Be the fearless and aggressive church of Lord Jesus – Page 16

Christian Music Appreciation: That’s What We Came Here For

November 11, 2020November 10, 2020carlocarrasco

Hey everyone! Welcome back to this newest edition of my ongoing Christian Music Appreciation (CMA) series. Are you ready to pursue God our Heavenly Father, His Son Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit through holy music? You need a worship song to keep your faith enhanced right now? This website is the place!

Today I am about to review That’s What We Came Here For, a worship song from the 1998 Hillsong Worship album Touching Heaven, Changing Earth (which also includes You Are Holy and The Potter’s Hand). Responsible for the words and music of this particular song were Darlene Zschech and Russell Fragar.

With the details made clear, we can start with the lyrics displayed for you all below. The analysis of the lyrics will then follow. Enjoy the lyrics…

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Verse:

We come into Your presence

With singing

Come into Your presence

With praise

And enter Your gates

With thankful hearts

We are going to celebrate

All of heaven’s waiting

Power is on its way

So we shout hallelujah

Lifting to You

A mighty roar of praise

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Chorus:

You deserve the highest praise

That we can give and more

Lord we give You our praise

That’s what we came here for

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Bridge:

Everything within me

Reaches out to You

Your power Your majesty

Grace and mercy too

There’ll be singing and dancing

Hearts and voices raised

You have set Your people free

Now the house is filled with praise

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You deserve the highest praise

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So you have now read the lyrics. Now we can examine lines and analyze its their connections with the Holy Bible starting with: We come into Your presence, With singing, Come into Your presence, With praise, And enter Your gates, With thankful hearts. To start with, singing to the Lord is recorded in many parts of the Holy Bible. Singing is one of the more definitive forms of praising Him, honoring Him and thanking Him for being our provider, protector, creator and our eternal refuge. Learn from the following scriptures below…

I will praise the LORD according to His righteousness, And will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.

Psalm 7:17 (NKJV)

Sing, O heavens, for the LORD has done it! Shout, you lower parts of the earth; Break forth into singing, you mountains, O forest, and every tree in it! For the LORD has redeemed Jacod, And glorified Himself in Israel.

Isaiah 44:23 (NKJV)

Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the LORD, and spoke, saying: “I will sing to the LORD, For He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea! The LORD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; He is my God, and I will praise Him; My father’s God, and I will exalt Him.”

Exodus 15:1-2 (NKJV)

But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.

Acts 16:25 (NKJV)

Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands! Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before His presence with singing.

Psalm 100:1-2 (NKJV)

The above holy scriptures relating to singing and praising the Lord in His presence with thankful hearts are just some of the many related scriptures recorded in the Holy Bible. I recommend you study the Bible in and out, especially when it comes to singing and praising to Him.

Now we proceed to the chorus of the song with the lines as follows: You deserve the highest praise, That we can give and more, Lord we give You our praise, That’s what we came here for. There is no doubt that the Lord deserves the highest praise we, His children, can give. There is no denying that each of us were created by God with plans already written even before we got created. We were NOT created to worship idols (the carved, the living and other things) and allow Satan to harm us and separate us from God by embracing evil. The truth is the Lord created us to glorify Him, serve Him, praise Him, honor Him and live by His Word (the Holy Bible), preach His Word and help Him save the many lost and unsaved souls here on Earth. Going back to the above lines from the chorus, the most relevant holy scriptures I found relating to them are posted below. Read closely…

Oh sing to the LORD a new song! Sing to the LORD, all the earth. Sing to the LORD, bless His name; Proclaim good news of His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples. For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the LORD made the heavens. Honor and majesty are before Him; Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary. Give to the LORD, O families of the peoples, Give to the LORD glory and strength. Give to the LORD the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come into His courts. Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth. Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns! The world also is firmly established, It shall not be moved; He shall judge peoples righteously.” Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; Let the sea roar, and all its fullness; Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the LORD. For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness, And the people’s with His truth.

Psalm 96:1-13 (NKJV)

I will extol You, my God, O King; And I will bless Your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless You, And I will praise Your name forever and ever. Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; And His greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your might acts. I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, And on You wondrous works. Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts, And I will declare Your greatness. They shall utter the memory of Your great goodness, And shall sing of Your righteousness.

Psalm 145:1-7 (NKJV)

Praise the LORD! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His might firmament! Praise Him for His might acts; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness! Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; Praise Him with the lute and harp! Praise Him with the timbrel and dance; Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes! Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!

Psalm 150:1-6 (NKJV)

As seen in the above scriptures, we are mandated to not only praise the Lord but give Him the highest praise! Do your very best in praising Him! Always remember that as this is indeed essential in Christian living.

Now we can proceed with further lines as follows: Everything within me, Reaches out to You, Your power Your majesty, Grace and mercy too. Reaching out to the Lord, submitting to Him, seeking His forgiveness and establishing a personal relationship with Him by being faithful (not religious) are inevitable and they can start by seeking Him. Seek God wholeheartedly! Learn from the following scriptures below…

But seek the first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Matthew 6:33 (NKJV)

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

Hebrews 11:6-7 (NKJV)

But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Deuteronomy 4:29 (NKJV)

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:14 (NKJV)

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sings, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence.

Ephesians 1:7-8 (NKJV)

Jesus answer and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of Good.”

John 3:3 (NKJV)

As seen above, God will always welcome people who seek Him and get born again by submission to Him and accepting His Son Jesus as Lord and Savior. A real seeker of the Lord is one who is not merely interested but really seeks Him wholeheartedly and with everything from within. It is by becoming born again a seeker can truly become a child of God. Getting baptized by water does NOT really save anybody, rather it is the baptism by the Holy Spirit (receiving the Holy Spirit after getting born again) is the way to be saved, followed by receiving God’s grace, mercy, guidance, protection and more!

This leads me to one more line for analyzing: You have set Your people free. Part of seeking God and becoming His child by getting born again includes getting freed by Him from the darkness of religion, unbelief, idolatry, traditions, rituals and the wickedness of Satan. As you should know, Adam’s rebellion against the Lord set everyone back until Lord Jesus paid the tremendous price to free humanity from sin which marked God’s victory over Satan. There is a reason why each and every lost and unsaved soul around us needs to get born again even though they don’t realize it. They need to seek God wholeheartedly and make their own decision to get born again. We the children of God can help by praying for them and preaching God’s Word around. They can still be saved. Once they get saved, then it means the Lord set them free.

Indeed, That’s What We Came Here For is a really holy song. Musically, it is a fast-paced song and that makes it ideal to be played early during a local church’s Sunday worship service as it can really motivate church members to praise and pursue the Lord. Darlene Zschech’s singing of this song is unsurprisingly great and wonderful. That’s What We Came Here For is highly recommended to all!

In concluding this article, posted below is the official Hillsong Worship performance video from 1998. Enjoy the song, enjoy Darlene Zschech’s lead and always be faithful to the Lord. Always remember to realize the good life from the Lord, practice Christian habits and remember the truth that He rewards the faithful abundantly. Always be the fearless and aggressive church of Lord Jesus!

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If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com

Christian Music Appreciation: 247 365

November 8, 2020May 3, 2022carlocarrasco

Hey everyone! Welcome back to the latest edition of my Christian Music Appreciation (CMA) series. Previously I published CMAs of worship songs of the Australia-based Planetshakers Church and so far I’ve seen that their songs are not only greatly composed and very nicely performed, their musicians and creators are indeed anointed by God. For easy reference, check out my CMAs of How I Praise, So Good, Encounter Song and All.

For the newcomers reading this, Planetshakers was established as a church by the couple Russell and Sam Evans in Melbourne, Australia back in 2004 out of a deep desire to see more people encounter Lord Jesus. Before even the church’s establishment, Russell Evans had a radical encounter with the Heavenly Father and this compelled him to establish a conference called Planetshakers in 1997. That conference went on to become renowned for the passionate praise and worship done. The rest became history.

In this CMA, we are about to take a close look at one of Planetshakers’ recent worship songs which has been played a lot this year during their Sunday worship services. That song is called 247 365 (pronounced twenty-four seven three-six-five) and it is the opener of their brand new album titled Over It All. The said album – released November 6, 2020 – was recorded during the pandemic and for encouragement, Planetshakers referred to Psalm chapter 96 in the Holy Bible.

Going back to the song for review, Planetshakers confirmed (via the official description of the official music video also released on November 6, 2020) that 247 365 was birthed as a soundtrack to Psalm 118: 24 in the Holy Bible. It is a declaration to praise God all twenty-four hours each day, and for each day of the year regardless of what situation you are experiencing. For holy insight, refer to the different translations of the holy scripture below…

This is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 118:24 (NKJV)

This is the very day of the Lord that brings gladness and joy, filling our hearts with glee.

Psalm 118:24 (TPT)

This [day in which God has saved me] is the day which the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 118:24 (AMP)

Now that the holy inspiration for 247 365 has been made clear, below are the lyrics of the song. Follow it and enjoy.

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[VERSE 1]

What a beautiful day that You have made

I will praise ‘ya

What a glorious day that You have made

I will praise ‘ya

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[PRE-Chorus]

Lord, I bless ‘ya

In all things, my soul will sing to You

–

[Chorus]

Everybody sing

Everybody sing unto the king

Let the praises ring

It’s all for Him

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[VERSE 2]

Every moment I wake

I’ll lift up Your name

I will praise ‘ya

Not a day goes by without lifting You high

I will praise ‘ya

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[PRE-Chorus]

Lord, I bless ‘ya

In all things, my soul will sing to You

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[Chorus]

Everybody sing

Everybody sing unto the king

Let the praises ring

It’s all for Him

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[BRIDGE – x2]

I got a 24/7, 365 kind of praise, yeah!

I got a love so deep

It’s flowin’ out like a river

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[Chorus]

Everybody sing

Everybody sing unto the king

Let the praises ring

It’s all for Him

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Now we can start with the analysis of the lyrics. The opening lines What a beautiful day that You have made, I will praise ‘ya, What a glorious day that You have made, I will praise ‘ya can be easily traced back to Psalm 118: 24 in the Holy Bible. In my experience having attended many Sunday worship services at church, the words “the day the Lord has made” is occasionally repeated and our pastor emphasized that the day God made is one that should be treasured always as it is the time that we – children of God led by faith – must use in praising Him, honoring Him, thanking Him and exalting Him without any hesitation. It is also a day for us to rejoice in His presence. Also we must remember that when we attend worship service, gather together as a spiritual family (we are part of God’s family) and praise Him, we do it out of willingness and with firm decisions. Because really, worship of the Lord is not meant to be done by obligation and certainly not to be done out of tradition. That being said, He created us to worship Him, follow Him, be faithful (not religious) to Him and more. Praising the Lord is itself meant to enjoyed, hence the rejoicing. The Lord loves not only the faithfulness and willingness of His children, He also loves their cheerfulness.

Next are the following lines: Lord, I bless ‘ya, In all things, my soul will sing to You. While we His children are blessed, guided and protected, we should always bless the Lord in return. Take note of the holy scripture below.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places of Christ.

Ephesians 1:3 (NKJV)

The apostle Paul praised God for all the blessings He has bestowed on His people. The said blessings are ours because of our relationship with Lord Jesus. There is also the spiritual blessing which refers to divine privileges and resources available now. It is essential that we bless our Lord willingly and wholeheartedly.

Next lines to analyze: Everybody sing unto the king, Let the praises ring, Let the praises ring, It’s all for Him. Singing to the Lord is an expressive and lively way of praising Him. Refer to the following holy scriptures.

I will sing of the mercies of the LORD forever; With my mouth I will make known Your faithfulness to all generations.

Psalm 89:1 (NKJV)

Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness, And let Your saints shout for joy.

Psalm 132:9 (NKJV)

Sing to the LORD a new song, And His praise from the ends of the earth, You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, You coastlands and you inhabitants of them!

Isaiah 42:10 (NKJV)

The above scriptures are just a few of the many scriptures related to the singing to the Lord found in the Holy Bible. That being said, the lines of Everybody sing unto the king, Let the praises ring, Let the praises ring, It’s all for Him are indeed relevant and holy. Lastly, singing rises out of the essence of our souls.

Next lines to tackle: I’ll lift up Your name, I will praise ‘ya, Not a day goes by without lifting You high. As Christians, we don’t just keep on worshiping the Lord, we must also magnify Him. By magnifying the Lord, we can help Him save the many lost and unsaved souls living with us in this divided world. We can also help other Christians who are backsliding (losing their faith) and help them strengthen their faith and keep on being in the path of God and be with Him. Learn from the following scriptures…

Psalm 150:1-6 (NKJV)

I refuse to be ashamed of sharing the wonderful message of God’s liberating power unleashed in us through Christ! For I am thrilled to preach that everyone who believes is saved—the Jew first, and then people everywhere!

Romans 1:16 (TPT)

Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous! For praise from the upright is beautiful. Praise the LORD with the harp; Make a melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings. Sing to Him a new song; Play skillfully with a shout of joy. For the word of the LORD is right, And all His work is done in truth. He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the goodness of the LORD.

Psalm 33:1-5 (NKJV)

The final lines to be analyzed are as follows: I got a 24/7, 365 kind of praise, yeah! I got a love so deep, It’s flowin’ out like a river. The first line clearly reflects the title of the song. It essentially expresses unending endurance of praising, honoring and exalting the Lord. We don’t praise the Lord out of tradition nor obligation, rather we do it out of very deep love and a whole lot of heart. The last line referring to flowing and the river can be linked to the holy scripture below with the words of Lord Jesus…

On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”

John 7:37-38 (NKJV)

So there you have it! As I analyzed in accordance to what was written in the Holy Bible (God’s Word), 247 365 is indeed a very holy song and its lyrics were written by anointed people. Musically, the song is very hip and highly energetic. It is so energizing, it is ideal to motivate worshippers at church with it and it will help boost them to keep on praising the Lord, pursing Him and reaching up to Him even more! It’s no wonder why 247 365 was played a lot during Planetshakers’ Sunday worship services this year. I personally love this song. The worship song is indeed great and you should consider buying the album Over It All.

In concluding this article, embedded below is the official music video of 247 365. Watch it, enjoy it, share it to others via social media and praise the Lord with it. Keep on praising the Him and always remember to be the fearless and aggressive church of Lord Jesus!

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If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/and on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco/

Christian Habits (Part 1)

October 28, 2020January 20, 2023carlocarrasco

As children of God, being faithful is essential. Along the way, we must ensure that our faith in the Lord is always strong. It is understood we study the Holy Bible (God’s Word), apply its lessons into our lives no matter what situations we are in, worship the Lord together as a spiritual family on Sunday worship services, and pray in tongues to Him every day.

To add to those, we must also develop Christian habits. As you can see in the title of this article, this is the first of a short series of literary pieces about living with Christian habits. For this article, we will focus on having habits meant to strengthen our faith in God the Heavenly Father, His Son Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Having Christian habits will keep a Christian strong, protected from the enemy and stay victorious. More on gaining habits that will keep us stay strong in faith and lead us on His path, we’ll start off with the following holy scriptures.

Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches. Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.

Galatians 6:6-10 (NKJV)

Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving ourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in the mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

James 1:21-25 (NKJV)

But reject profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness.

1 Timothy 4:7 (NKJV)

In Galatians 6:6-10, the apostle Paul applied the general principle of sowing and reaping to the support of those who teach Christianity, to moral behavior and to Christian service. Flesh is mentioned and it is the opposite of the spirit, which is why as Christians still living in the flesh on this screwed-up world we live in, we must strive hard to be very faithful to God and live with His Word in our respective lives in a disciplined and rightful manner. As such, this means we must develop habits not of the flesh but of Christianity. Christian habits will help prevent us from falling off the path of the Lord. People who are trapped by religion, by comparison, practiced unholy habits and rituals like idol worship for example. James 1:21-25 meanwhile is a very lively reminder that we must be doers of the word and never be limited to hearing only. Verse 21 explains that salvation comes not from the use of worldly methods, but from a meek, gentle acceptance of the implanted word. Verse 22 explains that salvation leads to service and that it is self-deceiving to believe that God’s goal for church attendance is merely hearing the word instead of experiencing a transformation of life that results in ministry. Verse 23 to 25 emphasizes that those who act on the word (implementing God’s Word in life) will be blessed while those who are limited to hearing or listening won’t be blessed. 1 Timothy 4:7 is about rejecting godless myths and other forms of falsehood that will get in the way of following the Lord. Developing Christian habits will remind us to live with God’s Word.

Now that we’re done with Galatians 6:6-10, James 1:21-25 and 1 Timothy 4:7, we can proceed with the ways on developing Christian habits by remembering always that we were created to serve the Lord, glorify Him and do His will! We are all meant to follow the Lord! Let’s start with the following scripture…

Blessed is the man who listens to me, Watching daily at my gates, Waiting at the posts of my doors. For whoever finds me fines life, And obtains favor from the LORD.

Proverbs 8:34-35 (NKJV)

Christian Habit #1 – prioritizing God and His Word.

The above holy scripture should remind each of us to listen to the Lord, discern and make decisions carefully. To make decisions and take action that are not in accordance to the will of God will only lead to hardship and even unholiness. It does not matter that we experience feelings in each of our respective circumstances because God’s Word is essential. Feelings are misleading and we can suffer or even drift away from Him if we rely on them for guidance. As Pastor Donna Crouch of Hillsong Church stated before, we Christians are not the sum total of what we feel! We are not supposed to be prisoners of our feelings! Feelings should never separate us from the Lord! The truth is, whether you are in joy, in pain, in disappointment, in anger, in confusion or in an optimistic state, you must always prioritize the Lord and follow Him. This is why we have the Holy Bible which is a truly living publication that never fails to guide faithful Christians.

This brings me to another point within the first Christian habit – always feed on God’s Word. You should make it a daily habit each morning ahead to grab the Holy Bible, open it and read it. Do not reach for your smartphone, reach for the Holy Bible first and foremost. After reading, take time to pray to Him. Pray in tongues while you are in your room with the door shut as you have fellowship with God who is in the secret place. Let this be how you start each new morning ahead of you. Be assured that doing this will keep you strong and be able to resist the devil and his wicked ways.

More on feeding on the Word of God, let’s look at the following scriptures below…

But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”

Matthew 4:4 (NKJV)

Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.

Jeremiah 29:12

Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and might things, which you do not know.

Jeremiah 33:3 (NKJV)

Matthew 4:4 above is one of the most powerful expressions in the Holy Bible that God’s Word is truly essential, and Lord Jesus spoke those words as He rejected Satan who tried to tempt Him. Truly, we are the creations of God and without Him we really cannot survive and cannot enter His kingdom. The scripture also marks Lord Jesus’ appeal to Scriptures which provides the clue for interpreting the Temptation narrative. Using God’s Word, Lord Jesus triumphed over the same temptations to which Israel had succumbed during the time in the wilderness, when they forced a test upon God in time of need. As this was one of Lord Jesus’ early victories, we the faithful Christians must follow His example and keep feeding on the Word of God.

Jeremiah 29:12 and Jeremiah 33:3 make it clear that communication with the Lord by means of praying wholeheartedly is essential. We must pray to Him every day and such communication is a top priority! Do not limit your fellowship with God to Sunday worship services and meal prayers. Pray to God every day! Are you busy at work? You can pray to Him during your free time and somehow you can find yourself some privacy somewhere when you are out of your home. To pray to Him is to feed on God’s Word.

As mentioned earlier, having Christian habits will keep you strong and protected from the enemy. Learn from the scripture below…

“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, ‘I have overcome the world.’”

John 16:33 (NKJV)

John 16:33 makes clear that even in the midst of a crisis or persecution, there is indeed joyful peace in the certainty of the victory Lord Jesus achieved long ago. Tribulations are part of this screwed-up world we all live in and remember that Adam’s rebellion towards God granted Satan dominion. As such, prioritizing God and feeding on His Word always will keep you strong spiritually and you will be able to overcome opposition as well as any crisis. As long as we are edified and stand with God, nothing is impossible! Next scripture…

For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.

1 John 5:4 (NKJV)

The above scripture reconfirms that the victory of Lord Jesus is true and very real for as long as we have faith! Religion is not mentioned at all. It is faith that will ensure our rightful place in the kingdom of God as His children as well as the citizens of His kingdom. This brings me to the next point – spending time with the Lord and having fellowship with Him every day is essential. Each of us faithful Christians must make time for the Word of God by reading the Holy Bible. Are you busy with video games or a sports activity during your free time? Put God’s Word first before you enjoy those. It should be noted that due to all the hectic activities of local societies, Christians encounter a lot of problems because they failed to make it a daily habit to prioritize God and His Word. Now, you know better.

Christian Habit #2 – build up your faith.

Let’s start with the scripture below…

Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.

1 Samuel 30:6 (NKJV)

The above scripture shows that David took great responsibility with his faith in God. Even though he was grieving to the point of exhaustion, he did not give up. Instead David used the occasion to strengthen himself in the Lord, and this was at the same time when many other people gave in to their feelings (grief) and decided to take his life.

The point here was that even in a very difficult situation, David built up his faith and looked up to the Lord. That being said, we Christians must always take responsibility with the faith we have. Remember that God gave us His grace and our faith is clearly our responsibility. We must always strive hard to deepen and strengthen our faith in Him. It is also clear that it is according to your faith what you will receive from God. In the case of David, God gave him strength.

Powerful faith can make tremendous differences in your life. That includes miracles. All the more reason to build up your faith and be very responsible as well. Learn from the following scripture below…

who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

Hebrews 11:33-34 (NKJV)

As confirmed above, the power of faith in the Lord is undeniably true. How can you build up your faith? By hearing the Word of God and implementing the lessons learned into your personal life. Symbolically, faith is the seed in your heart. The Word of God is the water of life for the seed (faith). As such, studying the Holy Bible all over again is essential and when you live by it, God’s additions to your faith will be added and then blessings, guidance and enlightenment from Him will manifest! I know because I personally experienced these since I got born again.

Keep hearing on God’s Word again, again and again. It sounds repetitive but be assured that each time you learn from God’s word, you will learn something new and refreshing. You should listen carefully to pastors whom God has chosen to spread the Word through churches and its members who have been planted. As you implement the lessons into your daily life, you will not only get blessed by the Lord, you can become a blessing to others.

Be lively with your faith. Be discerning. Be led by the Holy Spirit. Guard your faith well by guarding the Words of God from other words that are contrary. Clear your heart and make sure that it will not get filled with unholy and wicked influences. By building up your faith as a habit, you will be able to follow the Lord all the way!

Christian habit #3 – speak the Word of God

Let’s start with these holy scriptures…

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.

Proverbs 18:21 (NKJV)

“For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.”

Mark 11:23 (NKJV)

There is indeed a need for each of us Christians to speak God’s Word to others wholeheartedly. Preach the Word verbally or do it online by means of blogging, tweeting, messaging and emailing to others. Before doing these, however, each of us must be very careful about what to say. As Christians, we are a peculiar people (refer to 1 Peter 2:9) that the many unsaved and lost souls we co-exist with in this screwed-up world cannot understand. There will be opposition towards Christianity, so be ready to brace yourselves.

That being said, once you are ready for the world, maintain unwavering faith in the Lord to gain courage and go out saying God’s words, preaching the truth, the good news and help strengthen the faith of your fellow Christians (note: be a blessing to others).

Along the way, you must not waste your tongue to speak death. Certainly you should not add to the negativity that exist around us for it is not God’s way. Again, you must keep on-track with the Lord’s path by saying His words. Truly, when you say what God says, He will make good things happen in response to what you declared.

For clarity, what Lord Jesus said in Mark 11:23 was about the power of faith in the Christian’s heart and such power can help one overcome great obstacles or challenges (which the mountain mentioned in the scripture symbolizes). Faith is indeed the key that releases the resources of heaven into a faithful Christian’s situation. In Proverbs 18:21, the tongue’s power is greatly emphasized because with it, a person can make declarations and influence others. To speak death is to declare life’s negatives as well as defeat or constant complaining. To speak life is to speak God’s perspective on any issue of life.

Ultimately, we must be very careful with the way we use our tongue. As Christians, the real and definitive way of using our tongues is by declaring God’s words and the truth as recorded in the Holy Bible.

So there you have it! The first three Christian habits emphasized here are: Prioritizing God and His Word; Building up your Faith; and Speaking the Word of God. No matter what happens, you must always have strong, unwavering faith in the Lord and that includes putting God’s Word in your heart on a daily basis. As mentioned earlier, having Christian habits will keep you strong under the Lord, protected from the enemy and help prevent you from going off the path of the Lord. Sometime in the future, another set of Christian habits will be presented here. To end this teaching, here is one final holy scripture for you all…

Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.

1 Corinthians 16:13 (NKJV)

From this point on, I would like to reach out to the lost and the unsaved people reading this. You can save yourselves by submitting to the Lord willingly. No force and no coercion here. You have time and freedom to decide to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior. For those who have decided to get born again now, please read the instructions and follow the prayer that I learned from our pastor.

Are you ready? Firstly, open your heart to the Lord and pray this simple prayer in sincerity from your heart:

Dear God,

I believe that Jesus is Your Son, and that He died on the cross to pay the penalty of my sins. I believe that Jesus has been raised from the dead and that He is alive! Right now, I call on the name of Jesus. Jesus, come into my heart. I receive You as my personal Lord and Savior. Forgive me of my sins and cleanse me by the power of Your blood. Thank You for saving me and giving me eternal life! Help me now to follow Your plan for my life. Amen.

Congratulations! You are now a child of God! You have received Holy Spirit in your heart! This is easily your greatest decision ever made and also the greatest miracle of your life. Always praise, thank and honor the Lord. No more darkness in your life caused by politics, radicalism, toxicity, rebellion, religion, unbelief, evil, idolatry, traditions and rituals! Leave behind the darkness of your life and don’t look back to it. Remember that idolatry is evil, Purgatory is a lie, penance is a deception and Satan always uses religion and unbelief to prevent people from being saved by the Lord. With unwavering faith in God, you can defeat Satan and all those forms of evil.

With Lord Jesus, you are already moving forward! You also have a personal relationship with God, a relationship that is strictly off-limits to others (even to your household members or biological family members).

With your new life realized, make an effort to acquire a copy of the Holy Bible (start with New King James Version), study it and apply its lessons into your life no matter what situation you are in right now. I also recommend you to join a Christian church near you and find your place in the spiritual family. Be planted when the Lord shows you the way! Worship the Lord together with them and always remember that faith, not religion, is essential in your personal relationship with God.

The Holy Bible is the ultimately authority and nothing else comes close. Remember always that Lord Jesus did not die on the cross to start religion. He died to redeem us all and showed that we must be led by faith in Him, faith in the Holy Spirit and faith in God the Heavenly Father. He rose from the dead and made His earthly presence felt once more to those who believed in Him. Lord Jesus ascended to Heaven and He promised to return in the future.

In ending this, here are some Christian worship YouTube videos for you to enjoy and praise the Lord with. Always be the fearless and aggressive church of Lord Jesus!

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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Sharing this Christian piece means spreading the good news of the Lord to others. It can help you save the unsaved and the lost souls out there. Also please consider making a donation to support my publishing of faith articles and CMAs (Christian Music Appreciation articles).

Realizing the good life from the Lord

October 9, 2020November 5, 2020carlocarrasco

We all want the good life. In fact, we need the good life! As we live in the flesh in the middle of a very screwed-up world that has long been ravaged by Satan, it is clear that without God, without the Holy Spirit and without Lord Jesus, we cannot survive both physically and spiritually. Unbelief misled many people to believe they can survive and prosper on their own but ultimately, they end up being unhappy, lost and unsaved spiritually. For its part, religion (along with its traditions, rituals and idolatry) misled people into believing they are Christians when in fact they end up wasting their lives following a whole bunch of rules from many man-made doctrines (described as blessed sacraments) which ultimately keep them away from the Lord. Religion also misled people into believing the falsehood that being religious, idolatrous, traditional and ritual-oriented is the same as being faithful to the Lord.

As Christians led by faith, we all had to go through the process of conversion (getting born again in accordance to what Lord Jesus stated in John 3: 3), studying and living the Word of God (the Holy Bible), submitting to Him and establishing personal relationships with Him. We are His creations and there really is no other way apart from living in holiness and doing our responsibilities as Christians, as citizens of God’s Kingdom and as His children.

The Lord will not abandon us (refer to Jeremiah 29: 11) and He knows well we need to have a good life. We are His children after all. To live the Christian life here on Earth does not necessarily mean living an easy life but being blessed, guided, directed and protected by Him. It naturally means not suffering the emptiness, the sadness and hardship of the lost and unsaved people around us. They need help and saving. They don’t realize it but they need to know the Lord and start having faith in Him.

As I mentioned some time ago, the Lord blesses the faithful abundantly. God is our source and His promises of prosperity are true and He always keeps His promises (refer to Genesis 39: 2-6, Psalm 1: 1-3, Hebrews 6: 10-12, Deuteronomy 8: 18, Jeremiah 17: 7, Genesis 13: 2, Leviticus 26: 3-5, Psalm 35: 27 and Psalm 37: 3-11). As faithful children of the Lord, we can enjoy riches and luxuries and never feel ashamed nor worried as we know that the blessings came from the Lord who worked legally through the existing financial systems of this screwed-up world we live in. In short, God always finds a way and His timing always makes sense. We need to be patient with Him and still believe in His works to bless us no matter how bad or how good our situation is.

Of course, as blessed children of His, we must never ever let riches and abundance separate us from Him. God, Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit must always be prioritized. The Lord is our source and therefore we would not be enjoying the blessings without Him. As such, we must never ever fall into the temptation of covetousness which leads to greed. To be covetous means to obsessively acquire wealth and things that ultimately will not satisfy the lust of acquiring more than what is realistically needed. Covetousness also means the corruption of the soul and getting separated from the Lord. Earthly things that are acquired without prioritizing the Lord are clearly not blessings from Him. Learn from the following holy scriptures below…

He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; Nor he loves abundance, with increase. This is also vanity

Ecclesiastes 5: 10 (NKJV)

Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, not covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.

1 Corinthians 6: 9-10 (NKJV)

Speaking to the people, Jesus continued, “Be alert and guard your heart from greed and always wishing for what you don’t have. For your life can never be measured by the amount of things you possess.”

Luke 12: 15 (TPT)

“I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

Acts 20: 35 (NKJV)

As you can see, it is written in the Holy Bible that covetousness and greed are destructive. Becoming materialistic is bad! To be dominated by covetousness and greed means giving in to the love for wealth and material things which also means cutting yourself away from God, our ultimate creator and source! Lord Jesus’ words about guarding our hearts from greed clearly shows that we should not only be mindful of what is happening but always resist the temptation of acquiring too much and going beyond our needs. There are many people around us who believe in the falsehood that acquiring too much and obsessing for more all the time is part of the good life the Lord has in store for them. That is simply distorted and untrue! There are truly limits on what we need and how much in blessings we can receive. The abundant blessings we receive from God is great enough, and we certainly should not become covetous. God truly does NOT want us Christians to live in poverty (a curse from Satan) and He surely wants us to be disciplined with the way we live, the way we use His blessings and the like.

How to keep ourselves in check and be more responsible with the abundant blessings we receive from the Lord? You can start with tithing, the guaranteed giving back of 10% of your income to Him through your local church. Next, you can be a blessing to others by cheerfully giving something (in cash or in kind) to someone you are willing to share the Lord’s blessings with. If you know a fellow Christian at church trying to raise money for a planned bible-led outreach, then you have the opportunity to donate to that person so he or she can succeed in preaching the Word of God and saving lost souls. Cheerfully giving back to the Lord and blessing others are effective ways to prevent yourself from becoming selfish, greedy and covetous. Lord Jesus’ own words that it is more blessed to give than to receive is in reference to our time as well as our money, and that supporting the weak (the less fortunate) is something He desires for us to do for it is His nature to give. When we become blessings to others, we do it cheerfully and do it in accordance to the character of Lord Jesus. These ways are truly part of the good life from the Lord.

Of course, in opposite to the covetous and the greedy, there is a bunch of people out there who cannot help but be extremely obsessed with anti-materialism. These are lost and unsaved souls who do more than just tell you to avoid being materialistic. They will express their wrongful beliefs that money is the root of all evil (note: money itself is actually neutral and is a useful tool in receiving blessings from the Lord), that you are not meant to prosper (note: this puts them at odds with God and they don’t realize it), and that the only people to support (by means of donation) in the entire world are the impoverished (note: God’s provision is NOT exclusive to the impoverished).

I even encountered one of these anti-materialism fanatics. She is so obsessed with her wrongful beliefs, she seems willing to someday leave her children with not much left to survive with only because she believes money is cursed and wealth is immoral. She also made clear her personal beliefs that prosperity from God is not true and that poverty is not a curse. She does not know the truth written in the Holy Bible. This is the result of her living a life dominated by religion, idols, traditions, wrongful theology and rituals. As such, these lost souls and unsaved souls blinded by anti-materialism obsessions need saving and they need to be prayed for.

As such, being blessed by the Lord and being disciplined (rejecting fully covetousness greed) and being responsible (having our needs met and being able to give back to Him and bless others we could) with what we received are part of the good life from Him.

More on the good life from God, it is undeniably true that Lord Jesus offers us peace and joy that the world itself cannot match nor replicate. Pay close attention to His words in the following bible scriptures below.

“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

John 14: 27 (NKJV)

“These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.”

John 15: 11 (NKJV)

John 14: 27 is about the ultimate form of peace that only Lord Jesus can give to those who truly believe in Him. By comparison, worldly peace made by governments, or a truce between rival factions, or special agreements made between powerful groups are all temporary, ultimately fragile and each are bound to break down in due time (which can lead to another bout of fighting, even wars). With Lord Jesus’ peace, you can be assured that the said peace is eternal and will never get corrupted. This is why we should not let our hearts be burdened with pain, worry and doubts under Him.

As for John 15: 11, it emphasizes that our joy becomes full through experiencing Jesus’ own joy within us. To be full of happiness, hope and rest with Him is easily connected with His telling us not to have troubled hearts.

Being born again, we Christians must always keep the Holy Spirit in our hearts and eternally be faithful to the Lord, living by His Word (the Holy Bible). What we study in the Holy Bible, we apply the lessons in our lives.

By comparison, a person who does not have the Holy Spirit in his heart is very vulnerable to temptation and evil. Satan knows this and he knows that for as long as people do not believe in the Lord or are living with religion (along with idolatry, traditions, wrongful theology and rituals) that prevent them from achieving true faith in God, they are easy to be manipulated to serve his evil purposes. The enemy knows how to cause chaos around people and then reach inside the lost and unsaved souls to bring out more wickedness. Satan obviously does not want people to know the Lord and he manipulates them to suffer and live the painful life instead of having a blessed, good life from God. Take a close look at the following bible verses below…

“Evil originates from inside a person. Coming out of a human heart are evil schemes, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, treachery, debauchery, jealousy, slander, arrogance, and recklessness. All these corrupt things emerge from within and constantly pollute a person.”

Mark 7: 21-23 (TPT)

What is the cause of your conflicts and quarrels with each other? Doesn’t the battle begin inside of you as you fight to have your own way and fulfill your own desires? You jealously want what others have so you begin to see yourself as better than others. You scheme with envy and harm others to selfishly obtain what you crave—that’s why you quarrel and fight. And all the time you don’t obtain what you want because you won’t ask God for it!

James 4: 1-2 (TPT)

A thief has only one thing in mind—he wants to steal, slaughter, and destroy. But I have come to give you everything in abundance, more than you expect—life in its fullness until you overflow!

John 10: 10 (TPT)

As you can see in the above scriptures, having the Holy Spirit in our hearts and dedicating ourselves to the Lord are truly essential. Without the Holy Spirit in us, we would have been very vulnerable to the temptations and manipulations of the enemy. Satan rules over people who are not edified under the Lord and it is easy for him to manipulate the unsaved person into giving in to wickedness, temptations, strife, violence, greed, immorality and destruction to name some. To put things in perspective, Satan gained dominion when Adam rebelled against God and, as written in the Holy Bible, this led to a downward spiral for humanity. Committing sinful and unrighteous acts became too common among people before the Great Flood happened.

Before gaining the Holy Spirit in our hearts upon getting born again, our hearts contained no holiness. We were vulnerable to wickedness, to the impulse and lust of the flesh, and we were too easy to be manipulated by Satan to commit sin. Now that we know the truth in the Holy Bible and we know better, we Christians can defeat Satan by having strong faith in the Lord and doing His Word in our lives. Strong faith and being a doer of God’s Word are essential for us to gain the good life from Him. Always remember that Lord Jesus is the definitive Savior of us all and He always restores believers who previously suffered from the darkness caused by the enemy!

Now pay close attention to the following holy scriptures below…

Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

John 3: 3 (NKJV)

“Don’t keep hoarding for yourselves earthly treasures that can be stolen by thieves. Material wealth eventually rusts, decays, and loses its value. Instead, stockpile heavenly treasures for yourselves that cannot be stolen and will never rust, decay, or lose their value.”

Matthew 6: 19-20 (TPT)

“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

Matthew 6: 31-33 (NKJV)

About the above scriptures, let me declare to you – my readers and fellow faithful Christians – that becoming born again is truly the greatest miracle that happened in my life. In my old life, I gone through decades of pointless religion and even several years of being faithless. I responded to the Lord’s call when my dearest friend in life invited me to her church, and then weeks later I accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior. What He stated in John 3: 3 is undeniably true! My life has turned around for the better and I now know my true purpose under the Lord.

Matthew 6: 19-20 confirms the existence of wealth in the kingdom of God which we, His children, will inherit. What blessings we receive from the Lord while living in the flesh here on Earth are not only temporary but are just a fraction of kingdom wealth. Kingdom wealth is so much greater than all of the wealth of this screwed-up world. As such, Matthew 6: 31-33 confirms that the Lord is watching us all the time and He definitely knows our needs and in due time, He will keep blessing us. That being said, the very least we Christians must do is seek God’s kingdom and achieve holiness under Him. Pursue God’s kingdom and His righteousness, and then the good life He planned for us filled with peace, prosperity, stability and happiness will manifest.

At this point, I would like to reach out to the lost and the unsaved people reading this. You can save yourselves by submitting to the Lord willingly. No force and no coercion here. You have time and freedom to decide. For those who have decided to get born again now, please read the instructions and follow the prayer that I learned from our pastor.

Are you ready? Firstly, open your heart to the Lord and pray this simple prayer in sincerity from your heart:

Dear God,

Congratulations! You are now a child of God! You have received Holy Spirit in your heart! This is easily your greatest decision ever made and also the greatest miracle of your life. Always praise, thank and honor the Lord. No more darkness in your life caused by politics, radicalism, toxicity, rebellion, religion, unbelief, evil, idolatry, traditions and rituals! Leave behind the darkness of your life and don’t look back to it. With Lord Jesus, you are already moving forward! You also have a personal relationship with God, a relationship that is strictly off-limits to others (even to your household members or biological family members).

With your new life realized, make an effort to acquire a copy of the Holy Bible (New King James Version is recommended), study it and apply its lessons into your life no matter what situation you are in right now. I also recommend you to join a church of born-again Christians near you and find your place in the spiritual family (God’s family). Worship the Lord together with them and always remember that faith, not religion, is essential in your personal relationship with God.

The Holy Bible is the ultimate authority and nothing else comes close. Remember always that Lord Jesus did not die on the cross to start religion. He died to redeem us all and showed that we must be led by faith in Him, faith in the Holy Spirit and faith in God the Heavenly Father. He rose from the dead and made His earthly presence felt once more to those who believed in Him. Lord Jesus ascended to Heaven and He promised to return in the future.

In ending this, here are some Christian worship YouTube videos for you to enjoy and praise the Lord with. Always be the fearless and aggressive church of Lord Jesus!

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Be the Fearless and Aggressive Church of Lord Jesus!

April 10, 2020November 1, 2022carlocarrasco

We are Christians living with strong faith in the Lord. The day each of us got born again and willingly accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we truly became children of God and we each live with holiness while deepening our respective personal relationship with Him.

We Christians pray in tongues, we tithe, we study God’s Word (the Holy Bible) and apply its lessons into our lives no matter how screwed up the world we live in is. We Christians don’t need religion at all and we reject idolatry, religious traditions and religious rituals. We also are defiant towards unbelief and whatever tricks Satan tries to bring us down with. As believers of Jesus, we already have His victory and not even Satan can defeat us. We are led by the Holy Spirit which we received in our hearts when we got saved.

We are the Body of the Christ. We Christians are the church who follow Jesus! As such, it is only expected that each and every one us be fearless and aggressive under Christ.

To be fearless and aggressive as Christians were key lessons from pastors I learned from. As such, let me share to you how we the Body of Christ can keep on being strong under Lord Jesus starting with being a fearless church and as a fearless Christian. Heed the words of Jesus Himself.

Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.

John 14:1 (NKJV)

Don’t worry or surrender to your fear. For you’ve believed in God, now trust and believe in me also.

John 14:1 (TPT)

“If you love Me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.”

John 14:15-17 (NKJV)

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. Peace, I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

John 14:26-27 (NKJV)

The above scriptures from the different parts of Chapter 14 of the Book of John emphasize Jesus talking about the promise of the Holy Spirit. For that alone, there really is no reason for us believers to fear at all. We only need to fear the Lord because that is essential to gaining wisdom from Him. Other than that, for as long as we stay faithful, we don’t need to fear even the most unpredictable turnout of events in this screwed up world we live in such as poverty, crime, unemployment, terrorism, violence, corruption, idol worship, atheism, religion, uncontrolled emotions, panicking, temptations and the like. Because with the Holy Spirit we are not only protected but also guided and the Lord is watching us from high above. He will not abandon us nor let evil take us away from Him. The words of Jesus in John 14 are not only still strongly relevant but are indeed living words for us to follow! Jesus, who died on the cross, came back to life, spent time with people and ascended to Heaven with the promise to return, is clearly alive!

We children of God are no longer living in sin because, clearly, Jesus redeemed us all from the darkness that started with Adam’s rebellion towards God. We are not only saved by Him but we are also new creations under Him. We Christians really have to be fearless and we are citizens of God’s kingdom! To learn more about who we are in Christ, let’s move on to the next holy scriptures.

that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His might power,

Ephesians 1:17-19 (NKJV)

I pray that the Father of glory, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, would impart to you the riches of the Spirit of wisdom and the Spirit of revelation[a] to know him through your deepening intimacy with him. I pray that the light of God will illuminate the eyes of your imagination, flooding you with light, until you experience the full revelation of the hope of his calling—that is, the wealth of God’s glorious inheritances that he finds in us, his holy ones! I pray that you will continually experience the immeasurable greatness of God’s power made available to you through faith. Then your lives will be an advertisement of this immense power as it works through you! This is the mighty power,

Ephesians 1:17-19 (TPT)

And now we, his church, are his body on the earth and that which fills him who is being filled by it!

Ephesians 1:23 (TPT)

See? We really have reasons to be the fearless church of Jesus. By having faith, we will experience the immeasurable greatness of God’s power not occasionally, not sometimes but continually! As Christians driven by faith (not religion), we are indeed God’s special people (refer to 1 Peter 2:9) and there definitely should be no room for us to fear. God’s guidance and enlightenment for us are already tremendous making fear irrelevant! No fear, no panicking, no trembling and no doubting! We the fearless church of Christ can move forward with holiness and defeat Satan again and again!

To put things in perspective, after getting born again and growing with the Holy Spirit in our hearts, the Lord, who made plans for each of us since before birth, really planned for us Christians to be joined together as His Body and we the members are meant to be strong, fearless and aggressive! Believe not in your feelings, not in fear but in the Holy Spirit and remember that God and Lord Jesus are watching us. Remember also Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice for humanity.

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,

1 Peter 3:18 (NKJV)

Suffering affects everyone. There is no doubt about that. Jesus suffered tremendously so that we will all be saved and pave the way for us into God’s kingdom. It takes faith, not religion, in the Lord for salvation to be realized. We Christians should always remember that our existence is clearly not limited to living in the flesh but also in the spiritual realm. As saved souls, we will go straight to Heaven once we die in the flesh here on Earth. We will go straight to God’s kingdom and take our respective places in it. There is no such thing as purgatory, an ancient deception of religious and evil nature! Purgatory is a lie created by the enemy who clearly influenced religious teachings and religious traditionalists which resulted distorted teachings of Christianity (by religion-driven people and institutions). We Christians have the Word of God (the Holy Bible) as the definitive and ultimate reference of faith! Upon death in this world, we the children of God will go straight to Him in His kingdom! There is nothing to fear!

Let’s move on.

And they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Acts 2:4 (NKJV)

And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit.

Ephesians 5:18 (NKJV)

With the Holy Spirit in us, God made a way for us to know Him and His presence. We Christians get to know Him as individual members and as a church gathered together. Even when we have nobody around us, we Christians are never really alone because we have a living personal relationship with God. We can communicate with God privately when alone and the effective way to do it is to be in our respective rooms with the door shut and pray to Him (refer to Matthew 6: 6). We have access to Him! Again, there is no room for fear nor despair here. With God, nothing is impossible and this leads me to the next holy scripture.

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.

2 Corinthians 4:7 (NKJV)

Treasure refers to the knowledge of God in the face of Christ. Earthen vessels are weak and breakable. The above scripture emphasizes how weak we are living in the flesh and yet we can live spiritually strong under the Lord. See the paradox? As our pastor taught us, we can only live in the flesh up to one hundred and twenty years maximum. Of course, being children of God living here on Earth, we have the Holy Spirit in our hearts and we really have missions to live in holiness, spread God’s Word and save the many billions of unsaved and lost souls before we expire and go to Heaven to join Him. Remember, with God, nothing is impossible and our being fragile as fleshly beings here on Earth should never be taken as a hindrance nor should we let it prevent us from being the fearless church of Lord Jesus!

Now that being fearless Christians has been discussed a lot already, we can move on with discussing being aggressive Christians! Let’s start with the armor God provides us in the next holy scripture.

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Ephesians 6:11-13 (NKJV)

With God’s armor provided, we are already protected in the fight against evil. As members of the Body of Christ, we have the means to move forward strongly, defeat Satan and saved the many unsaved souls. Take note that in the above scripture, our battle is spiritual and not physical. We should always be able to discern between the spiritual struggle and the personal, the political and the social difficulties. We should focus on defeating Satan and his force of evil, not human adversaries. That means being aggressive with our prayers, and becoming established prayer warriors of Lord Jesus! We have the spiritual resources, the authority of Christ over evil and the Lord’s will to display His wisdom through the church (that means us Christians). No place for fear here and we have a lot of reasons to be aggressive as Christians!

Next scripture…

The LORD shall go forth like a might man; He shall stir up His zeal like a man of war. He shall cry out, yes, shout aloud; He shall prevail against His enemies.

Isaiah 42:13 (NKJV)

Isaiah 42:13 emphasizes that we the Children of God already have a leader (the Lord Himself) to follow as well as strength to rely on so that we can strive forward. That being said, we really have to be aggressive with our prayers, our faith and spirituality since we also have the Holy Spirit in us. There is simply no room for weakness nor fear for Christians. This should also serve as a reminder, especially to the new Christians (and the souls that need to be saved) reading this, that we Christians need to be edified. Edification itself requires aggressiveness with our faith and dedication under the Lord. Apart from studying the Holy Bible and praying in your room with the door shut, you can also do other things to strengthen yourself spiritually like praying in tongues while walking around the block or around your house.

To be aggressive with our Christianity is not a seasonal thing but rather a truly, more regular thing in our lives under the watch of God. Be a prayer warrior, a Holy Bible-oriented Christian, a preacher, a tither, a helper and spread goodness to save the unsaved souls for the rest of your life in the flesh while waiting for the return of Lord Jesus. Be a doer of the Word of God! Now on to the next verse.

Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving;

Colossians 4:2 (NKJV)

As mentioned in the previous paragraph, be a prayer warrior with God’s Word as your definitive reference and your heart remaining open always to the Lord. We need to pray daily and this includes praying in tongues (for enlightenment read the first ten chapters of the Book of Acts in the Holy Bible). Don’t waste your time and energy on repetitive prayers (read Lord Jesus’ own words in Matthew 6:7-8) and remember the Model Prayer from Lord Jesus. Don’t give up praying to the Lord no matter what the situation is around you. Be aggressive with prayer! Be a prayerful Christian who is truly connected with the Lord! On to the next verse…

Then God said, “Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness, let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

Genesis 1:26 (NKJV)

Those were powerful words from God Himself, declared before Adam rebelled against Him (which was preceded by Satan as a serpent tempting Eve). Right from the start, God made tremendous plans for us – His creations – to populate the Earth and have His authority to rule over the creatures. Thousands of years after Adam’s rebellion, Jesus came and sacrificed Himself to redeem humanity and restore mankind to fulfill God’s plan. As Christians who got born again and saved, we are God’s children and He wants us to save the lost and unsaved souls around us using His Word. Being a fearless and aggressive church is in accordance to God’s plan.

Once your goodness and holiness have been noticed by others, they will have the opportunities to pause, reflect and eventually decide to be saved without any force imposed on them. Heed the words of Lord Jesus in the following scripture…

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:16 (NKJV)

To be fearless and aggressive as Christians is inevitable. We are the children of God and we are the church of Lord Jesus. We are the Body of Christ and under His holiness, we have common purposes to live up to even as each of us maintains (and deepens) our respective personal relationship with God.

Go to work with the Holy Spirit! Be led by the Holy Spirit! Defy darkness, unbelief, religion, idols, relics, images, traditions and rituals. Move forward as a fearless, confident and aggressive Christian! Force is not necessary, but the Word of God is essential to shed light on the world that has long been darkened by Satan. We the children of God have the means to defeat Satan again and saved the unsaved souls! We the children of God have the Lord’s authority!

Now, I’d like to reach out to the lost souls and the unsaved souls reading this. Please read closely and open your hearts.

If you seek salvation now, learn that the first step is to receive Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. Never be fooled into believing that your past defined you and your future. With Jesus, you will become a child of God and a whole new creation complete with your sins from the past washed away! You will become a true Christian with a holy purpose!

Once you are ready, pray this simple prayer (I learned from my pastor) in sincerity from your heart:

Dear God,

I believe that Jesus is Your Son, and that He died on the cross to pay the penalty of my sins. I believe that Jesus has been raised from the dead and that He is alive! Right now I call on the name of Jesus. Jesus, come into my heart. I receive You as my personal Lord and Savior. Forgive me of my sins and cleanse me by the power of Your blood. Thank You for saving me and giving me eternal life! Help me now to follow Your plan for my life. Amen.

Congratulations! You are now a child of God! Praise the Lord and always be faithful to Him! No more darkness in your life caused by unbelief or religion (and the idolatry, images, traditions and rituals that come with it). Your new life has begun and you are now a member of the Body of Christ. Now find a Christian church in your local community to connect with.

In ending this, here are some videos of Christian worship music for you to enjoy and praise the Lord with.

If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/ and on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco/

Never Let Your Feelings Weaken Your Faith in The Lord

April 4, 2020May 26, 2023carlocarrasco

It is simply too easy for us people to let our feelings dominate us and lead ourselves to undesirable outcomes in life. There are times that we make decisions not based on faith but based on how we feel at the moment. Even worse, is carrying wrongful feelings for long even to the point of putting ourselves in a crisis.

To get to the point, feelings are part of our living in the flesh but as Christians who got born again and accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior, we must always remind ourselves and even orient the unsaved souls the truth that faith in God is much more essential than feelings. Let’s start with a bible verse.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;

Proverbs 3:5 (NKJV)

The verse above is about moving by faith, not by feelings and not by the limitations of our perception and understanding. When you trust the Lord, you do it wholeheartedly and not because you relied on the inaccurate indications of your feelings deep inside. You should not rely on your feelings to do something with your faith. Remember that God’s kingdom is not of this world we live in which is full of unfortunate events or things that move people’s perception and feelings almost all the time.

Let me cite an example here. Imagine yourself anticipating a blockbuster movie you waited months for and already you secured in advance a ticket for a specific time slot for opening day. Suddenly, as your drive on the way to the movie theater, you received a call from a family member who needs you to go to the bank to do a very essential transaction which ultimately prevents you from watch that movie. The natural effects of such a scenario are disappointment, anger and, worse, resentment. In other words, negative feelings fill your heart which should never be because you already have the Holy Spirit in your heart. You should always be led by the Holy Spirit, not your feelings.

In the Kingdom of God as well as in the Body of Christ (we Christians are the church), we are supposed to be pure in heart and be living with the holiness of the Lord. Feelings, whether negative or positive, are not essential and they are never meant to be utilized as indicators on how we live, what we do and what we think of. As Christians, we are supposed to be more reasonable and be wiser under the watch of the Lord. Always remember that while you can hide your feelings from people, you can never ever hide those feelings from God. Remember that whatever feelings we have here on Earth are meaningless in the spiritual realm.

Let’s examine some notable examples of life that cause people to feel (and then giving in to those feelings) while they live in the flesh.

First example is unbelief. You see those secularists or atheists who speak out loud on TV or on social media? They often reject God and deny His existence. They believe that humans can exist, remain moral and prosper without God, without faith (or religion as they often call it) and without discipline. Those secularists and atheists can easily offend the feelings of a Christian at first. However, any anointed and mature Christian would always know to prioritize God and maintain faith in Him instead of giving in to feeling offended or feeling weakened by those who have no faith. Remember this always and go around telling your fellow Christians to never give in to their feelings and never ever let unbelief dominate them. Remind them of being faithful to the Lord. Remind them that they already have the victory of the Lord over Satan. Let’s read the following scripture from the Holy Bible.

These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.

John 16:33 (NKJV)

Wow! Those were powerful words from Lord Jesus Himself! He achieved a major victory that nobody else could ever match – redeeming the whole world by sacrificing Himself, then returned to enlighten more with holiness before ascending to Heaven! Jesus holiness is very real and there truly is a God who created us, accepted us as His children when we got born again and blessed us since. The truth of Christianity shows that there is no good reason at all as to why we Christians should surrender to our feelings and allow the non-believers to drag us down to their level. We Christians are not only believers but are also citizens of God’s Kingdom complete with armor, weapons and other spiritual means that with Him, we are more than conquerors. Moving on, let’s read the next holy scripture.

Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.

2 Corinthians 2:14 (NKJV)

2 Corinthians 2:14 is another clear example as to why we the faithful are living in victory. Unbelief combined with feelings are actually a weak combination and we Christians are never meant to allow ourselves to be defeated by them. We are spiritually stronger under God. Always remember that!

Secularists and atheists are more likely to manipulate other people (those with weaker faith or even none at all) through their feelings and then trap them into accepting unbelief. This is sad but not hopeless for us Christians. We can unite and pray to the Lord that unbelief will be overwhelmed and then time will come that the secularists and atheists will realize the errors of their ways and soon will decide willingly to apologize to the Lord and submit to Him peacefully. We can also pray for the victims as well as all the unsaved and lost souls who embraced unbelief. Remember that unbelief is a weapon of the ever-stubborn loser Satan. We can always defeat Satan by remaining strongly faithful with God and preach His Word to this screwed-up world we live in.

The next example that spark feelings in people is religion which is often confused with faith. To put it in simple terms, religion is a deeply flawed approach of worshipping the Lord as it involves a lot of man-written rules, sacraments and a bunch of other stuff that are not really holy. Having gone through a past life of religion (followed by a short life of unbelief) myself, I confirm the truth that religion is frustrating (this is the most notable feeling) and is actually a hindrance to achieving truth faith in the Lord.

Religion involves idolatry (worshiping people, images and man-made items) which is very wrong as confirmed by the following holy scripture.

Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (NKJV)

Think about the sin of idolatry carefully. You worship a person, that makes you unrighteous. You pray to a statue or statuette, that makes you unrighteous. You pray to a painting or a relic, that makes you unrighteous. You keep on practicing idolatry, it will impact you to developing a whole bunch of unnecessary feelings deep inside you which will give you a false perception of faith in the Lord (which you are not really achieving). In religion, idolatry is also a tradition falsely believed to be holy. Be aware that idolatry itself makes religion unholy and our Heavenly Father is a jealous God. Even Satan uses religion and idolatry is a useful tool for him to prevent people from being with God. Learn from the following scriptures.

You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image – any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

Exodus 20:3-6 (NKJV)

Do not turn to idols, nor make for yourselves molded gods: I am the LORD your God.

Leviticus 19:4 (NKJV)

Apart from idolatry, religion also comes with its own traditions that were not made by God’s chosen people who wrote the Holy Bible. Such traditions trap people and make them more emotional and prone to being dictated by their feelings. This alone should be of deep concern for anyone seeking the Lord. In my old life, I practiced religious traditions of visiting seven churches of religion, praying with repetitive prayers, praying with a relic that was never holy, submitting to a religious hierarchy that has a history of abuse and corruption for centuries, praying to man-made objects, forcefully getting pushed to participate in a religion-driven brainwashing event called family encounter (now a tradition for a certain group religious people here in the Philippines), participating in a religion-based youth movement (also a tradition for the above-mentioned group of people) and the like. So I went through all of that in my old life and ultimately I really never got connected with the Lord, nor was I ever able to discover the ways to establishing a true personal relationship with Him.

Religion and its traditions, rituals, idolatry and culture of forceful imposition deeply frustrated me. This is the ultimate feeling I had long ago. Because religion was hollow, mean and so frustrating to me, I rejected religion and, incidentally, I got myself separated from the Lord which is why there was a period of almost ten years in which I lived a non-believer. I even became antagonistic towards the Lord and Christianity as whole. All that time before, I did not realize that faith and religion are not one and the same. I also had not discovered back then that it was possible to be with God without religion.

And then, when I was a little over forty-years-old, something wonderful and holy happened. My dearest friend in life invited me to her church to attend a holy seminar. I attended with her and the many church members (the Body of Christ) present, just behaving myself since I was still a non-believer. I was still living in darkness (which started since my old life with religion). After attending that event, meeting the pastor and brought home with me a holy bible that was given to me, I saw the light again and eventually I willingly got born again. I became a new creation, a true Christian and a child of God. The darkness of religion and unbelief that overwhelmed me ended and I have no desire to go back to my old life ever again.

Since then, I attended Sunday worship regularly and also participated in bible study sessions and holy seminars to grow spiritually and deepen my established personal relationship with God. Along the way, I learned from our pastor that our faith in the Lord should never be dominated nor affected by our feelings which is the precise topic of this article. To end this part, religion is truly frustrating and unnecessary. Being religious is not the same as being faithful with the Lord.

Another factor that sparks feelings in us is Satan. The enemy knows well that feelings, emotions and sentimentalism are effective weapons for him to dumb us Christians down, and worse, overwhelm people who are not aware of their true purpose under God. The enemy would not hesitate to use a person or an event to arouse our feelings inside to keep us distracted from being focused Christians. Satan is also known to spread temptation which itself sparks feelings.

Take for example, an earthquake rocks and heavily damages a major city causing a lot of deaths, injuries and property damage. That tragedy gets magnified by the morally bankrupt cable TV news organizations which only cause viewers around the world to feel sad, sorry, fearful and even defeated. Such tragedies that spark tons of feelings to weaken people delight Satan. We as children of God should never ever allow our feelings nor our perception of magnified tragedies overwhelm our faith in the Lord. We the Christians have been redeemed by Jesus long ago and it is our mission to always remain focused and very strong with faith in Him. We the children of God are not mere followers but we are special and we have a much greater purpose in the spiritual realm even though we are still living in the flesh on this world that Satan had screwed-up long ago. Learn from the following scripture.

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

Ephesians 6:10-20 (NKJV)

Those were such powerful words! More than that, Ephesians 6: 10-20 confirms the truth that we the faithful should always be strong in the Lord and with Him, we have the means to overcome Satan and all other forces of evil. That also includes completely defying the feelings we have while living in the flesh. That being said, we the children of God have no reason to be fearful at all. We only fear the Lord because it leads to wisdom (Proverbs 9:10), strong confidence (Proverbs 14:26) and opposing evil (Proverbs 8:13).

Satan is not as powerful as most people think. He is simply a loser who just refuses to stop and will continue to exploit the weak to screw up many people and spread chaos worldwide. War, famine, riots and pandemics are such examples of global tragedies with people falling for Satan’s tricks and failing to keep strong faith in God.

We the children of God know much better. Therefore, Satan’s strategy of using chaos (being magnified by the global news media giants), fear and negative vibes to bring us down through our feelings can be deflected for as long as we continue to be strong with God. It is a matter of being faithful over being full of feelings.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying feelings are totally useless. As God’s children living in the flesh here on Earth, it is okay to have feelings like the happiness that comes with being with the family or a special someone, the deep satisfaction we have inside as we enjoy the prosperity and protection God blessed us with, etc.

We can live with feelings but we always prioritize our faith in the Lord eternally. We can keep on living with feelings but we must not be led by them because we were created by God to be led by the Holy Spirit. We were not created to be religious but to be faithful Christians.

Now let me reach out to the unsaved souls and the lost souls among you, my readers…

Once you are ready, pray this simple prayer (I learned from my pastor) in sincerity from your heart:

Dear God,

Congratulations! You are now a child of God! Praise the Lord and always be faithful to Him! No more darkness in your life caused by unbelief or religion (and the idolatry, traditions and rituals that come with it). Your new life has begun!

Always study the Holy Bible, apply its lessons into your life and pray in tongues regularly to Him. The Holy Spirit is in you and you are now a new creation! You can also start your spiritual growth immediately under the eyes of the Lord! Today is a happy day for you!

In ending this piece, feel free to enjoy these Christian praise-and-worship YouTube videos. Hallelujah!!!

Declare Your Love for God

March 25, 2020December 26, 2022carlocarrasco

For months now, people and governments around the world have been struggling with fear, anxiety, uncertainty and even death due to infectious microbes. No matter what happens, we as Christians who accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior should never lose faith. It is faith in the Lord that spares us from disaster, poverty and evil. Of course, we Christians each have our own respective challenges in life to overcome and the ongoing crisis is the newest, major challenge for this particular time of the 21^st century that happens to affect a lot of people around the world.

No matter how bad and depressing life becomes, we Christians must always put God first in everything we do. This includes constantly reading the Holy Bible (the Word of God), praying to Him, deepening our relationship with Him and applying His Word into our daily lives. We keep strong faith in Him and in due time, we will see God’s continual blessing in our lives.

Being faithful Christians, we certainly should never let religion, unbelief, idolatry, tradition and rituals hinder us from living with God’s Word and holiness. We are members of the Body of Christ. We are the church! Refer to 1 Corinthians 12:12-30 in the Holy Bible.

Therefore, as Born Again people, we should declare that God’s love is with us and nothing will separate us from Him. We must always declare our love for Him in addition to thanking and honor Him! We are not mere mortals for we are God’s creations with a holy purpose. We are tasked to spread God’s Word and help the Lord save the many, many unsaved and lost souls around the world. Remember, true faith in the Lord does NOT include force nor coercion nor shaming nor idolatry. As such, we emphasize God’s Word to others gently and always let them decide on their own whether to accept the Lord or not. After all, each and every person has a personal relationship with God which is strictly off limits to everyone else (even the biological family).

Moving on, let’s read a scripture from the Holy Bible.

Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”),

Galatians 3:13 (NKJV)

We all know that Adam’s rebellion towards God marked the downfall of humanity which lasted for many generations as recorded in the Holy Bible. Even though humanity was sinful, God never wiped humanity away because He planned for grand redemption and restoration to happen. In His greatest expression of love for us all, He sent us His only begotten Son Jesus. When His time came, Lord Jesus never despised the cross and went on to die for us all for redemption. It was Lord Jesus’ work, not ours, that removed the curse upon humanity. To express it in a different way, it was the blood of Jesus that cleansed us all! Satan was defeated! Jesus got resurrected and spread more of His holy enlightenment to those who witnessed His return. Then He ascended to Heaven to join God, our Heavenly Father. A promise was made by Jesus to return. Jesus is alive, always!

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

As it is written:

“For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:35-39 (NKJV)

Romans 8:35-39 makes clear that as children of God who were saved, we have no reason to despair, no reason to live in fear and no reason to be defeated. We have the love of the Lord that lasts eternally and also the Holy Spirit is in our hearts! Even in hardships that we are experiencing now personally and globally, we can be more than conquerors because we are God’s children! We are faithful and we can excel in life as long as we put God first, we remain faithful to Him and execute His Word to save all the unsaved souls around us! We have a relationship with God and nothing can separate us from Him.

To you who are reading this, if you are living with darkness (caused by unbelief or religion or deep ignorance), it is not too late for you to be born again. No less than Lord Jesus emphasized the point of being born again in John 3:3 in the Holy Bible. You can become a true Christian and an actual child of God by getting born again and willingly accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior.

Now we go to Chapter 91 of the Book of Psalm in both New King James Version and the Passion Translation.

I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.” Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from perilous pestilence.

Psalm 91:2-3 (NKJV)

He’s the hope that holds me and the Stronghold to shelter me, the only God for me, and my great confidence. He will rescue you from every hidden trap of the enemy, and he will protect you from false accusation and any deadly curse.

Psalm 91:2-3 (TPT)

The scriptures above point out that God, who is the Creator, the Source and Provider, is our stronghold (refuge) that we can always rely on and never worry about anything. Not even a global financial crash, nor a plague nor a major natural disaster nor someone very evil could crush us spiritually for as long as we are faithful to Him. We are God’s children and He will always protect us, deliver us from trials and He will fight and defeat the enemy for us. Remember that contrary to the teachings by religion-minded authorities, Satan has always been a loser and with God on our side, we can keep on defeating and rejecting Satan. That being said, always let the Holy Spirit lead you.

One more scripture.

Keep you heart with all diligence. For out of it spring the issues of life.

Proverbs 4:23 (NKJV)

It is essential for us to keep our hearts. This mean valuing and protecting our minds, emotions and will. We all live in a screwed-up world with lots of problems plaguing people all around us. Even with all the hassle and problems, we should never lose faith in the Lord.

Now let me address the unsaved readers among you…

If you seek salvation now, learn that the first step is to receive Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. Never be fooled into believing that your past defined you and your future. With Jesus, you become a child of God and a whole new creation! A true Christian with a holy purpose!

Once you are ready, pray this simple prayer in sincerity from your heart:

Dear God,

Always read the Holy Bible, apply its lessons into your life and pray in tongues regularly to Him. The Holy Spirit is in you and you are now a new creation! Declare your love for God!

Christian Music Appreciation: King of Kings

February 4, 2020February 18, 2025carlocarrasco

King of Kings is one of my favorite Christian praise-and-worship songs right now. The first time I saw it performed was inside a Christian church in Alabang Hills Village, Muntinlupa City and it resonated with me a lot ever since.

Checking out the song online, it is best identified with Hillsong Church’s musicians. To get things started, here are two YouTube videos about King of Kings embedded for you.

And now below are the lyrics. The song was written by Jason Ingram, Brooke Ligertwood and Scott Ligertwood. To make a point here, King of Kings highlights us Christians praising God, Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

VERSE 1:
In the darkness we were waiting
Without hope without light
Till from heaven You came running
There was mercy in Your eyes
To fulfil the law and prophets
To a virgin came the Word
From a throne of endless glory
To a cradle in the dirt

CHORUS:
Praise the Father
Praise the Son
Praise the Spirit three in one
God of glory
Majesty
Praise forever to the King of Kings

VERSE 2:
To reveal the kingdom coming
And to reconcile the lost
To redeem the whole creation
You did not despise the cross
For even in Your suffering
You saw to the other side
Knowing this was our salvation
Jesus for our sake You died

VERSE 3:
And the morning that You rose
All of heaven held its breath
Till that stone was moved for good
For the Lamb had conquered death
And the dead rose from their tombs
And the angels stood in awe
For the souls of all who’d come
To the Father are restored

VERSE 4:
And the Church of Christ was born
Then the Spirit lit the flame
Now this gospel truth of old
Shall not kneel shall not faint
By His blood and in His Name
In His freedom I am free
For the love of Jesus Christ
Who has resurrected me

Praising the Lord directly and very highly is undoubtedly essential. To truly live in holiness under God, we must reject all sins for they separate us from the Lord. Among those many sins that keep many from being saved is idolatry (refer to idolaters as sinners as written in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 in the Holy Bible) which is still being practice worldwide by those living with religion and those living as unbelievers.

As I already wrote separate pieces about idolatry (click HERE and HERE), idols, both people and those man-made objects (paintings, statues, statuettes, relics, etc.) are forms of abomination to the Lord. We are supposed to worship God, Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit directly and exclusively. Forget about that human idol (who does NOT deserve worship at all) and get rid of those relics, statues, statuettes and images because all of those are Satan’s tools to separate us from the Lord. Religion, unbelief and idolatry are all tools of Satan against us and the Lord.

Our praise is only meant for the Lord and this involves faith!

Going back to the song, the chorus of Praise the Father, Praise the Son, Praise the Spirit three in one, God of glory, Majesty, Praise forever to the King of Kings is a very lively reminder of a key aspect being a real Christian. The Lord deserves ALL of our praise! Here are the holy scriptures.

I will extol You, my God, O King; And I will bless Your name forever and ever.

Psalm 145:1 (NKJV)

Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, For wisdom and might are His.”

Daniel 2:20 (NKJV)

Sing to the LORD! Praise the LORD! For He has delivered the life of the poor From the hand of evildoers.

Jeremiah 20:13 (NKJV)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one of all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on Earth-in Him.

Ephesians 1:3-10 (NKJV)

He is your praise, and He is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things which your eyes have seen.

Deuteronomy 10:21 (NKJV)

The LORD I my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; He is my God, and I will praise Him; My father’s God, and I will exalt Him.

Exodus 15:2 (NKJV)

Back to the song, Verse 2 emphasizes Lord Jesus’ sacrificing Himself to save humanity from sin, paving the way for us to get into God’s kingdom. Jesus paid the price for our salvation. Before His sacrifice, Jesus made clear that people need to be born again. Refer to the holy scripture below.

Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

John 3:3 (NKJV)

Verse 3 of King of Kings refers to the resurrection of Jesus and this alone should remind you that idolaters, as well as those who make idols, often highlight Jesus hanging on the cross which easily distract people from realizing the truth that He conquered death and He ascended to Heaven alive. Jesus is really alive!

The resurrection of Jesus as well as his ascension to Heaven are meant to be strongly believed in. There is no exception to this! Refer to the holy scriptures below.

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

John 11:25-26 (NKJV)

But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here! See the place where they laid Him.”

Mark 16:6 (NKJV)

For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 4:14 (NKJV)

He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’”

Luke 24:6-7 (NKJV)

Verse 4 refers the start of the Church of Christ which was recorded in the Book of Acts which I strongly recommend you read from chapter to chapter. When you hear the words ‘the body of Christ’, it is not a reference to Jesus’ flesh but rather to the church which, in the most universal sense, refers to people who believe in the Lord. Of course, I’m not referring to any hierarchy nor an organization pretending to be the chosen authority of the Lord. People who truly have faith in Jesus, opened their hearts to God, allowed the Holy Spirit to occupy their hearts and then live on with the Word of God (the Holy Bible) are the definitive Christians. Definitely no place for idolatry, religion, unbelief and Satan here.

Here are a few more holy scriptures for you relating to Verse 4 of the song. After these, I highly recommend reading Acts 2:1-47 in the Holy Bible to grasp and understand the beginning of the Church of Christ through the coming of the Holy Spirit, the response of the crowd and Peter’s sermon.

When the Day of Pentecost had 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 the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Acts 2:1-4 (NKJV)

And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

Matthew 16:18 (NKJV)

For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body-where Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free-and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many.

1 Corinthians 12:12-14 (NKJV)

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Matthew 28:18-20 (NKJV)

Ultimately, King of Kings is a very beautiful Christian praise-and-worship song and it is easily worth performing in any church activity (especially Sunday worship services) that needs music. It is the holiness of the Lord that makes the song beautiful and it is the faith in the Lord that makes King of Kings great!

Very truly, the Lord blessed Jason Ingram, Brooke Ligertwood and Scott Ligertwood who wrote King of Kings for the world and for Christians to worship Him with.

In ending this, here is an embedded video showing King of Kings (starting at 15:00 on the timer) by the musicians of Hillsong Church in Australia during its December 29, 2019 Sunday morning service. Thank the Lord and enjoy this! Praise the Father, Praise the Son, Praise the Spirit, three in one!

Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Also my fantasy book The World of Havenor is still available in paperback and e-book format. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com

Reject Halloween, Stand With God

October 25, 2019October 5, 2022carlocarrasco

In my old life, I used to be fond of celebrating Halloween. Having been Born Again, I realized my true purpose in life under God the Father and His Son Jesus. That being said, I realized how wrong it is to celebrate Halloween which is essentially evil and unholy for any Christian (including those who practice idolatry which itself is sinful). Halloween will take Christians away from the Lord and that alone is reason enough to reject it.

Halloween’s origin is Celtic by nature and it is connected with observing the sacrifices to gods under the Druidic culture. There is also Samhain, a dark lord who sends out evil souls to attack humans who try to save themselves by wearing disguises with the images of those very evil souls.

Sounds familiar? It is because there are these modern day Halloween practices that are linked to the evil rites and superstitions of Halloween. In the modern world where Halloween gets celebrated, people (including many children) go out and around their local communities wearing costumes of horror figures like zombies, demons, monsters and pop culture-related villains (examples: Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger, Michael Myers). These costumed Halloween participants, looking horrific, would visit any household that offers candy for trick-or-treat. Wearing “non-horror” costumes like superhero attire or fantasy attire (example: dressed like a princess) does NOT reduce the evil that comes with Halloween. There is no such thing as an innocent way of celebrating Halloween.

And then there are those multimedia-related ways of celebrating Halloween like watching horror movies back to back or playing video games that carry strong horror themes. There is also the business aspect of Halloween as food retailers promote the season by linking it with selling candy and chocolate (clearly to take advantage of families or groups that intend to give away the sweets during trick-or-treat Halloween celebrations in the local communities).

Halloween trick-or-treat here in the Philippines even made its way to local government units. In October of 2016 and 2017, the City Government of Parañaque organized trick-or-treat at City Hall which attracted kids wearing costumes (including horror and superhero attire) who visited varied offices that give away candy. During those times, the City Government even organized special events at the nearby city sports complex celebrating Halloween which I find rather disturbing.

In my old life, I enjoyed celebrating Halloween and I used to ignore the claims that it was unholy and evil. While I never went out for trick-or-treat as a kid, I helped out in giving candy to costumed visitors. I also hiked around the local area photographing the Halloween activities flocked by participants, and then uploading those pics online for social media users to view. I also took time celebrating Halloween by watching horror movies.

Looking back, I honestly admit that celebrating Halloween was indeed wrong. Now that I’m a saved soul and a dedicated Christian with a living relationship with the Lord, I declare that Halloween is wrong, unholy and evil. Halloween is a popular tool used by Satan to take people away from God and Jesus. Halloween definitely should be rejected always and we Christians must always be with God. Let me discuss the following points.

“Is it okay for a Christian to celebrate Halloween?”

The answer is a definite NO. Let’s take a look at the Holy Scripture below.

You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons.

1 Corinthians 10:21 (NKJV)

And now the Amplified version.

You cannot drink [both] the Lord’s cup and the cup of demons. You cannot share in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons [thereby becoming partners with them].

1 Corinthians 10:21 (AMP)

Very clearly, there is no room to worship both the Lord and evil. If you want to be with the side of God and Jesus, you really need to purify yourself and free yourself from whatever form of evil thrown at you by Satan. Satan is a loser indeed, however he still exists because Adam gave him dominion (read about Adam’s Rebellion) and as long as he exists, he will do anything to take you away from God, to prevent you from worshiping the Lord and will use anything (including religion and idolatry) to prevent you from making progress with the Lord. Halloween is one of Satan’s weapons against Christianity. Halloween is also a long-time tool of the enemy to embrace evil.

If you sinned by celebrating Halloween and committing other sinful acts in your past, you can still be saved (note: you need to be born again to be saved. Heed the words of Jesus in John 3:3) because God is merciful and you need to be willing to repent, submit to Him and dedicate yourself to Him with an established personal relationship with Him.

Be aware that goodness comes from God and evil comes from Satan. It’s as clear as night and day. If you are a saved soul, then it is clear you should stand with God and His Son Jesus. Being dedicated to the Lord will spare you from evil, and that takes willingness and decisiveness from your end.

Learn from this Holy Scripture.

And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:1-10 (NKJV)

Each and every one of us was created to be loyal, faithful, loving and dedicated towards our Heavenly Father God and His Son Lord Jesus even as we were granted the freedom to think, act and decide. Even before we were even made, God established a plan for each and every one of us. Worshiping Satan, embracing evil, celebrating Halloween and living a life full sin and wickedness are obviously NOT part of God’s plan for us all.

By realizing the true purpose of your existence under God, you will realize that it is your destiny to be saved and to be faithful (not religious) to the Lord. Satan used a whole lot of tools to prevent God’s creations from being with Him. Satan used not only Halloween but also religion, idolatry, money, power, destruction, secularism, atheism, agnosticism, Marxism, socialism, Communism, Leftism, entertainment and a whole batch of other tools to bring Christians down and make evil stronger.

Going back to Halloween, that celebration of evil includes witchcraft which is an abomination! In our world, it is too easy for people to go out wearing costumes to look like witches and this alone spreads the influence of evil around. There are also filmmakers and other creative people out there who made witchcraft look cool or even a good custom to practice. The 1996 Hollywood movie The Craft is one such example of spreading Satan’s influence to the public and I personally recommend to you readers to avoid watching that movie (note: destroy whatever physical or digital copies you have of it) at all. In addition, I urge you to avoid spending your hard-earned money on such evil, and that means boycotting promotional products of Halloween and anything related to evil. Witchcraft and related stuff like sorcery, necromancy and magic are abominations as written in the Holy Bible. Read the Holy Scripture below.

“When you come into the land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the LORD, and because of these abominations the LORD your God drives them out from before you.”

Deuteronomy 18:9-12

Those abominations that look good in entertainment media are all made to deceive you and prevent you from achieving progress and purity with the Lord. From time to time, there are media reports about real life people who practice witchcraft, sorcery and other unholy customs that make this world a terrible place under the eyes of God. That is, obviously, very unfortunate because it proves how screwed up our physical world really is.

Even appearances can add to the influence of evil. You think going out in local community Halloween celebrations dressed as a witch, or as a magician or as a sorcerer (or even cosplaying as Marvel’s Doctor Strange) is okay with the Lord for as long as you don’t practice witchcraft and the like? Wrong! Imagery or appearances of evil spread evil and deceives others. Such imagery also will influence people to embrace idolatry which itself is a sin. Already there are many people who not only celebrate Halloween (Satan’s festival) but also idolized evil figures like the Jack-O-lantern, Dracula, Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger and more. Idolaters will not inherit the kingdom of God! Very clearly, idolatry is unholy! Learn from the scripture below.

Surely you must know that people who practice evil cannot possess God’s kingdom realm. Stop being deceived! People who continue to engage in sexual immorality, idolatry, adultery, sexual perversion, homosexuality, fraud, greed, drunkenness, verbal abuse, or extortion—these will not inherit God’s kingdom realm.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (TPT)

Rejecting Halloween Effectively

You might be wondering: how are we Christians supposed to reject Halloween and its evil effectively?

First, we must realize our purpose as Christians from the following Holy Scripture.

You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in this world.

1 John 4:4 (NKJV)

And the Amplified version…

Little children (believers, dear ones), you are of God and you belong to Him and have [already] overcome them [the agents of the antichrist]; because He who is in you is greater than he (Satan) who is in the world [of sinful mankind].

1 John 4:4 (AMP)

With that Holy Scripture in two versions, it is clear that as children of God, we are victorious for we believe in the victory of Jesus over Satan. With God on our side, nothing is impossible and we have the power to reject fear, reject evil and reject Satan ultimately. It is by faith in the Lord, not religion and not idolatry, that Christians are special and holy. Stronger than Satan too.

With God on our side, Halloween’s global popularity can be wiped away and its influence of evil on others can be removed and be replaced with the goodness and the biblical truth emphasizing the holiness and victory of Jesus.

If you are looking for practical ways to reject Halloween (and Satan), I would suggest the following:

Instead of watching horror movies or anything that carries the influence of evil, go watch YouTube videos of Christian praise-and-worship songs like the following below.

Instead of going out on Halloween trick-or-treat, pray to the Lord in your room with the door shut (refer to Matthew 6:6 in the Holy Bible) and be aware that in this way, the Lord is in a secret place and when He sees in secret, you will be rewarded openly. If your church is open or has a holy activity at the same time as Halloween is being held on October 31, make an effort to go to church with the Lord in mind.

Instead of looking at evil images or reading materials that are related to Halloween, better read the Holy Bible or a Christian book.

By now, it is clear that as Christians we must always maintain strong faith, trust and dedication to God and His Son Jesus. It also means we must be pure in holiness and there definitely is no room for us to accommodate evil in all its forms. As such, Halloween must be rejected always and its evil presence only means we must persevere more to meet God’s high call. We are all God’s creations and He made plans for each and every one of us even before we were even created. Obviously we were NOT created to worship nor magnify evil at all! We are destined to be saved (be born again) and live in holiness following Jesus. We pray to Him, serve Him, thank Him and dedicate ourselves to Him for the rest of our time.

Let me end this with one more Holy Scripture.

He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.

Colossians 1:13 (NKJV)

Thank you for reading. If you find this Christianity article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Also my fantasy book The World of Havenor is still available in paperback and e-book format. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com

The Model Prayer

March 9, 2019April 17, 2025carlocarrasco

If you want your prayers to be heard clearly by God, then you must do your praying properly. For one thing, you must open your heart to the Lord before you do any praying at all. Also keep in mind that faith in the Lord is done by the heart and not by the brain.

What is the most proper way to pray? The answer is the Model Prayer recorded in the Holy Bible (New King James Version), specifically at Matthew chapter 6, verse 5 to 15.

Recorded in Matthew 6:5-15 are the words of Jesus in red:

“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.

My explanation: The scripture above points out that as we pray to the Lord, we should not be like the hypocrites who are defined as people doing public displays of praying which is improper. To really pray properly, showing off is a big no-no and praying privately is the way to do it. Each of us have intentions and personal messages to send to the Lord through prayer and to pray while being seen by others is just wrong. This brings me to the next scripture.

“But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

The scripture clearly shows that praying in private (in this case doing it in the privacy of a room with the door shut) is essential. This ensures that you have not only a better environment for praying but also a clearer channel of communication between you and God who is in His secret place. We the believers of the Lord must keep up with the Lord’s requirements for whatever communication we have with Him. As part of your praying method, it is recommended to pray in tongues as it enables your spirit to pray, enables you to speak to God, enables you magnify Him and edify yourself along the way. To understand praying in tongues, I recommend reading Acts chapter 1 to 10.

We move on….

“And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.

This one is self-explanatory. Repetitive prayers do not work at all. Just because you repeat words of your prayer does not mean it will boost your prayer’s chances of being heard by God. You only need to pray to the Lord with a clear message that is also straight to the point. You should make yourself transparent to God when communicating with him. That is why before praying to Him, you must write down what you have in mind and make sure you pray to Him with a complete message as possible so that repeating will be unnecessary. We should understand that God prefers us to be clear and go straight to the point with Him. Repeating prayers, at least in my view, is an annoyance. A time waster event.

We move on… “Therefore do not be like them. For Your Father knows that things you have need of before you ask Him.

The scripture points back at the hypocrites who not only do public displays of their praying but also repeat their prayers. They don’t realize that they have been doing their prayers the improper way. As such, we the believers of God know better and we must take advantage of the knowledge on praying properly and privately to Him. Note that God can see through us and anticipate what we would ask of Him. All the more reason to be clear and go straight to the point when communicating with the Lord.

Now we move on to realize proper praying… In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed by Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done. On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and glory forever. Amen.

Never forget to pray with the above holy words spoken by our Lord Jesus Christ. Remember them, reflect upon them and live by them as you practice faith in the Lord.

We move on…

“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. “But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

The above scriptures explain clearly that forgiving others is an essential thing to do in order to be forgiven by the Lord. There is simply no exemption nor exceptions here. Even if you have a mortal enemy or a rival who cannot forgive you, you still must forgive that person because if you don’t then the Lord won’t forgive you.

What you just read were passages from Matthew 6:5-15 emphasizing the Model Prayer. Clearly praying to the Lord requires the proper ways of praying that includes praying to Him privately, being transparent with Him, being ready with our intentions or personal messages to communicate with Him while avoiding repetitions, familiarizing ourselves with the holy words of prayer and learning to forgive others. Also never forget that praying to the Lord has so much to do with your personal relationship with Him.

In addition, posted below is the Model Prayer from the Passion Translation (TPT) of the Holy Bible… “Whenever you pray, be sincere and not like the pretenders who love the attention they receive while praying before others in the meetings and on street corners. Believe me, they’ve already received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your innermost chamber and be alone with Father God, praying to him in secret. And your Father, who sees all you do, will reward you openly. When you pray, there is no need to repeat empty phrases, praying like the Gentiles do, for they expect God to hear them because of their many words. There is no need to imitate them, since your Father already knows what you need before you ask him. Pray like this: ‘Our Beloved Father, dwelling in the heavenly realms, may the glory of your name be the center on which our lives turn. Manifest your kingdom realm, and cause your every purpose to be fulfilled on earth, just as it is in heaven. We acknowledge you as our Provider of all we need each day. Forgive us the wrongs we have done as we ourselves release forgiveness to those who have wronged us. Rescue us every time we face tribulation and set us free from evil. For you are the King who rules with power and glory forever. Amen.’ “And when you pray, make sure you forgive the faults of others so that your Father in heaven will also forgive you. But if you withhold forgiveness from others, your Father withholds forgiveness from you.” Matthew 6:5-15 (TPT)

Before each of us were even born, God made plans for every one of us. We who believe in the Lord must prove ourselves faithful to Him so that we will know our true purpose from Him, so that we will each receive a task from Him, so that we will prosper and get rewarded by Jesus (Revelations 22:12).

I pray that you, the reader, learned something essential here and will learn how to apply these lessons into your Christian living. Finally, I recommend you read the words Jesus said in John 3:3.

From this point on, I would like to reach out to all the lost and the unsaved people reading this. Did a religious and idolatrous extremist ruin your life? Have you been living in bondage for too long? Did the atheists, the humanists and the secularists fool you and abused you? Were you victimized by crook? Have you been living as a homosexual or as a transgendered person? Are you still addicted to sex, drugs and other inappropriate elements? Did you spend an entire life worshiping statues, statuettes, images, people and relics? Are you a toxic person or one of those modern-day Leftist activists (Black Lives Matter, Democratic Socialists of America, Antifa, the abortionists and others) who got fed up fighting for worthless causes? Did you kill someone and have been living so long with the guilt?

All of the darkness related to what were mentioned above can finally end and you can decide to do it! How? You can save yourselves by submitting yourselves to the Lord Jesus willingly and realize He is the Light! No force and no coercion here. You have time and freedom to decide to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior. For those who have decided to get born again now and gain salvation, please read the instructions and follow the prayer that I learned from a pastor.

Are you ready? Firstly, open your heart to the Lord and pray this simple prayer in sincerity from your heart:

Father God,

I thank You. I believe Jesus is Your Son. I believe that He died for me and redeemed me from all of my sins. He took my sins and, Father, thank You for loving me and You demonstrated Your love for me through Your Son Jesus Christ. Forgive me for all of my sins. Jesus, I open my heart to You. I welcome You to enter into my heart. I confess today that You are now my Lord and Savior. Thank You for forgiveness. I receive forgiveness. Thank You for Your blood that cleansed me from all of my sins. I will follow You, Jesus. Thank You for Your plan. I receive the Holy Spirit. And Holy Spirit, help me to follow the will of God in my life in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Congratulations! You are now a child of God! You have received Holy Spirit in your heart! This is easily your greatest decision ever made and also the greatest miracle of your life. Always praise, thank and honor the Lord. No more darkness in your life caused by politics, radicalism, toxicity, rebellion, religion, unbelief, evil, idolatry, traditions and rituals! Leave behind the darkness of your life and don’t look back to it. Remember that idolatry is evil, Purgatory is a lie, penance is a deception and Satan always used religion and unbelief to prevent people from being saved by the Lord. Also, do not ever hail Mary (the mother of Lord Jesus) because all the praise and honor belong to God, Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit only.

With Lord Jesus, you are already moving forward and the best is yet to come! You also have a personal relationship with God, a relationship that is strictly off-limits to others (even to your household members or biological family members).

With your new life realized, make an effort to get yourself copy of the Holy Bible (start with New King James Version), study it and apply its lessons into your life no matter what situation you are in right now. I also recommend you to join a local Christian church that God has chosen for you (note: ask Him for a local church!) and find your place in the spiritual family (God’s family!). Be planted when the Lord shows you the way! Worship the Lord together with them and always remember that faith, not religion, is essential in your personal relationship with God. When you are at home, be in your room with the door shut and have fellowship with our Heavenly Father. On a personal level, practice Christian Habits here and there. Remember the truth that God rewards the faithful abundantly, only He can lift you up and restore you fully, and continue to be people of the Word. Declare your love for Him as well!

The Holy Bible is the ultimate authority and nothing else comes close to it for it is the Word of God. Remember always that Lord Jesus did not die on the cross to start religion. He died to redeem us all and showed that we must be led by faith in Him, faith in the Holy Spirit and faith in God the Heavenly Father. He rose from the dead and made His earthly presence felt once more to those who believed in Him. Lord Jesus ascended to Heaven and He promised to return in the future. His return is what we must always remember and keep living with holiness under the watch of God. We can do our part in building up God’s kingdom here on Earth by preaching His Word, blessing the Jewish people and saving the countless lost and unsaved souls around us by leading them to Lord Jesus. Living as a Christian is always about the personal relationship with the Lord, and it is certainly not about religion. Never let the idolaters, the idol makers, the ritual practitioners and other sinister forces fool you into becoming unholy.

In ending this, here are some videos of Christian worship music for you to enjoy and praise the Lord with. Always be the fearless and aggressive church of Lord Jesus!

If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/ and on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco/

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