Child of God

What does it mean to be a child of God?

Well, first off, it means that you made the decision to receive Jesus. You made the decision to become born-again. You made the decision that YOU could not make it on your own; you could not do it! You made the decision that you NEEDED Jesus to give you LIFE! You recognized the deadness of your old self/spirit, and you knew you needed the LIFE that only God can give. That's the first thing.

Then you begin to grow in your knowledge of God; the Holy Spirit teaching you through His word. You find out about all of the promises that are for a child of God (you), in covenant with God. You learn about the nature of God, (He is love) through the example of Jesus' life. Jesus is the express image of the Father. You begin to see changes, little by little, in your demeanor, your actions, your language. Jesus transforms you from the inside out.

It means you now have a heavenly Father who is always with you to listen to and answer your prayers. You are not alone in this world. The Word says that "as He is, so are we in this world." You have been adopted as a son (daughter). It means that nothing can ever separate you from the love of God. It means that God has removed all of your sin-and the best part is that He remembers it no more! It means that Jesus is interceding for you in heaven. It means that you have angels to watch over you in all that you do.

In your old life, you were a slave to your father, the devil. You were not able to change, be good, or quit doing the things that you hated. But now, you have a new nature; old things have passed away, behold all things have become new! (ref. 2 Cor. 5:17)

John 1:12New King James Version (NKJV)

12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:

Weariness of Soul

Happy Saturday! We are having a rainy summer here in MN this year. I feel like we are living in London.  Not able to get outside and do anything fun today...again!; it's just kind of dreary and when it goes on long enough... it tends to make you weary.

It can be that way with our Christian walk, as well. 

I'm talking about the soul. We can become weary in our souls. There are times when we just don't see the hand of God at work...at least not the way we think we should be. We have our own expectations, don't we? I know I've said a time or two, 'Lord, I'm not getting any younger here.'

We also have our own time frames. Back to the... 'Lord, I'm not getting any younger.' We sometimes wonder, 'Why hasn't it happened yet, Lord?' or we might be asking, 'What am I doing wrong?' I can pretty much conclude that we have all had these thoughts and feelings at times.

Patience (the word), which is what we need at times like these, is from it's root word, Patient. The meaning of Patient is to be "able to remain calm and not become annoyed when waiting for a long time or when dealing with problems or difficult people." Herein lies the problem.

I think, as a society, we have become a less and less patient people. We are in the day and age of McDonald's fast food, microwave ovens, high speed internet, fast cars, faster airplanes, even self check-outs (so that we can move faster and get out of the store even quicker). It's a fast-paced world - for sure.

Having patience helps us to learn how to deal with problems and how to get along with difficult people. Is that what God would want for us? Of course! We are promised in the Word that we have the peace of God - to be able to stay calm in trying situations. Patience is a very good thing. A lack of patience can bring about things like road rage, quitting a job and even anger to the point of taking another person's life.

We are not the center of the universe. I hate to burst your bubble, but it's true. 

Just remember that God is outside of time. Time does not constrain Him. He is not limited by time. He is not watching His clock. So, this is where trust comes into play. This is where we trust in His promises to us. This is where we trust in His strength in our lives. Romans 4:20 says, "He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and it says in Col. 1:11, "strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy;"

I pray that today you would be strengthened by His might for whatever you need or are waiting to happen.  Pray in faith, declaring His promise over your situation.  Then be calm, resting in Him that things will turn out for your good and according to your faith in the Word of God. God loves you!

He waits with His arms open wide.

Good morning! I have a question for you...probably the most important question of your life.
Have you come to the end of yourself yet?

What do you mean by that, you ask?

Well, in order to find God, through Jesus, I've come to believe that we really need to come to
the end of ourselves; our own sufficiency, our own ideas
about who we think God is, our own ideas about salvation & going to heaven.

We need to come, even, to the end of what we think of ourselves; how we value or de-value ourselves.

We need to come to the conclusion that we are not capable of saving ourselves.

We need to come to the conclusion that we are not even capable of running our own lives
properly, because our thoughts are all askew.

We need to have our minds renewed by the Word of God. That's where Truth is found.
And it's that Truth, the Truth that we know and believe, that sets us free.

You can know Him today...just talk to Him from your heart.

He's been waiting for you.

No condemnation

This is a word of prophecy from a former pastor and friend in Dallas, TX..take it in and see if it agrees with your spirit. It definitely agrees with mine. Blessings to you.

I hear in my spirit...

I am bringing much revelation to My church in these last days to show who you really are in Christ so that the world can run to you and find refuge in My Son.

But you are wearied by guilt, shame and condemnation because there is a lack of understanding that Jesus bore it all for you. I am raising up a confident robust church who knows their identity is in Christ alone that that the world can run to you to find Him.

Let revelation come even now and believe that I saw your life from start to finish on Jesus as He hung on the cross. Nothing from your life has been hidden from Me because I saw it all on My Son as He poured out His soul unto death. He offered His soul as the final sacrifice so that your soul would be saved to the uttermost. (Isaiah 53:10-12 & Hebrews 10:12) …… It is finished.

Man is inherently desperate for acceptance and much of My church is too. I want you to understand once and for all that you are eternally accepted by Me because you put your faith in My Son. No longer look at yourself to measure your righteousness, but look at your Savior for that is where I look. He was your perfect final sacrifice…the spotless Lamb and when I see you, I see My Son because I've placed you in Him. Let a boldness be upon you because your right standing with Me is because of Him!

Signs and wonders will always draw men, but they cannot save a soul. I use them to show My power, but only the knowledge of Jesus and His grace causes man to experience My great love. I will increase signs and wonders in these last days, but the preaching of My free gift of salvation must increase also. Who will declare Him to this generation? Know who you are because of Jesus so that you can boldly preach the Gospel with no conditions. Freely you have received, now freely give.

Pastor Ann Hinson