Life by the Spirit

Galatians 5:16-26
So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.

The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

We all have evil desires, and we can't ignore them. In order for us to follow the Holy Spirit's guidance, we must deal with them decisively (crucify them). These desires include obvious sins such as sexual immorality and witchcraft. They also include less obvious sins such as selfish ambition, hatred and jealousy. Those who ignore such sins or refuse to deal with them reveal that they have not received the gift of the Spirit that leads to a transformed life. The fruit of the Spirit is the spontaneous work of the Holy Spirit in us. The Spirit produces these character traits that are found in the nature of Christ. They are the by-products of Christ's control - we can't obtain them by trying to get them without his help. If we want the fruit of the Spirit to grow in us, we must join our lives to his.

John 15
"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me."

We must know him, love him, remember him, and imitate him. As a result, we will fulfill the intended purpose of the law - to love God and our neighbors. In order to accept Christ as Savior, we need to turn from our sins and willingly nail our sinful nature to the cross. This doesn't mean, however, that we will never see traces of its evil desires again. As Christians we still have the capacity to sin, but we have been set free from sin's power over us and no longer have to give in to it. We must daily commit our sinful tendencies to God's control, daily crucify them, and moment by moment draw on the Spirit's power to overcome them.

Galations 6:14
"May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world."

- commentary from NIV Life Application Study Bible

We're getting in on the best!

Here is a good shot of hope for us, who are in the world but not of the world.......

2 Corinthians 4:7 (The Message)

"If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That's to prevent anyone from confusing God's incomparable power with us. As it is, there's not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we're not much to look at. We've been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we're not demoralized; we're not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we've been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn't left our side; we've been thrown down, but we haven't broken. What they did to Jesus, they do to us—trial and torture, mockery and murder; what Jesus did among them, he does in us—he lives! Our lives are at constant risk for Jesus' sake, which makes Jesus' life all the more evident in us. While we're going through the worst, you're getting in on the best!"

Who are you delighted to see?

Wise words from a wise man......Bobby Arnold:

I'd challenge anyone to spend time star gazing and not come away with a greater awe of and trust in God. He simply lays a bit of Himself out before you.

It is like living the below scripture:

Psalm 37:4 - "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart."

ponder this... who are you delighted to see? who makes you smile, or enjoy the moment a bit more. Likely someone with whom you're very familiar. therefore, the more we know about God, stands to reason the more we'll delight in Him.

and therein lies the call to Christians. the more we delight in Him, the more others will see Him in us. suddenly, every victory or defeat becomes an opportunity for His glory to shine in our daily lives.

makes sense, then, that we constantly and consistently immerse ourselves in opportunities to become more familiar with God. some combination of things: star gazing, reading bible, service, prayer, gathering together, etc...

without a doubt such Delight will change us from the inside out, influencing the very desires of our heart.

The Marriage of the Lamb has come.............WOW!!

Revelation 19
The Sound of Hallelujahs
1-3 I heard a sound like massed choirs in Heaven singing, Hallelujah!
The salvation and glory and power are God's—
his judgments true, his judgments just.
He judged the great Whore
who corrupted the earth with her lust.
He avenged on her the blood of his servants.
Then, more singing:
Hallelujah!
The smoke from her burning billows up
to high Heaven forever and ever and ever.

4The Twenty-four Elders and the Four Animals fell to their knees and worshiped God on his Throne, praising,

Amen! Yes! Hallelujah!

5From the Throne came a shout, a command:

Praise our God, all you his servants,
All you who fear him, small and great!

6-8Then I heard the sound of massed choirs, the sound of a mighty cataract, the sound of strong thunder:

Hallelujah!
The Master reigns,
our God, the Sovereign-Strong!
Let us celebrate, let us rejoice,
let us give him the glory!
The Marriage of the Lamb has come;
his Wife has made herself ready.
She was given a bridal gown
of bright and shining linen.
The linen is the righteousness of the saints.

9The Angel said to me, "Write this: 'Blessed are those invited to the Wedding Supper of the Lamb.'" He added, "These are the true words of God!"

10I fell at his feet to worship him, but he wouldn't let me. "Don't do that," he said. "I'm a servant just like you, and like your brothers and sisters who hold to the witness of Jesus. The witness of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."

11-16Then I saw Heaven open wide—and oh! a white horse and its Rider. The Rider, named Faithful and True, judges and makes war in pure righteousness. His eyes are a blaze of fire, on his head many crowns. He has a Name inscribed that's known only to himself. He is dressed in a robe soaked with blood, and he is addressed as "Word of God." The armies of Heaven, mounted on white horses and dressed in dazzling white linen, follow him. A sharp sword comes out of his mouth so he can subdue the nations, then rule them with a rod of iron. He treads the winepress of the raging wrath of God, the Sovereign-Strong. On his robe and thigh is written, King of kings, Lord of lords.

17-18I saw an Angel standing in the sun, shouting to all flying birds in Middle-Heaven, "Come to the Great Supper of God! Feast on the flesh of kings and captains and champions, horses and their riders. Eat your fill of them all—free and slave, small and great!"

19-21I saw the Beast and, assembled with him, earth's kings and their armies, ready to make war against the One on the horse and his army. The Beast was taken, and with him, his puppet, the False Prophet, who used signs to dazzle and deceive those who had taken the mark of the Beast and worshiped his image. They were thrown alive, those two, into Lake Fire and Brimstone. The rest were killed by the sword of the One on the horse, the sword that comes from his mouth. All the birds held a feast on their flesh.

The war is on!

Revelation 12:7-17 (The Message)

7-12War broke out in Heaven. Michael and his Angels fought the Dragon. The Dragon and his Angels fought back, but were no match for Michael. They were cleared out of Heaven, not a sign of them left. The great Dragon—ancient Serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, the one who led the whole earth astray—thrown out, and all his Angels thrown out with him, thrown down to earth. Then I heard a strong voice out of Heaven saying,

Salvation and power are established!
Kingdom of our God, authority of his Messiah!
The Accuser of our brothers and sisters thrown out,
who accused them day and night before God.
They defeated him through the blood of the Lamb
and the bold word of their witness.
They weren't in love with themselves;
they were willing to die for Christ.
So rejoice, O Heavens, and all who live there,
but doom to earth and sea,
For the Devil's come down on you with both feet;
he's had a great fall;
He's wild and raging with anger;
he hasn't much time and he knows it.

13-17When the Dragon saw he'd been thrown to earth, he went after the Woman who had given birth to the Man-Child. The Woman was given wings of a great eagle to fly to a place in the desert to be kept in safety and comfort for a time and times and half a time, safe and sound from the Serpent. The Serpent vomited a river of water to swamp and drown her, but earth came to her help, swallowing the water the Dragon spewed from its mouth. Helpless with rage, the Dragon raged at the Woman, then went off to make war with the rest of her children, the children who keep God's commands and hold firm to the witness of Jesus."

I've heard many people say they are frightened at the book of Revelation, afraid to study it because it is too "weird". I am studying it, once again now and I agree, it is nothing short of a freaky sci-fi movie. Who knows why God chose to reveal just enough of it to us, much of it through symbolism so that could possibly get our minds around it. It really is a mystery!

But is not a book of fear, for children of God, it is a book of hope. It encourages me when I see spiritual warfare literally happening all around me. Everything from suicide bombings in the beautiful nation of Uganda, which I love, to persecution to conflicts in relationships; I can see it so clearly for what it is. Satan cannot take our salvation so he will stop at nothing to discourage us, distract us, condemn us and accuse us! And the above verse encourages me so much because it tells me why all of this is happening, in our generation. Revelation reassures me that, yes, the enemy is mad, but even still, he is no match for God. God will win! God has already won; we have already won the victory because of Jesus death on the cross. It is finished!! The Babylon in which we live is getting worse and will continue to get worse. But the fact remains that God placed us here, in this generation for a purpose. We can survive and thrive here, as we keep our eyes focused on our King of kings, and what He has for us.

I love how, throughout scripture, God reveals just enough to us. He gives us the exact amount of wisdom that we need to live and then He speaks to us through His living, breathing Word. We are fully equipped and we must continually study His Word and pray without ceasing. That is our ultimate weapon in warfare. Honestly, I have so many things to pray about, I could pray without ceasing and still never cover them all.

God has recently opened my eyes to the great need for prayer. He has reminded me of so many more things I need to be praying for. Why do I try to fight this battle on my own strength? I need God in my every day! I need to pray more than I currently do! It is time for me to exercise my authority as a daughter of the King and fight, fight, fight with my greatest weapon, prayer! There are so many people I love, depending on my prayers!

We truly are warriors. As Rita Springer sings in her song, "Beautiful You"....

"God, who are you that you speak into our shame and you see a warrior. You see a mother on her knees and whisper that she will raise warriors."

My almost 7 year old daughter truly loves Jesus. She has compassion in her heart that comes from the Holy Spirit within her. Who knows what will occur in our world in her generation, all the more reason why we must raise warriors, who love Jesus!

God is good all the time. All the time God is good!

I believe that and I trust Him, no matter what!

God is moving in Uganda!

During my recent mission trip to Uganda, God opened the door to the opportunity of a lifetime for me to experience a place like no other, a LOVE like no other.

How do I find the words to describe something that forever changed my life?! I simply cannot! I anticipated being used by God to love on the people of Africa. But, what was so surprising was just how much God loved me, through them. It is a culture like no other, a community that is real, people who are genuine, through and through; who instantly love you and accept you, just the way you are. I now feel like I have been accepted into a brand new family there. I admit it was very hard to say good-bye! I’ve never felt so loved, so valued, so appreciated so fully alive - after all, serving others on behalf of Jesus Christ was what we were created to do, furthering His kingdom, right here on earth!

I can honestly say I’ve never encountered such devoted followers of Christ. Even the children blew me away by their spiritual maturity! They live such simple lives as they have none of the “things” that we have to distract us and pull us away from keeping our eyes focused on Jesus. Once they have received Him, He is all they’ve got!! It was amazingly refreshing!!

One thing is for sure, God is at work in Uganda. I saw, first hand, what a difference ICHOOSEYOU is making there! It really is working! It was astonishing to see the kids who are being sponsored through our organization, so full of joy and thriving and learning at Covenant Primary School. Then, to actually go to their huts in their village of Namatala, and see their absolute horrendous living conditions; it just blew me away! Talk about contentment, regardless of your circumstances! Through ICHOOSEYOU, God is giving children who have nothing, a future and a hope! Through ICHOOSEYOU, God is not only feeding children and families every day, He is raising up a new generation of citizens of Uganda who are motivated, educated and solid in their faith in Jesus Christ. I fully believe they have the potential to change the course of history for a land that has been completely hopeless for so long.

In the village of Namatala, among the Karamojong tribe, I saw poverty like I never imagined possible! I saw physical and emotional pain, untimely death, disease, unsanitary living conditions, unclean water, hunger and hopelessness. I saw mothers and children simply trying to survive another day; orphans and widows wondering if they will forever be forgotten. In spite of all of this, I still saw the face of Jesus there. I saw a spark of hope in the smiles of those whom I had the awesome privilege of sharing the Gospel with and leading them in the prayer of salvation. I saw hope in the laughter of the children and in the eyes of so many of their mothers who learned the new skill of sewing from another one of our amazing team members! They were beyond thrilled to realize they had what it took to learn a new trade that could ultimately generate income to feed their starving children. These women felt like they were actually worth something!! We got to tell them and show them that they are beautiful, they are worthy, they are special and God has a plan and a purpose for their lives.

In Uganda, God spoke to me, showing me that these are His people, they are His beloved! He adores them and sees each of them as His precious children. I now believe God took me there and allowed me to experience all of this, first-hand, to break my heart and fill it with compassion for His beautiful Africa. His intention was to fan into flame a new passion within me to continue to love and serve this tribe through communicating to people back home, the magnitude of their needs as well as the obvious success of ICHOOSEYOU and the potential it has to change even more lives.

While you may never be called to actually go to Africa, you can still play an active role in saving a child’s life. Currently, IChooseYou has sponsored 30 children in the Namatala village of 7,000 people (4,000 of those, by the way, are children). There are so many more lives yet to be changed. I am asking you to please prayerfully consider becoming a sponsor of an ICHOOSEYOU kid. Being a sponsor really does matter. As a sponsor, you are literally coming alongside the parent(s) and assisting them in the raising of their child, providing for their child in ways they simply cannot, but wish they could. I can’t even begin to tell you what it was like to meet my little 5-year old ICHOOSEYOU kid, Mudua Irene and her family. The overwhelming gratitude I felt from her and especially from her mother was almost more than I could handle, emotionally. Little Mudua is like a second daughter to me now! Because of my family, she has now been given a chance to get out of that vicious cycle of poverty that is all too familiar to her people. For whatever reason, God has chosen her and placed her in our path and He has a plan for her life!

For just $45 per month, you too can literally change the course of not only the life of a child, but of their entire family and thus be a part of changing the future of an entire village! This volunteer managed organization is small and I can personally assure you that 100% of your money goes directly to these children covering the cost of their schooling, uniforms, food and hygiene provisions for their family each month, 2 medical check-ups each year as well Doctor visits as the need arises. When many of the kids contracted tough cases of Malaria this past year, ICHOOSEYOU made sure they were taken to the local clinic and/or hospital to receive the necessary medication and care. It is amazing how much further our dollar stretches in Uganda as compared to America. To learn more about how you can get involved, please visit www.ichooseyou.net. You can also get more detailed stories of our trip, as it happened by viewing our blog at www.ichooseyou2010.blogspot.com.

What a privileged work this trip was. What an amazing gift from God that I will treasure in my heart as long as I live. Again, the prayers of my family, friends and supporters played a crucial role in this whole experience and so it would not have been possible if it weren’t for you and so I thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart! I thank you for having compassion for this cause. I thank you for loving me and for believing in me and believing in what I am passionate about. You were just as much a part of this trip as I was. It was truly a team effort. God placed you on my team and what an honor it is to call you my friend!! May God bless you and your family! May He honor your precious heart!

Love in Christ,

Brandi


"For you are a holy people, who belong to the LORD your God. Of all the people on earth, God has chosen you to be His own special treasure.” Deuteronomy 7:6

God is alive in Africa

Ok, here is what has been going on in my life lately.........view....


http://ichooseyou2010.blogspot.com/

to see how God is working in Africa!! What a privileged work He calls us to!!