Who do you follow?

I'm a follower of Jesus Christ.

-Oh ok, so wherever you go, it's because you're following Jesus?

Um, well no....

-Jesus doesn't direct every move you make?

No, not every move....

Everywhere you go, Jesus goes. He lives inside you. Exactly who is following who?

Luke 9:23 "And He said to them all. If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, daily and follow me."

It seems to me, that if Jesus lives in me (HALLELUJAH!!!), that in a sense.... He is forced to go everywhere I go, right?

Christian is defined by dictionary.com as "christlike" and "a person who exemplifies in his or her life, the teachings of Christ."

I watched a series of youtube videos called "Lord save us from your followers". It was eye opening. As a Christian, I had no idea how people who weren't Christian felt about the body of Christ aka Christians. Watch it if you have time... or at least start. Each segment is 10 minutes long.... it'll benefit you to watch.

What does it mean, then, to "follow after Christ"? There were many definitions for the word "follow" but the one I want to emphasize is "imitate or copy". If we are followers of Christ, His disciples, saints..... then we are supposed to be imitating or copying Christ. WHOA!

Ok, so what does that mean?

Let's start with things Jesus Christ did not do. He didn't judge. Now, Jesus spent a lot of His time with non-believers aka sinners. Their lives were not being lived for God and Jesus showed them the unconditional love of the Father and they became believers! He preached, teached and healed I heard someone say once. Notice how He didn't judge. I would say He was firm and perhaps a little "mean" in today's standards in convicting His followers of doubting.

In Mark 9:19 Jesus is speaking to His disciples after they could not cast a demon out of a little boy "O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him (the boy) unto me." The boy was healed and Jesus told the father of the boy and the disciples that anything is possible to the person who believes. Basically, He's saying they didn't believe.... which is why they couldn't cast of the demon and heal the boy.

Is that judging? The definition of judge is: to form a judgement or opinion of; decide upon critically. Personally, I think Jesus just spoke the truth. In fact, I know He did.

Christians get accused of "judging" others a lot. And maybe we do. Maybe we go about saying what we believe to be true in the wrong ways. Jesus came and judged the world of sin. He in fact, took all our sin (and sickness) to the cross, so we don't have to bear the judgement of sin or sickness. We're free from it! GLORY!

But the world isn't free from it. If they aren't Christians. Some Christians choose to live in sin.... notice I said choose. because it's your choice to sin when you're a Christian. Before you were a Christian, sin was not a choice. You had to do it because you were of your father... the devil. Now you're of God, as a Christian, and you should choose Him and His ways! You might miss the mark from time to time, but you should feel bad when you do, thank the Lord for His forgiveness and move on! You also decide to not do that particular sin again. That's repentance.

Whoa, I've gotten off topic..... the point of this blog post is to challenge you and I, as Christians, to be very aware of this Christ we are portraying. Is it the Christ from the Bible, or some other christ we've made up? The Christ in the Bible, the One that I serve, went to the poor and broken hearted and fed them, clothed them, loved them, treated them with kindness, healed them, and showed them His Father's love. They believed on Him because of what He did. His fruit... the works He produced, represented who He followed! Jesus followed God. God lived in Him and went everywhere that He went. God did everything that Jesus did. They were One. Galatians 3:28 says we are One in Jesus Christ. If He lives in us and we follow Him.... then He also follows us since we are ONE together! If we are ONE, then guess what..... I do what He did while He was on the earth because He's STILL on the earth! He's on this earth via ME!!!!

So, once again, the Christ in the Bible, the One that I serve, went to the poor and broken hearted and fed them, clothed them, loved them, treated them with kindness, healed them, and showed them His Father's love. That's the Christ that I am ONE with. He lives in me, and I live in Him..... therefore, I do what He does and He does what I do. I don't want to mis-represent who He is by doing something that He doesn't want to do.....

Healing in Iowa with the McCoys!

Two weeks ago I drove down to Iowa City, Iowa to visit the McCoy's. This was probably the best decision I've made in a long time! They are amazing people :)

FRIDAY night Rachelle and I drove to the mall, walked into the food court. She told me that they like to command the spirit of unbelief and doubt that might hinder healing to leave, so she did that as we walked to the ice cream shop. She got ice cream. We sat near this couple who were also enjoying a treat. Rachelle and I talked for a few minutes before she said, "ok, let's go!" She got up and approached the couple. She asked them if they needed healing anywhere in their body or if they had any pain. They looked at us strangely and said, "nooo??" Rachelle explained why she had asked. Then she asked them if they believed in Jesus or thought that He is real. The guy said that he used to go to church and the girl said that yea, she believed Jesus is real. Rachelle talked to them for a little while longer, then we left!

We then approached two teenage girls. They both said they were pain free and that they believe in Jesus. The one girl kind of ended up telling Rachelle that "her religion was her own personal business" and it was clear they wanted us to leave, so we did.

We began walking down a crowded section of the mall and there was a man sitting on a bench. As we passed the Holy Spirit gave Rachelle a word of knowledge about his back. She veered around and went back to him. He said that yes, he was in pain, this was why he was sitting down. Rachelle asked if she could pray for the arthritis to leave, he said yes. She laid her hands on him and commanded the arthritis to leave. He stared at her :) Then she asked him if it was any better. He said no. She told him to be blessed and we moved on.

In the kids play area we approached 3 different people. Two of which had pain and agreed to prayer. The first lady told us she was healed and believed that Jesus was her healer. That was cool. The next guy and his wife ended up totally edifying us and building us up. They were Christians and the guy writes Christian poetry. He asked if we wanted to hear two of them. We said yes! They were wonderful :) Then before we could lay hands on him, he suddenly had to leave, so Rachelle grabbed his hand and blessed him real quick!

The third person was this man who smiled at Rachelle like he knew her. I personally, think he had been watching us the whole time and just wanted us to come over to him :) So we did, he said Rachelle looks like someone he knew. Anyway, he told us he had pain all over his body because his job is really stressful. We both laid hands on him and Rachelle commanded the pain to leave and peace to come over him. He said he felt better and asked his kids if they wanted to go to church on Sunday :)

SATURDAY we got to hang out and spend time fellowshipping and praising God before heading out to pray. After lunch, Bryan came over to join us and we went to the "pedestrian mall" which is an area full of bars, homeless people and drug dealers. Turns out there was a HUGE football game going on and all of the college students were at all of the bars and hanging out in the walkways between. Rachelle and I approached several VERY drunk guys, who coincidentally, were pain free..... but we were able to bless them and I know they felt the love of God flow into them. Jason waited with the kids while we prayed and Bryan wandered around praying for different people. Rachelle, Bryan and I approached a girl with Cerebral Palsy. She was very hesitant to prayer. She said she had been prayed for sooo many times and sooo many strangers had approached her but that nobody had in the last few years. She asked who we prayed to. We said Jesus. She made it apparent that she believed in Him along with other gods.... so as long as we were praying to the "divine being" all was good. She said she was very "at peace" with her condition. Rachelle said she didn't want to disturb her peace, but that we'd really like to pray for her. She consented. So Rachelle laid her hands on her, commanded sickness to leave. The girl said "ok, thanks, bye" and quickly left with her friend. I forgot to mention that meanwhile, as we approached this girl it began to POUR rain, so Jason commanded the rain to stop. It did, so we could finish :)

Then Rachelle stayed with the kids, who were enjoying running through a water fountain and playing on a playground. They chose not to heal the sick that day :( It's ok though, they're amazing kids and they've got incredible parents!!!!!

Jason prayed for a drunk girl who said her wrist hurt. She said it was better. Then Jason took me over to this area where the homeless are. There is one woman that Jason and Rachelle have been ministering to for weeks, so we went and talked with her! She was AMAZING! She is saving money, and almost has enough, to move to CA with her dogs and a few of the other people there to begin a new life :) Jason blessed her with money. I do hope she's on her way there now. Anyway, she had been healed of many things in the past month, but now she said her legs were sore from bike riding. Jason commanded the muscles to loosen. They did, but not all the way, so then I took a turn. She stood up and said it felt a lot better. We prayed a 3rd time before leaving. There was another woman there, Gene, who had an ear infection that was huge and close to her brain. She had to have surgery in a few days. She wanted healing for a headache though. So, we commanded the headache to go, she got kind of woozy under the power of God and said the headache was gone! Then we asked if we could command her ear to heal so she wouldn't need surgery. She said sure, so we did! I trust, she cancelled the surgery :)

SATURDAY NIGHT Jason and I drove 45 minutes in POURING rain, which we commanded to stop and it let up for us to finish the drive safely, to a small town where Kat and Roger live. Jason and Rachelle are teaching Kat and Roger about healing the sick, so they were a good couple for me to minister to! Jason told me I was going to do it all, and I was excited :) We RAN into the house, as the rain picked up again. Kat told us she felt something shift in the spirit realm as we approached. COOL!!!!!! We talked with them briefly before getting them healed. Roger was first. He had knee pain (something with his meniscus), arthritis in his fingers, back pain and a wound on his foot, I think he twisted his ankle or something. So, he sat in a chair and I commanded healing to flow into his body. He immediately began shaking under the power of God. The devil was leaving :) He stood up and said he felt about 60% better (?) so I hit it again. This time mainly his hands and the arthritis. He was able to make a fist with his right hand, which he couldn't do before! Hallelujah! He then went to the stairs with Jason to test out his knees while I prayed for his wife, Kat. Kat is an AMAZING woman :) She had knee pain as well, sinus issues and hormone irregularity. I commanded it to leave and she sat back under the power of God. She didn't move for a few seconds and just kept saying, "wow... wow....wow" Then she stood up and went to the stairs to see if the knee pain was gone. It mostly was. And she could feel her sinuses draining. She sat down and I hit it again. She felt a lot better and the knee pain was totally gone! GLORY!

Meanwhile, Jason was praying for Roger some more. He worked on commanding all spirits that don't belong to leave and so on. Roger got BLASTED with the Holy Spirit! haha, it was amazing!

We then sat and had brownies and ice cream with them afterward! Wonderful people!

As Jason and I drove back to Iowa City, I realized I was no longer the same. I had taken the red pill (The Matrix) and I now had a new reality. I no longer live like the rest of the world. I am officially different ;) PRAISE GOD!

I did not want to leave the wonderful presence of the McCoys. They blessed me with a beautiful prayer before I headed back to Minnesota.

The McCoys are raising up 4 beautiful children in the CHRISTIAN lifestyle! The kids are already experiencing the power of God in their dreams, visions and experiences with their mom and dad. Seeing the way Jason and Rachelle live life, was the BEST experience for me! I needed this trip and it was gooood for me! I am so thankful to them. They opened up their home to a complete stranger from Facebook and welcomed me like family :) AMAZING!

What do my dreams mean?

Ok, now, don't be thinkin I'm about to go into dream interpretation. No way. But this guy does and what he has to say is really interesting:

http://mobileintensiveprayerunit.blogspot.com/2009/03/power-of-dreams.html

I do want to share with you two dreams I have had that were very interesting! Before I go into the dreams, let me tell you who I am. I don't describe myself as being 5'8" with brown hair and blue eyes... that's my flesh. Those things are true about me, but that's not WHO I am. I am the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinth. 5:21). I am healed (1 Peter 2:24). I am redeemed from the curse of the law, which is sickness among so many other things (Gal. 3:13). I have the power that raised Christ Jesus from the dead living in me (Romans 8:11, Eph. 1:18-20).

Ok, now that last scripture describes the power that lives in ME in my Spirit. I became a born again Christian and what makes you born again is God replacing your human spirit, which is evil and giving you a NEW spirit which is God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit all in ONE! GLORY! What can God do? Anything. What can Jesus do? Anything. What can the Holy Spirit do? Anything. Therefore, what can I do? Anything.

With that being said... let's look to Jesus, our example! In the Bible, in a matter of 3 short years, He preached the Gospel, raised the dead, cleansed the lepers, calmed storms, and took authority from the devil and gave it to us. In the book of Mark, chapter 16 Jesus had already died and been raised from the dead but his disciples STILL didn't believe. He appears to them and this is what happened:

He rebuked them for their stubborn unbelief because they refused to believe those who had seen him after he had been raised from the dead.^d

15And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. 16Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned. 17These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak in new languages.^e 18They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.”

19When the Lord Jesus had finished talking with them, he was taken up into heaven and sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 20And the disciples went everywhere and preached, and the Lord worked through them, confirming what they said by many miraculous signs.

These are Jesus' last words to His disciples, the people He spent the MOST time with. Notice the words in RED. This is WHO I AM! I am a disciple of Jesus. All born again Christians are considered the saints of Christ! So saints..... I can do the above mentioned signs and so CAN YOU!

Ok, so now onto my dreams..... the first dream I had sometime this summer, I don't exactly remember when. Anyway, in this dream I was in a house on a bay of water, alone and I could see people everywhere outside freaking out and running for shelter. There was a tornado. I was watching the TV satellite and seeing that yes indeed, there was a tornado. In this house there were windows on the roof, kind of like a giant sun roof and I could see a funnel cloud overhead. In the dream, I initially was scared and ran from room to room looking for the safest place to hide. (I guess there was no basement?) I finally decided standing in a doorway was the safest idea, so I did. Then something came over me, I got angry and stood and rebuked the storm like Jesus did (Luke 8:24). I saw the funnel cloud disappear. The clouds moved out and the sun appeared. I remember I went outside and everyone was hopping on boats to go back out and enjoy the day. I got onto a boat with some people but I remember I was still scared. I kept watching the sky. The dark clouds were off in the distance, but for some reason I thought they might come back.

I learned a lot about myself from this dream. First of all, the obvious. I commanded a TORNADO to stop and it did! GLORY! But secondly, I was scared. People, in this world, we should not be the scared ones. Satan and his posse should be the scared ones. We have the real power, the final authority in the earth. We should make satan regret his decision to fight against us. We fight for GOOD. Good prevails. Anyway, I learned that I have some more work to do on my heart to get fear out. Fear isn't from God. In God we have confident trust. We can rest in peace. If you don't have peace when you're commanding a storm to stop, then you're not totally depending on God.

I was with my friend Racheal and it was raining really hard. She commanded the storm to stop and the rain to lessen. It immediately did. In July this past summer, it was raining really hard as my parents were driving me out of Minneapolis. So much so that the couldn't see. I commanded the rain to lessen and it did.

Second dream: Just had this dream 2 days ago. In this dream, I was in a house/building of some kind with someone else and a few children. There was a big snake trying to attack us. We started running, it was catching up, so I turned around, put my hand out and said "NO STOP". (I don't remember my exact words, but it was something like that). The snake recoiled and hissed at me. We kept walking away and it just stayed there looking at me. Then I lifted the children onto some ledge where they were safe and me and this other unknown person kept running. The snake came at us again, and I stopped and turned it into a purple harmless snake. It slithered away.

The devil is referred to as a "snake" in scripture. Snakes are not highly looked upon in the Bible. Moses picks up snakes and shows his dominion over them. Mark 16 says we shall handle snakes with safety. Psalm 91 says we will tread upon serpents. The devil is under our feet. We have POWER over him. In my dream, I believe this snake is representing the devil. He's always out to get us and harm us. That's his mission. Our mission is to DESTROY his works. TO FREE THE CAPTIVES. TO SET PEOPLE FREE of this devil. In my dream, I had power and authority over the snake. I was more confident in my authority in this dream, than I was in the storm dream.

More dreams to come..... I would imagine. I have yet to raise the dead or heal the sick in my dreams.... that's coming!!!!!

It's US against the World

As God works on me more and more each day, I realize more and more how I am not supposed to "fit in" with the world.

Before you read on, ask yourself this one question: is it blatantly OBVIOUS (exceedingly clear) to every SINGLE person that I meet out in the world, that I am a Christian? Do people come up to me and say "you're a Christian aren't you?" or are people surprised when you tell them you're a Christian?

God has shown me in the past month JUST how much it matters what I look like and what I act like when I'm out in the world. Let me begin with a true story: Amie Goes To the Dentist.

I should begin this story by telling you that I do NOT like the dentist. And by dentist I'm referring to the whole experience, not the actual doctor, he's fine, I just don't like what the hygienist ladies do to my teeth and mouth. Anyway, as I parked my car and began my walk into the dentist's office, I realized I could either be pouty about the whole experience, or I could GROW UP and put up with the fact that free insurance=free teeth cleaning (even if it's painful). I decided on the latter. As I sat in the waiting room, I forced myself to smile at an adorable child sitting next to me and chatted with the secretary about the humidity of July in Minnesota. As I waited, my friend Carrie W. called me, I don't even remember what she called about exactly, all I remember is that I was quoting scripture to her when the hygienist walked in to get me. I quickly ended the convo with Carrie and headed back with her. I greeted her with a huge smile, like I always do, and she just kept staring at me. I thought it was a bit odd, but didn't care, so I started asking her about herself. She told me a bit about her, then she started probing me about myself and told me that I have the most beautiful eyes and smile! Meanwhile, she still has not begun my teeth cleaning, only prolonging my time in the dentist's chair..... I mentioned that teaching is my "calling" from God and that I'm teaching one more year of inner city, then heading to Bible College. At this point, she very loudly declares, "I KNEW YOU WERE A CHRISTIAN." After that, we talked about mission trips she had taken the past few years and what her son was up to in the Christian walk. Good chat. Took twice as long for my teeth to be cleaned, but hey, I'd say it was worth it.

I can't even tell you how many random people have began talking with me as I'm waiting in line at the store or am just walking through the store for that matter. It never fails that I end up in conversation with the person at the checkout of wherever I am. Stayed a few minutes longer in the Wendy's drive through yesterday because the man at the window struck up a convo with me. All of this has happened within the past month and a half.

Proverbs 3:4 "Then you will find favor and much success in the sight of God and humanity."

Matthew 5:16 "In the same way let your light shine in front of people. Then they will see the good that you do and praise your Father in heaven."

In my previous post, I talked a lot about how 1/3 of you is JESUS. When you and I go out into the world (outside your house) we should be RADIATING the LIGHT of JESUS! He's INSIDE OF US PEOPLE!!!!! Since he's only 1/3 of us, that leaves 2/3 of us that is NOT Jesus. Unfortunately, most of the body of Christ (in my personal opinion) is letting their soul and body (the other 2/3 of them) rule how they look, feel and respond to others.

Well, how does one let their spirit dominate their soul and body? By reading the Word. I mean, it's that simple. Romans 12:2 tells us to continually renew our minds to the Word. Why? because if we don't read the Word EVERY DAY (yes every day) then it's real possible our flesh or our soul will begin to dominate us. If you ever feel like you're in a "bad mood" or that you're "cranky" I've got news for you..... your soul or flesh is dominating you. You gotta get your Spirit back on top! By reading the Word!

From my dentist adventure, you can tell that my FLESH wasn't thrilled about being there. But it was VITALLY important that I be there for the hygienist to experience God's love. If I had been in a bad mood and not been smiling, who knows where our conversation would have gone. In the deep end most likely.

Before I exit my car to go into a store, I remind myself that I am JESUS' way to reach the world. I am His vessel. If I choose to not show Him to the world, who knows when the next time someone that I see will experience God's love from someone else. It's up to me. Now, yes, I suppose that's a whole lot of responsibility, but hey, Jesus died on the cross and suffered to the point of being UNRECOGNIZABLE so that I could live in freedom and dominion over the devil. I'd say, I can GLADLY exercise God's love to every single person I meet for the rest of my life. It's the least I can do.....

As I was driving home today, this thought hit me "what makes you look different than the world?" So I pondered it. When I got home, I got on FB and saw Trip Lee & Pro did an interview about their song "Covenant Eyes". This song is about the struggle for Christian men in this world when there are half dressed women prancing about. I mean, that's roughly it. They're both married and are trying to stay pure. They discuss how hard that is with TV, secular radio, movies and just walkin the streets.

Ladies, Godly ladies, we have a very important job to do for all the men on this earth. Our job is to NOT tempt them to lust after us. I remember hearing from a Christian man who had done some research on the way that men are wired. Men are much more visual than women. Meaning, they NOTICE the way women look. Now, it's one thing to think a woman looks beautiful and it's another thing to think about what's under her clothes because they can pretty much see what's under those tight, short, see through clothes.

Fashion trends have changed and continue to change. However, I won't change with them. Thank God the low rise pants with the short shirts that barely meet the waistline are out.... for now. Still see a few ladies sporting that ensemble. Long shirts are in at the moment. And the short short skits seem to have potentially taken a break. Ladies, I don't know if you understand what short skirts and low cut shirts do to men. Even GODLY MEN. Now some women, I've heard it, say, "well, if he's a man of God, he'll just divert his eyes, I can wear whatever I want." Nope, I'm sorry, that's not the right attitude at all. We should not tempt them. Sure, they should divert their eyes, and I'd like to think a majority of them do, however, we have a GREAT role to play in the purity of men.

Growing up, I would judge what I wore based on everyone around me, rather than what the Word says. I'd look at everyone in church and I'd think, oh well if they're wearing that, it's ok for me to wear that. I've had a few low cut tops myself. It got worse living in Kansas City and working with well-endowed African American women, who say "if you've got it, hunny, flaunt it!" Hmmmmm, I don't want my breasts hanging out, my GOD, those are only for my husband to see.... that's it. NO BODY ELSE. I've given most of those tops a rest, I wear a t-shirt under the ones I still want to keep. High cut shirts have become my friend. Knee-length skirts too, and I am proud to say I don't own ANY shorts. Every pants item I have at least come to my knees.

For a while, I considered it a compliment when I'd wear tight clothing, or a cute short dress with heels and men would stare at me. I used to like that. My self confidence was wrapped up in the way I looked rather than what God says about me. Now if I catch a man looking at me in an inappropriate way, I majorly reflect on what I'm wearing and I typically get rid of that outfit. This doesn't mean I can't wear cute clothing. It does mean that I don't want to be the one who makes a man sin. When you think sexual thoughts, that's sin. Even if you don't act it out, it's sin to even have those thoughts. I'm not going to cause others to sin.

So back to the original question, "do you stand out in the world"?

John 15:19 "If you had anything in common with the world, the world would love you as one of its own. But you don't have anything in common with the world. I chose you from the world and that's why the world hates you."

Do you realize what that says? We shouldn't just blend into the world. We shouldn't "fit in" with everyone else. Remember in Junior High when you just wanted to fit in, well you should NEVER want to fit in. You should DESIRE to be different. The Bible tells us we are different. We are not like the children of the world. We should NOT love the world or anything in it. The world should hate us. Wow.... who wants to be hated? Well, nobody in their flesh desires to be hated. We need to get past seeking everyone's approval because the ONLY approval needed is God's. Is He approving of how you live your life? That's all that matters. It doesn't matter what name brand you wear, or what car you drive, or if you own 5 TV's and if they're the latest and the greatest. How much do you "look" just like everyone else in the world? Do you stand out as different? Are you easily identified as a Christian, which will make some people hate you? Look at how much Jesus was hated, He was killed for YOU. What are you willing to do for Him?

You're a sinner. Excuse me? No I am NOT. Let me explain.....

I had a friend tell me that her church recites a prayer (not based on the Bible) in which they confess "I'm a sinner, I'm unclean" and most likely "I'm unworthy" (that's a common one too).

I'm here to counter all three of those statements and tell you that if you are a born again Christian, each of those statements is a LIE. If you say them, you are lying. Which is a sin. Fyi.

Think back to before you became born again. For some of you, it's more recent than others. For me, I honestly can't remember anything before the day I invited Jesus into my life (I was 7). So for this, I'll have to give examples from people I know since I don't have these myself. When you were not born again, you were what the Bible calls a "sinner". Before you knew Jesus, the devil was your father. Perhaps you struggled with alcohol, depression, sicknesses, sex outside of marriage, addictions, lying, cheating, stealing, cussing, gossip and so on. All of these are sinful acts that "sinners" commit. You may not have done all of them, goodness, I hope you haven't..... anyway, to call yourself a "sinner" means you identify with the above mentioned sins and you literally CAN NOT help but do those things.... they are something you have no control of. This is why as Christians, we should never be mad at a sinner for their behaviors. They know not what they do (Luke 23:34). They are simply listening to their father and obeying what their father, the devil, tells them to do.

At this point, some of you are thinking.... "but Amie, I'm born again, Jesus lives in me but I've still done some of those things you mentioned... I know I've sinned. Doesn't that make me a sinner, then?" Answer: nope. Here's why: now you are as 2 Corinthians 5:17 in the amplified Bible says: "ingrafted into Christ, a new creation; the old has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!"

Every person, whether born again or not is a 3 part being. Spirit, soul and body. When you're a sinner (not born again) your spirit is filled with the devil. When you become a Christian, your spirit is yanked out (gently by your NEW father, God!) and replaced with the Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit is Jesus and God (the Trinity). You are now "born again" your spirit literally died and was buried and now you have a BRAND new spirit, the Holy Spirit! So now, 1/3 of you is Jesus. That 1/3 of you controls your soul and your body. Now, we do have a majority of Christians who let their soul (mind, will and emotions) or their body control them. I hope you are not one of them. Your spirit is meant to rule! Let it!

So since 1/3 of you is born again, this means you are no longer, by definition a "sinner". You have God on the inside of you. You have been raised to newness of life! You are now: righteous (in right standing with God), you are holy, you are healed, you find favor everywhere you go, you have joy, peace, patience, self-control, love etc. etc. This is who you are. This is who God sees.

When you say that you're just a "sinner" and you're "unworthy" or "unclean" you're basically slapping Jesus across the face and saying "what you did for me, wasn't good enough." OH MY. People, what He did for us on the cross was WAY good enough. In fact, it was PERFECT. He took all of our sin and sickness upon Himself, so we can be FREE. We are FREE! Take a moment and thank Him for this..............

Now, as a born again Christian you may still commit sin. This does not mean you are a sinner. It means you are a born again Christian who messed up. You repent, forgive yourself, and you move on knowing God isn't mad at you. In fact, He forgave you the instant it happened! If you feel any condemnation or guilt from your sins, it isn't from God. It's from the devil. he always tries to bring us down and he's really good at bringing all your past sins right in front of your face, just hoping he can make you feel like a "sinner" like you're "unworthy" and that you're "unclean". James 4:7 says to resist the devil and he WILL flee from you. DO IT! Say "devil, Jesus bore all my sin and all my sickness on the cross, what He did IS GOOD ENOUGH, I don't need to think about my sin any more. Flee from ME NOW in the name of Jesus!" You have the right to do that. You have the authority to do that. Jesus gave us (man) his authority in the earth. Adam had this authority to begin with, but then he gave it to the devil in the garden of Eden. When Jesus came, He restored our authority and power back to us humans! His perfect creation :) Oh He loves us so much!

Your conscience convicts you when you sin, as a born again Christian. This is normal and should happen. It shouldn't feel good to sin. But let me tell you from personal experience, if you sin once, it gets easier to sin the next time and the next time and the next time. Pretty soon, you no longer feel convicted from your sin and God will somehow get you back on track. He's trying to get you back all the time. He loves His children (that's us!!!!). What kind of a parent sees their child making poor decisions in life and just says "well, forget him/her, I'm moving on"? Gosh, no Godly parent would do that. Why do people think God does that? He is ALWAYS trying to get you back into the Kingdom! Back to where all those blessings, I mentioned above are! You need to be walking with God to walk in His promises. The Bible is full of His promises for us. It's up to us to CHOOSE to operate and take those blessings. They are all located inside of us (that 1/3 of you that is born again), but it's your choice to let them flow into the other 2/3 of you.

Let me end with this:

What are you letting come out of your mouth as a born again Christian? Remember, that if you are not saved, you literally can not control what words come out of your mouth. So I'm not talking to the unsaved here.

Born again Christians, what words are you speaking? Proverbs 18:21 says "death and life are in the power of the tongue, those that love it with eat the fruit of it (either death or life)."

Death = satan and Life= God, Jesus, Holy Spirit.

If you're saying "I'm a sinner, I'm unclean, oh I'm so unworthy Lord, why do you love me?" You're confessing death with the power of your tongue. those words are not LIFE words. Speak LIFE.

What is in your heart is what you say out of your mouth (mark 11:23). If you believe you're a sinner, then that is what you'll say. Romans 12:2 tells us to renew our minds to the Word of God. When you renew your mind, you're READING THE WORD and finding out what the Bible says you are. Let God's Word paint the picture of who you are. Not the world around you that is so full of sin and sinners.

Shocking realities.....

I promised I'd post something new, so here is a "tease" if you will.

Over time, I have copy pasted great statements that are clearly inspired by the Holy Spirit. I'd like to share those with you! Enjoy :)

"FOR IN HIM WE LIVE AND MOVE AND HAVE OUR BEING" - (Acts 17:27)

To be one with God (1 Cor 6:17) is the GREATEST reality ever! And to "be" as Jesus in our lifestyle! "For as Jesus is so are we in this earth" (1 John 4:17). Jesus said, "Those who believe in Me shall do the works that I do and even greater works" (John 14:12). For "anyone who claims to abide in Him should even live as He lived" (1 John 2:6).

Who are those people? look at the way they carry themselves; they're so bold, there's compassion in their eyes, they fear nothing, they have selfless desires, there passionate, never depressed, full of authority and power, but they don't want the things of the world! -Chad West

Many claim they are Christians, but can they show it, can they prove it? Those good works are the works of Christ, the same and greater, and those who believe in Jesus will do them, not maybe :D Acts 10:38 says God anointed Jesus Christ of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power, and HE went about doing good, healing everyone that was oppressed of the devil, because God was with Him. The good Jesus did, are the good works the Bible says we were created in Christ Jesus to do (see Eph 2:8-10). -Brian Doolin

Be like Jesus; read His Words, study His Words, obey His Words. By the Spirit of God we can live the life Christ lived, because He did it by the Spirit of God.

"Heal the sick through doctors, bury the dead, counsel devils, and feel sorry for lepars; freely you have received, so freely tithe." (Mt 10:8 Today's Christian Version)."Some authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. If you'd like, go into all the world and build churches, huddle in them, and pray for me to return." (Mt:...28:18-19 Today's Christian Version) - Leo De Siqueria

If its God's will for you to be sick, then you are in rebellion asking Him for healing. -Andrew Wommack

If God didn't want you well, He never would have given you an immune system. Stop attributing to God the works of the devil. -Revival or Riots

If God sends sickness for our blessing, then the devil would have to become a healer in order to oppose the works of God! Start believing that sort of nonsense and you'll be as mixed up as a termite in a yoyo. Let's stick with devil gives sin sickness and death. God gives righteousness health and life. Note God gives righteousness, we don't produce it by our work or effort.

Acts 10:38 You mean to tell me I can DO what Jesus DID?

As I laid in bed, thinking about healing..... I turned over in bed, glanced at the clock, glanced again and realized it was 10:38 pm. Immediately Acts 10:38 came to mind. God's cool like that.

"How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him." -King James Version of Acts 10:38

This is one of my favorites, but not usually THE scripture I choose to stand on in regards to healing. Usually I go with 1 Peter 2:24 "By the stripes of Jesus you HAVE been healed". But God reminded me tonight of Jesus.

God showed me about 2 weeks ago, that in order to fully understand healing, I needed to study the healer. Jesus. I committed to reading Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in order to study Jesus' life. I've started that process and will share verses from that study with you later, but for now: Acts 10:38.

"Who anointed.." ok stop. Anoint means to rub with oil and/or my personal favorite: to dedicate to the service of God. Wow. Jesus was dedicated to the service of God!

He was anointed by God. Who? Oh yes, God, the creator of the world and everything in it.

What was He anointed with? the Holy Ghost and with power. Wow! Jesus had the Holy Ghost, even though nobody else in the Old Testament did. Us, New Testament believers have the Holy Ghost living inside us just like Jesus did. So one could say WE are anointed with the Holy Ghost.... AND with power too :) Ah, getting ahead of myself here....

Ok, so Jesus was anointed with the Holy Ghost and with power. What did He do with that anointing? Oh yes, he went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

So he did good. The first definition of the word "good" on Dictionary.com is "morally excellent, virtuous and righteous. Yup, that definitely describes what Jesus did here on the earth AND what He's still doing today.

He healed ALL that were oppressed of the devil. I'm sorry, does that verse say "all"? No, it can't mean all. I'm sure Jesus just walked past some demon possessed people (we call that mental illness in these times) on the street because He didn't have "time" to set them free. I'm sure He thought, "oh come on God, I can't do what you do, I don't have the power...... you have all the power, not me...." NO NO NO NO NO NO NO He didn't. He healed ALL. Jesus heals ALL! He doesn't pick and choose and he most certainly isn't too busy to heal you.

Incase you're wondering what "oppressed of the devil" means. Here ya go: oppressed means.... to burden with cruel or unjust impositions or restraints; subject to a burdensome or harsh exercise of authority or power, to lie heavily upon (the mind, a person, etc.), to weigh down, as sleep or weariness does, to put down; subdue or suppress, to press upon or against: crush.

The devil oppresses us with sickness, disease, thoughts, depression, mental illness, anger and so on. Read the definition of oppression again to find out what exactly the devil does and what exactly Jesus heals us of.

Acts 10:38 ends with "for God was with Him". God was inside of Jesus. How? Via the Holy Spirit. Remember, the trinity is all 3 of them being equal. Why did Jesus heal the sick? Because it was God's will. How did Jesus heal the sick? With God's power.

When Jesus died on the cross, He freed us from sin and sickness. Matthew 8:17 "That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses." He bore it for us, so we don't have to. It's already taken care of. He's got our back, if you will.

So, this brings me to my previous title "1/3 of you is Jesus". Are you aware of what resides in your Spirit right now? When you became a Christian, your human spirit, became the Holy Spirit because it was "born again" as we like to say now days. You have a new Spirit. The Spirit of God. You have Jesus inside of you. Does that mean, Amie, that I can do what Jesus did because He is with me? Yes, that's exactly what I mean.

Acts 10:38 - Amie's Version for the church - how God anointed the born again Christians with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good, healing ALL who were oppressed of the devil, for Jesus was with them.

That is our mission. Learn WHO you are in Jesus. Learn WHAT Jesus had and did, because it turns out, you also have it since He lives in you. And BE Jesus, to the dying world.

I'll leave you with the Message's translation of Acts 10:38:

Then Jesus arrived from Nazareth, anointed by God with the Holy Spirit, ready for action. He went through the country helping people and healing everyone who was beaten down by the Devil. He was able to do all this because God was with him.

We can do what Jesus did BECAUSE the trinity (God, Jesus, Holy Spirit) are with us. Immanuel means "God with us".

1/3 of you is Jesus!

At Andrew Wommack's conference this past weekend, I learned some great new truths in regards to who I am in Christ! Without Him, I am nothing. With Him, I am certainly something amazing :)

Andrew spoke quite a bit about the Old Testament and the New Testament. I'd like to share with you what I learned. The Old Testament law lasted about 2,000 years. Before that, there was a period of about 2,000 years without the law where God fellowshipped with everyone on the earth openly. Spoke to them constantly and so on. Adam and Eve experienced that in their time with God in the garden. Well, man fell, bought satan's lies and then gave satan an inroad into their lives.

God took Adam and Eve from the tree of good and evil because He had something better for man than to live forever in a corrupted body and world.

After 2,000 years of the human race self destructing and rejecting hearing directly from God, our good God gave the law so people would know what He expected without hearing directly from Him. The law was meant to strengthen sin. If you think about it, when someone tells you "do not touch that flower" you want to touch the flower.... you keep thinking about the flower.... and eventually, you touch the flower. Well, God knew that if He gave man a list of "do not's", they would SEE how imperfect they are and that it's impossible to be perfect and keep the law. The law was meant to bring people to their knees and cry out for God, realizing that He was everything they need. They can't be perfect without Him.

After 2,000 years of this law, God sent His son Jesus into the world, to save the human race and bring them back to the way God wanted things to be in the first 2,000 years. God wanted people to not be conscious of sin (Hebrews 10:2) but to be conscious of Him always. He wanted to restore the human race to himself. So He sent Jesus to die for all our sin.

"It's the sin nature that sends people to hell, not their individual actions of sin." -A.W. This really impacted me. There is no plural for "sin". So many people say "sins", but the truth is Jesus came and died for our sin nature, not the individual sin of man. Human nature desires sin until they discover God. After that, any sin committed has already been washed clean by Jesus' perfect blood. "Therefore, there is now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live in and walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit." Romans 8:1

God doesn't look at your sin. He looks at Jesus, who bore all your sin 2,000 years ago! Praise God, He doesn't look at our sin... because man in the flesh, we aren't perfect! In Jesus we are :)

So, the world has existed for 6,000 years with people on it. 2,000 of those years the world was under the law (the Old Testament) and the other 4,000 years was under GRACE (The New Testament). So why is it that a lot of today's churches still preach that we're under the law? That was only 2,000 years out of 6,000 years of existence. Clearly the 4,000 years of Mercy and Grace is what God intended. Come on CHURCH!

Let me leave you with this until later: will you DARE to let the Word get in the way of what you believe?

What I learned at Andrew Wommack's Conference

Where to begin..... wow.....

Andrew (who is the pastor who founded Charis Bible College) was just here in Mpls July 15-17. I got a hotel in Mpls so I could attend all 5 sessions conveniently :) I had a wonderful time! I want to share some of my notes with you, enjoy learning what most churches are scared to teach, even though it's in the bible.

"If you can't trust God in your finances it'll hinder everything else in your life." - A.W. referring to Luke 16:10 "He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much." This means that if you'd like God to prosper you financially, you've got to show Him you can be trusted with the little money He's already given you. My good friend Carrie W. once told me that God spoke to her one time when she was asking God for more money. He said to her, "what are you doing with the money I've already given you?" This made her reflect on her finances and she really figured out what it is that she spends her money on and she made sure that she was a faithful steward of the little that she had, so God could trust her with more in the future.

A.W. spoke mostly on the Old Testament Law vs. the New Testament grace. It was amazing, however, I think that'll be a separate post. Too much to add to this post :)

"God gives you what Jesus deserves, not what you deserve." A.W. People say all the time, "oh I'm not worthy, oh Lord, I don't deserve this or that." Well, ok, the human race is a fallen race, sure and without God in our lives and being born again then sure we don't deserve dittily squat. BUT Jesus came and died for all of us and that means that we are FREE of guilt and feeling unworthy. God now sees us through Jesus, not as we are in the flesh. Realize that God sees your spirit and spirit is PERFECT. He's not disappointed in you. He's most certainly not mad at you! He loves you with an unfailing, undying love. It's an overwhelming love.

What's in your heart? Well Luke 6:45 states, ".... for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks." What comes out of your mouth when you talk to people is where your heart is.

Justified. "Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God." Romans 5:1&2. Justified = just as if I've never sinned. We are justified because of Jesus! He made it so that it's just like we've never sinned :) WOOHOO! Praise His name!

"Jesus is the glory of God." A.W.

God took Adam and Eve from the tree of good and evil because He had something better for man than to live forever in a corrupted body and world.

"Most people aren't about to let the Word get in the way of what they believe." A.W. Read that again. Most people aren't about to let the Word get in the way of what they believe. Most people have their beliefs that their church has taught them and when they read something in the bible that is contrary to what they believe, they shut down and say, "well God must be wrong then." PEOPLE, ARE YOU SERIOUS?! His Word is truth. Perhaps your church is wrong.... since you know, your church isn't God.

'Grace' and 'gospel' mean the same thing, they are interchangeable. Mark 16:15 "and he said unto them. Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature." (ooo I don't want to stop there, but I will, Mark 16:16-18 is the BEST!) So let's replace gospel with grace in that verse. Mark 16:15 "and he said unto them. Go ye into all the world and preach 'grace' to every creature." Grace and gospel mean "almost too good to be true news". It's true, but a lot of people have trouble believing it. As believers, it's our job to teach them this good news!

I think that's enough for now. I have much more to share :) Stay tuned!

A new adventure indeed....

Well, God has changed the course of my life. Ha ha, I love it when He does that!

I've taught 4th and now 5th grade inner city for 3 years and this coming school year will be my last year. I've had a call on my life to teach since I was in 2nd grade. I just didn't realize at that time that it was God. I really didn't know how to walk with God until 1 1/2 years ago. Since I didn't know how to walk with God and hear from Him when I graduated high school, I did what I knew to do with my desire to teach. I went to college to become a teacher. Got my 4 year degree and knew that I had a desire to teach underprivileged, difficult children, so inner city was my goal. I moved to Kansas City, MO because I felt God pulling me there. I taught there for 2 years in one of the roughest areas of KC. It was probably the best two years of my life so far because I learned SO much. God brought me to a church where I truly discovered the truth. I learned that most churches don't teach the truth. They make you feel good inside for 1 hour a week, but they don't tell you how to function in the world and be happy. But anyway, before I get to rambling..... after 2 years of living 7 hours and 2 states away from home, I told God I wanted to move back and that things would work out for me. So they did. I actually got a teaching job in North Minneapolis (the exact location I desired) before I even moved back, so I was ready to go. This past year of teaching 5th grade was the best yet. It was the best because I didn't do it alone. I finally realized how to let God be my strength. Once you figure this out, let me tell you, it revolutionizes your life. Perhaps I'll write more about that later.

In Sept. 2009 God spoke to me and told me to go to bible college. Since He told me that, I realized that I am missing certain desires that public education teachers should have. Such as, the desire to plan lessons. I have zero desire to do that. I mean zero. My heart isn't in it. My heart is in affecting the lives of my students and changing their behavior. God showed me that I followed His direction to teach, I have all kinds of great teaching strategies in the natural realm.... now it's time for the spiritual realm to come into play! My greatest desire is to teach people what they didn't learn in church (what the church missed). I desire to show people what is in the bible. I want to work with kids and teach them the way Jesus would teach them if He was here physically. Since He isn't here physically, but He is inside of ME, I'll use Him to teach for the rest of my life :)

I will be attending Charis Bible College in Colorado Springs, CO beginning fall of 2011!