Tag: Evangelical Christian

Behold the Light of Lord Jesus

Behold the Light of Lord Jesus

carlocarrasco

Have you been living in darkness? A life of darkness is always filled with unending trouble, deep loneliness, sadness, frustrations, temptations, sin and wasting your life away in the company of the wrong people as time passes in this screwed-up world we all live in. Darkness is a tool of Satan who also uses religion, unbelief, idolatry, poverty, wickedness, corruption, war, terrorism, and homosexuality to name some, all meant to separate people away from God.

I know exactly what living in darkness is like. My old life was composed of a meaningless period of religion which was so full of bondage, arrogance, idols, traditions, rituals and the influence of a very corrupted religious hierarchy (note: headquarters in Rome, Italy). After religion, unbelief came into my life and still no positive changes happened. I was still living in darkness.

The turning point in my life happened in early 2018 when my dearest friend in life invited me to a church where she and her family were part of. It was a night-time, spirit-filled seminar that I attended and the first time I witnessed the pastor teach the Word of God, I started to not only get enlightened but also started to see light shining through the darkness that dragged me for so long. It was God’s calling for me!

Over a month later, I got born again and accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior, and received the Holy Spirit in my heart. The darkness has ended! My new life as a faithful Christian since started and the Lord blessed me, lifted me up and continues to guide me and lead me until now. Truly Jesus is the light of the world and there is no denying that. Behold the powerful words of Jesus in these translations of John 8:12 in the Holy Bible.

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

John 8:12 (NKJV)

Then Jesus said, “I am light to the world and those who embrace me will experience life-giving light, and they will never walk in darkness.”

John 8:12 (TPT)

Jesus once again addressed them: “I am the world’s Light. No one who follows me stumbles around in the darkness. I provide plenty of light to live in.”

John 8:12 (MSG)

Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

John 8:12 (NLT)

Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; the one who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

John 8:12 (NASB)

I do confirm that Lord Jesus is truly the light of the world. I progressed forward a lot in many ways since I accepted Him as my Lord and Savior. I follow the Holy Bible a lot more and kept feeding me with the Word of God. I joined a local church and found my place in the Spiritual Family (God’s Family). I pray in tongues regularly and always kept coming back to the Holy Bible for the Lord’s guiding light! I got rid of the poison of religion and unbelief, and now am led by faith and I now have a personal relationship with God. As such, I preach the Word of God and do my best to help Him save the many lost and unsaved souls around.

Going back to the holy scripture of John 8:12, Lord Jesus presupposed that the world is in darkness apart from Him. Without Jesus, the already screwed-up world we live in would have been much worse and it would have been filled with a lot more sinners, lost souls and unsaved souls living in flesh. That being said, Jesus is everyone’s hope and His light will overwhelm the darkness when the sinners, the lost and unsaved submit to Him and get born again.

Jesus is truly the light of the world and in Him is the light of life! His light brings sight to both the spiritually and physically blind. With His light realized, you can join Jesus on the same path He is taking! Why go for darkness when Jesus showed the light and the way to God’s kingdom? Behold the light of Lord Jesus!

To put things in perspective, the believers of Lord Jesus and the children of God are citizen’s of God’s kingdom. Kingdom citizens – we the faithful Christians who got born again – have responsibilities and must immediately follow the Lord’s directions and commands. We have missions to spread God’s Word around no matter how difficult and how dark the world is. Learn from the scripture below which contains the words of Lord Jesus…

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.”

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Matthew 5:13-16 (NKJV)

In Matthew 5:13-16, the essential character of kingdom citizens has been emphasized, and the metaphors of salt and light indicate the citizens’ influence for good as they penetrate societies that have been secularized. Secularism, no matter what its defenders and promoters say, is morally bankrupt, worldly and definitely unholy. Christians living in such societies must always maintain unwavering faith in the Lord, keep on following His commands and live responsibly to bring glory to God. That being said, we who are God’s children and believers of Lord Jesus led by faith must keep on persevering to bring light to the dark world, spread His Word, spread faith and help God establish holiness on the world as it is in Heaven. Lord Jesus is in Heaven and in our hearts, and knowing that we must spread His light around and make the world shine, overwhelming the darkness and defeating Satan. We do the good works in serving God who made plans for each and every soul since before the beginning of time!

Going back to getting born again which is essential (heed the words of Lord Jesus in John 3:3), the light of the Lord is undeniably true. Learn from the following scriptures below which are clearly connected to each other.

For you were once darkness, but now you are the light in the Lord. Walk as children of light,

Ephesians 5:8 (NKJV)

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)

But you are God’s chosen treasure—priests who are kings, a spiritual “nation” set apart as God’s devoted ones. He called you out of darkness to experience his marvelous light, and now he claims you as his very own. He did this so that you would broadcast his glorious wonders throughout the world.

1 Peter 2:9 (TPT)

Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 4:1-6 (NKJV)

I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.

John 12:46 (NKJV)

As seen in the above scriptures, the Lord loves people so much He comes to save them, bless them and put light into their lives and free them from darkness once they get born again and submit themselves to Him. Faith, not religion, is essential. Worshiping the Lord directly and specifically is essential, while the worship of idols is unholy and should not be done. Below is one last scripture for this bible lesson.

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.

Hebrews 4:6 (NKJV)

From this point on, I would like to reach out to the lost and the unsaved people reading this. Are you frustrated with religion? Have you been living in bondage for too long? Did the atheists and secularists fool and abused you? Were you victimized by a religious fanatic? Have you been living as a homosexual? You spent an entire life worshiping statues, statuettes, paintings and relics? Are you an anarchist, a toxic person or one of those modern-day Leftist activists? Are you addicted to something for so long? All of that darkness can end! How? You can save yourselves by submitting to the Lord 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.

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 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. 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  and continue to be people of the Word.

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. Living as a Christian is always about the personal relationship with the Lord, and it is certainly not about religion.

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! 

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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.

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: Great Outpouring

Christian Music Appreciation: Great Outpouring

carlocarrasco

Welcome back, my fellow Christians, music enthusiasts and those who seek the Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit! In this newest edition of my ongoing Christian Music Appreciation (CMA) series, we are about to examine the holiness and relevance of another worship song by the great musicians of Planetshakers Church (Australia) titled Great Outpouring.

Great Outpouring is one of the songs included in Planetshakers’ most recent album Over It All. Its title alone is a great reminder of the truth recorded in the Holy Bible…there truly is a significant outpouring of the Holy Spirit which is something that Christians, each and every member of the Body of Christ, can always keep living with while being faithful to the Lord.

Here are the lyrics for your viewing and musical learning. The analysis of key parts of the lyrics will follow afterwards.

[Verse 1]

Come upon me

Overwhelm me

Overshadow

In Your glory

I am ready

I am willing

Heart surrendered

To Your leading

–

[Pre-Chorus]

You said to wait

For power to clothe me

You’d send a flame again

–

[Chorus]

So come now

Lord resurrect us

In Your power

Fill us afresh

And here now

Pour out Your Spirit again

Pour out Your Spirit again

–

[Verse 2]

There’s a stirring

Things are moving

There’s a hunger

You’re restoring

We are counting

On Your Spirit

Send Your rushing

Wind again

–

[Pre-Chorus]

Oh You said to wait

For power to clothe me

You’d send a flame again

–

[Chorus]

So come now

Lord resurrect us

In Your power

Fill us afresh

And here now

Pour out Your Spirit again

So come now

Lord resurrect us

In Your power

Fill us afresh

And here now

Pour out Your Spirit again

Pour out Your Spirit again

–

[Bridge 1]

I can hear it

The sound of a rushing wind

I can feel it

The flame of Your fire again

I receive it

The power that raised the dead

This is the great outpouring

–

[Bridge 2]

Can you see it?

Revival is in the air

There is freedom

Let churches be filled again

In this season

Heaven is rushing in

This is the great outpouring

–

[Refrain]

Woah

This is the great outpouring

Woah

–

[Chorus]

So come now

Lord resurrect us

In Your power

Fill us afresh

And here now

Pour out Your Spirit again

So come now

Lord resurrect us

In Your power

Fill us afresh

And here now

Pour out Your Spirit again

Pour out Your Spirit

–

[Bridge 1]

I can hear it

The sound of a rushing wind

I can feel it

The flame of Your fire again

I receive it

The power that raised the dead

This is the great outpouring

–

[Bridge 2]

Can you see it?

Revival is in the air

There is freedom

Let churches be filled again

In this season

Heaven is rushing in

This is the great outpouring

–

[Refrain]

Woah

This is the great outpouring

Woah

–

[Outro]

For analysis, let’s start with Verse 1’s lyrics – Come upon me, Overwhelm me, Overshadow, In Your glory, I am ready, I am willing, Heart surrendered, To Your leading. Verse 1 is about making the decision to submit to the Lord, repenting to Him and allowing the Holy Spirit to come not only to you but also into your heart – receiving the Holy Spirit! From that point on, being led by the Holy Spirit and being faithful to the Lord become the new ways of living. This also means living as the new creation under Christ which is the result of getting born again (that Lord Jesus Himself made clear)! All of these happen when the seeker willingly decides to be Christian and get baptized spiritually (note: water baptism does not save anybody). Learn from the following holy scriptures below…

I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

Matthew 3:11 (NKJV)

Peter replied, “Repent and return to God, and each one of you must be baptized in the name of Jesus, the Anointed One, to have your sins removed. Then you may take hold of the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:38 (TPT)

We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God freely gives to all who believe in him.

Acts 5:32 (TPT)

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

John 3:3 (NKJV)

Now, if anyone is enfolded into Christ, he has become an entirely new creation. All that is related to the old order has vanished. Behold, everything is fresh and new.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (TPT)

Moving on, the following lyrics from the longer version of the Chorus, I believe, is the very heart of the song as it deals with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit which goes as follows – So come now, Lord resurrect us, In Your power, Fill us afresh, And here now, Pour out Your Spirit again, So come now, Lord resurrect us, In Your power, Fill us afresh, And here now, Pour out Your Spirit again, Pour out Your Spirit.

Let’s get straight to the point here…the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is real and here are the holy scriptures that confirm it is indeed true…

And it shall come to pass afterward

That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;

Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

Your old men shall dream dreams,

Your young men shall see visions.

And also on My menservants and on My maidservants

I will pour out My Spirit in those days.

Joel 2: 28-29 (NKJV)

And it shall come to pass

That whoever calls on the name of the Lord

Shall be saved.

For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance,

As the Lord has said,

Among the remnant whom the Lord calls.

Joel 2:32 (NKJV)

For I will pour water on the thirsty land

And streams on the dry ground;

I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring,

And My blessing on your descendants;

Isaiah 44:3 (NASB)

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)

But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God,

That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;

Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

Your young men shall see visions,

Your old men shall dream dreams.

And on My menservants and on My maidservants

I will pour out My Spirit in those days;

And they shall prophesy.

I will show wonders in heaven above

And signs in the earth beneath:

Blood and fire and vapor of smoke.

The sun shall be turned into darkness,

And the moon into blood,

Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.

And it shall come to pass

That whoever calls on the name of the Lord

Shall be saved.’

Acts 2:16-21 (NKJV)

“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; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.”

John 14:15-17 (NKJV)

In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,

Ephesians 1:13 (NKJV)

As seen in the above verses, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit was prophesied in the Old Testament by the prophets Joel and Isaiah. The Old Testament prophecies got fulfilled within the New Testament on the Day of Pentecost and the apostle Paul, in front of many people, confirmed that the prophecy of Joel was fulfilled. By believing in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we get saved and allow the Holy Spirit to occupy our hearts. Jesus Himself referred to the Holy Spirit as the Helper from the Heavenly Father, and the Spirit of Truth. Getting saved (born again) makes us children of God and as such we must allow ourselves to be led by the Holy Spirit, let Him guide us, reform us, restore us, prosper us and ensure we each have a personal relationship with the Lord. Along the way, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit for us manifests and becomes clearly true.

Going back to the lyrics in the longer chorus, I believe that the line Pour out Your Spirit again is about urging the Holy Spirit to make its presence felt not only for faithful Christians who continue to pursue the Lord but also to those who are still lost and unsaved which our screwed-up world is so full of. It should be noted that there are also Christians who, unfortunately, backslid and lost faith due to circumstances (example: the current pandemic that brought down societies and economies worldwide) at a time when their faith was not strong enough nor refined enough.

That being said, I believe the song Great Outpouring can help deepen the faith of the faithful ones while also working as an invitation to the lost and unsaved souls who have not realized that they can stop suffering by becoming born again and submitting themselves to the Lord for true reform. I assure all of you reading this that there are still lots of people who did not accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior because of religion, unbelief, idolatry (which is truly unholy), traditions, rituals, homosexuality, anarchy, terrorism, socialism, Communism, racism, Leftism, feminism, corruption, immorality, critical race theory, rebellion, political correctness, anti-Semitism, dishonesty and other negative elements used by Satan all over the world. There are lots of people who remain lost and unsaved because of their failure to have true fellowship with the Lord, because they did not believe nor prioritized the Word of God (the Holy Bible), because they allowed themselves to be consumed by evil forces in this world, and because they embraced religion or unbelief instead of getting into a relationship with the Heavenly Father, His Son Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Obviously, the lost and unsaved souls have not realized the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and they can have it by simply deciding to submit themselves to the Lord. That being said, we Christians should keep on persevering with praying for the lost and unsaved souls, and help them realize God’s Word is always true. Again, the song Great Outpouring can be used to reach out to the lost and unsaved souls around us.

Musically, Great Outpouring is indeed beautiful to listen to and, more importantly, its lyrics are truly holy. I believe that Planetshakers’ music team were led by the Holy Spirit in composing the song and formulating its music before officially recording it. Take note of the following lines from different parts of the lyrics – Let churches be filled again (Bridge 2), The flame of Your fire again I receive it (Bridge 1), There’s a stirring, Things are moving (Verse 2) – and you should see that they are all based on the Holy Bible.

When it comes to playing Great Outpouring at church during Sunday worship service, I would suggest to church music teams/bands to consider playing the song as the conclusion if they want to set solemnity with the church attendees after playing the more energetic songs during the early part of the musical performance. Planetshakers’ Great Outpouring is highly recommended!

In conclusion, posted below is the official music video of Great Outpouring performed by Planetshakers. While listening to it, remember to be faithful and thankful to the Lord. Always remember to realize the good life from the Lord, practice Christian habits , get yourself planted in a local church (be led by Him) and remember the truth that He rewards the faithful abundantly. Continue to be people of the Word and keep on being 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.

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

Why You Must Stay Planted in a Local Church

Why You Must Stay Planted in a Local Church

carlocarrasco

Welcome back, fellow Christians and the seekers of Lord Jesus! Previously, I wrote about why one must be planted in a local church and why church hopping does not help. For one thing, the Lord always has a plan for each and every one of us who are His children, and that includes getting planted in a local church. It is the Lord we must prioritize when it comes to being planted in a local church and surely He knows best! Let’s start with a few scriptures from the Holy Bible below…

For they are transplanted to the Lord’s own house. They flourish in the courts of our God.

Psalm 92:13 (NLT)

Trust in the Lord completely, and do not rely on your own opinions. With all your heart rely on him to guide you, and he will lead you in every decision you make. Become intimate with him in whatever you do, and he will lead you wherever you go.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (TPT)

For this article, I will emphasize more as to why you must stay planted in a local church led by the direction of the Holy Spirit. For those who just got planted by the Lord in a local church in recent times, let me discuss more about being planted.

The terms plant, planting, and planted relate to God’s garden in the Book of Genesis. Physically, a garden is composed of many natural things, most notably plants of varied species from the grass to flowers, to the trees. Of course, in order to establish those, planting must be done (in the case of God, His vast power goes beyond what mortal people could do). It should be noted that God placed Adam in His garden with a true purpose and with His trust. Read the holy scripture below…

The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed.

Genesis 2:8 (NKJV)

Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.

Genesis 2:15 (NKJV)

In relation to what the Heavenly Father did with Adam and the garden, following His direction on getting yourself planted in a local church always comes with good intentions and benefits for your dedication and worship of Him. The church is not merely a building for worship and certainly not a corrupted religious hierarchy, rather it is a community of God’s faithful children who follow His Word, live by His Word and worship Him in multiple ways. If you are already a child of God (note: read Lord Jesus’ words about getting born again in John 3:3), then you have been anointed and are righteous. That being said, you should have been planted already in a local church (you should have lots of spiritual brothers and sisters by now) and you certainly keep staying planted. Learn from the following scripture below (with a specific line in bold)…

The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those who are planted in the house of the Lord Shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing, To declare that the Lord is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

Psalm 92:12-15 (NKJV)

So why stay planted in a local church that God told you to join before? As seen in the above scripture, those who are planted in a place of worship as well as in a community of His other children (your spiritual siblings) shall flourish. You certainly would not want to miss out on that! You certainly do not want to live a troubled life, live with uncertainty and find yourself falling into poverty.

In addition, staying planted is essential because God knows where you are planted in. As I mentioned in my previous article, doing church hopping (moving from one church to another like a nomad) is a waste and your worship gets reduced into a ritual or a tradition. When God tells you to join a local church and stay there until He announces something new for you, you simply follow Him. There are indeed benefits with staying planted and enduring worship of our Lord with other church members that you will get to know.

While staying planted, you will want to align yourself in something strong as Lord Jesus builds up His church. The church is undoubtedly the safest place in the last days. That being said, it is destiny for you to commit yourself when God calls you to be planted. Learn from the scripture below…

But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased.

1 Corinthians 12:18 (NKJV)

When you stay planted, you need not worry at all. This is because God knows the best and suitable environment for you. You must allow yourself to accept His planting of you, similar to how certain plants acclimatize in a new location. Anyone who studied plant species, soil, the environment, harvesting and gardening can point out for you what containers, what type of soil and how much water are needed for specific types of plants. Our Heavenly Father knows everything and when He prepares something for you, you only need to have faith in His plan for you. You can easily trust Him and accept His plan or instruction for you without hesitation! Learn from the next scripture below…

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV)

Knowing that you can always trust the Lord and follow whatever He plans for you, you can always move forward with pure certainty that you will flourish when you stay planted in the local church He wanted you to be part of. To make things clear, flourishing does not happen instantly but you can always believe that God’s timing is always reasonable and His plan or promise for you manifests, the outcome is always positive and worth the wait! Flourishing takes time similar to how plants sprout and grow before producing crops or beautiful leaves or produce pollen, and the like.

That being said, you also have the luxury of time to get to know more of the pastor of your local church, keep tithing at least 10% of what you make, interact and pray more with other members of the church, take part in the local bible study activities or the local prayer groups, etc. As you keep pursuing the Lord while staying planted in the local church, you should have no trouble with being patient. You should not worry at all, nor be distracted by the enemy and his pawns. The local church has God’s presence after all. Learn from the following scripture…

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you at the proper time, having cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares about you.

1 Peter 5:6-7 (NASB)

With the Heavenly Father’s love, care, protection and blessing for you established when you stay planted in the local church He chose for you, you will bear fruit! You will mature more spiritually as you keep pursuing Him and live with His Word! As you grow, you will also learn from Him what unnecessary elements you need to let go of in order to keep progressing more and keep moving forward on the path with Him. Learn from what Lord Jesus said in the scripture below…

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.”

John 15:1-7 (NKJV)

The very powerful words of our Lord and Savior Jesus in the above scripture clearly emphasize that cutting by God needs to be done which will lead to new growth. Once again, the parallels between Lord Jesus being the true vine and plants of the physical world are clear. Look at plants near your place. By looking closely, you should find plants that have some parts that bore fruit and other parts that did not. With regards to faith, we need to maintain ourselves in accordance to what the Lord requires so we can keep on growing spiritually, become stronger as Christians and become more edified (as we live by His Word). Whatever weak parts or weaknesses you have as a Christian right now, you must tell it to the Lord immediately and let Him help you so you can keep on growing in faith and eventually getting edified! Learn from the scripture below…

And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,

Ephesians 4:11-12 (NKJV)

The above scripture is in reference to the spiritual gifts from the Lord given to His children whose individual purposes He knows best. Some members of your local church will be chosen by God to become a pastor, or an evangelist or teachers of Christianity in the years to come. As for me, I got born again in 2018 and as I kept pursuing the Lord by absorbing His Word and living by it, I am now a preacher. What further plans God has for me, I will soon find out. Going back to the above scripture, verse 12 had the word “equipping” which, in its Greek form, implies a recovered wholeness as when a broken limb is set and mends, and also a discovered function as when a physical member is properly operating.

Furthermore, take note that the work of ministry is the enterprise of each member of the body of Christ and not the exclusive charge of select leaders. That being said, verses 11 and 12 reveal the task of the gifted leader is to cultivate the individual and corporate ministries of those he or she leads. When it comes to staying planted in the local church the Lord wanted for you, Ephesians 4:11-12 makes clear sense!  

By staying planted in the local church, you will realize your purpose under the Lord through the community that you and many others are part of. This should remind you, once again, that church hopping is not only wasteful, it will also prevent you from realizing your role in the local church. You certainly do not want to miss out on what God has planned for you which can only be realized after you get planted and keep on staying planted in the local church. Ultimately, the Christian is not to be alone and he/she carries the spiritual family role and has responsibilities to live up to under the Lord. Remember, being part of the local church also means you are part of the church of Lord Jesus, God the Heavenly Father and the Holy Spirit. Stay planted and progress with the Lord!

From this point on, I would like to reach out to the lost and the unsaved people reading this. Are you frustrated with religion? Have you been living in bondage for too long? Did the non-believers fool you and abused you? Were you victimized by a religious fanatic? 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 used religion and unbelief to prevent people from being saved by the Lord.

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 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. 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.

The Holy Bible is the ultimate authority and nothing else comes close. The Holy Bible 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. Living as a Christian is always about the personal relationship with the Lord, and it is certainly not about religion.

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! 

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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. 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

For your Christmas 2020 season viewing and your faith in Lord Jesus

For your Christmas 2020 season viewing and your faith in Lord Jesus

carlocarrasco

Welcome back and Merry Christmas to all my fellow Christians! I pray that all of you had happy celebrations of Christmas with your families and local communities the past two days even though we are all enduring a pandemic. With Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are protected by Him and will always be blessed as long as we always honor and worship Him.

I want to share here specific online events and presentations that are focused on Christmas, God’s Word and Lord Jesus. In case you missed these events, you can still view them via YouTube right here!

The first I want you to pay attention to is Yugto, an online Christmas Eve special event that was successfully broadcast online via the Facebook page and YouTube channel of Church of God, World Missions Philippines.

Yugto has high-quality production values and its presentation was professionally done. You will see the megachurch’s musicians perform Christmas song with interviews of a number of individuals who testified how they were challenged by the pandemic and still maintained strong faith in the Lord who never abandoned them. The testimonies are very moving and they will remind you how caring and loving our Lord truly is. The national overseer of COGWMPH Dr. Anthony Velasco also appeared and stated some things that will interest you. That being said, I recommend you watch Yugto below.

Next, is the Christmas Day special event of Hillsong Church with senior pastors Brian and Bobbie Houston leading the service. Musical performances by Hillsong Worship are also included. What I find very interesting is the presentation opening with varied people from the different Hillsong churches around the world participating. I recommend watching it all below.

Last but not least, I am sharing below the video of New Life Philippines Christmas Eve worship service which I personally attended at their church in Alabang Hills Village, Muntinlupa City. Pastor Jocel Evangelista delivered another strong teaching of the Word of God in relation to Christmas. Also included was the video message by New Life co-founders Paul and Shoddy Chase. I recommend watching the worship service below.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=YNSjekqEWXE

As Christians, we should all be thankful to God that we have Christian churches around the world that actively teach His Word as people celebrate Christmas. Be aware that there are many unsaved and lost souls around us who only look at Christmas as a time of feasting, a time of receiving gifts and a time of taking vacations without focusing on Lord Jesus. We are blessed by the Lord to be reminded of prioritizing Lord Jesus no matter what happens and no matter how we celebrate Christmas. Christmas is truly all about Lord Jesus!

In ending this, I’m posting below the holy scripture of Isaiah 9:6-7 from The Passion Translation of the Holy Bible for your faith in the Lord. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all and remember to keep on being the fearless and aggressive church of Lord Jesus!

A child has been born for us; a son has been given to us. The responsibility of complete dominion will rest on his shoulders, and his name will be: The Wonderful One! The Extraordinary Strategist! The Mighty God! The Father of Eternity! The Prince of Peace!

Great and vast is his dominion. He will bring immeasurable peace and prosperity. He will rule on David’s throne and over David’s kingdom to establish and uphold it by promoting justice and righteousness from this time forward and forevermore. The marvelous passion that the Lord Yahweh, Commander of Angel Armies, has for his people will ensure that it is finished!

Isaiah 9:6-7 (TPT)

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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.

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

What to watch today for Christmas

What to watch today for Christmas

carlocarrasco

Merry Christmas to all of you my readers and my fellow Christians! We honor and remember our Lord and Savior Jesus whose birth, life, sacrifice and resurrection remains highly significant to this day. It is during the Christmas season we should focus mainly on Lord Jesus and not allow ourselves to be distracted by the elements of this screwed-up world we live in. Christmas is all about Lord Jesus, nothing else and nobody else!

That being said, it is time for us all to take the opportunities of today to deepen our faith in the Lord and this is about what to watch this Christmas.

No, I am not talking about the venomous Hollywood movies that pretend to be about Christmas, nor those movies that used Christmas as a backdrop or a setting. In fact, I am not talking about movies at all.

What I am talking about are Christ-centered events and presentations that we can find online and easily access. For starters, we can warm up ourselves with the many Christmas musical performances by Hillsong Worship and a few from Planetshakers below.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=TjMpAjfIPT8
https://youtube.com/watch?v=d2iEjt92q_U

Now we can focus on upcoming Christmas events. In fact, a few of them will happen today – December 24, hours from now to be precise! Let’s start with Hope Unlimited Church (HopeUC) and its Christmas Eve service which will start live streaming via YouTube today at 2:45 PM Manila Time (5:45 PM in Australia). For the newcomers reading this, HopeUC is headed by the famous pastor Darlene Zschech and her husband Mark.

Next is the Christmas Eve service of Hillsong Church which will start live streaming via YouTube at 3PM Manila time (6PM in Australia) today. Expect to see Brian and Bobbie Houston.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=dyAq3Q7fip0

Tomorrow, Hillsong Church will have its Christmas Day service. It will start live streaming via YouTube at 6:30 AM Manila time (9:30 AM in Australia).

Another Christmas Eve event you should pay attention to is Yugto, to be organized and presented by Church of God, World Missions Philippines. This special event will start streaming live via the megachurch’s Facebook page and its YouTube channel tonight at 10PM in the Philippines (1AM of December 25 in Australia).

Each of the scheduled Christmas special events of HopeUC, Hillsong and Church of God, World Missions Philippines will include teachings of the Word of God, musical presentations, prayers and other special activities that viewers can focus on and deepen their faith in Lord Jesus.

In ending this, posted below are YouTube videos of the recent Christmas-related events that you might have missed. Enjoy them and remember to take steps when you want to deepen your faith in the Lord. Merry Christmas to you all and remember to keep on being the fearless and aggressive church of Lord Jesus!

https://youtube.com/watch?v=q21SA_n8Y4M
https://youtube.com/watch?v=CI0PsFl88uM

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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.

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: Shout of the King

Christian Music Appreciation: Shout of the King

carlocarrasco

Welcome back fellow Christians and music enthusiasts. In this latest edition of my Christian Music Appreciation (CMA) series, we will take a close look at another Hillsong worship song that was greatly performed by pastor Darlene Zschech during her time with them. That song is titled Shout of the King.

Shout of the King was released as part of the 2002 album Blessed by Hillsong Music. The song’s words and music were done by Ned Davies. The album itself was a strong seller peaking at #4 on the ARIA Albums Chart.

Now that the details have been laid down, we can take a close look at Shout of the King starting with its lyrics and followed by an examination of the holiness of the lyrics in connection with the Holy Bible…

Lyrics

Verse 1

I give You praise for You deserve it

I give You praise for what You’ve done

I give You praise for You are able

I give You praise ’til I overcome

–

Verse 2

I give You praise when the sun is shining

I give You praise in the dark of night

I give You praise when the battle rages

I give You praise ’til it works out right

–

Chorus

The shout of the King is among us

God lives here in our praises

The shout of the King is among us

Praise Him

Praise Him

Praise Him in everything

–

Bridge

Heaven opens as we sing Your praise

Angels join us as we praise Your name

–

End Tag:

Praise Him

Praise Him

Praise Him

Praise Him in everything

As you can clearly see, the word praise is often present throughout the lyrics from Verse all the way to the end. There are many expressions of the words praise as the song went on. Praise related to why the Lord deserves it all, praise in times of challenges or good times, praise for the name of the Lord and so on. The Holy Bible itself has lots of scriptures about praising God and here are some I found for you all.

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)

Therefore I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the Gentiles, And sing praises to Your name.

2 Samuel 22:50 (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)

“God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

John 4:24 (NKJV)

At this point, we can start examining parts of the lyrics and search for their relevance to the Holy Bible starting with: I give You praise for You deserve it, I give You praise for what You’ve done, I give You praise for You are able, I give You praise ’til I overcome.

As it is already made clear in the Holy Bible, we would never have existed without God. He is the definitive creator of all life, the worlds, the universe and all the universes we have yet to discover. We Christians are mandated to praise Him, give thanks to Him and help Him spread His Word in this divided world we live in surrounded by many souls that are lost and unsaved. This is the truth that Satan does not want you to realize which explains why he uses tools to separate people from God like Communism, Marxism, political correctness, terrorism, anarchy, homosexuality, sexual immorality, feminism, idolatry, wokeness, covetousness, traditions, rituals, liberalism, abortion, social division, social justice (distorted justice), secularism, religion, atheism, socialism, racism, immorality and more. In other words, the enemy will do anything to prevent people from realizing their relationship with the Lord and stop them from praising Him. Satan does not want you to know that God is deserving, God’s creations and achievements can never be matched, God is able for He is omnipotent, and we His children who know the truth will keep praising Him not only while living in the flesh but eternally when we join Him in Heaven. By being faithful and edified under the Lord, we the children of God can easily resist Satan and make him walk away from us completely rejected and defeated Learn from the following scriptures below…

You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.

Revelation 4:11 (NKJV)

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 pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both of which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. In Him, we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.

Ephesians 1:7-12 (NKJV)

Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only shall you serve.”

Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

Matthew 4:10-11 (NKJV)

As seen in the above scriptures, God’s authority is unquestionable and untainted. In fact, His authority stands very tall permanently for He is just, loving, caring and fully moral as our source and creator. God is the Heavenly Father and Satan knows that when we are with the Lord, he will never be able to bring us down. Satan hates it when we know the truth of God’s Word and are edified under Him. Satan hates it when we follow Lord Jesus who Himself defeated the enemy more than once, and each victory proved to be significant forever. Lord Jesus redeemed humanity which sealed Satan’s permanent status as a loser and reversed the fall of humanity that Adam caused. The Lord is worthy of all our praise. Satan deserves nothing at all.

Next lines from the lyrics to analyze are as follows: The shout of the King is among us, God lives here in our praises. When the Lord talks to us, we should really listen. When He shouts, we definitely should focus on Him and respond accordingly. Learn from the holy scriptures below…

God has gone up with a shout, The Lord with the sound of a trumpet. Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises!

Psalm 47:5-6 (NKJV)

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.

1 Thessalonians 4:16 (NKJV)

Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.”

Revelation 12:10 (NKJV)

The LORD shall go forth like a mighty 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)

So there you have it! Shout of the King is indeed a very holy song with an uncompromising focus on praising our Lord. Its lyrics really connect with the Holy Bible a lot. Musically, Shout of the King is one of the more energetic songs I saw Darlene Zschech led when she was still with Hillsong’s musicians. The drums, the electric guitars and the trumpets used combined with the great vocals by Hillsong in performances led by Zschech really made the song very upbeat from start to finish. So energetic and holy it is, Shout of the Lord is ideal to play to really stir up Christians attending Sunday worship services or a special worship event. This song is highly recommended!

In conclusion, posted below is the official Hillsong Worship performance video from the 2000s. Enjoy the song, enjoy Darlene Zschech’s lead and always be faithful and thankful to the Lord. Anticipate His voice and His shout. Always remember to realize the good life from the Lord, practice Christian habits , get yourself planted in a local church (be led by Him) and remember the truth that He rewards the faithful abundantly. 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.

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 Habits (Part 2)

Christian Habits (Part 2)

carlocarrasco

Welcome back, my fellow faithful Christians. We are about to have another series of biblical lessons now. Today, I am about to continue the topic of the Christian habits we need to develop so that each of us can remain strong in faith with the Lord, be guided accordingly and keep on moving in the same path with God. Christian habits are necessary for us because they will keep us strong, protected and victorious under God who is watching us.

Previously, the Christian habits discussed were as follows: Prioritizing God and His Word, building up your faith, and speaking the Word of God. All the details for each of these habits are available for your reading in the past article published October 28, 2020.

With the recap done, we can now proceed on the next Christian habit.

Christian Habit – Control your thought life

Remember when you were told to guard your mind and control what you think about? Such important are lessons are very true for us Christians but the difference is that the stakes are much higher because we are children of God and we have responsibilities to live up to.

The stakes are higher not because there are so many bad elements and distractions all around us. It is because Satan is persistent to ruin us through our thoughts by using deception on us and exploiting our human weaknesses. Although the stakes are higher, it certainly is not impossible for us to get edified with God’s Word and live with totally solid faith in the Lord which includes controlling our thought lives. As Christians, we don’t just control what we think about, we also focus on the Lord, remember the victory of Lord Jesus and live with it. To learn more, let’s look at the holy scripture below…

“This Book of Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”

Joshua 1:8 (NKJV)

The above scripture emphasizes that meditating on God’s Word is essential and that includes learning all the holy lessons and implementing them on your daily life. That being said, dedication and uncompromised focus on God’s Word will help you guard your thoughts no matter what happens around. Satan can try to bring you down by tempting you with riches or sex, or he can try to spark your anger to spread negativity around, or mess with your dreams with wicked visions, or manipulate you to worship idols which is a very unholy thing to do. The enemy will also try to deceive you into believing that prosperity from God is false, poverty is good and money is inherently evil. Satan will attack you with thoughts to prevent you from realizing the good life from the Lord and prevent you from getting planted in a local church chosen by God for you. Do not be surprised that the enemy will try to make you think about embracing Leftism, Communism, socialism, Marxism, homosexuality, atheism, abortion, religion, idolatry, traditions, rituals, secularism and other forms of evil just to set you apart from God. I should state that Satan loves to use worldly beings like fake news makers, Leftist activists and politicians, anarchists, terrorists, secularists, abusive publishers, irresponsible journalists, idolaters, atheists, religion-led hierarchies and wicked people to bring down Christians and keep misleading the many unsaved and lost souls to cause chaos.

That being said, do not despair because with God, you will be protected, get guided and be built up to be a very strong and uncompromising Christian. With the Lord, nothing is impossible! By having unwavering faith and living with God’s Word, your thoughts can be protected and, more notably, you can resist and reject Satan. Once you are edified, you can defeat Satan and make him walk away the loser he has always been.

Meditating with the words of the Lord can help you strengthen your soul and build up the defense of your mind. Remember always that thoughts really affect the words you speak, your physical and mental health, your joy and peace. Meditation will help you get rid of the negativity in your mind, and it also helps you to always open your heart to the Lord and have fellowship with him wholeheartedly. Now we can go to the next scripture…

casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:5 (NKJV)

The key word above is obedience as it signifies attentive hearing, to listen with compliant submission, assent and agreement. Obedience is essential for you to obey the commands of God and being obedient to Lord Jesus. With regards to controlling your thought life, healing will happen when you renew your mind with God. His Word is required and you need to believe in it to receive divine healing from Him.

Along the way, you must control your thoughts to strongly focus and believe in God. Declare God’s Word by speaking from your heart. Back to your mind, never let your thoughts be unanswered. If there are any thoughts that bother you because they go against God’s Word, answer them by standing up with Him. This also means avoiding focusing on negativity and anything that Satan attacks you with. Don’t let your guard down, be very strong and vigilant with your faith in God. Always focus on Him.

Christian Habit – Anchor your heart through praise

Praise is to commend, to praise, to adore and to glorify. For us Christians, we praise only God the Heavenly Father, His Son Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit. By praising, we as God’s creations and children should also do it by heart (wholeheartedly). There is joy in fellowship with the Lord as seen in the holy scripture below…

O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water. So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory. Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You. Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.

Psalm 63:1-4 (NKJV)

As I learned from a local pastor who is totally edified under the Lord, praising is the highest form of prayer. Praise is also a language of faith. Singing is one way of praising our Heavenly Father, His Son Jesus our Lord and the Holy Spirit. In Hillsong Worship’s song King of Kings, there are notable lyrics emphasizing praise that go as follows: Praise the Father, Praise the Son, Praise the Spirit, Three in one.

More on praise, learn from the following holy scripture below…

I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

Psalm 34:1 (NKJV)

The above scripture is about the singing of praise is to be continual. Praise in the scripture refers to a hymn of praise or the singing spontaneous praise to God (refer to Psalm 40:3). You sing and make melody in your heart to Him. With a heart filled with praise, it will find expression in songs and words being spoken and really overflowing from our mouths.

More on anchoring our hearts through praise, learn from what Lord Jesus said in the holy scripture below…

“Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you praise, believe that you will receive them, and you will have them.”

Mark 11:24 (NKJV)

Through hyperbole, Lord Jesus stressed how essential and truly powerful faith is. This also involves our hearts. No matter how great or how disastrous your situation is right now, keep on being very faithful to Him, keep on praising Him and never back down! Being a strong Christian also means being fluent with praise, and you must remember this permanently. Here’s another holy scripture to learn from…

Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Psalm 103:1-6 (NKJV)

As seen in the above scripture, praising the Lord is essential! God is truly merciful and forgives us. God is loving and caring for us – His children and creations – He saves us and heals us inside out upon submitting to Him and getting born again. After all of these holy teachings, it is clear that you must make a habit of anchoring your heart through praise!

Christian Habit – Praying in the spirit

Praying in the spirit is essential. Let’s start with the holy scripture below…

But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,

Jude 1:20 (NKJV)

Praying in the holy spirit is vital for spiritual growth. Such praying includes praying in tongues (note: for deeper understanding read Chapters 1 to 10 of the Book of Acts, plus 1 Corinthians 14:4 and verse 14) which truly helps in building yourself up spiritually. Praying in tongues, which I included in my faith article about being in the privacy of your room for fellowship with God, is the doorway to the supernatural, and it allows you to go above the natural. Praying in tongues clears up the path ahead of you and help lead you to wisdom, revelation and encouragement. By praying in tongues, the Holy Spirit will move and fulfill God’s will for you. The truth is undeniable as you can see in the following holy scriptures below (note: key phrases in bold for emphasis)…

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

Acts 2:1-4 (NKJV)

He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophecies edifies the church.

1 Corinthians 14:4 (NKJV)

For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful.

1 Corinthians 14:14 (NKJV)

Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.

Acts 2:11 (NKJV)

For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries.

1 Corinthians 14:2 (NKJV)

But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory.

1 Corinthians 2:7 (NKJV)

For with stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people, To whom He said, “This is the rest with which You may cause the weary to rest,” And, “This is the refreshing”, Yet they would not hear.

Isaiah 28:11-12 (NKJV)

The above scriptures are all related and connected. Praying in tongues is indeed praying in the spirit and the Holy Bible explains why we use a language (note: praying in tongues is done by using random syllables) others cannot understand but we are assured God hears us and understands us correctly. That being said, we should not ignore the signs of communication to us by the Holy Spirit. We should follow the lead of the Holy Spirit and you can learn from this scripture below…

Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

Romans 8:26 (NKJV)

Christian Habit – Get rid of baggage

In this topic, baggage refers not to physical baggage but varied elements that set you back emotionally and spiritually. I’m talking about human factors influenced by this screwed-up world filled by many, many unsaved and lost souls. The types of baggage that set people back include unforgiveness, fear, anxiety, stress, sin, jealousy, unbelief, homosexuality, lust, envy, idolatry, pride, dishonesty and worry. I assure you that NONE of them should be part of your Christianity as all of them are not only human and worldly, but are also tools of Satan to set Christians back and separate them from God.

That being said, always remember that Lord Jesus paid the price to redeem us all so that we live on with His victory. As God’s children who got born again, we must always be very strong, edified, fearless, compassionate, loving, caring and aggressive members of the Body of Christ! You have problems, come to the Lord directly! You can get rid of baggage by learning from Lord Jesus in the holy scriptures below plus the scripture about the armor of God…

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)

“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)

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)

We Christians all have a race of faith to complete. In sports terms, foot-based racing involves generating a lot of speed and maintaining stamina to ensure you finish the race. In the sport of triathlon, you need to have speed, stamina, strength and carrying no heavy weight (baggage) to ensure you complete the swim, bike and run stages that the event is composed of. Going back to Christianity, baggage that set you back with your faith in God should absolutely be removed pronto and without hesitation! Your race in faith is essential! Learn from this final scripture below in the New King James Version and the Passion Translation with key parts in bold for emphasis…

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12:1-2 (NKJV)

As for us, we have all of these great witnesses who encircle us like clouds. So we must let go of every wound that has pierced us and the sin we so easily fall into. Then we will be able to run life’s marathon race[d with passion and determination, for the path has been already marked out before us.

We look away from the natural realm and we fasten our gaze onto Jesus who birthed faith within us and who leads us forward into faith’s perfection. His example is this: Because his heart was focused on the joy of knowing that you would be his, he endured the agony of the cross and conquered its humiliation, and now sits exalted at the right hand of the throne of God!

Hebrews 12:1-2 (TPT)

So there you have it! This completes my current two-part teaching about Christian habits each of us must do as we live by God’s Word (the Holy Bible) and continue to pursue the Lord for holiness, enlightenment and guidance. We are truly the Body of Christ. Right now, the seven Christian habits discussed as a whole set are: Prioritizing God and His Word, building up your faith, speaking the Word of God, control your thought life, anchor your heart through praise, praying in the spirit, and get rid of baggage.

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 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 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 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. His return is what we must always remember and keep living with holiness under the watch of God.

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! 

https://youtube.com/watch?v=n4XWfwLHeLM

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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. 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

Be in Your Room with the Door Shut and Pray to the Lord Wholeheartedly

Be in Your Room with the Door Shut and Pray to the Lord Wholeheartedly

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Praying to the Lord is truly sacred and honorable. Prayer is an extension of having faith in the Lord and maintaining the personal relationship with Him. That being said, prayer is more than just a form of communication with Him…it is your personal time together with the Lord and it should never be disregarded nor compromised!

I pray every day and I always pray to God wholeheartedly in the privacy of my room here at home with the door closed and locked (which I normally do) for it is clearly written in Matthew 6:6-8 in the Holy Bible. Knowing that idolatry is truly unholy, there are no images, no statues, no statuettes and no relics in my room that detract me from the Lord. Definitely there is no display of religion as well! What I always have with me is the Holy Bible (the Word of God) and when I pray, I reach out to Him wholeheartedly and acknowledge the presence of the Lord who is also watching me and listening to me. Praying in tongues to Him is also part of the process. These I urge you, my readers, to be aware of and you are always free to decide when to pray to Him in your respective rooms and available time. When you pray to God, you must do it in an honest and sincere manner.

Right now, we can examine the holy scripture of Matthew 6:6-8 in the New King James Version of the Holy Bible. These are words of Lord Jesus and are part of the Model Prayer He taught long ago.

“But 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 you in secret will reward you openly. 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. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.”

Matthew 6:6-8 (NKJV)

Lord Jesus’ words are very clear when it comes to praying to God with the right place (note: physical location) that ensures you have a controlled local surrounding that is not only completely private but protects you from disturbances from outside. The secret place referred to in verse 6 is none other than our hearts where the Holy Spirit dwells in since the day we got born again. Our hearts are also where our believing happens.  As such, the secret place is not to be confused with the closed room we pray in.

The Lord is pleased when you prepare yourself to reach out to Him. This includes making time for Him, isolating yourself to be with Him and prioritizing your relationship with Him. As such, these actions are ways of honoring God. While it is true that we, His children, must converge as a spiritual family to worship Him as His church on Sundays, each of us (as individuals) still must prepare ourselves to be with Him more personally (individually) and privately. In other words, praying to the Lord should not be limited at all. Believe in Him and pray to Him, and He will reward you in return. Also remember that when you have fellowship with God, always be ready to quickly listen to Him, go where He tells you to go to, speak His Word to others when He orders you to do, and accomplish whatever He tells you to do. He is our Heavenly Father and with the Holy Spirit in our hearts, we will be blessed, guided and protected always. As such, always treasure your time with the Lord.

In verse 7, the vain repetitions done by the others (the heathen) Lord Jesus referred to are the empty babblings and long prayers that confuse meaningless verbosity with piety. To put things in perspective, Lord Jesus actually teaches that we must always have focused prayers that truly acknowledge God’s needed reign in every facet of life and society. As His children, we are not supposed to pray like the others who do not truly know the Lord. Those others are wasting their lives with their belief that God will hear them only because of their repetitions and excessive words used in praying to Him. I should also state that praying in tongues (which means praying in the Spirit to Him) is itself a method that also prevents vain repetitions.

Moving on to verse 8, Lord Jesus said that we should not be like them. Praying to the Lord should always be by faith and by heart. It’s not supposed to be hypocritical and pretentious. To put things in perspective with regards to biblical times, Lord Jesus wanted to free people from the pretentious practices of piety of the Pharisees.

For additional faith-based learning you might seek, posted below are the Passion Translation and the New Living Translation of Matthew 6:6-8.

“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 those who don’t know God 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.”

Matthew 6:6-8 (TPT)

“But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!”

Matthew 6:6-8 (NLT)

As it is clear in Christianity, faith is really done by the heart, not the brain. When we pray to God, it is by heart and not by rituals and certainly not by traditions. Prayer itself is an attitude of the heart! Whenever we look up to Him, we do it wholeheartedly and sincerely! And when we deepen our personal relationship with Him by means of prayer, we must have a private place to have fellowship with Him. This is why as a spiritual family, we gather together as one church on worshiping Him on Sundays and during prayer group sessions or bible studies. Between Sunday worship services and the mentioned activities, we have opportunities to individually have fellowship with Him. This means only you and the Lord having precious time together in private! Remember, the secret place is your heart where the Holy Spirit dwells.

Now that this bible lesson is done, 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 below 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. 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. Since then, Lord Jesus ascended to Heaven and He promised to return in the future.

In ending this, here are some Christian worship 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.

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: All

Christian Music Appreciation: All

carlocarrasco

While I witnessed Planetshakers perform live here in the Philippines as part of Jesus Global Youth Day in 2019, I was unable to watch them during their live performance (also here in the Philippines) this past January.

As it turned out, a whole lot of Filipinos bought tickets and attended the January 2020 event with Planetshakers performing great music and leading them to worshiping the Lord. No less than pastor Sam Evans was there. Among the many songs they performed, I noticed one new song that was not only beautiful but also holy. That song was simply titled All.

The song All performed by the anointed musicians of Planetshakers was commercially released as part of their album Glory Part Two.

To start with, here are the lyrics.

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I want to, to know You

I want to hear Your voice

You are my, desire

I want to be so close

–

Close To You

–

I tune in, to listen

To hear You speak to me

I reach out, believing

That You are all I need

–

All my attention

Is set on You now

You are the centre

–

Jesus all, all

All I want is You

And my heart and soul

Is longing just for You

–

You are, You are

Everything to me

You are, You are

Everything to me

–

Your presence, Your power

Your glory’s all I seek

I’m hungry, I’m thirsty

Your love is all I need

–

All my affection

Is set on You now

You are the centre

–

Jesus all, all

All I want is You

And my heart and soul

Is longing just for You

–

Jesus all, all

All I want is You

And my heart and soul

Is longing just for You

–

You are, You are

Everything to me

You are, You are

Everything to me

–

You are the desire

Of our generation

We want You, we need You

Holy Spirit

–

So pour out Your presence

In our generation

All we want is You

–

You are the desire

Of our generation

We want You, we need You

Holy Spirit

–

So pour out Your presence

In our generation

All we want is You

–

Jesus all, all

All I want is You

And my heart and soul

Is longing just for You

–

Jesus all, all

All I want is You

And my heart and soul

Is longing just for You

–

You are, You are

Everything to me

You are, You are

Everything to me

You are, You are

Everything to me

You are, You are

Everything to me

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For biblical relevance, let’s start with the lines Jesus all, all, All I want is You, from the lyrics. Those lines really established the actual meaning of the song’s title. And then there are other lines in the lyrics that relate with it such as You are, You are, Everything to me. The Holy Bible itself has a lot of holy scriptures about wanting Lord Jesus more than anything. We can start with this holy scripture with Lord Jesus’ own words for your reflection.

And everything I’ve taught you is so that the peace which is in me will be in you and will give you great confidence as you rest in me. For in this unbelieving world you will experience trouble and sorrows, but you must be courageous, for I have conquered the world!

John 16: 33 (TPT)

The above holy scripture makes clear that with Jesus, nothing is impossible for us Christians and the Lord will never abandon us nor forsake us. The Lord is not only our reformer, our provider, our defender and our mentor but also the source of genuine peace! These are blessings and miracles that we can only receive from Jesus. For that alone, Lord Jesus is all we want and need for He is everything to us. Never forget that it has always been Jesus who redeemed us from darkness. It was the blood of Jesus that purified us and paved the way into becoming His body! Next scripture…

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

2 Peter 1: 2-4 (NKJV)

In the above scripture, the apostle Peter emphasized that true knowledge is found in the God of Christ and in the holy scriptures recorded in the Holy Bible (the Word of God). By knowing Lord Jesus (God in the flesh as well as His Son), His tremendously great and precious promises become available to those who believe in Him. This includes entrance into Heaven, being part of His body (we the Christians are the church and are part of the spiritual family), getting our inheritance from God and the promised return of Jesus (the Second Coming). Along the way, as noted in the last line of the holy scripture, we the Children of God must always maintain our defense from the wickedness and temptations of the eternal loser Satan. For as long as we are faithful to the Lord, we can always defeat Satan and free the billions of unsaved souls here on Earth to lead them to Jesus. Really, all we want and need is Jesus!

Going back to Planetshakers’ song All, the lines You are, You are, Everything to me as well as Jesus all, all, All I want is You and I want to, to know You, I want to hear Your voice, You are my, desire, I want to be so close make perfect biblical sense for faithful Christians. Truly the writers of the song knew the Word of God, the Holy Spirit, Lord Jesus and God the Father. To say the least, the song is a blessing, produced by Planetshakers people who were anointed by the Lord! All is a song that musicians of Christian churches should consider playing during Sunday worship service!

To end this article, here is the official video of the live performance of All held here in the Philippines during Planetshakers’ January 2020 special event. Enjoy and always keep praising the Lord! Remember that we Christians are the Body of Christ and we are the fearless and aggressive church of Lord Jesus!

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 souls out there.

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

The Model Prayer

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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! 

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