Build up my spirit

I try not to gratify the flesh to walk after the flesh but to walk after the Spirit. Bcos there is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus who walk according to the Spirit. Our spirit man has to be fed and grow strong to overcome the fleshly man. I feed myself with God's Words by reading and meditating the Bible. I also pray as prayer is breathing for the spirit and communication with God. I also sometimes fast in the morning to petition God. We have to be filled with the Holy Spirit to be Christ's. We need to be born again. It's easier to say than to explain. It's spiritual. Once someone truly accepts and believes in Jesus, one is born again on the inside. I can feel my spirit being born again - really! You just know that you know you belong to Jesus. He has given us the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out Abba Father! It's inside and spiritual. I am a new creature in Christ. I hope you can also experience this rebirth.

Demons and angels

God created angels in the first place but Lucifer the leader of the angels and a powerful archangel chose to rebel and led 1/3 of the angels away from God. There was a great war in heaven and Lucifer now called Satan is banished out of the third heaven and exiled to the second heaven. Third heaven is where God is but the second heaven is the cosmos and universe that we are under, so satan is here to torment us and lead us astray. He could still access God's throne in OT times but after Christ Jesus was risen, he no longer had access but he came down to earth together with his demons to attack Christ's followers and the Jews, God's people. But Jesus is here in His Holy Spirit among believers and He raises a standard against the gates of hell and they cannot prevail. The 2/3 of angels left are also here to help the believers. They also act as messengers for God. So there are more with us than those who are against us. Since the Holy Spirit of Christ is in believers, so He who is in us is greater that he(satan) who is in the world. Do not love the world for what profit does a man get if he gains the whole world but loses his own soul? Demons and angels are real and there is war in heaven right now, albeit second heaven. Demons are still trying to lure people away from God and cause temptations. But God is drawing all men to Himself thru Jesus. Many psychics who follow so-called "good" spirits are actually following evil demons and spirits. Only God's Holy Spirit is good and holy. The rest are all deceivers leading people to hell. I pray all will come to faith in Jesus and be filled with His Holy Spirit and not listen to demons or be blinded by them. I pray in Jesus name unbelievers'eyes will be opened to the supernatural happening and see that Christ is true and the only Savior for all. God is spirit and we can only worship Him in spirit. We need to be born again spiritually to enter heaven. This can be achieved by believing in Jesus as the Messiah and Saviour and making Him Lord of one's life and repenting of our sins. Come to Jesus. Now is the day of salvation. Why wait?

In the Shadow of His Wings

"He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart."

An article in National Geographic several years ago provided a penetrating picture of God's wings. After a forest fire in Yellowstone National Park, forest rangers began their trek up a mountain to assess the inferno's damage.

One ranger found a bird literally petrified in ashes, perched statuesquely on the ground at the base of a tree. Somewhat sickened by the eerie sight, he knocked over the bird with a stick.

When he struck it, three tiny chicks scurried from under their dead mother's wings. The loving mother, keenly aware of impending disaster, had carried her offspring to the base of the tree and gathered them under her wings, instinctively knowing that the toxic smoke would rise. She could have flown to safety but refused to abandon her babies. When the blaze arrived and the heat singed her small body, the mother remained steadfast.

Because she had been willing to die, those under the cover of her wings would live. And because Jesus was willing to die for us, all who dwell "under the shadow of his [God/Jesus'] wings" will live too—forever.

Suggested prayer: "Dear Jesus/God, thank you that you were willing to die for me so I could live. Help me to be willing to live for you so that I can be used of you to help win others to you so that they, too, will find refuge under the shadow of your wings and your gift of forgiveness and eternal life. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."1. Psalm 91:4.

Stuck in a Rut? 7 Ways to Live Life to the Fullest

By Carly Young, LifeScript Staff Writer
Thursday, December 28, 2006

Are you charting a course to fulfill your dreams? Or are you wandering around without a compass, hoping you’ll somehow find your way? If you’re stuck in a rut, let our happiness experts help you get back on track. Then take our quiz to see if you’re living your life to the fullest…

1. Don’t Try to Buy Happiness

Would you be happy if you had a hundred new pairs of Jimmy Choos or a brand new BMW? Maybe at first you would, but as time went on you’d “just want more, bigger, better and different in a never-ending fashion,” explains Alan Gettis, Ph.D., author of The Happiness Solution: Finding Joy and Meaning In An Upside Down World (Trafford, 2006). The pleasure centers in your brain come alive when you score the perfect skirt or a great pair of jeans, but the feeling fades. After all, if you could really buy happiness, everyone would have bought it already!

If you still believe money is the secret to satisfaction, consider this: According to a University of Illinois study, the Forbes 400 (the wealthiest billionaires in America) and the Maasai tribes of East Africa (simple, pastoral herdsmen) exhibit the same levels of happiness, regardless of their monetary differences. In plain English: Money doesn’t buy happiness.

More at: Link

Is There Proof of the Soul?

Posted by David Romanelli
on Mon, Oct 23, 2006, 5:40 pm PDT

“I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.” - Mother Theresa

I received a message this weekend that my friend’s boyfriend passed away in his sleep. He was a young guy and something like this leaves loved ones with lots of pain and even more questions. Death happens to everyone and in cases of sudden and surprising loss, we are reminded of the human body’s extreme fragility. Many believe that unlike the body, the soul is immortal and indestructible. “Is there proof of the soul?” is a question that often graces the covers of major news magazines.

One such magazine featured an article discussing how the advent of neuroscience has created a divide between doctors and scientists that believe in “the soul” vs. those that don’t believe. Is there proof of the soul? One faction feels that all there is to be known can be seen and understood thru the machines and gadgets of modern technology. The other faction notes the reality of the soul may be wrapped in the mysteries of quantum physics.

As the article concluded, the Buddhists may have the most truthful perspective. They use the Sanskrit word Anatman to describe the ever-changing quality of life. When we try to put a shape and an identity on life, it proves elusive and slips out of our firmly clasped hand. With much practice, courage, and wisdom, one is able to open the firmly clasped hand and recognize what Emerson said best: “It’s not length of life but depth of life.”

More at: http://health.yahoo.com/experts/yeahdave/4821/is-there-proof-of-the-soul

Personal note: This is from a Buddhist point of view. I believe in a soul. I believe in the Christian worldview of life after death. Our soul is never dying & eternal. It all depends on where we spend our eternity. I know many people don't like to talk about hell. But hell & heaven are spiritual realities that we must someday grapple with. Don't be like the young man mentioned in this article. I don't know whether he is a Christian but if he is then fine. Death comes unexpectedly sometimes. We never know when. I pray all can come to Christ.

"Abba, Father!"

Galatians 4:7 "And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying "Abba, Father!"

Once we become Christians & reborn again on the inside, we becomes sons of God. And when we become sons of God, God will send his Holy Spirit into our hearts. We become renewed on the inside & since the Holy Spirit is God incarnate, Jesus who is also God incarnate, comes to live in us-in our hearts. We are clothed then with the righteousness of Jesus since He is in us. We can cry out "Abba, Father"-such an affectionate term. We are a new creation. Our spirit is made alive & we can enter into heaven when we die or gets raptured. Christianity is not a religion but a relationship. We are related to God thru Christ. God is our heavenly Father & we are His children. Salvation is by faith thru Christ Jesus & His precious blood. His blood washes us clean so that we can come close to God's throne & to God Himself as He is holy. Since He is our Father, He hears our cries & prayers & He will answer in His time. All things work together for the good of those who love Him.

The Baptism of the Holy Spirit (Part 2)

I would like to continue tonight in our study on the baptism of the Holy Spirit. First of all, we will look at the promises of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. In Matthew 3:11, John the Baptist said,

I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.

And then Jesus gave the promise of the baptism with the Holy Spirit in Acts 1:4.

Being assembled together with them [the disciples], commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. (Acts 1:4-5)

So that promise of John the Baptist and that promise of Jesus was fulfilled. And in Acts 2:1-4 we read:

And when the Day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

I have no doubt that this experience in Acts chapter 2 is the fulfillment of the promise of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Here it is declared that they were all filled with the Holy Ghost. And the word "filled" with the Holy Ghost seems to be used interchangeably with the term "baptism" of the Holy Ghost.

Now the issue that arises is whether the disciples were converted before the experience in the second chapter of Acts? Were they born again prior to this experience? You see, whether or not the baptism, the gift, or the filling of the Holy Spirit—which are all interchangeable terms—whether or not that is subsequent to and separate from conversion is a matter of debate within the church. And it is my belief that this baptism with the Holy Spirit, this filling of the Holy Spirit, was an experience that was subsequent to conversion.

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