The Strength That Is In You

Last week, Scott Kaehr gave the message at church entitled “The Other Side of the Gospel.” He talked about how the gospel is more than just salvation. Being a Christian is more than just having “fire insurance.” Not only are you forgiven at the point of salvation, but you are FILLED with the Holy Spirit.

The fact that we are filled with the Holy Ghost is wonderful news!! After all, apart from Christ we can do nothing (John 15:5). If we think we are the ones who are righteous and good, we have missed something! Like Scott says, it’s Christ in us that does the work (Philippians 2:13)!! And, in Philippians 4:13, it says that we can do all things THROUGH CHRIST who strengthens us. Over and over again we see in God’s Word that it’s the Holy Spirit IN US that is enabling us to fulfill God’s good purposes.

Scott even sited Mark 9:17-29 in which the disciples are asking Jesus why they couldn’t drive an evil spirit out of a man’s son. Jesus told them that that kind could only come out by prayer and fasting. Scott says that “we” miss the fact that “we” cannot drive out spirits, perform miracles, etc. apart from Christ. If we aren’t in communion with God through prayer and fasting, “we” won’t be able to carry out God’s Will because we won’t know what His will even is!

Scott reminded us that in whatever we go through or encounter, the victory is accomplished through Christ. We can’t achieve real or lasting victory on our own. Anything “we” can do is incomplete without Christ and it will not stand. It’s castles in the sand. If you want to see a good example of this, watch Clem Reinhard’s testimony. He said that he was once addicted to alcohol but now, he’s addicted to Jesus! He experienced true victory, freedom, and recovery through the strength of Christ! He’s a beautiful example of what happens when you surrender to the will of God and let Him take control!

A few final thoughts are some things Scott mentioned about dealing with his own stronghold; anger. He said it’s something that he continually gives up to God. Surrender and deliverance is one thing, but maintaining freedom is very tough! Satan doesn’t give up on you! He’s stubborn!! He would love nothing more than to enslave you to the same things you were delivered from! That’s why Scott reminded us that we have to continue to take our thoughts captive (2 Corinthians 10:5). He said that when the anger comes up, he just brings it to God and says, “it’s not mine, it’s yours.” We need to keep giving those things over to Him to deal with - that’s the whole “Christ in me” part that we have to take hold of. Keep laying your struggles and strongholds at His feet; He’ll deal with it. There’s nothing too big or too small. If you fight your battles on your own, prepare to suffer loss!!! You’ll only get victory through HIS strength and through abiding in HIM!

Here’s another good illustration; brought to you from the talented and gifted guys over at Knocking on Heaven’s Door.This particular comic is even printed out and posted on my fridge so I can see it and be reminded of it EVERY DAY:



Grace and peace to all of you!! If you want to learn more about deliverance and recovery, check out the sermons of Blackhawk Baptist church. They are doing a series right now that deals with the steps of finding freedom from all sorts of bondage (we watch them on TV before going to our church’s services every Sunday). God bless you, and I pray that you will find deliverance and freedom through the strength that is in you - which is Christ!

Two Urgent Requests

A couple of my friends (and I’m sure many others) have already posted blogs asking for prayers for friend Ashli McCall. However, it never hurts to ask for more,…..so I’m also asking my friends to pray for my friend, and fellow pro-life blogger, Ashli. Based on the minimal details that I know at this point, she is having a personal medical crisis right now. She’s no stranger to medical distress (as you might already know if you’ve heard of her book Beyond Morning Sickness: Battling Hyperemesis Gravidarum). So, she’s been through some rough stuff before and has ultimately triumphed. I know that God will be with her now just as He has always been!! Pray for strength, comfort, healing, and recovery!! She has little ones that depend on their wonderful Mama! Ashli, you have the love and prayers of so many!! We love you!!!! OXOXOXO

I also have one more friend that I still need prayer for. You might have seen that I posted on my status about my beloved friend Cheri and her need for prayers for her daughter Heather who was in a head-on collision. She’s still making it through, but she still needs lots of prayer to help her carry on as she’s recuperating from several surgeries and is not currently breathing on her own. This is another family that has been through a lot, and they too are in desperate need of God’s healing, comfort, and restoration!! Cheri and Heather, we love you and are praying you through this!! OXOXOXO

I always have so many on my mind to pray for. The list could go on and on if I posted them all right now, but I wanted to make sure that I got the word out about these two who are in very critical need. Feel free to leave comments of love and encouragement for them!! Thanks for praying and offering your care and support!!! God bless you all!!!

Life is a Good Investment

Last Thursday, Mitch and I attended the Life Centers Banquet in Indianapolis. The banquet was lovely and well-organized. Many of my fellow Huck*Pac peeps were there as well! One of which was Shelley Ahlersmeyer, a coordinator for Huck*Pac. There were so many people at the banquet that I missed out on seeing her and several others, but she wrote a GREAT blog about all the details!! She also posted some good pictures as well!! Feel free to view her pictures as well as mine (you might have heard that I had an awesome dress!! Some of you may get the joke! LOL). And by the way, if you haven’t signed up for Huck*Pac, I encourage you to do so! Hopefully, you’ll be kind enough to sign up after making a contribution through my link so I can meet my fundraising goal (enter donor code: R27508) C’mon! Can I get 100 people to donate AT LEAST a buck to Huck to help get common sense hard-core conservatives elected so we can turn this country back around and going in the right direction again?! Thanks, I appreciate it! I thank you, Huckabee thanks you, and America will thank you!!!

Anyways, my thoughts on the banquet will likely reflect the feelings of other fellow Huckafans as well as the true patriots of America who still hold fast to the ideals of our forefathers; who declared that we all have the right to LIFE, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Mike Huckabee really drove that point home in his speech (which, as Shelley pointed out, he did without the use of notes or a teleprompter. Wow! Even the “president“ can‘t accomplish that!!). Mike Huckabee spoke straight from his heart and from the common sense wisdom that true Americans still adhere to. He talked about how precious, sacred, and valuable the basic right to life is for every human being; the fact that we are “created equal.” No one is worth any more or less than anybody else. He talked about how our forefathers rejected the ideas that people were defined by their status, name, property, etc. They wholeheartedly believed and declared that worth is given to each person by God; the Creator and giver of life. No other human has the right to say that you are worth more or less than anyone else!

Mike Huckabee also pointed out some other good facts. He talked about how this nation woke up to the realization that slavery was wrong and that no one could “own” anybody. We are now living in 2009, and we Americans can’t imagine how or why we ever participated in (and allowed) slavery to abound in this “free” nation. It’s a shameful and tragic component of our past that we aren’t proud of. Likewise, abortion is now a horrible stain of our past and present (but hopefully not our future). For some reason, we have tragically gone back to thinking that we “own” people again. We have been deceived and have repeated history in an even more diabolical way. Not only do we believe that we “own” the lives growing inside us, but that we have the “right” to control that life through a horrible thing deemed “choice.” As Mike Huckabee pointed out, we can use that “choice” to murder an innocent life just because they are an economical, social, or some otherwise named “burden.” As the state of this nation worsens, this “choice” has the potential to abound even more as people are pushed harder by blood-thirsty/money-hungry organizations like Planned Parenthood to end the lives of innocent children so they won’t have to deal with a “burden” in tough times such as this. Mike Huckabee urged all of us to pray hard and give whatever we could (time, money, resources, etc.) to fund ministries like the Life Centers so that women would have the “choice” to choose LIFE for herself and her child instead of tragedy for them both.

If that’s not enough to convince you, consider the ripple effect. If we allow the culture of death agenda to keep implanting itself into our society, we will see much more tragedy to come! Mike Huckabee said that the more life is cheapened, the less that anyone will matter and the generation behind us will be the ones terminating our lives as we sit in nursing homes waiting to die. Because of the “choices” we told them they have a “right” to make, it will broaden the scope of who is a “burden” and babies won’t be the only ones being killed. Mike Huckabee said that he wasn’t about to let his kids get off that easily and that he isn’t about to let someone come and do away with him when he’s sitting in a nursing home. Can you see where the degradation of life is headed? Soon, no one will be safe or protected (and we’ll be utterly defenseless as well, because they are trying to strip us of our right to bare arms!! Are ya’ll connecting the dots yet???).

We all may think that now isn’t the best time for us to give, but Mike said that there has never been a greater time than NOW! Planned Parenthood takes no holidays. They are in the market for death 24/7 - and Satan has them working overtime now! They’ll prey on women more than ever before; and they’ll use the economic conditions to push their agenda so they can profit off the deaths of the innocent ones. My dear brothers and sisters, we cannot allow this!! We must pray hard, as well as reach out to the scared and vulnerable women that need our help! We need to give of our hearts, our time, and even our money to help! Mike said that when he was a preacher, he always told people about how God loves a cheerful giver. Though, he said when you’re a politician, you’ll even accept money from a grouch. ;) Regardless of whether you’re an Oscar the Grouch or Mister Rogers, please consider opening your heart to giving in this crucial time. You can click on the link provided to donate to Life Centers (and/or feel free to donate to your local Crisis Pregnancy Center). In a world where investing is something people are scared to do, there is no risk in investing in something that lasts! Invest in the LIVES of PEOPLE!! The returns and yields are AMAZING; and your rewards are in heaven!!! God bless you!!