Category Archives: Faith

What does Jesus want from me?

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Light image croppedAll of us think about God at some point in our lives. Our view of God can be influenced by a lot of things in our life.

We all spend time thinking about what God expects or desires from us. We often think He wants us to be good. He wants us to be kind – kinder than we currently manage to be. He wants us to be patient and understanding. He wants us to treat others well. He wants us to use our resources wisely.

Since we think of all these things God wants us to do or be we can end up thinking that God is not actually very pleased with us. We know we can do better, and we know God knows we can do better, so we think He isn’t pleased with us and we feel guilty for not doing and being better.

Sometimes we can get buried with a load of guilt and expectations. We can get so discouraged that we feel there is no hope for us at all. We will never measure up so we might as well give up even trying.

I’ve learned that even my best efforts will never be enough to please God. But that doesn’t discourage me, that releases me! Since nothing I can do will ever measure up I need to release myself from the pressure of trying to be good enough or better than I am. You see, before God I have nothing to offer, but through what Jesus has already DONE FOR ME, I can stand before God fully and completely accepted.

I have sinned. I don’t deserve to have a relationship with God. There is nothing I can do to ‘fix’ my past sins and nothing I can do to make myself do better in all the areas I fall short. But Jesus has done it. He willingly did what I wasn’t able to do and that has made all the difference.

Because Jesus took my sin, died, but didn’t stay dead, He invited me to a relationship with Him and He has covered all the costs! I must simply accept what He has already done.

Paul travelled all around the known world of his time seeking to let everyone know this simple, yet profound message. His message wasn’t very complicated:

You should turn from worthless things and turn to the Living God, who made heaven and earth and everything in them.  He left you with a lot of evidence of Himself and His goodness. For instance, He sends you rain and good crops and gives you food and joyful hearts. Acts 14

I think the same message still holds for us today. All God wants from us is for us to turn from the worthless things we spend our lives pursuing. He wants us to turn to Him and seek to know and understand Him and surrender our lives to His direction.

It’s simple. Not easy, but simple.

Often surrender involves progressive steps. We can’t wait till we are ‘perfect’ till we approach God – because we will NEVER be perfect. We just have to start where we are and turn and approach Him, ready to learn what He has already done for us and what He desires for us.

Day 7 Encouraging people to Seek Jesus: 30 ways in 30 days

The Critical Question

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Question marks Orang

Probably THE MOST SIGNIFICANT question we will ever consider is

Who is/was Jesus?

To be fair we also need to think carefully about where we will go to find the answer to this question.

Will we go to our friends, our peer group, people we feel comfortable with, and ask them what they think?

Will we go to books written by smart people? or funny people?

Will we allow the media to shape our answer to this question?

Will we go to our family or just follow in the tradition we’ve received?

If this is the most important question you could ever answer maybe it’s worth a little bit of work and effort. Maybe you need to consider carefully the source of information that impacts your answer.

I’m not providing any answers here. I just want to motivate you to begin an honest search.

Who do you think Jesus was?

Do you know who Jesus claimed to be?

 

Day 6 Encouraging people to Seek Jesus: 30 ways in 30 days

Calling all Christians

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Aging prayerIs it time for Christians who understand the harm caused by vaccines to band together and expose the lies and deception?

Paul had extremely harsh words for a man who was using his influence to deceive and harm ordinary people. The deceiver had a position of power. Paul was not politically correct. He did not debate. He rebuked him.

Paul, was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he looked the sorcerer in the eye. Then he said, “You son of the devil, full of every sort of deceit and fraud, and enemy of all that is good! Will you never stop perverting the true ways of God? Watch now, for the Lord has laid his hand of punishment upon you, and you will be struck blind. You will not see the sunlight for some time.” Instantly mist and darkness came over the man’s eyes, and he began groping around begging for someone to take his hand and lead him. Acts 13

As believers and followers of Jesus Christ, can we pray together against the evil being perpetuated on our children? Can we pray together that all those guilty of deceit and fraud, all who are the enemy of what is good, may be struck with blindness just as was Elymas, the false prophet and sorcerer who opposed the TRUTH presented by Paul?

If you are a Christian and still are drawn to vaccines as a helpful method of protection against illness, I urge you to fast and pray and seek guidance from the Holy Spirit, and confirmation from mature fellow Christians.

Deception is strong. We are warned repeatedly to be aware of deception. The nature of deception is that you don’t know when you are deceived.

I tell you this so that no one may deceive you with fine sounding arguments… See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy which depends on human traditions and the basic principles of this world rather than on Jesus Christ, in whom all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in bodily form. Colossians 2

I urge all those who have been participating in this harmful medical practice to repent and seek direction from Jesus on how you can turn. The financial benefits gained through injustice are not worth the lives that are being damaged.

Christians perpetuating vaccines are a stumbling block to many parents who have lost faith in God due to their child’s vaccine injury. We need to repent of this evil scourge and seek to offer them healing and hope by all means possible. We need to support them in their struggle for justice.

My heart aches for the burden of thousands of families due to the infliction of vaccine damage by the authorities who continue to ignore and cover the truth.

I think of the 5000+ families denied justice in the charade of the Omnibus Autism hearings, which was more about protecting the program than discovering the truth and helping the injured.

Let us pray together for the power of God to work and move to bring TRUTH and JUSTICE.

Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land. 2 Chron 7:14

More blogs on vaccines for Christians here: Health, Vaccines, Jesus, Do They Go Together?

Author: Becky Hastings, wife, mother, grandmother, passionate follower of Jesus and truth seeker. As a breastfeeding counselor for over 23 years Becky is devoted to helping parents make wise decisions for the long-term health and wellbeing of their babies. As a member of a Vaccine Safety Education Coalition, Becky writes and speaks on the topic of vaccine safety.

30 Ways in 30 Days To Explore Vaccines: Day 7

Best Invitation Ever

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sunriseGod shows no favoritism. In every culture He accepts those who fear Him and do what is right…

We can have peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. Peter

John the Baptist appeared out of nowhere as a unique prophetic voice. He had a simple message: Repent from your sins. Turn to God.

In our crazy confused world, where everyone loves to make predictions, but no one comprehends the future, we all agree that evil is present and navigating life to happiness and success can be challenging.

There is nothing on earth that gives me too much hope. In fact, I keep finding out more and more information on the fearful state of our world: our health is under threat from all the toxic assault, large corporations put profit before health and operate with enormous freedom, masses of people are purposefully controlled and led by sinister forces, wars in places remote from me are complex and beyond my understanding – yet people are dying and arms manufacturers continue to profit. I could go on…

Despite the disturbing trends all around, I continue to find my hope in God. He alone has answers.

Approaching God is simple, just like the prophet John urged the people of his time: confess your sins. How have you participated in the evil rebellious world system? Are you ready to turn to God and seek His answers for every area of your life?

After Jesus was baptized a voice from heaven (yeah, spooky) said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy!”

When you become familiar with all that Jesus did and all that He said and you respond to Him with a huge YES, you will understand that the same joy God found in His Son, Jesus, He also finds in you. Imagine God speaking directly to you and about you:

_____________ (fill in your name)

You are My dearly loved child. You bring Me great JOY!

Love,

God, your Father

Some of the final words Jesus spoke to His followers after He rose from the dead:

I go to My Father AND your Father,

to My God and your God!

 

As the Father sent Me – I am sending you!

We are not alone. As Jesus was supported during His time on earth by His connection with God the Father, we are also supported. The power of God to fulfill His purposes is available to me – and to you!

How do you respond to John’s invitation to repent and turn to God?

 

Day 5 Encouraging people to Seek Jesus: 30 ways in 30 days

Freedom

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Jumping FreedomAccepting Jesus into your life – no matter what background or religious tradition you were raised with, is wonderfully freeing.

Through Jesus I am released from my attempts to please God or perform.

I don’t have to keep trying to do, or be, or accomplish anything at all.

When I accept Jesus Christ I rely on what He has already done for me.

I don’t have to have confidence in my abilities or my effort to succeed.

That doesn’t mean that I am actively trying to be a loser, but the pressure to do something and achieve sometime FOR God is off. I can’t do anything or achieve anything FOR God. He has already done it for me. No pressure now, just acceptance of what He has done and giving Him praise for the work HE is doing in me.

Until you have found this acceptance, you may never know what this freedom feels like.

Many religious traditions try to load us down with a list of rules or expectations we must live up to in order to earn God’s approval. Nothing could be further from the truth. Until we recognize that it is impossible to earn God’s favor by our own effort, we will always be in bondage to a system of rules.

People often use the Bible to add authority to their list of rules. This is an incorrect use of God’s message to us. God doesn’t need us to follow a list of rules or a set of requirements. He has given us Jesus and we need only rely on what He has already done for us.

This is the type of unconditional acceptance we all yearn for and are drawn to when we find it in people. It is the kind of acceptance every good parent seeks to give to their child (though we never manage perfectly).

Have you ever experienced that freedom? That acceptance?

Would you like to? I’d love to discuss this further with you.

Whatever happens, rejoice in the Lord…We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us. We put no confidence in human effort.  Paul, Letter to the Philippians 3:1 & 3

 

Day 4 Encouraging people to Seek Jesus: 30 ways in 30 days

My Stabilizing Factor

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BibleI guess it might seen strange to some, but I read an ancient text daily and feel it brings calm, peace, wisdom and insight into many areas of my life. This has been my practice and my discipline for many years and I continue to see multiple benefits every day.

The Bible is actually a library of 66 books, written by approximately 44 authors over a period of about 1500 years. The 39 books of the Old Testament were composed between 1400 and 400 B.C., the 27 books of the New Testament between A.D. 50 and A.D. 100.

The Bible gives me the best explanation for sin, suffering, and death, the three biggest challenges we face during our life.

How much do you know about the Bible?

If you’ve never read it, it’s not really a book and therefore it isn’t always the best idea to start at the beginning and read through to the end – although many people certainly have tried that method.

I usually suggest that people start by reading the books describing Jesus’ life, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, which you will find at the beginning of the section called New Testament.

I like to read from several different books at the same time, which gives a larger perspective on the work of God over time.

When the different manuscripts were written they were not divided into verses or chapters, but these were added later to make referencing the works easier. Many times I will read one chapter from a variety of books each day rather than reading large sections of one book.

However you approach reading the Bible, it is valuable and helpful. There are many parts that can be difficult to understand, but as with any ancient manuscript, repeated reading brings clarity.

I encourage you to read the Bible. You’ve probably heard many references to it over the years, but have you ever read it for yourself?

We all need more wisdom in our lives, James, the brother of Jesus, told us about wisdom:

If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. James 1:5

 

Day 3 Encouraging people to Seek Jesus: 30 ways in 30 days

Knowledge of God and Blessing

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bonding w babySometimes experiencing great blessing in our life can be harmful to our future and the future of our children.

The Lord told Moses to warn Joshua about the dangers of being too comfortable and too ‘blessed.’

For I will bring them into the land I swore to give their ancestors – a land flowing with milk and honey. There they will become prosperous, eat all the food they want, and become fat. But they will begin to worship other gods; they will despise me and break my covenant. And when great disasters come down on them this song will stand as evidence against them, for it will never be forgotten by their descendants. I know the intentions of these people, even now before they have entered the land I swore to give them. Deut 31:20-21

God allows us free choice – even when he knows our choices are going to be bad for us.

If you live in the USA or most ‘western’ situations you are blessed. If you have access to the Internet you are abundantly blessed.

What will you do with the blessings you have been given? Will you thank God for them and acknowledge Him as the giver of all good things in your life?

Will you take them for granted; keep seeking more and more and more with no regard for who God is and what He might desire for you?

As you begin to see God as the source of blessing He will lead you to ever greater knowledge, information and truth. Truth about Himself and the world that He made.

We all get to choose how we respond to the blessings we have.

Day 2 Encouraging people to Seek Jesus: 30 ways in 30 days

Day 1: Does it make sense to seek Jesus in 2014?

Does it make sense to seek Jesus in 2014?

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giving handsThere is no doubt we are living in incredible times. Technological advances have made life very different than it was even 20 years ago. There are many good results we take for granted and enjoy every day.

But, if we are honest, we must admit that there is also evil and darkness in the world we live in. It is sometimes hard to figure out what is good and what is evil. Many things look good but turn out to be very harmful to us.

I am an avid seeker of health and truth. I desire to discern the good from evil in our current world. It is very difficult to find out that basic “facts” I have always taken for granted, are actually manipulations of information designed to impact my life and my actions.

In the midst of the masses of information and the uncertainty of the times we live, I have decided to seek Jesus Christ, in whom is hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. You might think this is a naïve decision or a submission to yet another manipulation technique. However, upon examining all the options, I have chosen this as my best course. I will attempt to explain some of my reasons.

The book of John is written by a disciple – very close follower – of Jesus as an eyewitness account of the events of Jesus’ life on earth. He explains towards the end of his account why he wrote it:

The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to those recorded in this book. These are written so that you many continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in Him, you will have life by the power of His name.

Imagine if these words were true. It would mean that God desires to grant you extraordinary power and life – beyond your imagination – in the midst of your current reality.

John recorded some of Jesus’ last words to His followers:

I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.

 

As the Father has sent Me, I am sending you.

Jesus was saying that we now have the same access to God as He did during His time on earth. I encourage you to read the entire book of John, which you can find on-line or in any version of the Bible. It is ancient literature and you might want to read through it more than once, or even regularly. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Find out how Jesus lived while He was on earth and what He desires for you to have, experience and do during your time here.

We all are given a limited number of days on earth. How will we use them?

Encouraging people to Seek Jesus: 30 ways in 30 days

Can good people confidently give bad advice?

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Cognitive DissonanceCognitive dissonance prevents most people from deeply examining facts about things they have always accepted and been told were good.

Cognitive dissonance keeps good medical doctors and nurses from acknowledging vaccine injury in the patients they treat.

They have been told repeatedly that vaccines are safe and effective. Even when the evidence of a serious life-threatening reaction is brought to their attention, they look for other ways to explain it.

So the heartbroken parents of twins who dutifully allowed them to be vaccinated with all the routine vaccinations and found their baby girl dead on the same night she had received her ‘twelve month vaccines’ were told it could not possibly have been due to the vaccines. Her death was SIDS: sudden infant death syndrome. This happened just a few weeks ago – 2014 – in my small town. No one questions. No newspapers report this tragic death. Life goes on.

SIDS was popularized to help with the cognitive dissonance. We don’t know why healthy babies die more often in close proximity to receiving routine vaccinations, especially the DTP or DtaP, but if we call it SIDS and explain it away, it keeps us from examining the foundation of our knowledge too closely and can keep parents from asking us too many questions. We just say, ‘we don’t know, it’s SIDS.’

Tragic. Educate yourself beyond the routine information given to you by the makers and purveyors of vaccines. Cognitive dissonance might be preventing them from knowing the truth. Your life, and the life of your child could depend on it.

I believe Jesus can open our minds and make us aware of the deception we have experienced which can help us get out of our state of cognitive dissonance. He can lead us into the TRUTH about all things.

Seek truth. Jesus Christ embodies truth and can lead you to truth in every single area of your life. God desires to work in you, to give you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him. What do you have to lose by taking some time to read about the life of Jesus and learn why He came to earth and what He wanted His followers to know about the truth of life on earth?

Who else can we trust? Who else would you want to trust? What other options exist?

30 ways in 30 days. Day 2.

Day 1: Who do you trust?

My Foundation

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Heart birdsI heard someone I respect describing the brilliance of the “Infinite presence and benevolence” in a talk about health, particularly about detoxing our body and how amazing the body was at this function. The speaker was particularly awed by the fact that the body was capable of isolating and expelling chemicals that have only been developed in the last 50 years, demonstrating this “infinite presence” during the “evolutionary process.” Hearing this speaker, who shared a lot of practical, helpful information, made me want to describe what I believe about this “infinite presence and benevolence”!

I believe in a Creator and Designer who understands every intricate complexity of every system and every cell of every human body. He has COMPLETE understanding of the human brain – things modern scientists are just beginning to understand and figure out – my Designer knows it all!

cosmosThis awesome Creator not only understands humans, He comprehends every detail of all the planets, galaxies, space and beyond. In fact, He set them all in motion and understands the science of every aspect of how exactly they hang in their particular place, doing exactly what they do.

I sometimes get overwhelmed by technology and having to learn new devises or operating systems. There are sooooo many areas of life I just take on faith – the operation of a car, an airplane, architectural design, etc!  However, when I feel small in my abilities, I remember that my God knows the design and optimal operation of every single technical device or invention ever created by any man. He knows the content of every PhD thesis and every peer-reviewed scientific paper ever written AND He understands which parts are fact and which is false.

My Creator knows the function and intricacy of every cell, every nutrient, every chemical toxin, and all functions in the body contributing to health or illness. He has absolute power and is able to heal any illness. His powerful ability to heal was thoroughly documented by eye-witness accounts.

Other random facts that sometimes pop into my mind – my Creator knows every musical combination ever devised. He understands the harmonies and discord in the music of every culture on earth.

He knows every wise word ever conveyed and every deception ever perpetuated.

He is the Creator and author of all life; the giver of wisdom; healer; sustainer; matchless powerful energy and life source that I want to be connected with every day, every hour, every minute.

AvatarDo you remember the movie Avatar? The native humanoid “Na’vi” had neural links with the creatures they ride (dire horses and banshees) and have to plug into them via tentacle-like structures on their heads. These vital connections empowered them to perform great feats together. Seeing this movie (years ago) gave me a figurative picture of the type of creative infusion our Designer wants to have with us! This connection has to potential to be far more powerful than what the fictional Na’vi experienced!

The desire of my heart is to help others experience the reality of this vital connection with my awesome, powerful, benevolent CREATOR.

When you analyze your life with all its challenges and complexities, what else actually matters?