supernatural source for hidden or future knowledge.

I just now read about these new "toys" in a wonderful newsletter by Jan Markell.

Please visit her website and see: Playtime for Kids and It's Called Divination 

She has a novel, Gone the Golden Dream, and lot of pertinent information on many topics.

So, is the Ouija Board just harmless fun? Or does it open a door to demonic powers as some believe?

Jesus does give His people power and authority over evil spirits:

Luke 10:19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

But I suspect we make them feel quite welcome to hang around and hassle us when we play with powers not from God, powers He says he hates in Deuteronomy 18 and Galatians 5*

Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.

Yes, Christians are under grace in this New Testament era.

But, We know that the Lord disciplines those He loves, Hebrews 12:6. By lifting His protection and allowing natural consequences? The enemy is like a roaring lion who would love to cause us problems.

In my WIP, fun-loving Maggie is at war with God. In New Orleans, she turns to the occult

for answers, and the fun begins, all right. The answers she gets are not from God and her life is endangered.

This photo reminds me of my heinous villain taking an early morning, innocent stroll outside his French Quarter apartment, no doubt ruminating on some scheme to win Maggie's heart as he leads her farther into the dark side. Does she ever get her fun-lovin' self back and find peace with God?

You'll learn what happens when some savvy editor recognizes the sterling qualities in this story and publishes it.  : )

My friends do not have to agree with me about all this, of course.

Everyone has to do as they are led. It's just that I commit enough sins without choosing to be entertained by something God hates. He tells us He does:

Deuteronomy. 18:9 When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. 10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in [a] the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, 11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD, and because of these detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you. 13 You must be blameless before the LORD your God.


14 The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, the LORD your God has not permitted you to do so.

Galatians 5:19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

We say, If God be for us, who can be against us?

 And if we be for God, can we be for occult entertainment if He hates it? That must hurt him when He loves us much, He died for us.

And I hate to think of little children who have never been taught better playing with this "toy."

It's the edge of a slippery slope toward spiritual porn--seeking an illicit spiritual experience. And maybe getting more of one than they expect.

The Holy Spirit is a lot more fun than this, when we get to know Him and see His hand in our lives.

John 14:21 Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.


A concise an interesting book on all this is Don't Buy the Lie: Discerning Truth in a World of Deception by Mark Matlock.

Again, here's that great promise:

John 14:21Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.

And maybe heal our land. But that's a subject for another day.

So--let's pray. Lord, please forgive us for looking for spiritual experiences in the wrong places. Please give us a fresh--or brand-new--infilling of the Holy Spirit and love, joy, peace, power, all that you have for us--from YOU. Thank You. In the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.


f you don't know Jesus, scroll down and push the red button on the side of this blog for more information about a personal relationship with God! That relationship includes the assurance of forgiveness for dabbling and other sins, the inheritance of everlasting life with God in Heaven, and the promise, the seal, the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives here and now!

God bless.

Cece Winans- Holy Spirit Come Fill This Place

When the Saints Go Marchin' In!

I adore this photo! They must have been cheering for me, I was trying so hard to help them kick that field goal! LOL


There was such unity in the city at that victorious moment, strangers hugging and laughing. New Orleans Saints fans had waited forty-three years for this!


I'm reminded of another moment, what it must have been like in the spirit realm when Jesus came out of that tomb! 

And I think of what that means for those who--who want it to:

From St. Paul's letter to the Colossians, Chapter 2

10 And you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.


11 In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ,


12 having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.


13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,


14 having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.


15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross!!!

Come on, saints! Let's tell our friends! Let's tell strangers on the street! That is worth cheering about!

Wordless Wednesday

Between Sundays, choosing the things that last....

I just visited  Between Sundays, my friend Robin Bayne's blog. She has posted reviews of her sweet romance, Prodigal. Take a look, maybe find a new favorite!    
                    

Between Sundays--love that name. I think of the passage of time plus the significance of Sundays.

And then there was Sinatra Sundays, a restaurant near where we lived. I liked that name, too. Made me think of a lazy Sunday listening to nice love songs.

Last time we saw it, the marquee sported a different name. Sinatra is gone, too, for that matter, although, of course, his music still lives on.

And for me, Sundays are seldom lazy, but full of choir, church, Bible study, dinner, nap, choir, church, all with my little part of God's family. I like it that way.

And Sundays--occasion to worship, anyway--and Jesus--and His music--are all still with us. And they will last forever.

Death on your doorstep--besides the moths. LOL

So, what is this death on your doorstep? LOL

Not the moths flying around your lightbulbs. And not by an armed intruder.

But darling people. Ringing your bell, they want to rescue you and justify themselves before God. But, blinded by the god of this age, they are dying in their own sins with false religions.

You have a mission field on your doorstep, as the late, great Walter Martin would say.

It's a new year, and groups will be revving up to go out and knock on doors. Including yours.

Will you turn them away to die in their sins or will you give them the Truth and Light of the real Jesus Christ?

It's not that hard. Just three Bible passages could do it.

Jude verse 3--"contend (argue vigorously) for the faith once (Greek--once and for all) delivered to the saints." There is no new revelation since the Holy Spirit closed the canon and separated literature and history books from the inspired Word of God.

Revelation may still come today in a word of wisdom or a word of knowledge to someone about a given situation.

But there is no new doctrine. The Gospel is a done deal. God protects His Word, and there are verses about that. But let's stick with these three passages for today.

This one's easy to remember, II Corinthians 11:3-4--the II looks like the 11. That's two digits,then, 3,4:

"3But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 4For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough."

Paul points out that some of the people were not bothered by various doctrines that were false. They were adapting them and being led astray.

Of course, if they receive another spirit, that spirit will lead them to receive another jesus and another gospel. All false. All deception.

Today, it's easier than in Paul's time. We have the Word written down and we can easily learn what is right. And there is only one real Jesus.

And there is a terrible penalty for adapting the real Jesus to suit another doctrine and presenting this false Jesus to others:

Galatians 1:6-9 NIV "6I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8But even if we or an *angel from heaven*  should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! 9As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!"

Please read that last line again--eternally condemned.

And after asking them to look up this Galatians passage, we may say this to the darling young people who want to lead us astray without realizing it: "We must be very sure we are presenting the Gospel that the Bible teaches--the real Jesus. Otherwise, we are eternally condemned. Cursed. You are so cute and sweet, and you are so kind, wanting to rescue me. But I am so afraid for you. If your leaders are wrong, Paul says you are cursed." Blunt? You bet.

And the truth of those three passages will make some in cults eventually rethink what they have learned from their leaders and books.

Martin defined cults as groups that hold a book and/or a leader equal to or above the Word of God. The group may small or huge. No matter.

The issue is: Who is Jesus? Walter Martin said that if you miss that, you have missed it all.

(And by the way, page 110 of the popular The Shack says that Jesus is the best way to the Father. He is not. He is the only way to the Father. If The Shack is the only "Christian" book a non-Christian reads, he or she has missed it all.)

Jesus is not just a good person. He is not just Plan B when the Garden of Eden didn't work out.

Jesus is God in the flesh:

The Word was God, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, the only Son of the Father. John 1:1-14

How did that happen? I don't know. But it's easy if you're God.

These cults may already know John 3:16: "For God loved the world so much, He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."

But they may see him as a way-show-er, and not the only way.

He is the only way. God in the flesh. Jesus Christ is Lord of all.

Maggie, the heroine in my work in progress, thought she was a Christian, thought she was saved. She loved and appreciated Jesus. She even said "God is love." But she didn't really know Him and she paid a price with pain and chaos in her happy life until she found the Way, the Truth, the Life of the real Jesus. Then someone introduced her to Him. And for the most part, they all lived happily ever after.

If someone knocks on your door with a different Jesus, please take a moment and tell them those three passages. It only takes a moment, and the results last forever.

Warning: It can be addictive, rescuing people. Martin says to do your homework and give the Holy Spirit something to work with. He will bring things to your remembrance, and sometimes give you amazing things to say that you know you would have never thought of.

Should you decide to study further, Comparing Christianity with Cults   and Comparing Christianity with Cults  2 are charts that compare the Word of God itself and what men are saying.

The same charts are found online: Chart 1, Chart 2.

Happy and blessed 2010.

Photo at Gardener's Cottage, Scotland.