Don’t we all need to put this on our wall and read it every day so we will remember that we truly should exist for the purpose of “reflecting back to God His matchless glory?”

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1. The Matchless Pearl Story

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

I have been thinking about this verse for several weeks now. If I really believe that God is my light, salvation, and strength, then why do I live in a state of powerlessness some of the time as far as my Christian walk is concerned? Why do the majority of Christians seem to do this?

The words light and salvation are pretty much self-explanatory, but the word strength means a fortified place, fortress, rock, or defense.

If God is my strength, then He is the rock I can stand on and be surefooted in times of trouble; He is my fortress against attacks of the enemy against me; He is my strong defender who will fight victorious battles for me.

When I think of a fortified place, I think of a castle with extremely thick walls that is set on top of a hill where the enemy can be seen approaching from a long distance; the castle would be surrounded by a deep and wide moat that was filled with hungry crocodiles, along with all kinds of snares and traps that had been set for anyone trying to approach silently.

God does much more than this for His Children, but in order to live a life that He is pleased with, you must have faith. That requires making sure you live in obedience to Him regardless of what you see in the circumstances that surround you.

If the Lord is our fortified place, why should we be afraid of circumstances that surround us? God wants us to look to Him with tunnel vision and keep our eyes glued to Him.

There may be several different parts to this original post, because God is still dealing with me about walking in this truth. I don’t want my life to be powerless any longer. I want God to be able to use me mightily in His Kingdom Work.

I hope you want the same. Let’s step out on faith together and see what God has in store!

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What an awesome miracle salvation is. Jesus died on the cross for the sin of every person and bridged the gap so that man could reach God. We can never do anything to pay him back for what He did for us.

Now we can pray to our Heavenly Father personally and know that He hears us, with Jesus interceding on our behalf. What an awesome God that can totally wash away our sin and make us clean, pure, and holy.

Oh that we could really comprehend what Jesus did for us on the cross; it would radically change our lives forever.

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Handbook for Victorious Christian Living - Practical ways to learn to live a victorious Christian life

Blueprint for Victorious Christian Living

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1. Let God Change your Life 2° at a Time
2. God can keep your life from being "pointless."
3. The Ultimate Hate Crime

It has been a very emotional day. I have had very little time to write since we have been here – just small snatches of time late at night. It could only be a God-thing that we have all grown so close to these people in just 5 short days.

I want to post some more pictures and write in a lot more detail about the things that happened here, but it will have to wait until later. We have to be ready to leave on the bus at 6 AM and that is 6 hours away.

Our prayer and Bible study times have been so awesome. God has really been in the room as all 14 of us filled it up. There is such a bond that has grown between us as we have shared laughter and tears. We know that we must continue to get the fleshly things out of our lives so that God can work through us.

Brother Randy preached from Revelation tonight. It was one of the most powerful messages I have ever heard on the subject of why you don’t want your friends and relatives to go to hell. We all have prayed that God will give us a greater passion for the lost. God has changed us while we have been here, and we don’t want to go back to the same way we were.

I will write in more detail as soon as possible.

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Handbook for Victorious Christian Living

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1. Mission Trip Day 4
2. Mission Trip – Days 2 and 3
3. Mission Trip to Lake City, Michigan

We met at 8:30 again this morning and had another awesome prayer meeting. Brother Randy gave us a powerful teaching on James 3: 16-18 – the fruit of righteousness. God really opened my eyes to some things that I needed to change in my life.

The whole team has been praying hard for God to remove everything that is not of Him so that He can use us in a mighty way. The prayer times have been so powerful. We walked a good bit this afternoon delivering flyers and were all tired, but happy. A rain storm caught us and we all got soaked before we got back to the bus. Nobody complained, though. There has been a great spirit among us.

We only rested for a short while before getting dressed for the night service. We were late getting there because of a small problem with the bus, but in the end everything turned out fine. We rolled in right in the nick of time to start the services.

We were determined not to let Satan take away any victory that God had planned for the night. Brother Randy preached with a huge anointing on him. Afterwards we talked to many that said their life had been radically changed by what has happened this week. I am truly thankful I came on this trip.

There has been a few more in the services each night since we have been here. I really believe God is going to bless this small church.

Below are a few more pictures from our fellowship:

The Mission Church

Look at that slam dunk!

Cooking hamburgers

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1. Mission Trip – Days 2 and 3
2. Mission Trip to Lake City, Michigan

playing tag

We had our first whole day of services on Sunday. The people at Lake City Baptist Church are so friendly and welcoming. It is almost like we are at home. Brother Randy has really been preaching the Word, and at the night service, several people came down to make some things right with God.

We have also had some great singing. Ricky, the minister of music, invited the church members to join us in the choir, and several of them took him up on his offer. There are 14 of us on the mission trip, and we all happen to be members of the choir. The singing has been really awesome and there has been a great spirit here.

They have not had anybody to play the piano for quite some time, so they have been really enjoying the live music. The church is very small right now, but I believe God has awesome things in store for it. The pastor is very humble and really wants to do what it takes to have revival.

Monday morning, we met at 8:45 AM for a time of prayer and Bible study. It was an awesome time and ended up lasting until 11. The Spirit of God was in the room, and everybody left really encouraged. We then had 15 minutes to get back to our room and get what we needed before leaving for lunch.

That consisted of fast food eaten in less than 30 minutes so we could go to the church and pick up Pastor Dane and his wife Amanda and two children. They went with us to go around the city and hand out flyers inviting people to come to the revival.

We got home around 4 and had 1 1/2 hours to be ready to go back to the church for the service.

We are staying in Cadillac, Michigan, and there is a huge lake right across the road from the motel. We walk there every chance we get because it is so beautiful. It is hard for me to believe that the whole lake freezes in the winter.

We spent the time on the bus in silent preparation for the service. God was really there, and I think we are being changed as much as the people in Michigan. He certainly was in the service tonight. It seems like everyone came with an air of expectation that God was going to do something great.

We also had a wonderful time of fellowship over food after the services. There has been much laughter on this trip, as well as serious preparation for the work that God has called us to do. I am so glad I came, even though I have missed my family.

All the pictures on this page were taken at the fellowship dinner we had on Saturday night.

Cooking french fries

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1. Mission Trip to Lake City, Michigan

They went from living in true paradise and having a wonderful relationship with their Creator, to being banned from the Garden forever and having to make a living by the sweat of their brow. Their sorrow must have been almost unbearable over what they had done. God must have given them some hope, though, that He would make things right in the future. How else could they have had the courage to go on?

When Jesus died on the cross, He bridged the gap between man and God forever. His death made it possible for every person who would acknowledge Him as the only way to Heaven, to be saved and have full access to God.

For hundreds of years, there had been no direct access from man to God. He just spoke to certain people and told them what He wanted them to do. Even great men like Moses and Abraham only heard Him speak to them a few times in their whole life. They certainly didn’t have a direct access line like we do as Christians. Most of the people in Bible times never heard a personal Word from God.

The death of Jesus changed things forever. We can now have full access to God because of what Jesus did on the cross. He died so that we might have eternal life and have a way to the Father through Him. I am so glad that He loved us that much.

Now Jesus is with the Father interceding on behalf of Christians, and the Holy Spirit lives inside us to give guidance and direction. We don’t have to be like the people in Old Testament times. We can have direct access to the Father 24 hours a day. Don’t let the death of Jesus be in vain. Let the Holy Spirit guide you into all truth and help you have a deeper relationship with your Heavenly Father. Life will never be boring or dull again.

Jesus gave His all for you.

This came from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association site. It gives a wonderful word picture of the great sacrifice Jesus made for us.

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For the Christian who desires to live a victorious life in Christ

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1. Jesus Died on the Cross to Make Things New Again – Video
2. Have you fallen in love with Jesus?

Every Christian knows someone who has never believed in Jesus as His personal Savior, and most of us have someone in our own extended family. We see the same people everyday and many times they may never know that we are a Christian because we don’t talk about it.

Hell is a literal place, and every person (good or bad) will go there who has not accepted Jesus as personal Savior. This video really made me think about how I need to have a much greater passion for the lost. God expects me to live my life in a way that others will know that I have something they desperately need.

You don’t have to be a preacher, professor, or Bible theologian; just tell them what a difference God has made in your life. Let them see that you handle problems differently and have a peace and joy that can only come from your Heavenly Father.

What you do has a much greater impact on others than what you say. Talk is cheap, but actions are gold. Ask God to give you a heart for the lost and live your life in a way that truly shows how Great your God is.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFZ1pt0WX5c&feature=related]

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1. Is this the way you pray for patience?

The Matchless Pearl
– Author Unknown

David Morse – American missionary to India – became great friends there with the pearl-diver, Rambhau. Many an evening he spent in Rambhau’s cabin reading to him from the Bible, and explaining to him God’s way of salvation.

Rambhau enjoyed listening to the Word of God, but whenever the missionary tried to get Rambhau to accept Christ as his Savior – he would shake his head and reply, “Your Christian way to heaven is too easy for me! I cannot accept it. If ever I should find admittance to heaven in that manner – I would feel like a pauper there…like a beggar who has been let in out of pity. I may be proud – but I want to deserve, I want to earn my place in heaven — and so I am going to work for it.”

Nothing the missionary could say seemed to have any effect on Rambhau’s decision, and so quite a few years slipped by. One evening, however, the missionary heard a knock on his door, and on going to open it he found Rambhau there.

“Come in, dear friend,” said Morse.

“No,” said the pearl-diver. “I want you to come with me to my house, Sahib, for a short time — I have something to show you. Please do not say ‘No’.”

“Of course I’ll come,” replied the missionary. As they neared his house, Rambhau said: “In a week’s time I start working for my place in heaven; I am leaving for Delhi — and I am going there on my knees.”

“Man, you are crazy! It’s nine hundred miles to Delhi, and the skin will break on your knees, and you will have blood-poisoning or leprosy before you get to Bombay.”

“No, I must get to Delhi,” affirmed Rambhau, “and the immortals will reward me for it! The suffering will be sweet – for it will purchase heaven for me!”

“Rambhau, my friend – you can’t. How can I bear you to do it – when Jesus Christ has suffered and died to purchase heaven for you!”

But the old man could not be moved. “You are my dearest friend on earth, Sahib Morse. Through all these years you have stood by me in sickness, in want – you have been sometimes my only friend. But even you cannot turn me from my desire to purchase eternal bliss…I must go to Delhi!”

Inside the hut Morse was seated in the very chair Rambhau had specially built for him – where on so many occasions he had read to him the Bible.

Rambhau left the room to return soon with a small but heavy English strongbox. “I have had this box for years,” said he, “and I keep only one thing in it. Now I will tell you about it, Sahib Morse. I once had a son…”

“A son! Why, Rambhau, you have never before said a word about him!”

“No, Sahib, I couldn’t.” Even as he spoke the diver’s eyes were moistened.

“Now I must tell you, for soon I will leave, and who knows whether I shall ever return? My son was a diver too. He was the best pearl diver on the coasts of India. He had the swiftest dive, the keenest eye, the strongest arm, the longest breath of any man who ever sought for pearls.

What joy he brought to me! Most pearls, as you know, have some defect or blemish only the expert can discern, but my boy always dreamed of finding the ‘perfect’ pearl – one beyond all that was ever found. One day he found it! But even when he saw it – he had been under water too long… That pearl cost him his life, for he died soon after.”

The old pearl diver bowed his head. For a moment his whole body shook, but there was no sound. “All these years,” he continued, “I have kept this pearl – but now I am going, not to return, and to you, my best friend – I am giving my pearl.”

The old man worked the combination on the strongbox and drew from it a carefully wrapped package. Gently opening the cotton, he picked up a mammoth pearl and placed it in the hand of the missionary.

It was one of the largest pearls ever found off the coast of India, and glowed with a luster and brilliance never seen in cultured pearls. It would have brought a fabulous sum in any market.

For a moment the missionary was speechless and gazed with awe. “Rambhau! What a pearl!”

“That pearl, Sahib, is perfect,” replied the Indian quietly. The missionary looked up quickly with a new thought: Was not this the very opportunity and occasion he had prayed for – to make Rambhau understand the value of Christ’s sacrifice? So he said, designedly, “Rambhau, this is a wonderful pearl, an amazing pearl. Let me buy it. I would give you ten thousand dollars for it.”

“Sahib! What do you mean?”

“Well, I will give you fifteen thousand dollars for it, or if it takes more – I will work for it.”

“Sahib,” said Rambhau, stiffening his whole body, “this pearl is beyond price. No man in all the world has money enough to pay what this pearl is worth to me. On the market a million dollars could not buy it. I will not sell it to you. You may only have it as a gift.”

“No, Rambhau, I cannot accept that. As much as I want the pearl, I cannot accept it that way. Perhaps I am proud, but that is too easy. I must pay for it, or work for it…”

The old pearl-diver was stunned. “You don’t understand at all, Sahib. Don’t you see. My only son gave his life to get this pearl, and I wouldn’t sell it for any money. Its worth is in the life-blood of my son. I cannot sell this – but I can give it to you. Just accept it in token of the love I bear you.”

The missionary was choked, and for a moment could not speak. Then he gripped the hand of the old man. “Rambhau,” he said in a low voice, “don’t you see? My words are just what you have been saying to God all the time.”

The diver looked long and searchingly at the missionary, and slowly, slowly he began to understand. “God is offering you salvation as a free gift,” said the missionary. “It is so great and priceless that no man on earth can buy it. Millions of dollars are too little. No man on earth could earn it. His life would be millions of years too short. No man is good enough to deserve it. It cost God the life-blood of His only Son to make the entrance for you into heaven. In a million years, in a hundred pilgrimages, you could not earn that entrance. All you can do is to accept it as a token of God’s love for you – a sinner.

“Rambhau, of course I will accept the pearl in deep humility, praying God that I may be worthy of your love. Rambhau, won’t you accept God’s great gift of heaven, too, in deep humility, knowing it cost Him the death of His Son to offer it to you?”

Great tears were now rolling down the cheeks of the old man. The veil was beginning to lift. “Sahib, I see it now. I have believed in the doctrine of Jesus for the last two years, but I could not believe that His salvation was free. Now I understand. Some things are too priceless to be bought or earned. Sahib, I will accept His salvation!”

When God sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross for our sin, He paid the ultimate price. Our salvation is totally free, and all we have to do is receive it. We can never do anything to deserve it, no matter how hard we try.

This story is the perfect example of the wonderful gift of salvation that God has given us.

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Blueprint for Victorious Christian Living

Handbook for Victorious Christian Living

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