Category: Christianity

Lift Up Your Heart

Lift Up Your Heart

7-20-25

Psalms 62:8

Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Selah

Selah

 means to pause and think about what God is saying .

  1. Trust
  2. Pour out your heart
  3. God is our refuge

As a Christian we understand from reading the Bible that there is a kingdom of light and a kingdom of darkness,

Reading Isaiah 14:12-25 and Ezekiel 28:11-19, we see the description of the fall of Satan and the coming of the kingdom of darkness.

The devil has come to kill, steal and destroy all man kind, also

He is going about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

As the midnight hour draws closer, we know that spiritual warfare has increased and we must guard our hearts.

With our speech we can either bring about healing or division. 

No foul language should come out of our mouth.

What we feed grows and what we starve dies, 

And what we have hidden in our hearts will eventually come out through our speech, as described in Luke 6:45.

Whether we do good or do evil it begins in the heart and the manner of speech we use describes the type of heart that we have.

In the 70’s  a phrase by Flip Wilson became popular, and even Christians would say “ The Devil Made me Do It”. I confess I said it, but I didn’t understand what I had spoke in jest.

 I believe Satan created this saying to take away the trust that we have in Christ. 

Words spoken in anger, can be compared to spears thrown at a person that wounds the heart and often times kills the spirit of a person. This is verbal abuse.

Satan wants to shred the heart to pieces, to keep us focused more on the issue rather than the healing. 

What we feed grows and what we starve dies, 

And what we have hidden in our hearts will eventually come out through our speech, as described in Luke 6:45.

God is Our Refuge

Each one of us has faced a storm in life that almost sunk the ship, a real trial of our faith.

To trust someone shows we have confidence in them. We believe what they say, they really are doing.

However many have had trust broken, by slander, or deception that shakes a person to their core.

We are to follow peace and to encourage one another in the Lord, especially those that are in need of hearing grace.

If we want our prayers answered ,forgive those that has committed a trespass against you, if you don’t then our heavenly Father will not forgive us.

The disciples went through a couple of these storms with Jesus.

Satan sent a storm trying to kill Jesus, the greek word for this storm is seimos- earthquake. A tsunami with waves covering the ship.

While the storm raged, Jesus slept. The bible says the disciples came to him and woke him up, saying, Lord save us lest we perish.{Mathew 8:24]

Pour out your heart  to the Lord

God knows your storm that you are in today, and our prayer can be “Lord save us lest we perish”.

Psalms 32:7

Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah

One day in the future, there is a storm that is going to sweep across the world that will affect everyone that is alive, it will last for 7 years and it is called the the great tribulation {Mathew 24:21-22}


There is a misconception  and confusion among Christians that those that have accepted Christ as their savior will go through this storm also. There are those that scoff at those that believe what God’s Word states, and have said there will be no secret rapture take place. 

Well I agree with the one that said that, the entire world will know on that day.

Scripture clearly state in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, ‘the dead in Christ shall arise first, and then those remaining shall rise to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Romans 5:9 

“We shall be saved from wrath through Jesus” we are justified through salvation. 

What is this wrath?  A terrible judgement poured out from God upon those that remain, because of sin and un-belief. 

The Book of Revelation describes what will take place, beginning in chapter  6:1 through chapter 19:11

“The tribulation saints will be martyred during the first 3.5 years of the tribulation” [1.]

“A highlight of the wrath to come.

The brunt of the wrath will be in 1/4 of the world that will include the Mediterranean are as well as most of, if not all of Europe, including the Soviet Union {Daniel 11:44}  (2)

The entire world will be affected Rev 6:12 the planetary bodies are affected by 1/3/of sun gone, 1/3 of moon gone, 1/3 of stars gone

1/3Earth burned, 1/3 trees burned, 1/3 sea becomes blood, 1/3 of living sea creature die, 1/3 of ships destroyed, 1/3  pf streams and rivers becoming contaminated with wormwood.

No buying or selling without the mark of the beast- Antichrist.

Once the mark is taken, in the palm or on the forehead, your goose is cooked. Literally – eternity in hell

There will be nations that come out of the great tribulation and that will go into the Millennial which is another study in itself.

Today the earth is groaning, major earthquakes 7.3 Alaska 7-15-25

3100 plus flash flood warnings so far in 2025 this in US.

Major wildfires world wide.

Wars and Rumors of war- world wide

Civil Disorder- world wide   

“The door of mercy will never be closed to Jews or Gentiles, for the scripture plainly says “ That whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved” {Acts 2:21} {3}

Lift Up Your Heart

Today is the Day of Salvation

Romans 10:8,9,10

  1. The Prophecies and Symbols of Revelation, by Jimmy Swaggart  { page 45} 
  2. “””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””{ Page 44}
  3. “””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””{ page 56}

Lift Up Your Head

Lift Up Your Head

7-27-25

Psalms 3:3

But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.

In our natural lives we go to work in order to earn money to live, and always it seems with the thought just a few more years and I will be able to retire, but do you realize that as a Christian there is no retirement until He calls us home.

We are living in a fast paced world today. There is still 24 hours in a day, but how often have you heard where did time go. Up early late to bed, Oh sorry Lord I had no time today to spend with you, but tomorrow will be another day, so we say each night and everyday

The slip, sliding away from the Lord becomes easier, then before we know it we are stuck in the mire clay and then we wonder why I feel downcast in my soul?

We are in spiritual warfare and it is only going to increase as the midnight hour draws closer. Satan is out to destroy and often time we get blindsided by our peers or even by those that we thought loved us, and now we are in an emotional crisis.

Mathew 11:28-30

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Many times we think that we are the only ones that feels despair and no hope for the way out of the situation that we find ourselves in.

Pg. 2

Often we try as to climb out of our despair on our own strength only to lose our grip and fall back into that deep dark hole of despair thinking there is no hope and often times going deeper into that hole!

Despair is a lack of hope, yet the challenge we often face is making the choice to “Cast all of our cares upon the Lord”. {1 Peter 5:7}

Friends though the hour seems dark and the battle rages in our mind, We have a friend that is closer than a brother and we never have to be lonely again.

Only Jesus can satisfy the soul!

Only Jesus can give the peace that is desperately needed in the time of Despair!

Take that step of Faith this day and give all your troubles to Jesus!

Remember Jesus is not only your friend.  He is the King of Kings and our salvation!

For the Scripture reads, Whosoever believes on Him shall not be ashamed! Romans 10:11

Luke 1:37

For withGodnothing shall be impossible. 

The battles that King David and his mean faced were not only physical but spiritual also.

David did not become king of Israel immediately. He faced great opposition, and it was  so intense, that he had to flee the country that he had been anointed by God to be the king.

In spite of the many errors that David committed, he knew what God had called him to, and he persevered and kept pressing forward.

In 1 Chronicles 12 we read that David kept himself close, which means he surrounded himself with men that were loyal to him. They were mighty men of valor, that had separated themselves from King Saul, who once knew God. 

PG 3

These men that had separated themselves, were men well trained in the art of warfare. In spite of the many hardships that they faced, they recognized the anointing that David had, and chose to go wherever David went. They also experienced great distress at various times.

David cried out to God.

Psalms120:1

In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me.

David is one of the many examples of a man that was anointed by God and records the various emotional crisis that he experienced

 Psalms 351 Plead my cause, O Lord, with those who strive with me;

Fight against those who fight against me.

Beginning in 2 Samuel 23:11 we can read about some of the mighty men of valor that was with David.

The Tachmonite who was  chief among the captains was called Adino,

he had killed eight hundred men at one time.  Think about that for a moment.  When Adino got up that morning, he knew that he was going into a battle, where the enemy was going to do their best to kill him. .However, he had to take up his weapon, which in this instance was a spear. 

Though the scripture does not mention any wounds that he may have received in that battle, logic would say he had some. 

In spite of being wounded, he pressed forward. It was the anointing of the Lord that came upon him to be able to persevere throughout the day.

Then there was a man named Shammah, 

David’s body guard.

He was an owner of a piece of ground that he grew pea’s on.

One day when harvest was about to begin, the enemy came rushing in to steal what he had labored for. 

Pg 4

He said enough is enough, today I am taking a stand against the enemy. 

God gave him a great victory.

What then shall we say to these things? 

Lift up your head this day and take a stand against the enemy

Let this sink in

Romans 8:31

If God is for us, who can be against us?

Learn the lesson that David and other men of past times have learned

Psalms 56:3-4

When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?

Lift Up Your Head!

Keep pressing forward! God is not done with you yet!

Luke 1:37

For withGodnothing shall be impossible. 

How We Live

As we observe the craziness going on, we are reminded by the scripture found in 2 Timothy 3 that indeed we are living in the last of the last days.

How we live depends on what we believe!

Romans 8:9

9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. 

The most important thing to know is where you are going to spend eternity and having the blessed assurance that as we live accordingly to God’s Prescribed Order, we indeed will spend eternity in the presence of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

JOHN 17:3

3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. 

There is only one true God. There is only one way to Heaven and that is through the Blood of Jesus that He shed on Calvary’s tree by dying and rising again on the 3rd day. God’s amazing Love how can it be, we that have accepted Jesus as our savior, know this amazing Love, and know that we have the assurance that are His child.

As we study the Bible and rightly understand it we will gain Spiritual Knowledge.

PHILLIPIANS 3:10

10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,

Staying on The Path

PS 119:“35 Make me to go in the path of Your Commandments; for therein do I delight. (The sense of this Verse is that the human heart is so turned away from the Paths of God that the Holy Spirit must use Power to bring us back to the correct path, and will do so only upon the petitioning cry of a searching heart.

INTRO: Have you ever wondered how the pioneers of the early 1800’s navigated across this vast country from the east to the mountains of the west. 

How did pioneers blaze a trail?

Early settlers in North America, from the late 1600s onwards, would mark out a trail in the thick forests by cutting a blaze mark into the bark on the trunks of trees to show the way to those behind them as the lighter inner wood would show brightly against the dark bark.

The oldest section of the National Road is the original Cumberland Trail blazed by General Braddock during the French and Indian War,.

In 1797 veteran Col. Ebenezer Zane responded to the needs of these west bound migrants by establishing Zane’s Trace, a rough wagon road based on old Indian trails, from Wheeling, (West) Virginia to Maysville, Kentucky. referred to as the Cumberland Road. 

Now in the modern day that we live in there are various navigation tools, many can be downloaded onto phone apps,. Yet deep into a forest no satellite service.  What then. 

The answer is preparation before hiking. Having the proper gear, enough food and water, a source to purify water as needed , a topographical map is essential, also a compass, and knowledge how to use.

Why then do so many  get lost.

They have wandered off the path that led to the destination, onto paths that seemed to be a more direct way  only to realize after traveling a distance and not really paying attention, the shock of not knowing where to turn sets in.

While living in Colorado my brother would often hike the rainbow trail. Wet Cliffe Co, which is 29 miles in length with an elevation gain of 6,190 feet. 

One day while out on the trail, he met a fellow that was close to hypothermia, this fellow was unprepared for the changes in weather, shorts and a thin jacket.  Ron informed him he was close to the trail head & just stay on the path down.

A year later Ron met the same fellow on the trail. Dress like he was the previous year, shorts and light jacket. It was obvious this fellow didn’t apply what he experienced before and was setting himself up for hardships.

From Westcliffe looking up into the mountains there is a favorite place hikers go to, It is called the needles. Crestone Needle elevation is 14,265 feet and is classified as class 3,  daunting, every year people  get lost, injured or perish, requiring search and rescue to go trying to locate them. Unfortunately some have never been found.

Why did this occur, The hikers left the path, thinking they knew what they were doing, ignoring the instruction’s for that trail.

Interesting, you might say, but then how does this apply to me as a christian.  

Every individual that lives on planet earth, and also for those that are currently in outer space, a road map to life has been created, which one we choose to follow will determine our final destination.

Broad & wide leads to destruction on a downward slippery slope to hell, for eternity, but the straight and narrow leads to the being in the presence of God for eternity.

What map are you using.

There is a difference from believing in God to Knowing God.

James 2:19 You believe there is one God you do well; the devils also believe and tremble.

To know God is to apply Romans 10:8,9,10 to your life. 

8. But what does it say? The Word is near you, even in your mouth, and in your heart: that is, the Word of Faith which we preach. 9. That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be Saved. 10. For with the heart man believes unto Righteousness; and with confession is made unto Salvation .

As I was working on preparing this lesson, the power went out.

No lights, no phone, because of no internet, in order for me to finish, time to start the generator

There is a process that had to be followed in order for me to restore power

For the wayward christian that has strayed from the path  of righteousness, there is a process that must be followed to return to Christ.

Is it a 12 step program?  Do I need to confess my sins before man.

So what is the process I must do?

It is very simple, apply 1 John 1:9

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins, and to cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness.

Look at the word if,   If is a conditional word— You have a choice whether or not you are going to do

Example {if  I go to church on Sunday and if you come we will see each other}

If I go to work & if I perform my job, then I will get paid if the employer has any money

Do you get the point

IF WE CONFESS=== Many confess their sin yet return to them, because they have found pleasure in their sin

You see it is not mere confession, but the process is we acknowledge our sin to God, and ask for forgiveness.

But you might say to me, I have done that before and I still am plagued by this habitual sin

Deliverance comes, when we quit trying to overcome in ourselves but realize and apply what Jesus did for you and I when He went to the cross and paid the penalty for every sin that mankind has ever committed.

Friends we must become like a stamp that has been put on a letter, that has the proper amount of glue and when applied will stay on that letter until you remove it.

Ps 119:31 “31 I have stuck unto Your Testimonies: O LORD, put me not to shame. (The word “stuck” actually means “I have been glued to.” Let it be known that being glued to “Your Testimonies” is not one way of victory, but the only way.)”

In order though  for the testimony of God to stick, we must hid the Word of God in our hearts.

Ps 119:120. My flesh trembles for the fear of You, And I am afraid of Your Judgments.

Most of the modern day church has lost their fear of God,

Why is that, The preachers and teachers have quit  dealing with sin and turned more to a social gospel, avoiding subjects that pertain to penalties of sin

Jeremiah 2:11-13 11 Has a nation changed its gods,

Which are not gods?

But My people have changed their Glory

For what does not profit.

12 Be astonished, O heavens, at this,

And be horribly afraid;

Be very desolate,” says the Lord.

13 “For My people have committed two evils:

They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters,

And hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water

God is no respecter of persons, Sin is sin in the eyes of God no matter whom commits it.

Now is the time to plow up any hard ground of your hearts, Cleanse our minds and hearts before the Lord

Recognizing it is not By might nor by power but by MY Spirit says the Lord of Host Ze. 4:6 —- that we are more than conquerors through Christ Jesus—-Ro 8:37

There is a fresh wind of the Holy Spirit moving across this land and the World.

Revival begins when people cry out to God. Humble ourselves and exalt Christ

 People from many different nations have been joining in 

At 12 noon EST Asbury Revival 2023 {Official Non -Scam Community Hub}  FACE BOOK LIVE ——

  OR  ZOOM 87196352094 PASSCODE  PRAY——

Praying for a global revival. Monday -Friday.

Using The Lord’s prayer as a model, yet not praying verbatim 

SILVER AND GOLD HAVE I NONE BUT SUCH AS I HAVE GIVE I THEE IN THE NAME OF JESUS RISE UP AND WALK

Make us usable O God as we Return to the Old Path. The path of Righteousness AND OF POWER AND OF GLORY FOR THE DAY OF THE LORD DRAWS NEARER.

Paul