Category: General Christian Living

Life’s all about wonderful, incredible, life-changing, Jesus.

The Lord bless you and keep you
The Lord make His face to shine on you and be gracious unto you
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace
And I put the Name of the God of the children of Israel on you and bless you in Jesus’ Name, the Name that is ABOVE every other name.

Why is Jesus’ Name ABOVE every other name? Because He will so change our lives if we let Him in. There is nothing like becoming like Jesus. The Life He gives His followers is so freeing and wonderful.

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark

25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,

27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
Ephesians 5:25-27

Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.
Deuteronomy 11:19

Nothing will bless you, your spouse, and children like making the decision to “do” the Word, to let the Word affect your life, to let Jesus live through you, to let faith lead your life. That’s because the Word alone is Life.

When I live the Word, I let God love me, and I love my wife and children with His love. Together, we’re letting God’s Word affect our lives and we become more free because the Word makes us like precious Jesus. His love, mercy, grace, peace, rest and joy impact our thoughts, our attitudes, and our behavior. A transformation takes place all because of Jesus.

Thank You, God, for changing me and my family as we do Your powerful, loving Word.

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark

The Lord bless you and keep you
The Lord make His face to shine on you and be gracious unto you
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace
And I put the Name of the God of the children of Israel on you and bless you in Jesus’ Name, the Name that is ABOVE every other name.

There is nothing like letting The Word minister to you. It is after all, the Most High. It’s what let’s the peace of God reign in my heart. This is Life.

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark

I love to say the Word over and over to let It change me and keep me in the safe, secure dwelling place of the Most High.

Please say the following verse 10 times…

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts,
Colossians 3:15a

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Philippians 4:13

And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, “This is the way; walk ye in it,” when ye turn to the right hand and when ye turn to the left.
Isaiah 30:21

The Lord bless you and keep you
The Lord make His face to shine on you and be gracious unto you
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace
And I put the Name of the God of the children of Israel on you and bless you in Jesus’ Name, the Name that is ABOVE every other name.

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark

For the Word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12

You and I will not be perfect in this life. But, we must not use that as an excuse for not being tenacious about renewing our minds to God’s Word. We must not think we can be conformed to this world. The enemy of our souls is never idle and we must not be idle. With God’s help, we can work with the Lord to let Him complete His good work in our lives.

Our freedom is found “in” Christ alone. We will never gain spiritual freedom in areas of our lives outside of or without Christ. As an excuse to not do the Word – to not apply the Word to our lives – we may try to make excuses for not being obedient to do the Word. Mainly, if we’re honest, we do this because we love the darkness, we’re conformed by and attracted to this world, “doing” the Word seems to be too simple-minded, and we still believe the devil’s lies. We have lived in the darkness so long that it’s become a part of who we are and we think it’s too hard to change or that it’s not to our advantage, that it’s too difficult or embarrassing to swim against the tide of the world and its ways.

The three kingdom keys are not an over-simplification of how to live the Christian life. God never intended Christianity to be difficult. He made it easy so that all could come to Him and be made free in Him by the simple power in His Word operating in their lives.

And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.
Romans 13:11-12

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
John 8:12

Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.
Psalm 119:105

If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
John 8:36

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark

The Lord bless you and keep you
The Lord make His face to shine on you and be gracious unto you
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace
And I put the Name of the God of the children of Israel on you and bless you in Jesus’ Name, the Name that is ABOVE every other name.

If you ever notice you’re getting out of step with Jesus, remember to begin doing the three Kingdom keys again. This is what we do and we know it works. It works because Jesus is the Word. When we do the three keys, God’s mercy, grace, favor, peace, rest, and joy come back into our lives. What a blessing. Praise Jesus.

We love you all. ☺☺♥♥

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark

A great way to begin another week in Jesus – Ask the Holy Spirit to help you remember to do the three keys because apart from Him, we can do nothing (John 15:5). With Him, we can have victory in every area of our lives. Hallelujah!

Take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5

Praise and thank God in all things.
2 Thessalonians 5:18; Psalm 34:1; Ephesians 5:20

Remember that God is working all things together for the good of those who love Him.
Romans 8:28

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark

It never gets old.  When we look up, Jesus Saves.

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Ephesians 6:12

The Battle Belongs To The Lord. Amen!

The following is giving Annie and me a whole new meaning to “The battle belongs to the Lord.”

And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hands.
1 Samuel 17:47

We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
2 Corinthians 4:8

And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Ephesians 6:17

The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name.
Exodus 15:3

And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.
2 Chronicles 20:15
Ephesians 6:17

The Holy Spirit: Battles are only meant to give you more insights and victories into the Kingdom. Battles are allowed to bring you more of My freedom. Don’t focus on the battles. Keep your focus on the deliverance (Me) I have for you at the end of the battles. This will give you great joy in the midst of any and all trials.

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark

Life’s so much better when I let Him – all that He is (like Romans 8:28, and the rest of scripture) – direct my paths.

The Lord (and that He is) bless you and keep you
The Lord make His face to shine on you and be gracious unto you
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace
And I put the Name of the God of the children of Israel on you and bless you in Jesus’ Name, the Name that is ABOVE every other name.

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Hebrews 11:6

God rewards those who diligently seek Him with more of Himself. He loves to make us into His image because He loves us and wants to bless our lives. When God sees us turning to Him and asking Him to change and heal us, He lavishes more of His ways on us. What a blessing.

Isn’t it wonderful when Jesus reveals more of His care, peace and love to us?

I love it when the Lord shows me how I can let Him direct my paths in new areas of my heart, mind and emotions. He tells me I can trust in Him with more of my heart and He keeps showing me more and more healing ways that I can do this.

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart (doing this takes even more “care” from me that I didn’t even realize I was carrying); and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6

and he shall direct thy paths. I’m finding that these are such sweet Words. When I let the Lord direct my paths, life is so much lighter, calm, clearer, free, peaceful, and loving. Letting His Word shine it’s loving, glorious light into every corner of my life is making me want Him more and setting me more free because He’s directing more of my life. And where He leads is so healing and beautiful. There is no one like our faithful, sweet, powerful Jesus.

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark

Yielding control of our lives to our loving Heavenly Father is so life changing and wonderful. As He speaks to areas of our lives He wishes to touch with His amazing and transforming love, our lives benefit and are blessed in ways we did not know before.

It’s so comforting to know that God will be faithful to complete the good work He’s begun in our lives. His encouraging words of life and love continue to make us more like Jesus and to set us free indeed. What a blessing it is to let Him transform our lives each day.

The Lord bless you and keep you
The Lord make His face to shine on you and be gracious unto you
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace
And I put the Name of the God of the children of Israel on you and bless you in Jesus’ Name, the Name that is ABOVE every other name.

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Romans 12:2

I’ve found that it’s really important to follow the Lord when He points things out in our lives. He desires to transform us and set us free as we learn to hear and obey His all-knowing and loving advice.

Lately, the Holy Spirit’s been telling me to slow down. Not yet sure what all that means, but I’m heeding His advice for driving slower and being more patient with day to day life.

It’s amazing how much we can lay down and be relieved of through letting Jesus into our lives. Invite Him in. You will never regret it.

Hold nothing back from Jesus. Let Him have free reign in your life – every area.

Agreeing to let the Word work in your life is huge.

In many ways, I was taught not to let God’s Word work in my life. Instead, I fought letting God’s Word work in my life through pride, religious pride, stubbornness, self-pity, the fear of what others thought, etc.

Agreeing with the Word will bring relief. Repenting will bring relief. We must repent, we must surrender – agree – to let God’s Word do it’s work in our lives. This is how we give God’s Word entrance into our lives.

Without repentance, without trusting in and applying His Word to our lives, without replacing our ways with His Ways, the darkness that keeps us bound cannot be overcome.

Satan will fight you doing the Word with every excuse he can give you. Saying, “I was wrong” is such a large step towards being set free.

“If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”
John 8:36

Slow down, listen to God, and obey His loving advice. Live free.

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark

“I’m having a really crummy day, and I just don’t feel like believing Romans 8:28 or that God could possibly expect me to believe He’ll work this day for my good.”

A lot of my Romans 8:28 days are more difficult days and take more faith to walk out. But, that doesn’t mean God isn’t working that day for my good. Just the opposite. He’s showing me that I can always rely on Him to teach me He’s working all things together for my good – This is making me more consistent in my walk with Jesus and that is making me more and more free. This is how He’s setting me free so I can live each day knowing He’s overcome this world and that He’s showing me that if I believe Romans 8:28, I can learn to overcome this world each day as well – and with His supernatural joy. Believe me, this makes a world of difference in my life.

What about most of my crummy days? God’s showing me to believe He’s working them for my good and believing that alone is a blessing from Him that’s setting me free in so many ways I can see and in ways He still wants to teach me as well. What a Savior.

Romans 8:28 – Believe it!

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark

Annie and I were talking about Jesus this morning. Yes, He’s our favorite topic because He’s Life to us. Anyway, Annie said the following (bolded) this morning. It was so powerful that I knew I needed to share it today.

Renewing your mind enables the Holy Spirit to interrupt your thoughts.

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind (to the Word, to Jesus), that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Romans 12:2

It’s simple. Annie and I could not have the Holy Spirit interrupting our thoughts while living in Oregon because we did not have the Word in us and we did not know how to use it to save us from the destruction, fear, anger, etc., that were coming against us.

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark

Maybe like me, the devil tries to get you to compromise on a regular basis. It’s why I constantly ask for Jesus’ help and that He’ll slow me down long enough to hear His leading on all matters. It’s why I’m always asking Him to show me where I’m deceived.

I know some won’t be able to understand me at times. I’ve come to realize that’s okay.

Years ago, God allowed me to be put up against a wall. He gave me just one way out – I was going to have to learn to believe and apply His Word to my everyday life or I was not going to make it. It’s true. That’s why I’ve become a strong proponent of His Word. For me, His Word, Jesus, is Life. When you’ve been faced with death, you choose Life – Hopefully. I’m so thankful He gave me Life and that He continues to show me how to obtain more and more of Him.

He’s loved me away from the awful darkness I was stuck up against. That’s why I love Him. He’s given, and still giving me Life.

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
John 14:6

I love you all.

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark

Long story, but God kept reminding me of Romans 8:28. There is nothing and no one like Jesus. His Word just keeps saving us every day from perils we don’t know will pop up along the way. He is so wonderful. He helps us keep the faith every moment.

I and will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Amen!

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark