A Fathers Love

John 5:10 (NKJV) says this: For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel. As I was meditating on this tonight I realized that this wasn't only about Jesus's relationship with the Father but it was about Fathers in general. Its also about my relationship with the Father. As a Father who loves his son without relent, I became more intimate with this scripture. I have spent a lot of time with my son this last week and we have done many things together and he has been my little helper. I love my son and love spending time with him and because I love him, whenever I do something I try to include him in what I'm doing. Now at 21 months old you know that I don't require his help but because I love him I want him involved in what I'm doing. Because of his relationship and love for me his is eager to emulate and learn what I'm doing. Through this experience John 5:10 has come alive for me. Our Father in heaven wants us to be involved in everything that he is doing because he loves us. Because we love him we should be looking to him to see what he is doing in every situation that comes before us in life. As we look to see what he is doing and begin to emulate that we become familiar to his ways and operate with more boldness and ease because we are more confident that what we are doing is right, but more importantly it will produce results. Growing up was hard in ways because more times than not, I didn't have anyone to show me how to do something. I had to teach myself how to do most things myself. Which was frustrating because I made a lot of mistakes and something that I could have done in minutes ended up taking hours if I even finished it at all. Because of this struggle there was a lot of projects that I would not even attempt because I was clueless at where to begin. I believe its the same for a lot of Christians when it comes to ministry. We have tried to witness to someone and didn't know the words to say. We have prayed for the sick believing the scriptures with no results. We have failed countless times and have become frustrated and tired of failure. I believe if we just stop our works of what has worked for other ministers and what we have been taught, and just take the time to look to our Daddy and see how he wants to do it. What are you doing Father to save this person, or what are you doing to heal this person. Its so much easier and smooth if we do things in the Spirit. He is a loving Daddy and he is aways showing us what he is doing and its up to us to just stop and look at what Daddy is doing. The other day while under the house working on the heater unit, my son saw daddy putting the screws back in. He saw what daddy was doing and so he just handed me the screws as I needed them. I was so proud of him. Even though I could do it without him, it was a special moment for us to work together. The Father is waiting on you.

Destiny Calls

A year ago I didn't realize that I was stepping into destiny. After years of looking to the future of some far off calling that I hoped for and believe, I found myself blindsided by my destiny knocking at the door. I started Morningstar University last September and didn't realize that it was here. I thought I was just doing some more training for that "someday". Starting with the boot camp that MSUhas at the start of the year it began to sink in that I had stepped into my purpose. As the year progress faith really began to stir within me about my calling. Through the years from day one I knew God had great things for me to do and as the years progressed he would give me a little insight here and there to keep me going. I had some big destiny mile stones, one being marriage that would fulfill me for awhile but never gave me the feeling of this is it. Work had always been a battlefield for me and I think it was because God did not want me to get comfortable in it. It was as if there has been some kind of agitation one way or another that kept me pursuing who I was called to be. Several years back I started a electrical company thinking this was my purpose but it was soon after that I realized that this was just another training exercise to prepare me for what is ahead. I have had three visions show me about the ministry I would have. One I saw was the name of this Blog site, Damascus Road Ministries. The next was a couple of years later and I saw L.O.R.D, and the Lord said loving others releasing dunamis. And the last one was last October where I saw a map of France and I heard the Lord say, "You have authority to evangelize France". The France one was a surprise and I'm sure the Lord will reveal more down the road. So this summer I have decided to submit to what God is calling me to do and I applied to two internships, not sure which to do. I feel like I need both. I got the internship with FreshFire USA but a couple of weeks after I applied I had a dream were I believe I saw myself at Morningstar University doing a internship for my 2nd year. So by faith I had to turn down FreshFire which I thought I would never have believed I would do. And now I'm waiting to be accepted with MSU and who I will intern with. I'm so close to my destiny and yet I still find myself having to live by faith and believe. Enduring the constant persecution at work no matter how good I do, just biding my time know that God has called me to something greater than this. Hoping that this is finally it. Will my dreams now become reality? Can I finally stop holding my breath and exhale with a sigh of relief? Will I fulfill what I know about my destiny so far and more? Waiting.

Are Babies in Heaven

I believe that babies are in heaven with such a cloud of witnesses that say it over and over and just from what I've learned of the heart of the father, I believe that it is true. We know that from conception that the babies have a spirit. So either they spend eternity with God or they end up in the lake of fire. So if the babies didn't have the chance to accept Jesus then they didn't have the chance to reject him. They didn't even have a chance to learn good or evil. I went online to find what backings I could find and if there are any scriptures to prove or disprove. I don't think there is scripture that is definitive either way. But after weighing the evidence I would stand that I believe the accounts of so many that the babies are in heaven. My first scripture is Deut. 1:39 and I think this is the best example or clue. When we read of the account of Israelites going into the promise land I think its a natural depiction of going to heaven. Here the little ones and children get to possess the land because they had no knowledge between good and evil. I think this is a good scripture to consider. I will copy and paste what I read on a website and I will give you a link also. But I think this is a good argument on the behalf of babies in heaven. The link to the rest of the site is this http://net-burst.net/hope/baby_in_heaven.htm#child

Bible Insights into Where Babies go When They Die

Later in this webpage I’ll share other encounters with God that Christians have had about babies and young children in heaven. Many readers, however, will be hungering for biblical evidence for believing that babies go to heaven, so let’s examine this critical matter before returning to the encouraging experiences of modern Christians.

Although it is true that babies are conceived tainted with original sin (Job 14:4; 15:14-16; Psalm 51:5; Proverbs 22:15; Romans 5:12) – and it is because of this that all of us suffer physical death – it is also true that Scripture recognizes that little children have a degree of innocence that distinguishes them from those of us who live longer(Scriptures).

Despite the Bible’s teaching on original sin, it also says:

Ezekiel 18:20 The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against him. (Related Scriptures)

Other Scriptures speak of us being judged according to our own misdeeds (Scriptures). And still others speak of being judged according to the light one has been given(Scriptures). Obviously, the very young would breeze through this judgment.

It is a divine principle that to whom much is given, much is required (Luke 12:48; John 15:22). Again, the very young do superbly by this spiritual measure. The contaminating effect of original sin is real but Christ died to undo that curse and to save not only those able to put their faith in him, but equally to save some who died too early to specifically believe in him. Let’s see what makes this a scriptural certainty.

We know by biblical revelation that salvation is through no one but Jesus (Acts 4:12) and no one can come to God except through him (John 14:6). We also know that the spiritual power of Jesus’ sacrifice is so mind-boggling that it reaches both forward and backward in time (Hebrews 9:25-27; Revelation 13:8) and extends beyond those able to consciously place their faith in him. The crowning proof of this biblical truth is that Old Testament saints will be in heaven (Luke 13:28; Hebrews 11:5) despite never specifically placing their faith in Jesus, nor knowing the details of his atonement. Does the atoning power of the cross likewise extend to those too young to consciously reject Christ or put their faith in him? Was Jesus hinting at this when he said of little children that “the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” (Mark 10:14 and the other synoptic gospels)?

Jesus uttered the words just quoted when the disciples had tried to prevent mothers and fathers from bringing their little children to Jesus for a blessing. In the original Greek, Luke 18:19 specifically states that those brought to Jesus were babies and Mark 10:16 also indicates how small they were by saying “he took the children in his arms.” In commenting on this incident, John Calvin said that when infants who were too young to desire Jesus’ blessing were presented to Jesus, he tenderly received them and dedicated them to the Father “by a solemn act of blessing”. Calvin concluded, “It would be too cruel to exclude that age from the grace of redemption. It is an irreligious audacity to drive from Christ’s fold those whom He held in His bosom and to shut the door on them as strangers when He did not wish to forbid them”(Source).

It would be nice to make much of Jesus saying little children have angels (Matthew 18:10). Whilst this is quite possibly true from the moment of conception, in this particular instance Jesus seems to be speaking of those old enough to have at least rudimentary faith – “ . . . these little ones who believe in me . . .” (Matthew 18:6).

In his famous Systematic Theology, Angus H. Strong concludes that since Christ “died for all” (2 Corinthians 5:14,15 – see also Hebrews 2:9; 1 John 2:2), no one is exempt, no matter how young. And since salvation is appropriated by faith in those old enough to do so, there must be some other way in which the saving power of Christ’s death is transferred to those too young to have personal faith.

This is consistent with another line of evidence: the Holy Lord relates intimately with babies:

Psalm 22:10 . . . from my mother’s womb you have been my God.

Psalms 71:6 From birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother’s womb. . . .

Isaiah 46:3 Listen to me, O house of Jacob, . . you whom I have upheld since you were conceived, and have carried since your birth.

God’s covenant with the Israelites was ratified by circumcision, which usually focused not on those old enough to believe or commit themselves to God, but on eight day old babies (Genesis 17:10-14; Leviticus 12:3).

If the Old Testament speaks of tiny babies having a special relationship with God, we find something even more startling in the New Testament. Of John the Baptist we read:

Luke 1:15 . . . he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth.

Luke 1:41,44 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. . . . As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.

Yes, John had a spiritual call on his life, but he was still human. For most of us, God is embarrassingly bigger than our theology. How could the Holy Spirit of God remain in someone not cleansed from the stain of original sin? For baby John to be Spirit-filled while still in the womb, God must have some way of counteracting the effect of original sin in those too young for saving faith. Let’s not forget that all salvation is under served and by grace.

A Word that the Lord spoke to Stephanie at church today.

Today during worship the Lord spoke to Stephanie and gave her a vision. Here it is.

God said. "I AM that I AM. You are my people. I bought you with a price. I love you with an everlasting love. My love for you will never run out."

Then I saw a very fertile green field of grass. Someone was holding an old, rusty shovel and they were digging in the ground and the dirt was piling up. Then I saw a beautiful golden field of wheat. It was tall and flowing in the wind. I could hear the Lord say, "It's ready to be harvested."

What is speaking in tongues and why would I need it

What is speaking in tongues? Good question and hopefully we can answer that through this little bible study. I would like to start off with the first instance that tongues became relevant in the bible. Turn with me to Acts 2. In verses 1-8 we read how the Holy Spirit came down from heaven and baptizes the 120 who where waiting for the Holy Spirit in the upper room. They where filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues. Down in verses 7 and 8 we see that they began to speak in languages they would not naturally know or speak. This is where tongues was introduced to the New Testament church for the first time and it came at the same time that the baptism of the Holy Spirit came. So what is it for? Just to look drunk? To prove we are baptized in the Holy Spirit?. Well first of all we need to understand there are two types of tongues. Lets look at Isaiah 28:11. It says "For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people." Here it talks about the Lord speaking to his people with a "stammering" lip and another tongue. This is what I refer to as a prophetic tongue. Its a tongue that we speak and it needs interpretation. We will come back to this but first go over to 1 Corinthians 14. As we begin to read this chapter we read in verse one that first, we need to desire spiritual gifts. Tongues is a spiritual gift that all are given when we ask for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. ( later we will talk about how to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit) We need to desire the gifts. Desire is a strong word like when I say I desire my wife. But then it says but rather that ye may prophesy. Wow. That even more that we prophesy? As we read on the rest of the chapter teaches how to prophesy to the church and lost through the prophetic tongue but first it distinguishes the difference in verses 2 and 3. Verse 2 tells us about the unknown tongue and that we speak it not to man but unto God. We if its not God speaking to us but us speaking to him then this must be a different type of tongue than what is described in Isaiah that we read earlier. It then goes on to say that "no man" understands him. I call this your prayer tongue or your Holy Spirit prayer language. Its for praying to the Father. Lets focus a little bit on this type because this is the most commonly used form of tongues. I'm sure the first question is why do we need to pray in a tongue that we don't understand and if we don't understand how can we pray. Well lets go to Romans 8:26 and get some biblical understanding why it is helpful for us. In verse 26 it says that the Spirit helps our infirmities or weaknesses and it explains what our weakness is. Our weakness is we don't know what we should pray for in the way we need to. Chew on that for a second. Not only do we not always know what to pray for but we don't know properly how to pray the right things. So what do we do? It then goes on to say that the Spirit makes intercession or prayer for us with, now this is key "groanings" which cannot be uttered. See tongues is a gift, weapon, or a tool that the Holy Spirit has given us to use for the times when we don't know what to pray. We have all had those times when we feel something is wrong and we don't know what it is. Those are the times we need to pray in the Spirit. Sometimes God wants us to pray for something coming up in our future but he can't tell us what it is but we need to start speaking it out. Here is another reason for tongues. Tongues is something the devil can't understand. When we pray regular out loud the devil is waiting and listening. And when he hears it it sets out to destroy what we are praying for. But tongues is like a encrypted message that may be about our future that if we knew or the devil knew what it was it would be hindered. If we knew what some of the things God was going to do in our lives we would probably begin to speak doubt and negative about ourselves and curse what God had blessed. (we will go further in the power of the words we speak in a future lessen) So are you thinking "hey I need that" well you can have it. But first lets look at the other side. Now this prophetic tongue is what most people get confused about in 1 Corithians 14. We fail to realize that this chapter is setting the rules of prophetic tongues and not our prayer language. Now from verse 3 and on when he refers to prophesying he is talking about the prophetic tongue because it is God speaking to us. What is so amazing is that we can tell the difference between the two. Even thought it is a bunch if jibber jabber we know which it is by one way. Jesus said "my sheep shall know my voice". When you hear a tongue that is prophetic you know its God. You know its your daddy speaking. And your like "its daddy its daddy...what is he saying whats he saying" and thats why there needs to be interpretation.

I know that there is a lot of doctrine out there in why tongues is not for today and it stopped back in the book of acts. But let me ask you a simple question. If you where the enemy and you wanted to keep people from having weapons that would be used to defeat you, what would you try to do to deceive them? Lets trick the church into believing that they can't have tongues, they can't have prophesy, they can't healing. Lets keep every tool, weapon, and gift from them so we can trample the church and make them so pitiful that they are not effective in winning souls to God. They spend all there energy just fighting to be saved. Sounds like a good plan.

So your asking how can I recieve the baptism of the Holy Spirit? Well I'll tell you. Its so simple. But first I want to tell you that tongues is just one of many gifts that come with the Holy Spirit and we are to desire the rest. Luke 11:9-13 tells us how to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Its pretty simple. Ask. Thats it just ask. You can do that right this instant. The scripture says if you ask God won't give you something bad, but a good gift. So right now ask Jesus for the Holy Spirit and ask for the gift of tongues. AWESOME!!!

Next you might be asking how do I speak in tongues? We first of all the Holy Spirit doesn't make you do anything. He doesn't take over your mouth and make you make silly sounds or noises. Its a choice. Just like anything in the bible and anything we do. We do by choice. Jesus said out of your belly shall flow rivers of living waters. You might feel a excitement in your heart. You know down in your gut. Like you want to scream or yell or worship. Begin to worship and when you don't know what more to say...well just make up something. And BAM your speaking in tongues as crazy as it may seem or make you feel.

Well thats all in this lesson and you can comment or ask questions on this blog or through facebook. And hey if this blesses you let me know.