Tag Archives: Jesus

January 14, 2023

Spiritual Identity Theft

By altarofheaven

Who are you? According to Oxford Languages Identity is defined as, “the fact of being who or what a person or thing is.” Discovering who we are is a quest we journey on in life as we look to others for affirmation and acceptance. There is great freedom and peace in knowing the truth of who you are and where you belong. This peace is stolen by berating daunting doubts from one who wants company in his misery. His name is Satan. Lucifer was once enjoying this peace and acceptance until he became discontent and wanted to be God. His consequence was to be brought to the lowest part of the pit of Sheol (Isaiah 14:12-15). In Hebrew Lucifer means, “shining one, light bearer,’ and Satan means “the accuser or adversary.” Today Satan roams and whispers lies to tempt us to doubt our identity. 

When Jesus was baptized heaven was opened and the Spirit of God descended like dove and a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:16-17). While Jesus was in the wilderness to be tempted by the devil one of the first temptations was a provocation for Jesus to doubt His identity, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread” (Matthew 4:1-3).

God the Father just affirmed Jesus as the Son of God and that’s the area where Satan goes after first…His identity. 

Satan still does this today. He desires discord, disharmony, and discontent. He relishes in destroying relationships beginning with your relationship with God. Hell was never created for you and me. Just for Satan and his followers. Why else do you think Jesus Christ commands us, “Follow Me…” We can either follow Satan to hell or follow Jesus Christ to God the Father in heaven. What is the truth about you? Who are you? 

You are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27)

You are deeply loved (John 3:16-17)

You are not perfect (Romans 3:23)

You have been given a gift (Romans 6:23)

If you have placed your faith in Jesus Christ and turned to Him, then you are a child of God and there are so many more truths about you Satan tries to deflect and devour.

You are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17)

You are forgiven (Acts 13:38-39)

You are holy (Ephesians 1:6)

You are redeemed (Colossians 1:14)

You are saved (Ephesians 2:5-6)

As Christians if we are struggling to believe these truths it’s because we are believing a lie from the enemy who is tempting us to doubt our identity in Christ just as Satan did with Jesus in the wilderness. Satan comes to steal, kill, and destroy. 

Another reason we as Christians struggle to believe these truths could be our hearts are hardened by the deceitfulness of sin in our lives and we have given Satan a foothold. God gave a way out for that too through confession and cleansing (1 John 1:9) and you can do that now.

Jesus Christ came to give life abundantly. The life of a Christian is repentance towards God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith help us to remain in Christ and prevent spiritual theft from the enemy. Keep pressing on my brethren.

“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.” 1 John 4:9

*Glorify God, Magnify Christ and Edify the Brethren

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December 15, 2022

Crushing Joy

By altarofheaven

A smile in the midst of a tear.

A laugh choking out a cry.

A wave to deflect a concern.

A silent suffering takes place each day in this world because it is full of depravity, depression, and darkness. It’s worse when you are surrounded by vanity fair, and everyone looks like they are fine…except you. You are not fine. You are hurting in place no one can see: the heart, soul, and mind.

You go through each day feeling lonely, lost and unseen. There is One that sees you and is near your crushed spirit. There is One that wants to save you and keep saving you. His name is Jesus Christ.

Maybe you do know Him but still experience this sadness because the enemy whispers lies causing you to doubt the goodness of God. You experience this sadness because this world is not your home.

The uninterrupted joy that our hearts yearn for is only found in Jesus Christ. He can take the pieces of our shattered soul and spirit and make something beautiful. It’s hard to believe but it’s true. 

I won’t drag or push you. I will just wait here with you and love you through these moments. 

“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18

“You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.” Psalm 16:11

“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, God, You will not despise.” Psalm 51:17

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December 13, 2022

Conceived and Born of the Holy Spirit

By altarofheaven
Image Credit: http://www.fullofeyes.com

Christmas is one day of many that Christians ‘remember’ the miraculous conception of Jesus Christ. We remember how God humbled Himself to experience the temptation and pain of humanity that He would one day save. When Mary asked how she would bear a son even though she was a virgin, the angel Gabriel answered:

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you, and for that reason the holy child shall be called the Son of God.” Luke 1:35

Jesus Christ was born of the water of the womb and Spirit of God. Later Jesus tells a Pharisee Nicodemus this is the only way to enter the Kingdom of God. Jesus said, “…Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which Is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” John 3:5-6

Jesus Christ is the first born of all creation. Born of the water and Spirit. He led the way to gain access to the kingdom of God. It’s interesting how we cannot choose to be born of the water, but we can ask God if we can be born of the Spirit. That is a prayer He desires to answer. If you lack in faith, just ask God to reveal Himself to you. He will. For Christians, the Holy Spirit does not just “overshadow” us, He comes to live IN us!!

BeLoved reader, I pray this Christmas you follow the steps of Jesus Christ and are born of the Spirit of God and gain the access to God the Father your soul has yearned for: to be fully known and loved.

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October 29, 2022

The Privilege of Serving

By altarofheaven

Mahatma Gandhi once said, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”

Lately I’ve been realizing how much it is a privilege to be asked to serve. When God provides me an opportunity to serve in an assignment that I think is impossible for me to do, I’m learning to pray first. Praying to Him helps me to calm my anxieties and rest and trust Him. If He asked me to do something, He will provide all that’s needed. He already gave by giving us His Son Jesus Christ. 

If you have been asked to do something that is beyond your ability, and it requires you to die to self. Stop and give thanks to God, for asking you to serve in this way. Remember you are now a disciple of Jesus Christ, and we should always be ready to serve Him. Consider it an honor that you get to live God’s truths, not just meditate on them. The Holy Spirit does more than overshadow His chosen children, He lives IN you.

Yield to the direction of the Holy Spirit and you will experience the reward of learning more about yourself, but most of all you will have the greater gain of knowing God in a more intimate way….now that’s eternal life!

“The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; for that reason also the holy Child will be called the Son of God.” Luke 1:35

“The one who has found his life will lose it, and the one who has lost his life on My account will find it.”  Matthew 10:39

“…for it is God who is at work in you, both to desire and to work for His good pleasure.” Philippians 2:13

“And looking at them, Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26

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March 12, 2022

Spiritual Status Check

By altarofheaven

During air base defense training, one of the reports we learned about was the ACE report. ACE reports were designed to give leadership a status check after a battle. ACE stood for:

A-Ammo: How much ammunition do we have?

C-Casualties: Did we have any casualties?

E-Equipment: What is the state of our equipment? Do we need to replace or replenish anything?

Years later, this acronym is helpful to me in evaluating my spiritual status as a Christian, along with the status of my fellow brethren that engage in spiritual warfare. Being involved in ministry provides many ‘opportunities’ to engage in spiritual warfare. There are days when you are tempted to be discouraged, disheartened, and demoralized. It is through these times I like to conduct a status check on myself and fellow brethren and ask the questions:

A-Ammo: How much of GOD’s WORD is in us? Are we still walking in Christ? God’s Word is the Sword of the Spirit. Do we just ‘know it’ in our head or are we using it?

C-Casualties: Who is still with us? Do we have anyone that needs to transition and retreat out of the battle for rest and respite?

E-Equipment: The Armor of God. Are we still wearing it?

There was a time in my Christian walk when I was not a ‘target’ for the enemy because I was just reclining and enjoying my salvation. I was no threat to the plan of the enemy. The moment I began to walk out the good works God has prepared for me, there have been many enticements to give up. However, it is the LOVE of God that compels me to continue. I believe in God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit. The more I read the Bible and learn about the promises God has made and kept, my faith in Him grows. 

God is real, and can be trusted. 

God said He would send Jesus Christ: He did. 

He said His Holy Spirit will convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgment: He does. 

He said Jesus is coming back: He will.

If you are a Christian, you understand what I’m saying because the Holy Spirit teaches you. May we wake each morning and do our ‘ACE’ reports. Do not let you heart become hardened by the sin you see in the world. You know how it ends. Keep praying and walk out the good works God prepared for you.

“For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.” 2 Corinthians 10:3-6

“For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again, but the wicked shall fall by calamity. Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; lest the Lord see it, and it displease Him, and He turn away His wrath from him.” Proverbs 24:16-18

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January 18, 2017

Swift Salvation

By altarofheaven

img_3830“Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden, the God who is our salvation. God is to us a God of deliverances. And to God the Lord belong escapes from death.”
Psalm 68:19-20

There’s only One that daily bears our burden of sin. (2 Corinthians 5:21; Matthew 11:28-30)

There’s only One that is our salvation. (Acts 4:12; Matthew 1:21)

There’s only One that delivers us from evil. (Romans 6:8-14; Galatians 5:16)

There’s only One that helps us escape from death. (John 11:25-26; Romans 6:23; John 3:16-17)

His name is Jesus.
Jesus means, “God saves.”

Jesus is the Messiah.
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.

I am just a grafted gentile, declaring His good news…

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” Romans 1:16

“I bring near My righteousness, it is not far off; and My salvation will not delay. And I will grant salvation in Zion, and My glory for Israel.” Isaiah 46:13

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February 9, 2016

Downsized. {A Bite Size Testimony}

By altarofheaven

Things you might have not known about our family…
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In 2006 I was pregnant with our second child and promoted to a Captain in the Air Force.

We were building our ‘dream home’ in North Carolina because I was assigned to a three year controlled tour to teach Air Force ROTC at Duke University. Everything seemed ‘perfect’ and was going ‘our way’ until…

In a span of a few weeks we experienced great losses in our family.  I was unexpectedly told I had to get out of the Air Force because they were downsizing.

This was a huge blow for me because I had planned to make the Air Force my lifetime career.  I was prior enlisted and the Air Force had paid for my education at The George Washington University to become an Officer, and now they were telling me I had to leave.

Not only did I lose my career, but we also lost the home and assignment in N. Carolina. The final loss was the hardest, I miscarried our much awaited baby.

During this season of my life I believed there was a God. In fact I ran to Him when all of this happened, but I still did not worship Him.

I was more interested in what God could do for me than to know Him.

The Air Force was my identity and when I got out of the Air Force I was lost. The Air Force was my god and direction. I started to fall into depression, eagerly looking for things and stuff to fill the void in my heart.
To be continued….

**This week I will be sharing ‘bite size’ portions of my testimony in honor of my 7 year spiritual birthday which is this week!!!**

*Part 2

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January 3, 2016

{in}perfection

By altarofheaven

image

His shoulders slump and his head is down in defeat as he shares with me a repeated sin he committed. He looks frustrated, weary and condemned. I too am frustrated ready to pile on condemning words, until I felt a tinge of compassion fill my heart. I was reminded of the confessing cleansing conversation I had with a friend about my sins just minutes before.

By God’s grace, I knew it was most important to share with my son the spiritual heart of the matter, to tell him the truth about the Truth-Jesus Christ.

To be transparent and share my genuine compassion for his sin struggle because I struggle too. It was a holy opportunity to share the Gospel. To share the gift of forgiveness and mercy that comes through repentance towards God and faith in the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ. To share the freedom that comes by power of the resurrected Christ. To walk him to God’s throne of grace.
It was a chance to remind us we’re not perfect and we need a Savior. Any righteousness we have comes from Jesus Christ in us. We are to practice righteousness, press on to maturity, but only God will perfect us until the day of Christ Jesus.
I write this stone of memorial to remind myself, we must practice patience–with ourselves…and one another.

***

When I was a new Christian I was naive to think I would no longer make a mistake. I read  that I was a “new creation” and given a “new heart,”and though I “knew” I was not perfect, I made an expectation for myself that I should be perfect or I was a hypocrite.

This led me to great frustration and even condemnation because I couldn’t understand the continual struggle against sin I was dealing with, let alone the number of times I failed. What I see now is any holiness I have is CHRIST IN me. I have seen my flesh and it’s ugliness to the point I’ve doubted my own salvation! The redeeming part is that my flesh and sin remind me of my need for a Savior. This gives me compassion for those that struggle, beginning in my own family.

A fruitful life comes by a daily walk of abiding in the one who is perfection: Christ.

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Glorify God. Magnify Christ. Edify the brethen.

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November 20, 2015

Burdened Beyond…

By altarofheaven

God knows every bird
Have you ever experienced a tribulation, distress or affliction that was so overwhelming it was beyond what you could handle?

Thlipsis is the Greek word for Affliction, which is defined as “a pressing, pressing together, pressure, oppression, tribulation, distress.”

What a great word picture because it feels like “a pressing” weight when I’m afflicted.

Some of the things I’ve been learning are:

  • Affliction can lead to burdens beyond our strength
  • Affliction can lead us to die to self–humble ourself and admit our inability to change the situation and place our trust in God
  • Affliction can remind us:
    • God is above all things
    • God raises the dead
    • God will deliver us from the afflictions of this world
    • We need to set our hope in God (not man)
    • Affliction keeps us close to God
    • Affliction reminds us to pray for one another for deliverance of these afflictions
    • God delivered us from so great a peril of death through Jesus Christ
    • Affliction reminds us there’s more than this life…there’s eternal life

Eternal life can begin now with KNOWING God and Jesus Christ who He has sent. Unite yourself to the One that can carry you–Jesus Christ.

In whatever affliction you may be enduring, may you be encouraged BeLoved.

Jesus said, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Matthew 11:28-29

“For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us, you also joining in helping us through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many.”

2 Corinthians 1:8-11

“For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.”

1 Thessalonians 5:10-11

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November 12, 2015

Eternal Mission

By altarofheaven

One of the main reasons I joined the military was to be part of imagesomething bigger than myself. In June 1996 I saw the news report of the Khobar Tower bombing in Saudi Arabia where 19 servicemen were killed, and it evoked a restlessness in me to make a positive impact on this evil world. As an ambitious 20 year old I was afraid I would miss my calling in life and was mobilized to join the fight of defending our freedom.

Five months later I stepped off a bus the dawn before Thanksgiving enduring humiliation and lots of yelling, and I began to understand just a small amount of what it means to sacrifice. God used the military in so many ways to reveal how He had uniquely designed and equipped me. I LOVED being in the military…the structure, the camaraderie, the sense of purpose of being part of a mission that mattered.

I see now WHY I felt that restlessness of wanting to make an impact on this world…

I was made to be a soldier–a soldier of Christ. There is a real spiritual war going on and many casualties are dying without knowing they have access to God through Jesus Christ!

All those years in the military I knew about God but I didn’t have a saving relationship with Him as I do now. Today I KNOW God and I KNOW my purpose: to Know Him and Make Him Known by bringing glory to His name.

I am so thankful for all of the Christians I met in the military that were lights shining, ambassadors for Christ, serving alongside me, asking me to be reconciled to God through Christ. You know who you are. You not only served our Country, but were on a spiritual mission which made an eternal impact.

I am still a soldier. My allegiance is to the only One who holds all things together, the only One who sustains freedom—His name is Jesus Christ.

The last orders He gave His disciples were:

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20

And so I go forth and obey Him knowing it is God who is at work in imageme, “to will and act in order to fulfill HIS GOOD PURPOSE.”

By His strength and Word I begin in my own home, neighborhood, and City remembering how a soldier is supposed to behave:

“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.” 2 Timothy 2:3-4

Will you join me in this ETERNAL MISSION?

*Thank you my fellow Veterans of the U.S. Military you are LOVED.

God HAS blessed America–He has forgiven the world of our sins because of the sacrifice of JESUS CHRIST.

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