What is God looking for in His men & women?

But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do,

    what God is looking for in men and women.

It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor,

    be compassionate and loyal in your love,

And don’t take yourself too seriously—

    take God seriously.

~Micah 6:8 - The Message~

The Reality & Importance of EVANGELISM...

At our church, in our Adult Sunday School class we have been discovering more about Evangelism... basically sharing the GOOD NEWS of Jesus... of course my most used evangelism is through teaching children at church and at work. But just living a life worthy of being an example of Jesus' love is also evangelism. Sharing here on my blog is a way to evangelize... because you never know who might just pop on your page and read. (I also like to share the blog on Facebook as well).

I found some Evangelism Questionnaires online, so you can answer questions according to your personality and comfort level and ministry and find out what style is great for you. As all of us have different personality traits and some are introverted and some are extroverted and some are a little of both like me! We did some personality evaluations in our class, and our teacher reminded us of some accounts found in the Bible to remind us to be daily AMAZED by our Lord and Saviour and the things that He has done. He is STILL doing miracles today!

I enjoy sharing the love of Jesus, but I guess I don't share it as much as I should by words with strangers, or those who are unsaved. I enjoy sharing the stories of my testimony, (which is coincidentally one of six (and probably more) ways to evangelize) but when I was younger I didn't really feel it was that special as I didn't come through an AMAZING transformation. But yet, looking back now, I see it was a transformation spiritually and that indeed was amazing. I didn't come from the alcoholic or drug addiction background... nor was I sexually active. I didn't have a horrible life for God to change, I was a simple child who loved the Jesus that she was taught about. The stories of the Bible became real to me, as of course I am and always have been a visual learner. Because of GREAT teachers in the past (and now in the present) I have become the Christian that I am today!

Be proud of where you came from (even if its full of addictions of some sort), because you can know that GOD can change it all in an instant. Just one moment... just one touch... just one word.... is all it can take to change a life of 'death' into a life of 'life'. My life of course wasn't perfect, and of course I have made some wrong decisions, but because of God's grace and mercy and forgiveness (and my repentance) I can confidently walk knowing that I am a Child of God. You get to thinking about your own salvation when you experience the death of a loved one. That is what happened in our family this week... we 'lost' our dear Aunt Linda. Now, I say that loosely, as we didn't 'lose' her, as we know exactly where she is. She is in the presence of our Saviour as she lived a life worthy of the cause. But knowing that gives us who are saved peace, but those who are unsaved don't realize the preciousness of that knowledge. Knowing that we are saved, we know that we will see her again one day. Aunt Linda was a woman who was confident in her faith and in her Lord. She was an encouragement and an inspiration to many (many online friends whom she had never met as well). I know one of my gifts is teaching (which is why I love to teach ALL ages), but another one is encouragement. I want to continue on in the legacy of Aunt Linda and encourage fellow believers and even the unsaved. Please contact me to share YOUR story, as I would love to listen! Let me know if a word has helped to change your heart and life! Comment here or send me an e-mail to cre8tewithmitz@gmail.com.

What about YOU... do you confidently know that you are a CHILD OF GOD?? Where will YOU spend eternity?? If for some reason you didn't wake up tomorrow here on earth, do you know CONFIDENTLY that you will awake in the presence of God? Take time to assess your relationship... if you don't have this beautiful relationship with God... it's as easy as learning your A, B, C's...

ACCEPT, BELIEVE and CONFESS.

**If you have never prayed the 'salvation prayer' before or experienced the peace & EVERLASTING LOVE that is spoken of above, then here's your chance today. The only thing you are giving up is things that aren't going to last long anyway -- which if you don't give up, will only make your own life not last as long as it could (which is eternally). --- You've already made the first step known - admit to God that you are a sinner, because after all - all of us are sinners. (Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God") After that you need to believe that God is God, and that Jesus is His Son. He sent His Son to die for us, so that we as sinners didn't need to be condemned to death. (Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, bu the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus.") Then do as we did above, and Confess your sins to Him and ask for forgiveness -- and then confess aloud that JESUS IS LORD. (Romans 10:9-10 "If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.") We need to daily ask for forgiveness, because we are human and we will always mess up in some way or another. God is willing and able to forgive us, and welcome YOU into His family. I don't like to write out a prayer to say word for word, as this important step is something that you need to tell God in your own words. Just tell Him what's in your heart - you're a sinner, you want to believe in Him but it may be hard, you want Him to forgive you of what you've done, and you want to choose life with Him through His Son Jesus. It's as simple as that. **

What do you think? Now continue to as HOLY SPIRIT to help lead, guide, direct, comfort and even convict you... welcome Him (as He is a person) to come and fill you daily... You can even start out praying in the words of the song 'Holy Spirit' by Bryan and Katie Torwalt... "Holy Spirit You are welcome here. Come flood this place and fill the atmosphere. Your glory God is what our hearts long for. To be overcome by Your presence Lord..."

Click here to listen to & see Holy Spirit video...

In closing, I pray (using words from the same song) "Let us become more aware of Your presence. Let us experience the glory of Your goodness."

May you be FLOODED with the presence of our HOLY God, and may YOU be CONFIDENT in knowing where you will spend eternity!

May the Lord bless you, may the Lord keep you... make His face to shine... shine upon you.

TEN ways to LOVE... Devotional Series!

As I was on GOOGLE and pinning on PINTEREST, I found this poster/picture! I saved it and knew it would make a GREAT devotional blog theme series! Might just make a GREAT series for my ABLAZE JR HIGH Ministry group as well! (and a SERIES will hopefully get me to being FAITHFUL in my devotional posts as well!)

TODAY'S 'WAY 2 LOVE': "LISTEN WITHOUT INTERRUPTING"
Key Verse Proverbs 18

It has been said to me that I am a great listener, as I enjoy listening to people (sometimes fortunately & unfortunately even when they do not know I am listening). God has granted me an excellent hearing/listening ability!

Hearing VS Listening... Do you know the difference?? Some people have differing views, and mine is definitely not the 'be all that ends all', but it sums it up well for me, and others I know have a similar view on the topic.

Hearing is the passive activity that your ears were created to do -- Listening is the active activity that involves your ears and your mind! Hearing can involve noises, music, talking in a crowded room, birds, etc. Listening involves actually being involved in the conversation or the noise itself. If I can hear a bird it's sweet, I know the bird is there. But if I truly listen to the bird, I can tell you approximately where the bird is, what kind of bird it is and MORE. Listening involves your two ears and your one mind... You were meant to listen twice as much as you speak, as you only have one mouth!

This is where TODAY's MESSAGE fits in; Listen without interrupting. We all have something to say, and when we are listening to someone else talk, we just want to put our 'two cents' in. There is a difference between interjecting and interrupting as well. Interrupting involves you taking over the conversation, and sometimes its not even about the topic or theme that the conversation was about in the first place. Interjecting is also giving your opinion or view on something that someone is talking about, and you have to technically interrupt sometimes to get your voice heard, but it still remains part of the original conversation, and the first person talking should be able to just continue with what they were saying.

We all have the need to interrupt and interject. I find myself more of an interjector, and I know I have been 'in trouble' for interjecting. It is seen as a problem, as I seem to want my 'two cents' to be heard. Most cases, it's because the total truth is not coming out in the conversation, and I know there are things that should be said but aren't being said. Sometimes, it us just in fact a need to talk.

We all know SOMEONE who comes to mind when you bring up this subject of listening without interrupting... because there is always that one person who needs to be heard. They want everyone to listen to what they have to say. For example, one person I know (not naming names or sexes or places to keep it 'professional') continuously interrupts during a conversation, and so many people are annoyed by it, but it helps when the person in charge can easily bring the conversation back to where we were. Little 'bunny trails' as people like to say are alright for a brief time, but EVERY time is a little ridiculous. (Sometimes they actually have NOTHING to do with what the conversation is about).

Because I am a teacher, I strive to 'listen' to all of the children, tweens, teens and adults that are in my care. It also reflects on you as a person, if you are living the example of listening and not just hearing. But it is also in the way that you speak that is important! Showing LOVE is the BEST way to go!

That golden rule always comes back into play -- 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you!' How would you want others to respond and listen to you when you are talking.

I found this GREAT picture online when googling hearing vs listening:

PROVERBS 18:13 says: "Answering before listening

    is both stupid and rude." (The Message Version)

The MOST important person that you need to HEAR and LISTEN to is GOD! When you just HEAR words, you do nothing with them. But when you are actually LISTENING to the voice of God, or to the WORD of GOD when you read the Bible, then you can ACTIVELY participate in God's plan for your life.

BE BLESSED!

~Mitzi