Big difference between the Bible and the Qur'an

I don't know much at all about any other religion but Christianity. But I'm curious about what do people see in the book called the Qur'an?  Surely God didn't provide another book with the authority of His unchanging Word.  God used men whom He inspired to take pen in hand to pass down through the centuries preserving His Word so we read of His Holy Word.  Surely there's not another source.  Well, I don't have a Qur'an, but I did some search on line and this is something very interesting I found.  It's short and sweet and answers my question- what's more reliable- the Bible or the Qur'an?  The Qur'an is flawed and can't 'pass the grade' which the Bible can. The Word of God can't be flawed. That settles it for me.

Take a minute and see for yourself. Then go ahead do more of your own search. See for yourself. The Bible has and will still stand alone as the undisputed and reliable Word of God.

The Holy Bible is reliable from cover to cover

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The Qur'an is the book of the Islam religion

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If anyone can inform me of anything new, please leave comment.

Same sex marriage

I just read that ex-President Bush's daughter, Barbara, is on the side for same sex marriage. This made me sit for a while to contemplate about what I've learned over the years of Sunday morning sermons, my Bible reading and studying, and listening to hundreds of hours of fine Bible teachers on Christian radio.  I'm not going to be judging anyone, that's not my place to do, as I'm a sinner saved by grace. But it's my understanding that marriage is created by God for the union of joining together a man to a woman.  I can't think of a single scripture that indicates God's approval for same sex marriage.  If God intended for same sexes to marry, then two men could birth their offspring, or two women could birth their offspring.  But that's impossible and can never be for two of the same sex.  In a union, the man is the husband and the female is the wife. The father is male and the mother is female. One of each, not two of the same.  Any thing other than that is not of God's design. And the inspired Word of God says homosexuality is an abomination, a detestable act and unnatural.  Anything other than how it's originally designed is not authentic but an attempt to copy and no matter how hard two men or two women try to make their love for each other be just like the love and marriage of a man to a woman, it's impossible. That's like wanting to believe an apple is an orange even though they're both labeled as fruit, they can't ever be what the other is.  Since the garden of Eden, man and woman got their first taste of defying God, and have since then been coming up with reasonings and excuses to justify and fit his or her personal desires to have what she/he wants outside of God's protective and loving boundaries.  I have to admit we humans can come up with some pretty good excuses and arguments. We've become good at finding ways to justify our desires and believe we should have everything we want no matter what and push God right out of the picture.  I don't know if God in his Spiritual way laughs or cries when He hears the excuses. And still God is so abounding in love that He allows us, His creation to go along as we please in our selfish ways and ignore His warnings that it's wrong. He allows man to keep on traveling down that dark road hoping we see the error of our ways. But somewhere down that road the effects of choices made will come to pass. That is for sure. The effects could be miles down the road or just around the corner. And the effects of disobeying God can manifest in anything- our bodies, our homes, jobs, those we love, anything.

The effects of our choices could be down the road or around the bend

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Just as you can't ignore gravity, God's Word is a sure thing- solid as solid can be.  God is ever so patience and extends a mighty long, mercy arm to all of us every second of every day. I am so grateful of that.  If two of the same sex desires to be together in a relationship, please call it something other than marriage.  The master design for marriage is the union of opposite sexes to produce offspring in love by the coming together of different body structures fitting together for sperm from the man to meet inside the body of his wife and a new life starts and grows inside her body, which is designed for protecting and nurturing new growth.  If intimate love between two men or between two women is to happen, that's an entity of man's design and should be called something other than marriage. There's no way they can reproduce on their own as a man with a woman can. No way.  And dare I think, if man or woman wishes for the right to marry whomever they love, then what could next down the line-the right to marry their pet they love?  Remember, man wants what man wants. And many times, man wants to defy God.  A lot of times his wants get him in trouble.

 God created love, and designed us to enjoy love and intimacy within the realms He designed.  If man or woman go outside those realms, and give the reason that they have the right to do so because it's what they want, then so be it. Anyone can read of the consequences that resulted in those who defied God. The consequences can be various and can be long coming, but they will come. God lovingly gives us the will to choose, but I know it must hurt his heart just as a parent tells their child to not play in the street, but the child decides to play there anyway, and one day is seriously hurt.  Whether it's willful or unknowingly, disobedience is sin. A sinful lifestyle is sin. The consequences of sin are real. If you choose to ignore God's Word, you're given that choice to do so, now.  But ignoring and excuses won't fly when you have to one day face God and give an account of your choices. God's Word stands and endures forever.

Marriage-created by God to unify a man and a woman

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Oh, here is the definition of a father,  a mother

Scripture references- Genesis Chapter 1- Chapter 3- (Adam, Eve, the garden of Eden, disobedience, sin and consequences); Leviticus 18:22, 20:13; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; and Romans 1:26-28.

I invite your comments.

Until next time, on that narrow path, looking forward and upward to the shining Son.

Born twice to only die once

What's this about being born twice to only die once? That's anti-everything we logically understand about life and death. That's right, it isn't logical. It's supernatural. It's spiritual. The Christ-like life is spiritual and a one-to-one personal relationship, and a willing to practice faith, obedience, trust, and unselfishness. It defies logic. It takes a steady focus and willingness to make lifestyle choices and then act them out in daily living.The example Christians have is Jesus. Human nature can't be explained as logical. Our human wills can be strong and pretty darn stubborn and Christians have to choose to rise above their selfish nature, or at least I do, to be Christ-like.  It's really not hard once you understand that God, our heavenly Father, is Holy and beyond wonderful and wants the best for His children. When I was young, I finally got a concept instilled in me by my Mom when I got a spanking. She'd tell me the spanking was necessary for my own good and to make sure she got my attention when talking had failed.  We humans tend to have a will that sometimes needs focused and applied attention to the hind end to fully grasp and understand what those who love us are telling us it to protect and keep us from harm and loving us enough by looking out for our safety and well-being. That's called tough love. When I was a youngster, it was sometimes through my hind end that I finally understood it really was dangerous and not in my best interest to play with the stove and fire.  I didn't know I could be badly burned on the stove, but my Mom did. God, in His Holy Word, tells me disobedience brings trouble. Many stories in the Bible show this. So, if I follow His Word, I avoid getting burned.  We humans also tend to want visual, concrete evidence before we place our faith in something we can't see. The beauty of faith is it defies human logic, too.  Oh, God's Word is true and reliable and His Word is what holds all things together. That takes eyes of faith to see that, not just plain eyes. We live from moment to moment, but God lives outside of time and sees from beginning to end.  So, silly, who knows the most? Our eyes can't behold all His brilliance, nor can our eight pound brains in our little skulls, which He created, even begin to imagine how truly awesome He is. Man is too small to contemplate the vast, wondrous magnificence of God. God can not be contained, therefore our two eyes can not see Him.  He is too vast and high and wide. Why? Because God is Spirit. And that's also how we can be born again. First we're born of flesh, as babies to our parents. But inside is our spirit waiting to come alive. When the spirit comes alive, this is called the second birth, or born-again, and occurs when you choose and accept Jesus as your Savior. It's supernatural and defies all human logic. It's designed that way by God. Our spirit is the part God made us in His likeness.  When you ask and invite Jesus  into your heart to be your Savior, that instant, your sins are forgiven and your spirit is quickened and made alive. You're born again. No matter where you are in life, what you've done before, who your parents are, or what your name is, the change takes place on the inside. It is a spiritual thing. A God thing. You may not see fireworks when it happens, or even feel as if anything happened. But if you're sincerely,  it happened. You're spiritually adopted into the family of God and you're sealed in Him forever. Nothing can pluck you from Him once you're born again. No need to worry if you're not perfect, or if you'll ever get your life in order, or if you can't stop smoking, or if you continue being a rotten person. Totally inconsequential  the country you live or the religion of your parents. It's Him whom you'll ultimately have to answer to, not anyone else. It's a personal heart choice to believe and trust and have faith in God and willingly admit you're a sinner and believe upon His Son, Jesus, to save you. And He is faithful and just to do that. He already has, you just have to ask to receive Him into your heart. Then daily it's a personal, intimate relationship to allow Him to work within your heart and take on the characteristics of godliness. If you don't ever believe or trust in Jesus and be born again, there's no hope you'll ever enter heaven. There can be no sin in heaven, so heaven is reserved for those who've asked God's only begotten Son, Jesus, to be their Savior.  It is only through and by Jesus, whom God said He is well pleased.  There is no other way to have your sins forgiven. One way, period. Jesus is it.

You can be born again into the family of God

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And finally, God saves the best for last. If you're born twice, you'll only die once. Your spirit comes 'alive' by the Holy Spirit when you accept Jesus into your heart. So your sins get forgiven and you become born again. This supernaturally happens because Jesus died and paid the penalty of sin for all mankind when He died on the Cross. So when you take your last breath and life leaves your fleshly body, your spirit is instantly escorted to heaven. You really won't even experience death because Jesus conquered death for you on the cross. You see, the real you, your spirit, will always be alive and well in the presence of God, residing in heaven, void from sin, in a wonderful glorified body.  However, on the other hand, when you take your last human breath but you've not accepted Jesus as your Savior, your spirit will be sent to hell until the judgment, then ultimately cast in the Lake of Fire forever. This the second death- a spiritual death. It's death because your spirit will be out of the presence of God, that's bad enough,  and in forever darkness with the putrid smell of sulfur, that's awful too, and, Satan and the other fallen angels will be there, that's also nothing to smile about.  Being banished to hell and then the Lake of Fire won't be any party any soul will enjoy for one second. There you, your spirit, will forever be out of the presence of God and that will be like experiencing death forever. Remember, you won't be living the flesh as we now know,  but your existence will be spirit and you will suffer forever in the Lake of Fire. 


God is love and is all about showing His love to us. He does not make anyone do something by force or fear. He gives each of us a free choice to choose Him to your God. Remember, God is Spirit, so His ways do not fall under the understanding of human logic. And, God is all knowing, so His  ways are higher and wiser than man's ways. Thank God for that. The way to know this is to study God's word yourself. Don't trust any one's opinion. That person may tell you erroneous information and your eternal destiny is too important to not know for sure yourself.  You owe it to yourself to read God's Word for yourself. Ask God to open your eyes and give you understanding of His Word. He will reveal His ways which are mysteries to those who don't want to know the truth. I continually grow little by little in understanding the scriptures.  When you seek and ask to know the truth, God is eagerly and patiently waiting to reveal His truth and His way to those who seek Him. Have faith in God and make today the day of your spiritual birth. And welcome into God's family. The best is yet to come for His children.

SUMMARY-                                                                                                                                1. For once, push aside your pride and choose to exercise faith in God.                                    2. Read and study God's Word. Let His Word speak to your spirit. It may not seem logical to be obedient to God's word at first, but do it anyway. It becomes increasingly easier and your faith will deepen.
3. Trust in the ways of God. His ways don't seem logical to mortal man, but trust anyway.
4. Act unselfishly, kindly, humbly, all Christ-like characteristics. This pleases God. And when you please God, he honors you. Just wait and see.
5. Be born again. Yes, it's a spiritual and personal act.  This wonderful gift God has in His grace and mercy of having your spirit made 'alive' is extended to you because He loves you unconditionally and wants you to be with Him in heaven. Jesus died on the Cross as your ransom, saving you from the ultimate spiritual death. Yes, be born twice so you only die once.
6. God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit all are One, and Holy, and possess distinct characteristics, but are One. God in His infinite wisdom, love, grace and mercy has your back. There is one thing He will not do for you, and that's make the decision for you to choose Him.                                                                                                                                           
Here's a site with solid Christian programming on the internet and radio.
Here's a song to listen to 'The Plan of Salvation'




6 steps to become spiritually born again and a prayer you can pray. Visit my older posts on this blog.

Until next time, continue skipping along in faith on the straight & narrow path toward the Son.

scripture references- The entire Book of Matthew; Mark 1:11,10:45; John 1:1; 3:1-10; 4:24, 5:22; 1Peter 1:23; 2 Peter 2:4; Revelation 20:14-15

Not stepping on toes about homosexuality

What say you-have you chosen to live a homosexual lifestyle?  I've wondered about this, and for God's word on the subject I went to the manual for living- The Bible. I find it amazing this choice of sexual orientation was even a subject written about in the Bible. Apparently, it must be important for there to be multiple scripture references.  I like what some have written on homosexuality on several sites citing several Bible scripture. God's Word states it's a sin, homosexuals will not inherit the kingdom of God, and God sees homosexuality as an abomination. His Word plainly states homosexuality is a sin and an abomination. So why would He create someone to be of this orientation? He can't have created Man to naturally want to do what's an abomination and a sin if He wants no soul to perish. How can that be?

Homosexual & gay pride, colorful, but God's Word says 'not'

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As a Christian, God says we're to love people, but hate the sin. All I know is I want to inherit all that God has for me now and in heaven. I do try to follow as best I can His Word for living. I'm not, nor ever can be perfect while in this physical body, but I do want and strive to please God with my life with my actions and my heart. I don't wish anyone's actions to be to be thought of as an abomination by God. He is our Creator and through and by Him is the source of all good things. Wouldn't that get someone thinking about pleasing Him rather than doing what's  an abomination to Him? God lovingly allows us to make our own personal choices. He given that to us and He won't violate our will. However, there are consequences to our choices. Some consequences come early, some come later, but consequences will come. There's no escape from the consequences of sin. If someone lovingly revealed to me that I was doing something which was going to bring dreadful, eternal consequences, I'd seriously reconsider what I was doing. Call me old-fashion, but I do think about consequences.

Not stepping on any toes

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Could it be some people don't know what's God position on homosexuality? God is so very patient and loving and doesn't want a single soul to perish into the Lake of Fire. That's why we have His Word to guide us and His Son to save us from the consequences of sin.  There is always help, but again, it's your choice to want and seek it.

The consequences of our choices will be ours personally and eternally. God's Word endures forever. (Isaiah 40:8 and 1 Peter 1:24-25)

Additional thoughts-Back in 2009, when Carrie Prejean, Miss California, answered her final question during the Miss USA pageant, there was outrage and scorn that her answer didn't please those who live a different lifestyle. Her upbringing and belief wasn't pro-homosexuality. Voicing her belief shouldn't be quenched even if some don't agree with it. Why is there a double standard?  Communicating what you know to believe is still a rightful freedom in this country without having to be blackballed because it conflicts with others thoughts and beliefs. Those who want to live a homosexual lifestyle and interject their beliefs on others are making the most noise- they don't want anyone to dispute their lifestyle in any way. I say that Miss Prejean answered her question, 'Should all states legalize same sex marriages?' with style and grace in front of an audience of millions and knowing her answer would probably cost her the Miss USA crown. I commend her and wish I could personally let her know I'm proud she stood firm to her faith, her parents, herself, her God, and answered truthfully as she knew. Her answer rocked the world. Her stance for being true and not caving in and giving an answer so she could win a pageant is commendable no matter what your sexual orientation choice is. I wonder how the other contestants would've answered such a critical and personal question that night? I wonder how I would've answered?

 When I was very young, I remember asking my Mother if I could go do something my friends were doing. I remember my Mom said, "If everyone jumped off a cliff, it doesn't mean you have to."  We all know of someone who's made it their choice to live a homosexual lifestyle. This is a free country. And God has given us a free will. Some choose the homosexual lifestyle and some won't. To each, his/her own and consequences, too.

But the Good News is still the same. God loves all, never the sin. Every person seeking the kingdom of God is welcome no matter their lifestyle or sin. Jesus died for all sins. I was wrong about thinking I had to first get my life in order and straightened up before I could accept Jesus as my savior and become a child of God. If that were the case, I'd still far from the Lord.. There's no way a human can ever be perfect because we're sinners. Our sins are forgiven of God only through what Jesus did on the cross.  There are some habits and sins too strong to overcome and only by the strength of the Holy Spirit can some overcome these bonds that you want freedom from. It's not too late, and the Good News to all is 'Come just as your are with your faults, sins and all to the Lord. Invite Him into your heart and allow the Holy Spirit to work within you and your spirit, and help you have victory in making positive changes you can't do alone. The flesh is weak, but your spirit with the help of the Holy Spirit is mighty. I like the information in the following link-especially the questions regarding homosexuality and being gay are answered at the end.

Bible scripture references- in the Old Testament- Leviticus Chapters 18:22 and  20:13.
New Testament references- Mark 7:20-23; Luke 2:10; Luke 8:10; 1Corinthians 6:9-11; Romans 1:26-27; 1John, Chapter 4

Final thoughts- The ultimate last word happens to be God's alone.




Keeping my face, heart and soul toward the Son.

God is still changing hearts and setting captives free

Religion is such a strong topic in daily news headlines. A question I'd like to have answered is what do people see in the Islam religion that's better than of the Christian religion?

Read what I learned from an American woman, who had married a Muslim man 

      A few years ago, I did for a few months have occasion to speak to a woman who had married a Muslim man. She was American born. She told me she was divorced from her first husband, a doctor in California, and had four children. She then married a Muslim man, converted to his religion, Islam, and moved to Iran with her kids. I never knew of a stronger woman than her from hearing about what she endured in Iran. She told me some stories of horrible things that happened to her and her children while in Iran. Her eyes were blue, so with the traditional clothing she wore in Iran, she could not hide the color of her eyes. She told me she learned enough of the language to go to market and ride in a taxi, but even talking the language and obeying the customs there, from listening to her many stories during the time I spent with her, (she was very health conscious and attended some of my essential oil classes), I thought she endured more than I thought any one person could survive and still come out alive. There should be a movie made of her life, it was that spell-binding hearing the things she told me. She risked her life getting out of Iran, and at anytime any man or woman could have blown the whistle on her during her plight, and her fate would've been very grim. She told me she wanted better for her children and she knew she had to get back to the U.S. She did work and secretly saved up enough money to travel.  She had to leave all belongings and be very cautious at every turn under the cover of dark to make it out of Iran with her kids. They left with practically nothing. Her precious books she had to leave. She said books were very rare there. She saw no one cares about books or reads.  And she had brought a suitcase of jewelry to start a small jewelry business there, but her husband's family took it all upon her arrival, and she had no say so in the matter.  Her daughters at a very, very young age, she permitted to marry, the men were brothers, and she told me all day women were expected to clean the house, scrub the floors on their hands and knees daily, and had to haul water and practically were slaves to housework. That basically was their position, an immaculate house, cook, raise the children, and please their husbands-and any hope of an education for her girls was totally out of the question.  And for woman, their every move is under watchful eyes. She told me she had labored hard at growing a vegetable garden, but her neighbors helped themselves to whatever they wanted. Because she was a 'white female' she couldn't do a thing to prevent any neighbor boy or older woman from taking from  her garden what ever they wanted, when ever they wanted. She said one step out of line and it's understood women get beaten and bruised unmercifully. That's how they are kept to stay in check.  Heaven forbid if you're home by yourself, and your husband brings home a male guest. If you're in one room and walk to another room, not knowing your husband has brought home a guest, and he sees you with your head uncovered, or too much of your neck showing, or too much above your ankles showing in your own home,  it's your fault.  It's always the woman's fault.  In Iran, she told me a man can commit rape, but it's not the man's fault. The woman has to suffer for being sexually violated, and also suffer for disgracing her family because she was raped. And it's her fault. The man rapes the woman, but she pays the penalty and nothing happens to him. Her life is essentially over and he gets no reprimand at all for violating her.  She told me even male children are taught early to disrespect females, and young girls are taught their position in life is below men.

My friend moved and I've long lost contact with her, but I can never forget the horrible things she told me women under Islam religion have to live.  Out of respect, I never asked her why did she continue with this religion after she escaped from Iran.  I'll never know.  I did a google search just to see what I could find on people converting to Christianity. This never makes it to the headline news. God doesn't need headlines. He works quietly one-on-one on the inside.  No one and no heart is out of reach of God's influence.  Maybe these Christian converts got their hands on Christian literature, or studied the Bible for themselves, or heard someone give their testimony, or listened to a Christian radio or TV program.  Maybe they listened to God speaking to their heart. It pleases my heart to know no one is out of the reach of God, no matter what their religion or belief,  God is God, and He can touch and change any one's heart. He changed Saul's heart and he was converted from a Christian-hater to Apostle Paul, a changed man, a man who was very influential in the early Christian churches. And God changed my heart one night when I couldn't sleep. I received the gift of life and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. No heart is out of reach. Of course, only God knows the condition of your heart. Who knows, maybe Saul was puzzled and secretly envied that Christians were willing to die for there belief in Jesus. Spread the good news of the gospel at every opportunity, for you can never know what heart is seeking to know the truth of the gospel and that no matter what they've been up to then, Jesus is waiting to be invited into every beating heart.
                                                                                                                                            Here's a list of some people who've converted from Islam to Christianity. Some people on this list are from very devote Muslim families, or very learned in the Muslim religion.

There is no heart in the world out of God's reach

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Until you invite Jesus by faith into your heart, you remain under the penalty of sin.There is no amount of good deeds you can do to get out from the penalty of sin. Jesus, and Jesus alone is the way, the truth and the life.  I don't find any other that can compare to Jesus having being the only way approved by God, the sacrificial lamb, becoming sin, and dying, thus when I have faith and accept Jesus, then I am accepting I believe who He is, what He did, and by faith, my sins are forgiven. Before Jesus, those looked forward to the Messiah to come and had to have priests offer animal sacrifices to temporarily cover sins. Jesus is the Messiah, He is Son of God, and He is the only Way. God is love and Jesus came to show you how much He loves you by dying for you so you can be freed  from spiritual death. That's good news for all. All you have to do is believe, exercise faith and keep exercising it until it becomes strong faith day by day, and ask Him into your heart and the spiritual transformation takes place.  Right now, this hour, this day is a real good time to do that. All I can say since the night I quietly asked Jesus to be my Savior, forgive me of my sins, and make me a changed person, I have been freed and it's a wonderful feeling. No matter what I am a child of God and I've been set free. What are you waiting for?

Ever in the warmth and glow of the author of my faith.

Where the winning really is

Last week an article in the newspaper caught my eye, "Opelika woman writes on faith, illness."
This woman, Lynn Fox Adams' ailment has no cure and somewhat rare even to her doctors, and has her pretty much just coping and medicated to survive day in and day out. She is diagnosed with dysautonomia.  What was amazing I thought is her faith. She say's her condition has no cure, but she says she's a winner. She may feel bad physically and emotionally, but spiritually she's winning the battle. Now that's what Christianity is all about. She's carrying her cross and her faith is the stronger for it. And other thing that really touched me about this woman with a condition affecting her autonomic nervous system, is her attitude. In the article her quote was, ''usually when people get sick the first thing they do is they turn to God and say help me. But what we need to do is say, 'God let me help you.' " Now that's profound in my opinion. She's not looking at what she can get or what she's lacking. She's looking at her relationship with God and what can she do for Him by giving of herself to help others build their faith and get through tough situations. Even though her life is consumed with medications, IV's, not feeling well and not being able to do the things she used to do, she's not being selfish or depressed or crying how miserable her life is.

Sometimes you have to give even with a bleeding heart

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This type of faith is very strong. The type of faith I want to have. Reading of her faith has touched me.  I've been debating to share a video or not, because a part of me doesn't want to share it, but another part of me does to show by comparison what faith is and isn't.  I came across this video while I was searching for a good YouTube video on the subject of how to get saved. One video I noticed a young man-I initially thought he might be Jewish,  so I viewed it. To my surprise he talked about his conversion to Islam and how Allah has made his life go good. Since his conversion, he now has money, and everything is going his way, he's getting everything he asks of allah. To me this shows selfishness- he's excited for himself because he has more things and his life is going so well. That's not faith. I've decided to insert the video below so you can see the difference in this man compared to the faith Lynn Fox Adams' has in her God. To me it's not about how much you get, but how much you grow spiritually and then from that, how much you share what really matters with others, not how well your life is being blessed with things. What makes you a winner is how much you rely on God in spite of what's going on around you. Life's situations change, but God remains unchanged. Having a close relationship in God makes you a true winner.  It's praising the giver of all things, not being excited that you get the things. Things will all pass away, but love and relationships and how you give will last forever. That's what Jesus did. He is our example. He suffered profoundly for us and still his ministry is affecting the lives of many every day. Serving others- that's where the winning really is.

Give and you shall receive- Personally, God wants me to be his hands and heart and feet to be of service to my fellow man, and have faith in Him that he will keep his promises to me, and lean on Him while giving of my heart so to bring others to Him. To those people with an unquickened spirit, this makes no logical sense. You may be asking, How can you give in order to receive? How do you lay up treasure in heaven while on earth?  How does serving others make you a winner?  The answer is this in a nutshell- God's ways are far above the most advanced human logic-that's why it's called faith.

Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen- Hebrews 11:1

I also think of Mother Theresa, God rest her soul. She was someone who lived with little need for material things, but she made a powerful impact upon many lives, and still does. To me she was a person who cared so much about others and was content owning few things for herself. Here are some of her quotes. See if these quotes touch you and build your faith. But without any doubt, Mother Theresa was going by the example of Jesus in caring for others and had little need for things. There are other people who've lived with the gift of helping others and haven't been drawn under by the need for many material things. I believe it's because they'd come to realize the most important things in life aren't things, but in loving others, and when you love them you serve them. That's the Word all wrapped up, love others. And we have the example how to go about this in the life of Jesus. He has the most powerful impact upon lives still to this day.  I understand the following scripture a lot better today than I did years ago. This is powerful. Maybe some day someone will tell the man in the video below about it. You will lack nothing that really counts or is important- you're a winner when you put first things first- just follow the example of those who do these scriptures-

Matthew 6:19-21 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Then drop down a bit to verses 31-33 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Scripture references:
Lay your treasure up for heaven- Luke 12:15-34; entire Luke 12 chapter; 1Tim 6:17-19
Faith scriptures -2 Cor 5:7; Hebrews chapter 11
More blessed to give than receive- Act 20:35
Worship in spirit and truth- John 4:24
Differences- 1 Cor 11:19
False prophets- 2 Peter 2:1
Bear your cross- Luke 14:27
God can turn around any situation for the good- read about Joseph in Genesis chapters37-42

Here's that video below. When you view it you'll hear of this man telling how much he's received since turning to allah, how well he's doing, in other words- what he's gained. Nothing about how he's helping others and he says nothing about his sins being forgiven. There is only one that God has approved of for that and that's Jesus, not allah.  There's no other way to God but through Jesus. If that's overlooked, in the end, you are not a winner.


I say God's blessings are not always things, but rather that which will build character and will last forever. God can use you no matter what your situation or condition if you'll only be willing, just as Lynn Fox Adams.  I think that will make anyone a winner in God's eyes, and after all, that's what really counts.

I have one more comparison to show. The man in the video above has his mind and heart turned away and closed to the Truth. Compare him to this man who says he was the biggest Bible skeptic. (read his testimony here). The difference here is this man wanted to know the truth and researched to disprove the Bible. But after countless hours spent to disprove it, he found the Word of God to be true and discovered God's mercy and grace and got saved. So how does one man search and discover the Truth, and another man can't see it?

To sum it up, the real, lasting winning is through Jesus. 

Until next time, I'm keeping my face and my faith directed toward the author and finisher of my faith. And remember- with God nothing is impossible. He can turn around anything and make it work together for good- Romans 8:28  (be it health, finances, or whatever)

Visit my other blog - upforgrabstoday.blogspot.com
and read the About Me on my website