Category: advocacy

Faith, Dance, Books, advocacy

A tough time

One of the questions in our life group study notes is share about a tough time in your life that God used to shape who you are today.

The tough time in my life came right before I accepted Jesus Christ I shared this before on the podcast and on this website but the story needs to be repeated. The day that accepted Christ was a tearful day, but God used it all for his glory. A year after I started following Jesus, I got connected with my church youth church. Being a part of church youth group taught me how to share my faith and taught me what God wanted for my life. I was also very loved and cared for by my brothers and sisters in youth group, they prayed for me when I had my last operation in high school and they surrounded me with the love of God.

Faith, Dance, Books, advocacy

Live Like There’s No Tomorrow

The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers. Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay. God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.
1 Peter 4:7‭-‬11 NLT

How should we live in these last days?

1. Pray diligently

The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers.
1 Peter 4:7 NLT

A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.
Ephesians 6:10‭-‬18 NLT

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.
1 Peter 5:8‭-‬9 NLT

Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”
Mark 14:38 NLT

2. Love deeply

Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay.
1 Peter 4:8‭-‬9 NLT

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.
1 Corinthians 13:4‭-‬6 NLT

Hatred stirs up quarrels, but love makes up for all offenses.
Proverbs 10:12 NLT

So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
John 13:34‭-‬35 NLT

3. Serve wisely

God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.
1 Peter 4:10‭-‬11 NLT

Now, dear brothers and sisters, regarding your question about the special abilities the Spirit gives us. I don’t want you to misunderstand this. You know that when you were still pagans, you were led astray and swept along in worshiping speechless idols. So I want you to know that no one speaking by the Spirit of God will curse Jesus, and no one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit. There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us. A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have. The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit. Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything? But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. How strange a body would be if it had only one part! Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.” In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen, while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad. All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it. Here are some of the parts God has appointed for the church: first are apostles, second are prophets, third are teachers, then those who do miracles, those who have the gift of healing, those who can help others, those who have the gift of leadership, those who speak in unknown languages. Are we all apostles? Are we all prophets? Are we all teachers? Do we all have the power to do miracles? Do we all have the gift of healing? Do we all have the ability to speak in unknown languages? Do we all have the ability to interpret unknown languages? Of course not! So you should earnestly desire the most helpful gifts. But now let me show you a way of life that is best of all.
1 Corinthians 12:1‭-‬31 NLT

Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.
Romans 12:3‭-‬8 NLT

Memory Verse

So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
John 13:34‭-‬35

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Faith, Dance, Books, advocacy

Good News for bad times

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.
1 Peter 1:1‭-‬12 ESV

Things to remember when times are tough

1. You’ve been chosen by God.

God the Father knew you and chose you long ago…” – 1 Peter 1:2a

Why would God choose you?

for it is his boundless mercy that has given us the privilege of being born again, so that we are now members of God’s own family.” – 1 Peter 1:3a (LB)

“He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.” – Titus 3:5

“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Romans 8:38-39

2. God is at work even in your problems

God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his Spirit has made
you holy. As a result, you have obeyed him and have been cleansed by the
blood of Jesus Christ.” – 1 Peter 1:2

What kind of work is God Doing?

1. He cleanses us

2. He changes us.

I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue
his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”
– Philippians 1:6

“For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his
Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”
– Romans 8:29

Truths about troubles

1. Trouble is something we should expect

2. Being a Christian doesn’t exempt us from troubles

Christians can cope with troubles with the power of the Holy Spirit

3. God has guaranteed my future

We have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for
you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And
through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this
salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.”
– 1 Peter 1:4-5

“God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for
this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we
have done, so none of us can boast about it.” – Ephesians 2:8-9

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them
eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from
me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than
anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand.” – John 10:27-29




Peter’s Challenge

“This means tremendous joy to you, even though at present you may be
temporarily harassed by all kinds of trials.” – 1 Peter 1:6 (Ph)

“Do you realize how fortunate you are? Angels would have given anything to
be in on this!” – 1 Peter 1:12 (TM)





Memory Verse

So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must
endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your
faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though
your faith is far more precious than mere gold.
– 1 Peter 1:6-7Listen Now

Faith, Dance, Books, advocacy

When Faith affects Finances

But as you have seen and heard, this man Paul has persuaded many people that handmade gods aren’t really gods at all. And he’s done this not only here in Ephesus but throughout the entire province! Of course, I’m not just talking about the loss of public respect for our business. I’m also concerned that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will lose its influence and that Artemis—this magnificent goddess worshiped throughout the province of Asia and all around the world—will be robbed of her great prestige!” At this their anger boiled, and they began shouting, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” Soon the whole city was filled with confusion. Everyone rushed to the amphitheater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, who were Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia. Paul wanted to go in, too, but the believers wouldn’t let him. Some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul, also sent a message to him, begging him not to risk his life by entering the amphitheater. Inside, the people were all shouting, some one thing and some another. Everything was in confusion. In fact, most of them didn’t even know why they were there. The Jews in the crowd pushed Alexander forward and told him to explain the situation. He motioned for silence and tried to speak. But when the crowd realized he was a Jew, they started shouting again and kept it up for about two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians! Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” At last the mayor was able to quiet them down enough to speak. “Citizens of Ephesus,” he said. “Everyone knows that Ephesus is the official guardian of the temple of the great Artemis, whose image fell down to us from heaven. Since this is an undeniable fact, you should stay calm and not do anything rash. You have brought these men here, but they have stolen nothing from the temple and have not spoken against our goddess.
Acts of the Apostles 19:26‭-‬37 NLT

Does idolatry still exist today?

Yes

Idolatry is taking good things and making them ultimate things

Tim Keller

Three Observations about Idolatry

1. Idols are everywhere.

While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply troubled by all the idols he saw everywhere in the city.
Acts of the Apostles 17:16 NLT

2. Idols are empty

“Friends, why are you doing this? We are merely human beings—just like you! We have come to bring you the Good News that you should turn from these worthless things and turn to the living God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them.
Acts of the Apostles 14:15 NLT

3. Idols are expensive

and human hands can’t serve his needs—for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need.
Acts of the Apostles 17:25 NLT

What are you known for?

The first Christians were:

1. Missional

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Acts of the Apostles 1:8 NLT

Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:19‭-‬20 NLT

2. Pro Jesus not anti everything else

3. Known for who they followed not for what they opposed

Memory Verse

But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,
1 Peter 3:15 NIV

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Faith, Dance, Books, advocacy

Acceptance day

Today is #acceptanceday it’s taken me half my life to get to the place where I accept my wheelchair my Walker, my braces( even though I have not been using my braces) for as long as I can remember I wanted to be normal but Last Summer I learned that normal is not a thing it’s just something we say. At this place in my life I truly love the way God Made Me even though I have my daily struggles and frustrations I thank God for the community of empowering women that he led me to. I’m looking forward to more Independence in the near future and I can’t wait to continue this journey that he has me on.

advocacy

I’m going to be more than ok

What have you learned in your life about love?

Looking back at the time when I used to think I needed to be fixed or needed to be better, I want to give that version of myself a hug even though that may seem woo woo and cheesy, I want to tell that version of myself that someday sooner than I think I will meet a group of women who show me how to rock life with a chair and that my favorite musical will cast a legit wheelchair user wheelchair using roll. I love my life now and I can’t wait to get my new chair

Faith, Dance, Books, advocacy

The Barnabas Factor

After a while some of the Jews plotted together to kill him. They were watching for him day and night at the city gate so they could murder him, but Saul was told about their plot. So during the night, some of the other believers lowered him in a large basket through an opening in the city wall. When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to meet with the believers, but they were all afraid of him. They did not believe he had truly become a believer! Then Barnabas brought him to the apostles and told them how Saul had seen the Lord on the way to Damascus and how the Lord had spoken to Saul. He also told them that Saul had preached boldly in the name of Jesus in Damascus. So Saul stayed with the apostles and went all around Jerusalem with them, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. He debated with some Greek-speaking Jews, but they tried to murder him. When the believers heard about this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him away to Tarsus, his hometown. The church then had peace throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria, and it became stronger as the believers lived in the fear of the Lord. And with the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, it also grew in numbers.
Acts of the Apostles 9:23‭-‬31 NLT

Fear Factor

1. The absence of fear can lead to foolishness

2. The answer is not to abandon fear but to hold the right object of fear

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge fools despise wisdom and instruction

Proverbs 1:7

The fear of the Lord is a Fountain of Life so that one may avoid the snares of death

Proverbs 14:27

3. Fear is natural, living in fear is idolatry

Abraham replied, “I thought, ‘This is a godless place. They will want my wife and will kill me to get her.’ And she really is my sister, for we both have the same father, but different mothers. And I married her. When God called me to leave my father’s home and to travel from place to place, I told her, ‘Do me a favor. Wherever we go, tell the people that I am your brother.’”
Genesis 20:11‭-‬13 NLT

But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed. “We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are!”
Numbers 13:31 NLT

Do not rebel against the Lord, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land. They are only helpless prey to us! They have no protection, but the Lord is with us! Don’t be afraid of them!”
Numbers 14:9 NLT

“What sorrow awaits my rebellious children,” says the Lord. “You make plans that are contrary to mine. You make alliances not directed by my Spirit, thus piling up your sins. For without consulting me, you have gone down to Egypt for help. You have put your trust in Pharaoh’s protection. You have tried to hide in his shade.
Isaiah 30:1‭-‬2 NLT

Courageous Faith

1. We cannot follow the example of Barnabas without the spirit of Jesus

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.
John 14:16‭, ‬26 NLT

2. Sometimes we are encouraged and sometimes we are the encourager

When we arrived in Macedonia, there was no rest for us. We faced conflict from every direction, with battles on the outside and fear on the inside. But God, who encourages those who are discouraged, encouraged us by the arrival of Titus.
2 Corinthians 7:5‭-‬6 NLT

3. One faith-filled active encouragement can redirect the fears of many

The church then had peace throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria, and it became stronger as the believers lived in the fear of the Lord. And with the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, it also grew in numbers.
Acts of the Apostles 9:31 NLT

Memory Verse

I tell you my friends, do not fear those Who Kill the body and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear fear Him who after he has killed has Authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you fear Him

Luke 12:4 – 5

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