A Study in Proverbs.

Well I've decided to read a chapter in Proverbs each day and study on it. I thought I would try to do this every day hopefully and share with you my reflections about the chapter and what I've been learning as I study. Here goes:

Proverbs 1

The purpose of Proverbs is for the reader to know wisdom and instruction. For the naive to know prudence so that they are not easily misled or influenced as well as knowledge and discretion. From this book we should increase in learning and acquire wise counsel from the book of Proverbs.

The theme and/or motto is that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge (Proverbs 1:7)

It says that fools despise wisdom and instruction. When I think of this it reminds me of a child/teenager who tend to want to do anything their own way as most teenagers often do. They think they know it all and don't need advice. They want to do things their own way and tend to not care about what their parents have said is the right thing to do, being defiant of their parents. The Lord says that these people are fools. We would do better to listen to our parents counsel and would not be considered a fool in the Lord's eyes.

This is just what the Lord has shown me through the first seven verses of Proverbs 1. What a wonderful book of the Bible. Full of wisdom and instruction and good advice. If we all actually read it and not just remember it in our minds but also write it on our hearts through memorization just think how much wiser and better off we would all be if we actually did it.

The first section of verses is talking about how we(the son) should avoid bad company. Sometimes I think we can think we are in good company and end up being misled/led in the wrong direction and end up realizing later on that what we thought was great company was actually bad company. I have seen this play out in one of my sisters life last year and because of that company there was strife in the home. There no longer is that strife as there once was because through certain events she realized that she wasn't in as great group of company that she thought.

Proverbs 1:8 says "Hear my son, your father's instruction, And do not forsake you mother's teaching."

This verse seems to talk a lot about obedience. Always be listening to your parents for they are much wiser than you and have more experience then you've had as well. When I see the word "Hear" in this verse, I think it means listen, pay close attention to, and obey.

Proverbs 1:10 says "My son if sinners entice you, Do not consent."

The way of sinners make look attractive but we should not listen to them because the path they walk on only leads to destruction. We may gain momentary pleasure from it but is that what really matters? To be happy and have pleasure in this life? No of course not!

Mark 8:36 says "For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?"

It profits him nothing. He can not profit anything in comparison to eternal life and salvation.

Another thing that Proverbs 1:10 made me think of was that we should never compromise our convictions. Though a lot of times we as followers of Christ can do that. People can compromise their convictions all the time. It isn't that hard to do. People pressured by their friends can be led to compromise their convictions to do something that they would not normally like to do or not feel comfortable or good doing. Stand by your convictions and never compromise your faith and/or convictions for anything.

"My son do not walk in the way with them. Keep your feet from their path, For their feet run to evil,"

The main thing in verses 20-33 is to always heed wisdom's advice. The first five verses in this section remind me of an open air preacher.

Proverbs 1:20-25 says:
20Wisdom shouts in the street,
She lifts her voice in the square;
21At the head of the noisy streets she cries out;
At the entrance of the gates in the city she utters her sayings:
22"How long, O naive ones, will you love being simple-minded?
And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing
And fools hate knowledge?
23"Turn to my reproof,
Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you;
I will make my words known to you.
24"Because I called and you refused,
I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention;
25And you neglected all my counsel
And did not want my reproof;

This reminds me very much of an open air preacher but in this case it is not a man who is called wisdom but a lady who is wisdom. I find this to be interesting because there are some people that would say and think that women shouldn't be preaching in the open air. I disagree and think these verses could be an example to lady's open airing. This is just what I think based off what I see in these five short verses but will have to study about this more for I am growing and maturing in my faith. Only 9 years old in my faith currently.

So this is what I have learned and gleaned in just the first chapter in Proverbs. A total of only 33 verses. I hope this has caused you to think and will spur you on to studying God's Word more.

I can't wait to share with you what I learn and glean from the rest of the chapters in Proverbs.

By Your Side

God is always by your side
Walking with you through the hard times
Never forget He loves you
And will always be there for you

Through life's uncertain days
Let Him lead you all the way
Try not to worry away
For the Lord knows what He's doing
Every single moment of every single day

Trust in Him
Pray for them
He is your strength
When you are weak
He's your comfort
In Him you can lean
Through every time of need

Praise Him all through the day
Thank the Lord that he saved you
Before the last day

Though you might be walking through the valley right now
Have no doubt of mind that His always with his children
Yes; He is with you, even right now

Never forget He loves you
And will always be there for you
Though friends may drift away
He'll always stay
He'll be by your side
Every step of the way.

by Michelle Miano

A Beating Heart

A beating heart
A beating heart
full of love for the Lord
for you my friend I implore

A love for you that will..
never die
never go away
but will be with you every step you take
is what He offers you
if you repent of your sins and give your life to Him today

Life is too short
Yes life is too short
To be sullen and gloomy
To be bitter and sad
To the God who gave you
every emotion you've ever had

For you should not be upset at God
No matter whatever happened in your life
either today or yesterday
or even what might happen
just three months away
For to do that would be to sin
and would not be pleasing to Him

We read in the Word how sin is wrong
The punishment for sin...
Oh what a terrible fate
for those eternity not in heaven but in Hell is what awaits
Unless before their final day arrives
They finally realize
and God opens their eyes
and they repent of their bitterness,anger,and their other sins.
Then and only then will God receive them.

For He paid the price
The only one who could be sacrificed
That is Jesus Christ!
For He went to the cross and died
and rose from the grave and is now alive
So that when a person repents and believes
They will be His then and free indeed.

But remember my friend it's not as simple as I believe in my head
but you must turn from your sin
and believe in your heart
and place your faith and trust in the God alone, Jesus Christ,
Who alone is the only one can save you
and He alone is the only one from the start.
No other person can save you on that final day.
Christ alone is the life, the truth, and the way.

So remember life is only a vapor
Your heart could stop beating any minute of any day
Repent, place your faith and trust in Christ alone to save you today.

We've but a minute, a second, and life is gone
and then we enter into His Holy Presence,
receive judgment and answer/give an account for all we've done wrong.

by Michelle Miano (Oct 3,2009)

This is what I would say to my great grandmother and any lost friend or loved one today... I pray that I would be given the opportunity to share this to her as what she is going through right now made me think of this. She is in a drug induced coma and she isn't saved.

The Truth Will Set You Free

The Word of the Lord

The Word of the Lord
should be preached to both young and old
and to make the weak, strong and bold.
The Word of the Lord will not return void

There will be those who will be sick of hearing His name
And might try to cause you to be nervous or afraid
To try to stop the proclamation of his name
But do not in the least bit worry that day.
Stand firm, trust in the Lord, and just obey
and He will give you the words to say

Cause you never know who might hear you that day
and you might lead Him to the only way.

Praise the Lord!
You Didn't Quit!
You conquered the fear of man!

The darkness fled away
The light of Christ shined forth that day
and the great news that He came, defeated death,
Rose from the grave and is alive today.
Was even more boldly proclaimed
Maybe you'll see them in heaven one day.
because you shared with them about the only way
And God in His great love, and mercy caused them to come to repentance and faith
and saved them that day.

Praise God that He gave you the strength that day
He alone gives us the word to say
To Him be all honor, glory, and praise!

by Michelle Miano

I wrote this poem as I was thinking about what happened when we were doing evangelism this past Saturday at Glendale. We had a security guard who was sick of hearing the gospel so he started to blast loud music of all sorts at us to drown us out. I had become afraid and was nervous of getting up on the box because I didn't think I would be loud enough for anyone to hear me even with a PA system. Well I became a little upset and decided to get up even though I would be going against some music. As I started to read the music started to become quiet!! I was surprised. I read Isaiah 53. After I read it I paused.. I knew I shouldn't stop there so I took a deep breath and started taking a group of teenage boys through the law and the gospel. Dad said it was my best open air ever. He said I was louder and firm, and gave a lot more eye contact. He compared me to a school teacher.

Here's some photos of that night:




The security guard who was sick of hearing Christ's name.





BE ENCOURAGED MY FRIENDS!!! DON'T QUIT!!!!

Proverbs 31:30

Proverbs 31:30 says "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."

I decided to use this post to discuss some things that are in this passage.

So many times I feel like women in general care too much about their appearance.

Why do we do that?

I think some women can feel insecure in the way they look. They want to appeal to the men. They think that if they don't put enough makeup or this or that on and accessorize that the guys will not look at them. They think it is more of an outward appearance that appeals than what is inside.

I disagree with this point of view. Although I have felt insecure with the way I look at times. I don't think outward appearance is what counts but what is on the inside. The verse above says that beauty is fleeting...

I don't think we should worry about how we look ladies. Oh we can look nice for a special occasion but lets not overdo it shall we???

This is one reason why I have been uncomfortable with the idea of wearing makeup that much and have never worn makeup besides maybe a blush and even that is for very rare occasions.

I think we can fit jewelry into this section as well. If you wear anything, I wouldn't suggest wearing something large and clunky. If you think about it, it can just attract attention to an area where you shouldn't be trying to.. It can cause your Christian brothers to stumble.

Did you ever think about that?

If you really want to wear jewelry I would wear something small and simple not large as to not attract attention there.

So I've talked about beauty. Now I'll discuss what I think we as ladies should really concern ourselves with.....

The verse above says "but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."

Well my opinion of this section is...

I believe what really matters is what is in the inside. What we look like really shouldn't matter. The heart is what matters not looks.

The guy who will want to marry you one day should really care about how much we are in love with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. For Christ should be our number one priority before anyone and anything else. The young guy should care about where you stand in your walk with Christ before he ever thinks about the way you look.

So don't worry about how you look but rather that you have a solid foundation and love for Christ who gave his life for you.

I believe as ladies we should be spending more time with our Abba Father while we are single or even when we become married then wondering if we look good to everyone else. Too often I see young girls whether they are Christians or not flirting with the young guys. I find this sad.

Stop trying to get the guys attention!!!

We should be fearing God. Spending as much time as possible with Him. Meditating on His Word, praying, memorizing scripture.

We should be falling in love with Christ!!!! We shouldn't be like the world.

I'd like to remind you of a few verses ladies

Romans 12:1-2 "1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."

1 John 2:15-17 "15 Do not love the world nor the things in the world If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever."

Please consider what I say as a sister in Christ. Thanks so very much.

Lord Reign on High

Lord I want you to reign on high
and be sovereign in my life

Although I may not right now see
what your plans are for me
I have your promises and guarantee
that you will never forsake or leave me
and I have to learn to trust thee

There are days that I struggle so
and I don't know which way you want me to go

So I will watch and wait and pray
for you Oh Lord to show me the way

I will follow you with all of my mind, soul, and heart
and from your Word, my guide I shall never depart

For you are my strength when I am weak
In you I put my faith and trust in
In you I believe

Though times be uncertain
and friends may drift away
You will always be there
You will always remain

So Lord I want you to reign in me
in all your sovereignty
Over all my thoughts
My wants, desires and dreams.

Lord reign on high
Over all my life.

by: Michelle Miano


I thought that this poem might encourage us. Sometimes we don't give him everything. But I want this to change for me. I want my precious Savior and Lord to reign in me. I want to give Him everything and every part of my life. Put it all in His hands.

A Legitimate Christian and Sacrifice

What does it mean to be a legitimate Christian?

I don't remember where I got this quote from. I believe my pastor said it. He said "To be a legitimate Christian -- requires sacrifice -- REAL SACRIFICE!

This comes to what I wanted to really talk about which is the word sacrifice and what that means and what it should look like?

Teenagers and kids these days can be very self centered. I know because I work with teenagers who are courtesy clerks at the grocery store and seen kids as I check out parents groceries.. All about me!! Gimme, Gimme, Gimme. They don't know what it means to sacrifice. They think that they are sacrificing when mom or dad takes their, ipod, cell phone, or computer away for a day because they were being punished for doing something wrong. But those selfish kids have no idea what it really means to sacrifice. Sacrifice in the Merriam Webster Dictionary is described as "The offering of something to deity. Something offered in sacrifice. To offer up or kill as a sacrifice."

These are all good definitions but I think the best one I found was this one: "To accept the loss or destruction of, for an end, cause, or ideal."

We have NO real idea what it means to sacrifice for we have never had to do it ourselves. We must be willing to die for Christ. Dieing for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and for the sake of the gospel is the ultimate and real sacrifice.

We have never had to make that sacrifice. Nothing else can come close to that to being sacrifice.

William Tyndale knew what it meant to sacrifice. I found this information on a reliable website. "Tyndale was born in 1490 possibly in one of the villages in Gloucestershire. Tyndale became chaplain in the house of Sir John Walsh at Little Sodbury in about 1521, and tutor to his children. His opinions involved him in controversy with his fellow clergymen, and around 1522, he was summoned before the Chancellor of the Diocese of Worcester on a charge of heresy.

Soon afterwards, he determined to translate the Bible into English and was convinced that the way to God was through His word and that scripture should be available even to common people. Foxe describes an argument with a "learned" but "blasphemous" clergyman, who had asserted to Tyndale that, "We had better be without God's laws than the Pope's." In a swelling of emotion, Tyndale made his response: "I defy the Pope, and all his laws; and if God spares my life, I will cause the boy that drives the plow in England to know more of the Scriptures than the Pope himself!"

Tyndale left for London in 1523 to seek permission to translate the Bible into English and to request other help from the Church. In particular, he hoped for support from Bishop Cuthbert Tunstall, a well-known classicist whom Erasmus had praised after working with him on a Greek New Testament. However, the bishop did not regard Tyndale's scholarly credentials highly, was suspicious of his theology and, like many highly-placed churchmen, was uncomfortable with the idea of the Bible in the vernacular. The Church at this time did not deem that a new English translation of Scripture would be helpful. Tunstall told Tyndale he had no room for him in his household. Tyndale preached and studied "at his book" in London for some time, relying on the help of a cloth merchant, Humphrey Monmouth. He then left England under a pseudonym and landed at Hamburg in 1524 with the work he had done so far on his translation of the New Testament. He completed his translation in 1525, with assistance from Observant friar William Roy.

In 1525, publication of his work by Peter Quentell in Cologne was interrupted by anti-Lutheran influence, and it was not until 1526 that a full edition of the New Testament was produced by the printer Peter Schoeffer in Worms, an imperial free city then in the process of adopting Lutheranism. More copies were soon being printed in Antwerp. The book was smuggled into England and Scotland, and was condemned in October 1526 by Tunstall, who issued warnings to booksellers and had copies burned in public.

Following the publication of Tyndale's New Testament, Cardinal Wolsey condemned Tyndale as a heretic and demanded his arrest.

Tyndale went into hiding, possibly for a time in Hamburg, and carried on working. He revised his New Testament and began translating the Old Testament and writing various treatises. In 1530, he wrote The Practyse of Prelates, opposing Henry VIII's divorce on the grounds that it was unscriptural and was a plot by Cardinal Wolsey to get Henry entangled in the papal courts. This resulted in the king's wrath being directed at him: he asked the emperor Charles V to have Tyndale apprehended and returned to England.

Eventually, Tyndale was betrayed to the authorities. He was seized in Antwerp in 1535, betrayed by Henry Phillips, and held in the castle of Vilvoorde near Brussels.

He was tried on a charge of heresy in 1536 and condemned to death, despite Thomas Cromwell's intercession on his behalf. He "was strangled to death while tied at the stake, and then his dead body was burned".

Tyndale's final words, spoken "at the stake with a fervent zeal, and a loud voice", were reported as "Lord! Open the King of England's eyes." In a strange, but well received, rehearsal, the King of England ordered Tyndale's translation of the Bible to be printed in England and made available in every English church, as well as to the public. Thus, Tyndale's Bible translation became a basis for the unification of the English language, and his sacrifice had not been in vain."


That is what I call REAL SACRIFICE!

So fellow believers in Christ who are out here in the U.S.A. when we go out and share the gospel with others let us remember that the worse it can get for us is people being offended and maybe a little embarrassment. We won't be martyred for our faith like William Tyndale and like Christians all over the world who are martyred for their faith everyday. At least not yet. There will come a day when Christians in America will be martyred for their faith. When that day comes if you are the one asked "Will you deny your faith?" What will you say? Are you truly saved? Would you be willing to say "I'll die for Christ." I hope we are all truly willing to say "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." (Philippians 1:21)

He Is Always There

The sparrows fly in the air
They seem to have no care
For the Lord is watching everything from above
Reigning over with his judgment, grace, mercy and..
His endless care, and love
So what shall we be afraid of
Or what shall we worry about.
For we should trust Him
That he'll take care of us beyond the shadow of a doubt
For the Lord will always be there.
All we need to do is come to Him with humble hearts in prayer

For the Lord hears and answers us when we pray
Whether it be a no, a yes, or a possibly just wait.
He'll never forget about us
And will always hear our plea
As long as we are born again followers and have repented...
Put our faith and trust in Him and believe

So do not fret my friend about today
or whatever might come your way
Be like the sparrows flying high in the air
Who seem to have no care

For the Lord is watching over you
Yes whether or not you can feel it
He's always right beside you
Yes He is always right there
And He's hearing your every prayer.

by: Michelle Miano

I used Matthew 6:25-34 to help me write this poem.

Matthew 6:25-34 says "For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26"Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? 27"And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? 28"And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, 29yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 30"But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! 31"Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?' 32"For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34"So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Friendship Evangelism isn't Evangelism

Oh Blessed be the name of the Lord
Who was and is and will be with us forever more
Blessed be the name of the Lord

When we feel alone
We must remember he is with us
Seated in heaven on his throne

We must not waiver
We must not delay
In preaching the good news that He came
For the day is not far away
The Lord will come back one day

Do we want to be on our bended knees?
Asking, begging our friends to repent please
And because we decided "I'll make them my friend first and just wait."

We will wait...

And then that wait could be too long
And then it's too late
For God can instantly take a life away
Death could be at their front door
You'll regret that day and you would have wished
You would have known before
But now your dear friend stands in judgment before the Lord

And eternity has come for them that day
And by you just thinking "I'll wait another day"
You let friend stray from the narrow gate
And now you can't take back the time or day
It's too late... It's too late.

So don't wait.. Don't wait...
For you may not get another day..
To share with your dear friends
The law and the gospel..
The Good News that He came.

Today is the day..
Go out and share your faith.
Don't wait. Please don't wait.
You don't want for it to happen..
And for it to be too late.

by Michelle Miano


I thought I should share that poem I wrote with you. Sometimes we think if we have friends who are not Christians we should wait "for the right time to come" to share our faith with them. We'll become friends with them and when we've been friends for a while then we think we can share our faith with them. This is known sometimes as Friendship Evangelism which is not really evangelism at all. We get so attached to the friend that we don't want to offend them or make them angry with us. Our feelings become more important then making sure we share the law and the gospel with them. This is so sad. Seeing our friends go to heaven and genuinely repent of their sins and put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone to save them should be of the utmost importance. Cause as my poem said you never know when your friend might take their last breath for them and if they are not saved and born again before that time then it will be too late for them. So don't wait for your friendship with someone to grow to share with your friend the most important thing they need to know. Please Don't Wait! Hope this encourages you to share your faith more often.

Praying in the Spirit.

Well to set some context, my pastor has been preaching from Ephesians. Yesterday during church he talked about praying in the spirit. I felt like he was speaking directly to me and I got alot from this message that I thought I would share with you.

Ephesians 6:18 says "With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,"

Praying at all times in the Spirit. What does this mean and what does it look like?

I remember my pastor saying that sometimes you wake up in the middle of the night and it could be the Lord saying "Why don't we spend time together now?" I hadn't thought of it that way before.

My pastor said that we should be making supplication, specific request for our brother and sisters for the cross. We shouldn't say that we will pray for them and then fail them by not doing it or forgetting about it. We should be coming alongside them. This convicted me. Too many times I have said "Sure I'll pray for you." or say on Facebook that I'm going to pray for them and then sometimes forget. I know I shouldn't be doing this. That's not right. Don't say you are going to pray for someone and then forget to do it. I've seen myself do this but now I've changed my ways. Now when I see someone post a prayer request on Facebook I'll stop what I'm doing and pray for them right then and there so I know that I really prayed for them and comment afterwards.

Praying in the spirit means that the Spirit helps us when we pray

Romans 8:26 says "In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;"

I remember my pastor saying that if our prayer is a desire of/in the flesh, that the answer if already no. It must be His will and not ours.

Praying in the Spirit means that the Spirit prays on our behalf

Romans 8:27 says "and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God."

Praying in the Spirit means that the Spirit makes God accessible.

Ephesians 2:18 says "for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father."

Praying in the Spirit means that the Spirit gives us confidence when we pray

Romans 8:15-16 says "For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" 16The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,"

Galations 4:6 says "Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!"

The Spirit moves the truly converted to cry out Abba Father, like a child talking to his or her daddy. There is intimacy and trust with their heavenly Father and it comes from the heart.

Last but not least my pastor talked about the devil trying to thwart this.

He said the devil may not come directly at you but may come to you through someone you know. I've seen this happen to me before. Satan using one of my friends to attack me. Satan will attack you when you least expect it. My pastor said he's really good at guerrilla warfare. We need to be on the alert, aware of our surroundings. He won't stop if he think he's got a good hold of you.

No believer alone can stand alone in this battle. At the end of the sermon he asked the congregation these questions that I now ask you.

Who do you find yourself praying for everywhere and at anytime?

Is there anyone that you do that for?

My pastor said that he hoped that there was someone that you do that for. If you didn't have someone that you were doing that for, pick someone to do that for and start doing it immediately. Please consider what I've said.. Let's start praying more for our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. They need all the encouragement and prayers they can get.

In The Blink Of An Eye

Well during the trip to Washington D.C I felt like I was in a dream. Somebody pinch me, am I really seeing these things? I couldn't believe I was finally here seeing history right in front of me. :)

There was only one moment that I was snapped back from this dream and into reality and it was in the blink of an eye.

Well we were in D.C for vacation. Everything was going nice and smooth except for that it was too hot for my liking...

We had been walking forever.. Dad sees people crossing the street even though it was a red Don't Walk ahead. So he thinks its alright and tells us to cross with him. Well I was tired so I was a little slower than everyone and was behind them. As I was walking behind them a crazy taxi cab driver decides to zoom up the street and honking his horn at me. He was coming down really fast and I was afraid that he was going to hit me. I made a dash for the curb as he almost nearly ran me over, honking his horn the entire time. Not sure what would have happened if I hadn't made a dash for the curb. He wasn't even going to stop for a pedestrian walking by but thought he had the right of way and everyone needed to get out of the way or else. That's not nice. At least in CA, most if not all people have the decency to wait for the pedestrians to get to the curb or they at least slow down. I have to say that was way to close and it happened but in just the blink of an eye. Now I have to say after that I was most grateful that I had not been struck by that driver that day and something worse had not happened. It wasn't my time yet. Praise God.

But even though I was in that scary experience I have to ask you this most important question..

Do you know what will happen to you if God decides to take your life away from you in a blink of an eye?

I know I will be spending eternity in heaven when that day comes because I have a personal relationship with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

But do you??

Do you think you are a good person?

Well here's how we can find out if you are a good person.

Have you ever told a lie, stolen anything, used God's name in vain, or always obeyed your parents?

Most likely you have done these things and not always obeyed your parents.

In your case according to the Ten Commandments which is God's Law would he find you innocent or guilty of breaking those?

Guilty.

Would you then end up in heaven or hell?

Hell

Does that concern you?

Well if it does... That's good.

Did you know what God did so that you wouldn't have to go to hell?

God sent his son Jesus Christ, fully God, fully man without sin to die on the cross. He paid the fine that we so rightly deserve for breaking his law and then three days later he rose again and forever defeated death.

Isn't that great?

What God requires of us is that we repent of our sins, make a 180 degree turn from them and place our faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone to save us.

Jesus says "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me."

So repent today. He's your only hope!

Don't wait... You might pass away in just the blink of an eye. You don't want to wait till the last minute to find out. You don't want to be there on judgment day hearing God say "Depart from me I never knew you." Then if he says that you'll be spending the rest of your days in eternity in hell.

Don't miss heaven!

I'll leave you with this song by MercyMe... Thanks for reading this.

A Million Dollar Bill Adventure

So I just got back from vacation to Washington D.C, VA, and PA. Needless to say it was beautiful there. It's so much bluer up there than our CA and so many trees too. :) But that's not what this post is about.

Now I know a few of you know that I'm not that excited about having one to one conversations with people. Namely because I find them intimidating. Well I remember my dad saying that I might end up sitting next to someone on the plane and then I could have a conversation with them or give them a tract. I said No because then I couldn't get out of my seat and hide till they left and I would have nowhere to go. I would feel trapped. lol. I know that may sound a little silly but that's how I felt.

So we got on the plane and guess what I got the plane ticket that had someone sitting next to me. lol. Guess God just planned it that way.

I sat next to a young couple. The girl sat next to me and she was about my age.

Well we had a nice flight and we just smiled at each other and that was basically it until about 40 minutes I think before we landed. Then she decided to have a conversation with me and with that we were chatting about life in general like we were friends. :D

Well dad saw that I was having a conversation with her and he wasn't going to let me just let the fish go. lol

He handed me a million dollar bill and suggested that I just say "Thanks a million for talking with me."

I shook my head no but dad wasn't going to let me get away with it that easily. He mentioned something to me about that I shouldn't be a chicken and then he said those words...

"Don't Quit."

Grr...

I don't like it when dad uses Don't Quit that way but then again I do like it. He reminds me of Steve Sanchez aka the Pusher during those times. Those words get me every time.

He knows that it's the only way I'll get out of my comfort zone and if he didn't know then now he does. Well I can be stubborn so it doesn't always work. lol.

Well not wanting to disappoint God or my dad and knowing that the Bible says "To Him who knows the right thing to do and does not do it to him it is sin," I took the million dollar bill from him and held it tight. Trying to relax all the nervousness that was dwelling inside of me.

Well I waited just a little while longer, just before landing and handed the girl the million dollar bill.

"Thanks a million for talking to me."

She looked at me and laughed and took the million dollars asking me what it was.

I told her it was a gospel tract. She giggled again a little nervous and said "Oh."

Silence...

And then I heard myself talking to her. What? Was that really me? I couldn't believe it. One more step out of my comfort zone.

I asked her "Do you go to church anywhere?" Wondering if she did since she lived in CA. Maybe if I asked her that then it would give me some background information.

She said "No, I don't." She seemed a little saddened as she said that.

"My husband and I got married 3 years ago and we haven't been going to church since we got married. You see I'm Armenian(I think that's how you spell it) and he's Catholic. We have different beliefs so we don't go to church since we don't agree on things there and don't have the same beliefs."

I said. "Oh. Ok."

I didn't know where to go from there so that's when the conversation stopped. It didn't go any further.

I never got her name but she did keep the million dollar bill that I gave her and put it in her purse. I hope that she will take it out and read the back of it.

We said goodbyes and hope you have a nice vacation and that was that.

Please be praying for her and her husband. That they would both come to repentance. Thank you God that I was able to step out of my comfort zone a little more that day and hand a gospel tract to the lady sitting next to me even if that meant I wouldn't be able to go anywhere to hide after I gave her the million dollar bill with the gospel that is worth more than that. :) May all the praise and glory be given to God.

Guard Your Heart

Guard your hearts my dear precious one
From the teachings of the foolish and worldly ones
Who like a snapping turtle or hissing snake
Will unbeknownst to you will lead you to an awful state
Away from purity of heart and mind and put it in a dreadful place

For your heart should be like a flower closed and tucked away
Hiding for whoever the Lord would so rightly choose to have to stay
Be not too friendly when a young gentleman or lady decides to look your way
But guard your heart and never give it away
And be patient and wait for when the Lord will have that true love come your way

For one who gives a piece of their heart
Will never get the piece back
and can be even more susceptible in a possible attack
and it might be harder to fight the enemy back.

So precious one come near
Oh please lend me your ear and hear.

Please, Please, listen to your mother and father's wise counsel
Even if it only be but a small ounceful
For they have been in the place you are today
They know what they speak of
They have experience this I can say
And they know how awfully lonely you might feel today
For they too once felt that way.

Better to be wise and listen to your parents
Then to be finding yourself in despair and distress
Since you gave all your heart away
Because you didn't think they knew what they were talking about and decided to be rebellious

Please Please listen to them my dears
For what advice they give will be very clear
They know what's best for they know you better than anyone
No Doubt about that.
Even thought it may not seem like that at first
You got to trust that they have your best in mind
And not your worst.

But even so much more.
You have to be patient and trust in the Lord.

He'll bring the right one someday
Just think you'll be praising God
Thanking him that you weren't foolish to give all your heart away
And that you didn't listen to that snapping turtle or hissing snake
Saying just one piece. Don't worry. Who cares? It's only a little mistake
Lots of others try people on only to just toss them away.
Like it is only a game

No dear No... We can't be that way
For that is how the world around us is
And we must not be like the world the Bible says

So be a light while you are single my dear one
and let the love of Christ shine forth from you
like the radiant sun.

He'll bring the two of you together in His own time
Just be patient and during that time
Guard your heart and your mind
He'll bring the right one in His own time.

Just be patient and wait..
Guard your mind and your heart
And don't ever give it away
Until the Lord brings the right one
And on that very special day
Together you will no longer be considered two but one
Together forever till death will you part
Faithfully serving your Lord and loving Abba Father

Then one day you'll be in your parents shoes and you'll look back
and tell your kids what your parents told you
I know what you're feeling right now.
I've been in your shoes.
and tell them it's better to guard their heart
Keeping it tucked away
Rather than giving it away
Because you need to patient
For true love awaits.


by Michelle Miano

Creation Gives Glory

Waves crashing, Birds soaring
Flowers bowing, Lions roaring
All the earth giving glory

I stand in awe of your majesty
as I survey everything before me

What a precious gift we have been given
for those who are truly living in Him
That precious gift is eternal life
Of whom God's only son Jesus Christ
Gave himself up as a living sacrifice
To pay the price
So that as slaves of bondage we could be set free
And born again as Children of God you see

Then we too could see through...

Waves crashing, the birds soaring
The flower bowing, and lions roaring
All Creation giving you glory.

Breastplate of Righteousness.

So Pastor Ron Siedel talked about the breastplate of righteousness a few weeks ago and I thought I would share with you what I learned from it.

Ephesians 6:14-15 "Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace."

Christ is the might we should walk in.. We can give up arrogance and be humble. He also said that we should practice what we are learning. I really liked when he said we should be an audio visual Christian and not a secret agent for Christ. If we draw near to the Lord throughout the day then the devil will flee.

Shoes-the gospel of peace

Can Satan really destroy your testimony once you are a born again Christian? I don't think he can.

Apart from Christ we can do nothing. Readiness-the general meaning of preparedness. It brings peace.

Ephesians 6:13 says "Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm."

Stand firm, dig in so that you may be unmovable.

Gospel of peace is referring to the good news that you and I enjoy as believers for we are at peace with God. The unsaved person is not at peace with God. They are ungodly, sinful, and at present an enemy of God. In our relationship we stand in the confidence of God's love for us.

Romans 8:37-39 "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

How's our faith? Are we still trying to lift up our hands by ourselves or are we doing things in the strength of His might?

I hope we are not trying to do things with our own strength.

Lord Set My Heart on Fire

Loving Abba in heaven above
Thank you for giving us Your love
Your wonderful saving grace
Amazes me each day

Your presence in my life is what I desire
Oh Lord give me a burning passion and set my heart on fire.
To be so bold to share with the lost
How they are dying and therefore need the cross

For we have all broken your commands
And could not ever meet your demands
Of the one who is perfect and just
And we are sinners who lie, steal, blaspheme and lust.

But God made a way
On that awesome and powerful day
So that we who were sinners were once lost might be made free
For God sent his only son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for you and me

He was the only sacrifice
Who would suffice
So he went to the cross
To pay that price
And three days later rose from the grave
And is alive to this very day

What God requires now from us
Is that we repent, turn away from our sins
Such as lying, blasphemy and lust
And in Him alone put our faith and trust

Then Oh Lord please give us that same burning passion and desire
And set our hearts in love with You and totally on fire
To share with those like you had someone share with me
About the law and the gospel so that we might be set free
And when they die will not see hell but see eternity.

by Michelle Miano

Blasphemy and Movies

So I was reading from a John Macarthur day to day devotional I received a few weeks ago. The devotion for the other day really struck a nerve.

It said "Everything we do, think, say and communicate is a reflection on the name of God, since we have been called by His name and wear it as our chief identity. When are you most likely to forget that you bear the name of Christ, that you carry the responsibility for doing nothing to defame or discredit it?"

As I thought about that I think most people forget that they bear the name of Christ is when we watch movies that blaspheme our Lord's precious and holy name. They go about watching movies and paying to see movies even though they know it will have the blasphemy in it. Sometimes they don't even care. Entertainment is more important.

Have you ever thought about what our Lord would think if He was here and saw us watching that??

But God is all knowing so he knows you are doing that. You can't hide it from Him. And I'm sure he has a very sad look on His face wondering why in the world would my children give money and take part in something that blasphemes my name which is breaking one of the 10 commandments. Blasphemy is something that God tells us we shouldn't do. So we don't do it. Alright that's good. But how is listening to someone else blaspheme any better. It isn't.

Romans 1:32 says "and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them."

See even though we don't blaspheme ourselves we are giving hearty approval of the actors and actresses that do blaspheme because we are watching those movies that have it in it, buying the Dvd's, and seeing the movies in the theaters.

Did you ever look at it that way?

Now I've dealt with this issue myself in the past so I'm not saying I'm perfect or I've always had this point of view. But after many times reading that verse and having long conversations with my dad who first felt this way and I am currently not watching any movies that have blasphemy. Although I do struggle with this from time to time with certain movies I used to really enjoy watching when I was younger.

You ask "What about TV?"

Well I don't have an issue with that because we don't have television. No cable or anything at all. We just use a television to watch family movies. We use to have some DVD's with blasphemy in them but those have been thrown away.

Another thing that I feel strongly about is the type of movies believers should watch. I know I might be a rare case but I hold my convictions strongly. It is against my conscience to watch any rated R movie. To watch rated R movies would be sin for me. I've never seen a rated R movie and I never want to. I've only seen 9 PG-13 movies and I don't think I want to see any more PG-13 movies either. Why watch movies that have a stronger rating when they are just going to be filled with more of the things that our Lord would not want us to watch? Again it is our desire to be entertained that is more important than our own Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I have had to stand for my convictions of not watching those movies a couple of times. One time was for a college class. My professor wanted us to watch the movie Crash for our final and it was an English movie. What does a rated R movie like Crash have anything to do with English I would like to know. Nothing. So I told him I could not watch the movie for my final and he's like "Why?" I told him because of my strong beliefs that I shouldn't watch those movies. He said "You shouldn't stick your head in the sand like an ostrich." I told him I wasn't and that I couldn't watch because of my religious beliefs. He saw that I wouldn't be swayed.. He told me that he would have to talk to his boss about what alternative I could do. He came back with an answer to me after I had to ask him again. He said I could write a paper about something if I really didn't want to sit in class and go to the TLC lab to do my paper while they watched the movie. I said "Thank you." I took the paper and left the class. God blessed me that I didn't watch that movie and stood for my convictions. Thankfully my professor gave me an B on the paper and a B for the class. :)

So I strongly ask you my friends to ask yourself this question.

"What is more important to you? Endless hours of pleasing you and most likely blaspheming our Lord or is Christ more important in your life. I hope I am not sounding harsh but I felt that God had laid this on my heart to share with you and I just want you to at least think about it.

Thanks so much.

Blessings and Trials

Blessings can come in all shapes and sizes
And some can come in be in the form of surprises

Everything has a reason for being there
Even though we may not think life is always fair

God always has a purpose for us and a plan
Although we may not always understand
As Christians all we need to do is reach out
For our Lord's loving and caring hands
And he will guide us through the shadow of the land

The Lord gives and takes away
We should be grateful for the friends that are here to stay.

When we struggle with hurt and pain
We need to remember that Christ will only use it for His glory and gain!

The reason why my friends can you see?
What better reason than because he gave us the pain in our life
Is so that we could trust in Him, grow in our faith and maturity.

Great, awesome, and mighty is He.
For He will never leave those
Those who repent, and put our faith and trust in Him and believe.

by Michelle Miano

Single Goodness

Notes from a workshop I went to about singleness:

Society looks at singleness as a lack of something when it really is not.

Fruit of the Spirit of Goodness-Single

Goodness definition: Moral and spiritual excellence(Eph 5:8-10). Goodness is active not passive. It is kindly aggressive (Romans 15:14). Single and being joyful and at peace about it may not always work hand in hand. Your highest calling is to be a child of God. Marriage is temporary. Redemption is eternal.

God is Good

Psalm 136:1 "Give thanks to the Lord for He is good. His mercy is everlasting."

Everything else works out when we think God is Good. Goodness=loving kindness. As we grow in Him we grow in goodness

God gives good gifts

James 1:16-18 "Every good thing bestowed and every good gift is from above, coming down from the father of lights, with whom there is no variation, or shifting shadow."

Trials and testing of believers. Psalm 37:4-Righteousness shine forth. Desire his righteousness.

Singleness is a gift from God and so is marriage

1 Cor 7:7 "I wish that all men were even as I myself am. However, each man has his own gift from God, one in this manner and another in that."

Singleness is a gift from God given specifically for the purpose of His Eternal Kingdom and Glory

1 Cor 7:35 "I want you to be free from concern. One who is unmarried is concerned about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord.. I say these things for your benefit... to secure undistracted devotion to the Lord."

Undistracted devotion to God. Not for me but for the sake of the kingdom to be advanced. Singleness can be a matter of suffering in our lives. Tis better to love and lose then to not love at all.(1 Peter 2:9, 2 Cor 1:6-7) Don't sit and wait for that special person to come, go out and work in the fields (Eph 1:4-5) Gift of being single=gift of grace. We are given unique abilities. When we are single we have more time to use these and to do things for others that we might not be able to do because of the lack of time we would have to do them once we were married.

She asked us if marriage was becoming possibly an idol for us?

God intends for all, married or single--to pursue him alone as the sole source of our soul's satisfaction.

Ephesians 1:4-5 "For he chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will."

Our Response to Singleness

1. Memorize Scripture

Meditate on the Word instead of spending your time ruminating on your loneliness

2. Chase Contentment

Pursue it. Life a lifestyle of thankfulness for what you have.

3. Develop Boundaries

Be careful with your relationships and your time.

4. Become Accountable to the Family and Church

Keep one another in check.

5. Reject the World's Encroachment

How do you spend your time and money? How do you encourage the church?

6. Go Against the Odds

Don't play marriage poker. God will bring the spouse at the right time. Start serving now. If God really wants you to get married than if even if you were serving in Mongolia among the goats than God could bring you the spouse there in the field.

7. Practice Hospitality

This is not an option. We should practice this in our homes and in our lives. Think "How can I care for people that could just use a little bit of love?"

8. Pursue Families

Watch the families around. Sometimes we can have unrealistic expectations of what a family should look like and sometimes we just need a reality check.

9. Do not be Slothful in Zeal, be Fervent in Spirit, Serve the Lord

Romans 12:11 "Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord."

Become passionate for the sake of the kingdom. Take some risks for Jesus. If you are single and you die it really doesn't matter so just go out.

Key Point to Remember:

HEARTS FOCUSED ON ETERNITY!!!!

God's Gracious Guidance: Is Your GPS Turned On?

This is still more notes from the womens conference that I went to.

You have received this guidance assistance at salvation:

God's
Personal/Perfect/Precious/Pure and Holy
Salvation/Son/Scripture/Spirit

John 16:13 "But when He, the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth.."

Try the triple A plan for daily guidance and reliable directions

Acknowledge you need for help -Hebrews 4:16, Go to the throne of grace
Ask for directions- James 1:5, John 16:13, Matthew 7:7
Act on the directions or instructions- Matthew 16:24-25

Proverbs 16:9- God owes you nothing.

Your course of life could change by a phone call. Sometimes we think circumstances are sovereignty and its all for your benefit and God's glory. He's the one in charge. He's already working before we get there. He's not only with me now, he's already there ahead of you too. He goes ahead of you, arranging the details. He's at work in the future while we live in the presence. We like shortcuts and sometimes we can be impatient. Sometimes we don't think the guide knows best. When we say no to God we are quenching the Holy Spirit. Be ready to move. God leads those who move on faith and are already moving.


The Red Sea Rules: The Same God Who Led You In Will Lead You Out by Robert J. Morgan

Rule 1- Realize that God means for you to be there where you are. (Exodus 14:1-2)

Lord tests our faith and sometimes leads us through perils for reasons known only by the Lord right now but might tell you later. Sometimes we can cause our own pain by our selfishness and stupidity.

Rule 2- Be more concerned for God's glory than for your relief. (Exodus 14:3-4)

Sometimes we ask the wrong questions like "Why me?" We should ask how can God be glorified in this situation? This is a totally different perspective.

Rule 3- Acknowledge your enemy, but keep your eyes on the Lord. (Exodus 14:5-9)

Sometimes we feel like we are being pursued by the enemy but we don't need to be intimidated by Him according to 1 John 4:4, and Ephesians 6. Every time we resist temptation we honor God and glorify Him.

Rule 4- Pray! (Exodus 14:10)

Cry out to the Lord. James 5:16. God always makes a way whether prolonged or not.

Rule 5- Stay calm and confident and give God time to work. (Exodus 14:13-14)

Call and wait. Someone will show up. Christians should not be controlled by our emotions but by the Holy Spirit.

Rule 6- When unsure, just take the next logical step by faith (Exodus 14:15)

Just move forward by faith. God as far as you can reach and God will open the rest of the way. Plodding is better than plotting. One step at a time.

Rule 7- Envision God's enveloping presence. (Exodus 14:19-20)

God's presence in the trial is better than exemption from the trial. Difficult times sensitize us to God's nearness.

Rule 8- Trust God to deliver in His own unique way. (Exodus 14:21-22)

Sometimes the Lord doesn't take us out the way we want Him too. He doesn't always view deliverance the way we do.

Rule 9- View your current crisis as a faith builder for the future. (Exodus 14:30-31)

Faith isn't something you can just muster up. Faith is grown and it is tested. The Lord gives you a trial to put what we have been taught into practice. It helps you become stronger and more mature for the next trial.

Rule 10- Don't forget to praise Him. (Exodus 15:1-2)


WHERE HE LEADS ME I WILL FOLLOW!!!!!!!!!!

Intimacy with Others

More notes from the conference that I went to

Intimacy with Others

Our whole world revolves around relationships. We have to a mandate to obey. It is not an option. We are not to isolate ourselves. We can not be loners. We have to have intimate fellowship with believers.

Mark 12:29-31 says "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."

We need to take our natural love for ourselves and put it on others.

Self-esteem is not a biblical view but one that is too often promoted and is very worldly.

2 Timothy 3:2 says People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,"

Too often self-esteem and self actualization is promoted. I've noticed this in all my child development classes I'm taking. They all promote this thought. I never thought that this was actually bad until I went to this conference. But now that I think about it it is wrong. Self esteem and self actualization is all about me, me and oh yeah me. Nothing about others.

There are several essentials to having intimacy with others.

1. Right Attitude

2. Humility (Phil 2:3-4, Rom 12:10)
This is where it all starts. People will be attracted to you and want to be friends with you when you show humility

3. Serving others
One way we can find out what our spiritual gift is by serving. If we go out and serve others most times that spiritual gift will just show itself what it is. We need to develop the mindset to minister to others and not people ministering to you. We need to have a desire to serve others.

4. Communicating with and to others

Why should we speak?

a. To pass on truth and tell others about God(Eph 4:25, Ps 66:16)

b. Minister to others (Eph 4:29, Heb 3:13)

c. Encouragement.

How should we speak?

Proverbs 15:28 says The heart of the righteous weighs its answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil.

Think before you speak. Speak with restraint, gently, wisely, and at the right time. Speak sweetly and with pleasant words and with wisdom and kindness. Speak quietly, in love, and always with grace.

In other words LOVE

The kind of motive defines our love. True love is motivated by joy not duty. Duty is legalism. Once we invest in them you will then love them. (1 Jn 4:7,11)

Barriers to Intimacy with Others:

1. Pride
Think you are better than someone else. People should be like us. Seeking out people who are just like us. I think I do this a lot. Judging the motives of others.(1 Cor 4:5) We should believe the best of everyone. Lack of forgiveness-can or will not forgive

Romans 12:3 says For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.

2. Fear
Of what people think of you will lead to a lack of transcendency. (Prov 29:25)

3. Malice

4. Deceit-craftiness

5. Hypocrisy
Pretending to be what you are not. Concealing true motives

6. Envy

7. Corrupt Communications(Eph 4:29, James 8:6)
Extremely careful about what we say(Math 12:34)

a. Prideful speech-Speaking in an arrogant way. Not listening (Prov 18:2) Self talk- always talking about yourself.

b. Negative-grumbling, complaining(Phil 2:14) Complaining is always directed at God even though we don't mean for it to be. Remember God is sovereign. No one wants to be around someone who is negative.

c. Hasty

d. Caustic- Sarcastic, criticism

e. Injurious- Gossip/slander/lies. Truth not spoken in love. Deception and lies destroys trust and relationships. Go to the person that you are having an issue with and not others about the problem

8. Busyness- Just too busy

In Other Words: SELFISHNESS

Selfishness leads to self focus and lack of concern for others. It is never too late to start doing what is right. You should not be shy or say I don't want or can't get out of my shell.

2 Corinthians 5:14-15 says For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

The gospel is the wind in our sails that moves us not only to love Him but to love others. The main place that God manifested his grace is in us. Knowing Christ we can be givers and not takers.

Who are you really thinking about??? It shouldn't about ourselves but about our love for Christ and others. :)

Intimacy with God.

So yesterday I went to this amazing women's conference at Grace Community Church. One of the topics we learned about was intimacy with God. For the next couple of posts I will be sharing with you what I learned and I hope it is an encouragement to you.

Intimacy with God

We were created to commune with God. We were made in God's image. Being made in God's image we were given things.

1. Special dignity
2. Dominion over everything
3. Man is a rational being
4. Spiritual being and able to relate to God.

Nothing else was created to have intimacy with God. Adam and Eve died spiritually after eating the fruit. They were not satisfied with the intimacy with God but wanted to be like God. In the first Adam we fail but in the 2nd Adam who is Jesus Christ we are born again. Justification is the opposite of condemnation. When justification happens it allows us to have a relationship with Him.

There are several benefits of intimacy with God

It gives us peace with God.

Romans 5:1-11 says Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Peace with God allows us to have continual access.

We can not only enter his presence but we can stay there. We have open access to his presence. We can go in at any time. He'll never put you on hold. We have continual access. (Romans 5:1-2, Hebrews 4:15-16)

Peace with God gives us confident hope.

Hope in the Bible is an absolute certainty and not wishful thinking which is the way we think hope is like. (Romans 5:3-4, 1 Peter 1:3-5)

Peace with God gives us abounding love.

It is abounding love. God's love is unlimited and unending. (Romans 5:5) Love is lavished upon us. We will not be disappointed because it is about God's love towards us and not about our love for God.

He desires in fellowship with us. Our response should be that we find our contentment, complete enjoyment in Christ. We are in the most intimate relationship with God and we should daily rejoice in that. We have the ability of living far above the circumstance. We can exult in Him. (Romans 5:7)

Flesh never can change but as we can grow in our faith we are able to battle it.

There are however potential barriers for Christian living and intimacy with God.

1. Not seeing God's character rightly.
This is when we doubt God's sovereignty, wisdom and love.

2. Faulty appreciation of the gospel
This is when we minimize the gospel. Some people think that the gospel is only the beginning and then they can work really hard after that. That is not true. The gospel is the beginning to salvation but it is so much more and sanctification.

Parable in Luke about the two prodigal sons was an example she used. Both were far away from the Father. One never knew it (older brother) and one did (younger brother). The older brother obeyed to be accepted (get what we want). It should be I am accepted therefore I obey. Older brother may not be saved. You may have some older brother tendencies such as

a. Your obedience is mechanical or joyless.
You think it is useful to obey. It is a means to an end. You think it is a duty.

b. You are always frustrated with what God is doing in your life.
Don't set limits on what he can ask of you.

c. Lack assurance of God's love.

Another barrier is priorities

1. Favoring task above God.
Let ourselves get too busy. Only one thing really necessary. It is like the story of Mary and Martha. Martha was too busy preparing things. Mary was devoted to listening to Christ and what he was teaching. Are we a room full of Martha's?

2. Elevating man above God.
This is when we delight in other peoples opinion. Our satisfaction should be in Him alone.

3. Treasuring things above God.

When we are too easily pleased we are shallow people because God can give us so much more.

One question she asked was "If God took everything precious away from you is He going to be enough?"

You already have intimacy with God as a true follower of Christ.

She also talked about God's transcendence is his otherness. He doesn't explain everything to us. God's transcendence gives us a high view of God which leads to worship. God's immanence is his mercy, grace, love and his nearness leads to rest. You can not neglect nearness and transcendence. It will not work out.

The last thing she told us was that need to preach the gospel to ourselves every day. Don't look at your own circumstances but instead look at the cross.

This is all the notes I took for the session about intimacy with God. I hope you are all encouraged by this.

Humility

Quietly and humbly I come
To the one who is the Son

The Creator of everything I see
The one who provides for all I need

The one whom I get my support from
and He is the one I can lean on

To Him alone be all honor, glory, and praise
every solitary second for the rest of my days

Why do I mope and complain,
when I encounter a little pain?

Or when I get down,
do I begin to frown?

I need to remember that I am much better off
than someone who is lost

For they have everything to fear
When judgment day is finally here

Unless we share with everyone
the law and the gospel and about God's only Son

And that our loved ones who once were blind
Once we share with them will hopefully repent
Turn away from their sins
Put their faith and trust in Him
and then they will be born again
and will be able to finally see
and become truly free indeed.

by Michelle Miano

Stubborn and Determined

I know that this post is sort of off the topic of what I've been talking about mostly on my blog but I thought should put it in.

A couple days ago I just realized something. I can be at times a stubborn person. My sisters and I were talking about Disney movies a while back and I realized something. My favorite Disney movies had girls that were very stubborn and determined. Not sure if I just liked them or if it was because the characters were like me in a way but I thought I would show you just a couple clips from the movies.






Stubborn and determined that's what I see in these characters and that's what I sometimes see in me.. Is this a good thing? I'm not sure. Determined yes but I'm not so sure about the stubborn part.

The Belt of Truth

So this past Sunday my pastor talked about the Belt of Truth from Ephesians 6. I thought I would just share with you some of the notes I put down from my pastors sermon. I felt like there were a lot of things that my pastor was telling the congregation that he could have been speaking to me personally and challenging me. So here it goes..

What is the belt of truth?

1. Jesus is God's truth. We have to put on Jesus Christ.

Something that my pastor said that really stuck out in my mind was when he said "Jesus is the way because he is the truth and he gives us eternal life." This is in reference to John 14:6. John 14:6 is "Jesus said to him I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." As my pastor told us "We need to put on Jesus Christ just as if you were putting on a clean new shirt each morning and putting your dirty clothes/sins in the hamper to be cleaned.

2. The Word of God is truth.

In this section my pastor talked about how we need to be reading the Word of God more. He used an analogy which was really cool. He said we can't just have 1 or 2 meals a week to survive. We need to eat daily. We need to be in the Word as much as if we need to eat every day. We can't have only 1 meal a week to survive and the same goes with our spiritual state. We can't have a 1 meal a week by going to church and getting our food there. That is unhealthy. We need to be in the Word every day so that we can get the sustenance we need to grow and mature in our faith. So I was challenged to be reading the Word daily so that I am truly putting on the belt of truth.

3. Living a life of truthfulness

In this section I learned that we need to make sure we don't have our own agenda but that we are speaking God's truth alone. Malachi 2:6 says "True instruction was in his mouth and unrighteousness was not found on his lips; he walked with Me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many back from iniquity."

Truth keeps the believer by being confused by deceitful spirits. Ephesians 4:14 says "As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;"

Living a life of truthfulness will keep the believer from becoming entangled with the affairs of this life. 2 Timothy 2:2-4 says "The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier." What I learned from that was seek the supremacy of Jesus in your life. Don't let life entangle you so that you don't have time with Him.

My pastor also quoted someone by the name of Tom Constable. He said "A man with a clear conscience can face the enemy without fear." Too often I think myself included that we fear the enemy more than we really should. My pastor said that the believer who knows the truth will not be deceived. I think all believers should take this to heart and see how much they really are using the belt of truth and putting the belt of truth on and reading God's Word daily. Let us read the Word daily and use it to sustain us and to help us when the enemy(the devil) tries to attack us. Then we will be prepared for anything that the devil might send our way.

So that is what I learned from my pastors sermon on the Belt of Truth. I hope that this encouraged you.

Mighty to Save

I just felt lead to share this song with those of you that have loved ones who are unsaved.



Know that I am praying for you and your families. If you have someone you would like for me to pray for specifically let me know. You can always post their names here and then everyone else who comments after you can read it and be praying too. So that we can be praying for one another. Or you can send me an email at ltlpianist@aol.com

My Bucket List

So for anyone who might read this who doesn't know me or anything about me I'll start off by saying that I am currently going to California State University Northridge to major in Child Development. One of the classes I'm taking this semester is called Play and Human Potential. The class is basically to talk about the importance of play across the human lifespan. In more general terms it is to talk about how play, recreation and leisure is very important to have in our lives whether we are little kids, teenagers, adults, or seniors.

So one of the assignments she had us do was to make our own bucket list...

Yes you heard me correctly..

A bucket list of things we would like to do before we die. I had never thought of this before so it was a little hard to think of some things.

So here is my bucket list...

1. Get married

2. Have children

3. Become a child life specialist at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles

4. Go on a mission trip to orphanages somewhere.

5. Go on trips to visit my friends in the U.S. and some other countries as well.

6. Start a non profit organization- Possibly having to do with sending cards of encouragement to all people around the world whether they are sick or not. Everyone sometimes just needs a little bit of encouragement to get through the day. :)

7. Start some sort of hospital ministry with my church. (Not sure how to start this)

8. Have my poetry published in some sort of book of a collection of poems I've written and give it out to people for free. Sort of like my dad's book Running Beyond Inspiration.

9. Work at a retirement center or be able to visit with the seniors there and do it often. "They can be so lonely sometimes and I just love talking to them."

10. See 1 person come to faith in Christ before my very eyes.

That's my bucket list.. I know that my bucket list seems small and that my choices might look odd but this is my bucket list. I look at it and wonder if I will ever see these things happen and can I accomplish any of these.

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13

But we have to remember that we don't know the number of our days. 10 out of 10 people die. We will all die one day. What matters is not what we do here in this life but what happens to you when you pass away?

So what do you think?

I think we all will either end up in heaven or in hell. Let's see where you will end up. We'll use God's law the Ten Commandments as the standard.

Have you ever told a lie, stolen anything, taken God's name in vain?

If you have then by your own admission you are a lying, thieving, blasphemer at heart.

That doesn't sound like a good person to you does it?

So would you be innocent or guilty? Guilty.

Would you go to heaven or hell? Hell

But God didn't want for that to happen. So God sent his only son Jesus Christ, fully God, fully man without sin to die a horrible death on the cross for you and me. Three days later he rose again and forever defeated death.

What God requires from us is that if He is drawing you to himself is that you repent, turn away from your sins and put your faith in Jesus Christ alone to save you. Jesus says "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me." John 14:6

You can't save yourself. Only Jesus Christ can save you from the wrath which is to come.

If you have any questions please send me an email at ltlpianist@aol.com or post it as a comment and I'll be glad to talk to you about it.

I'll just leave you with this song at the end of the post. I didn't make this youtube video but I love the song and I think it's very fitting to this post. This song is called The Line Between the Two by Mark Harris

Old Rugged Cross

On that old rugged cross is a song we sometimes sing
A cross we sometimes see on churches, necklaces, and tee's.
But I think we really don't stop to think about what the cross really means.

It is a symbol that we should not take lightly
But that we should regard it very highly

For on a day called Good Friday
The innocent, Son of God on a cross was slain
And the price for us He did pay

He alone could be the sacrifice
He alone could pay the price
For Jesus Christ was God's only begotten Son you see
And He alone could die for sinners, the wretched people like you and me.

Because of the horrible things we had done
Because we had all broken God's law
We could never pay the price
Christ was the only sacrifice that would suffice

But it did not end on that Good Friday
Yes Christ was sacrificed for us and did die for you and me that day
On the old rugged cross
But his death was not a loss
For three days later on that wonderful day
Christ defeated death and arose from the grave.

That day my friends was Easter.

So the next time you sing about the old rugged cross
Or you wear the cross as a necklace or on a tee.
Just remember what the cross symbolizes and what the the cross truly should mean
To sinners saved by grace like you and me
And thank God that He saved thee

You are no longer a slave to sin but are free
To God may all the praise and glory be
Hallelujah! He is risen! He is risen indeed!

by: Michelle Miano

The Clock

Tick, tock goes the clock
Time is slipping away
We haven't a moment to stray
For we don't know if we will live another day.

Once we have left this earth and passed on
We will have lived this life and moved on

For here on this earth is not the end
It is only just a bend

Once we have gotten to that pearly gate
The Lord has already chosen our fate
He will either say "Welcome into the kingdom my daughter or son."
"Well done good and faithful one."
Or He will say "Depart from me I never knew you."
"You whose god was money and not the one true Son."

So let us choose the narrow way
And not enter the broad gate where people stray.

Remember your dear loved ones today
And let us not watch them stray
But share the gospel with them today.
And give Him all the glory and praise

Because...

Tick tock goes the clock
Time is slipping away
We don't have a moment to stray
For we don't know if we will live another day.

by Michelle Miano

Thank You

This poem I would like to dedicate to the following people Bart McCurdy, Jessica Kidwell, Josh Wiley, and Jeff Baran. :)

Thank you my dear friends
For being with me to the end

For a time when I felt so weak and small
You raised me up
And made me feel so strong and tall

I broke into tears
Conquering some of my fears

I prayed for the courage that I lack
As I proceeded to get on top of your back.

To open air and share the truth
of the law and the gospel
To the entire group

Thank you for getting on your hands and knees
And being there to support me

As I shook tremendously
Looking a little like Elvis Presley

And thank you to those friends for being by my side.
As I told people of how they had sinned
Because they had stolen and lied.

Thank you my dear friends
For being with me till the very end

Whether you were down on your knees
or encouraging me
as you were standing by my side
I thank God for the backup and friends that the Lord did provide

I don't know how else to say.
How very grateful I was to have you with me on that very special day

I can't tell you enough
That you have blessed me oh so very much

So I say once again
Thank you, Thank you my dear friends
For being with me till the very end.

Don't Quit!

Every time I fear
God is always near
He provides everything
All I could ever need

He gives me strength
And helps me to be bold
As the time grows old

To share about the cross
With those who are lost.
So those who are blind
God can open up their eyes

So let us proclaim
The wonderful news that he came

Let us not fear
When men scoff and come near
For we have nothing to fear
For the Bible says that God is always near

Just remember "What can mere man do to me?" (Hebrews 13:6)
When God is with thee

Don't Quit! Press on!
For when you are weak
Lean on Him
And He will make you strong.

by Michelle Miano

Christmas Morn'

Wise men told the stories of old
Of one who is more precious than gold

Who on that Christmas morn'
In a stable He was born

Why was this one who came to earth
Of such special birth?

Because He was to die a death you see.
To pay the punishment for both you and me.

We had done a crime
For what we had done like stolen and lied
And because of that we were given a fine.

A fine that was too great that we could not pay.
We could not even try to work our way.

Our only hope is Christ who is the way, the truth, and the life.
Only he could suffice

So He came to earth to pay the fine
And on the cross He would die.
And on the the third day He would rise
For he defeated death and the grave and is alive

He paid the fine so that we might be free
So we shall be ever grateful and follow Him indeed.

So remember that on that glorious morn'
In a stable your Savior was born.

And spread that same story of old
Of the one who is now more precious to you than gold

So that other people will hear and see
And become free like you and me
And let it all be
For God's awesome glory.

by Michelle Miano

A Poem about Prayer

I fell asleep praying today.
Oh why does it always happen that way.

In my head thoughts always turning
I'm coming to His Word always yearning

Wanting to get off the shore
And dive into something so much more

To share with everyone from sea to shining sea
How God can set the captives free.
If they just see that they are lost indeed
And turn away from their sins, repent and believe

But Oh Lord, How can I do that?
Lord, What can I say?
When I can't just stay awake to pray

For if I can't spend ten minutes of my day
To pray and give you all the glory and praise

What has my life become?
Nothing but a vapor
A tiny speck in comparison to the sun.

So Lord help to be a flower that blooms
To share your love to a world full of gloom

And help me to be more devoted to you each day
And spend more time in your Word and pray.

by Michelle Miano

A Poem about an Atheist

Leaves falling slowly, softly
Like teardrops to the ground.

Pitter, Patter, Pitter Patter,
The rain is coming now.

Upon a thirsty land
Coming from a caring hand

Where does that caring hand come from?
From our gracious Lord, our God above
The Creator of everything we know and love

How do you know there is a God the atheists say
Where is the proof you can display?

So we say just look and see
He has created both you and me
and all around us are the wonders of his majesty

And we see the atheists eyes begin to open wide like turning from night to day
As he sees all the wonders that God hath made

We look at the atheist and he is dumbfound.
For he had never heard of anything so profound

How can this be true?
He looks up in despair
For my entire life long
I have been so wrong.

We tell the atheist "Please, Please."
"You must repent and believe."
He cries out "Yes! Yes! I see. I see."
"Oh God forgive a sinner like me."

The man who once was an atheist will be no more
For Christ is in his heart both now and forever more.

The man who was once an atheist will cry out to His father above
For our God is full of justice, grace, mercy, and love.

As we watch the man who once was blind but now can see.
We see him crying and we encourage and comfort thee.

For his crying is like leaves falling slowly, softly to the ground.
Thankful for the gracious God whose love abounds
And gave the living water to his thirsty soul.

Praise be to God that we could be so bold.
To share His gospel with both young and old.

For if we had been fearful and afraid
We would have not shared the gospel that day.
And that young man might have perished on his way.
And if he had, would have gone to the grave.

So Praise God that he would use a sinner like thee
To show others the way so that they too might be free.

by Michelle Miano