Close_to_Jesus

YouTube/ Spotify/ iTunes. You know, there is a lot of craziness going on in the world right now. People are getting desperate and I read somewhere that suicide is very high at the moment. Our message this week is called “Beauty for Ashes: God’s Plan for VICTORY from Depression”. In a world full of hopelessness, we as the children of God rely on Him as our one true hope, amen? Even if you don’t care to hear the message, I wanted to put out a few questions that might inspire a discussion to help those in need: It’s important to remember that we are not alone in our suffering. Not only is God always with us, but others have been where we are. If you have an experience of coming through depression, despair, or hopelessness, consider sharing how you were delivered. Can you recommend some good scriptures (or even messages) that might help someone that’s feeling depressed? We know what the Bible says about suicide, share your thoughts if you like. All of my responses to this, including how I came through a very deep, dark, depression, are shared in the weekly message if it’s something you’d like to hear. God bless you all.

We serve a God who is known as "the God of hope". I don't know about you, but that is comforting to me in these crazy times. Truly, we are in the last days of the last days. This world is absolutely insane! People are going in the complete opposite direction of the Lord. These are dark days and they are getting darker and if we aren't grounded in the Word, it's easy to fall into fear, despair, and hopelessness. I know many out there share my feelings here and that's why I want to share this message on where to find our hope. This is a now word and I hope you will participate in the conversation. There is hope, we just need to know the God that promises us hope, peace, and joy, amen? YouTube/ Spotify/ iTunes God bless and keep you always!

Happy Tuesday brothers and sister in Christ! I'm just sharing a message with you on the biblical meaning of repentance. You might be surprised that it isn't what immediately comes to mind when we consider the modern-day meaning. Give it a listen if you like. It's freely given, no ads, nothing for sale, just the Word YouTube/ Spotify/ iTunes/ Instagram I'd also love to hear your testimonials of repentance in your transformation to be more like our precious Jesus. Amen

Hello all! I hope this day finds you well and joyful! This week’s message (YouTube/ Spotify/ iTunes) answers the question, “How Do I Keep My Joy?”j The real question here is, how do I keep my joy when I don’t feel like it or when I’m not in joyful circumstances! Remember, joy doesn’t mean we’re not suffering, but we focus our eyes on the joy to come and the presence of God with us through our trials! Amen! If you have any tips on how to stay joyful, or a scripture you’d like to share that exports you, please do! We need to ground ourselves in the peace, love, and joy of the Lord regardless of what’s going on around us and what the world is telling us. God bless you! –Misty

Amen! I am so grateful for the love and kindness of God. Even though I turned from him for a long time, He was right there waiting for me when I returned several years ago, praise God.

Thank you guys for the amazing responses. Here's how I feel about going to heaven and bitterness. You are right, the Bible does say that unbelief can keep us out of heaven; however, the issue with bitterness, resentment, and unforgiveness is a defiling spirit (Heb 12:15). It spreads in our heart and will interfere with our relationship with God. God can't reside in a heart full of bitterness. Eventually, it draws us away from him. I know, when I suffered from very bad bitterness, I turned away from God for many years. If I died during that time, I can't say I believe I would have gone to heaven. I'd never declare that over anyone else but me; however, I don't want to see anyone take that risk. At the very least, it robs us of our joy, hope, closeness with God, etc. As far as forgiving terrible acts. No one expects someone to be able to instantly forgive; however, remember that forgiveness is for US. Holding on to unforgiveness opens the door to the enemy and keeps us in a place where we can't operate in the full grace of God. We need release that pain and unforgiveness to God with His help. We can't do it on our own, but with Christ, all things are possible. God does not want us walking around with hate in our hearts. He is our vindicator, and He will be the judge over the person who hurt us. Amen?

Hello friends. I hope this Tuesday finds you full of peace and joy! I wanted to share this message with you. We've been putting out weekly discussions for a while now, but I'd have to say that I always feel God's anointing in the posts, this is one was especially powerful. YouTube/ Spotify/ iTunes. Bitterness and unforgiveness can keep us out of heaven. I spent a lot of years in bitterness and I'm sure those of you out there in the know will agree, there is only strife and misery in a heart full of resentment. We may not even know we have bitterness in our heart. It only takes a seed of hurt to grow a root of bitterness. Find out if you have bitterness growing inside you, or if you know you do, find out how to get delivered from it! God can heal all hurt, but we have to have a will to let go of it. It's freely given to you all so please, consider listening. It's just so important and breaking the bonds of bitterness is life changing (and even marriage saving)! Also PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE discuss your experiences with bitterness here. I love reading your stories. Iron sharpens iron and your shared experience could deliver someone out there someday God bless you Misty

You know it amazes me how we can grieve about something and not even know we are grieving! Someone made a comment that grief only applies to the loss of a loved one, I disagree. I myself have had to get ahold of myself grieving over lost years instead of standing on God's promises of beauty for ashes. I believe we can grieve over the loss of just about anything (I grieved over KFC taking the Doublelicious off the menu, LOL KIDDING). Please share your thoughts! --Misty "I Wanna Know!" Christian Podcast YouTube/ Spotify/ iTunes

This may be taking it in a different direction, but the way I see it is we are made in His image but He gave us a free will (a living soul with a mind, will, and emotions). In order for God to operate in our lives the way he would like to (with goodness and mercy as well as showing us the way through Christ) we need to surrender our will to His will. Ultimately, everyone will stand before Him, but I thank God for his love and mercy.

Hello friends! Thanks for those who expressed concern about my father. He's out of t he hospital but he has a serious Staph infection so prayers are very appreciated!! This week, we're talking about the Spirit of Grief (YouTube/ Spotify/ iTunes). Grief isn't just the loss of a loved one. We can grieve over any number of things (finances, unfulfilled dreams, failed relationships, wrongs that have been committed against us, the loss of years, etc. If any of you are anywhere near my age, you know what I'm talking about when it comes to years! How many times do we long for times past. For some, that longing is a form of grief. Grief should be for a season, not not a lifetime. When my grandmother, the dearest person in my life and the woman who raised me, died I grieved for her terribly for over TEN YEARS. I had so much guilt and sorrow. Thank God I found deliverance through Christ and I hope to share that with anyone who is hurting right now. Deliverance ministry is very near to my heart. If you are experiencing grief in any form (and who isn't these days), give it a listen or share it with someone who is going through a loss. God bless you wonderful people! YouTube/ Spotify/ iTunes

I went through a similar situation with my husband for some time. I just kept lifting him up to God and, like your husband, he started questioning. Just let God take care of it and continue to be a witness to him of God's presence in our life.

Hello friends! It's Tuesday and, I hope you don't mind, but I wanted to share this week's message on the Gift of Faith. It's free to anyone who wants to listen on YouTube/ Spotify/ iTunes and others. This is the 2nd in the "Gifts of the Spirit" line we've been working on (we did Discerning of Spirits a couple weeks ago). When I was a new believer, it was hard to differentiate the difference between the measure of faith all believers are given and the actual gift of faith. Now that I've been a sister in Christ for quite a while, I'm hoping to offer some guidance for new Christians or maybe give my fellow seasoned believers a refresher. It genuinely makes my heart happy when I hear back from you. If you've ever operated in the gift of faith (or witnessed it), please share your experience so that I, and others, might receive a greater understanding. All spiritual gifts are for the edification of the church and you sharing a testimony would certainly be edifying! Remember, God loves you. We cannot fathom the depth of His love for us and regardless of what people may or may not do, God is our all in all. Amen!

Thanks for the reply! For some reason, my post notifications aren't working or I would have responded sooner. I had a not of anxiety issues but, thank goodness, I've been largely delivered of that. I'm not perfect, sometimes my mind runs off and starts worrying about my needs, but I try to reign it back in and keep my trust firmly placed in God.

Any recommendations? I prefer the workbooks (where you have daily reading, questions to answer, something to keep you interested in t he subject and paying attention). One of my favorites is Henry Blackaby's "Experiencing God". If you haven't read that one, give it a try!

No one ever struggles with releasing their burdens to God? Speaking for myself only, I know I've had to learn a lot about taking my hands off of something and letting God have it. That doesn't mean keep working about it or keep reasoning out ways to fix the problem, but surrendering it to the Lord and then moving own with peace and joy in my heart.