You Heard?

  There are some things that once you've heard, there is no "un-hearing" it. You know what I'm talking about?  Or once something has happened to you, you are forever holding a different claim to life.  There's no going back to that old you, who never smoked, or holding the ability to claim your perfect driving record.  Once you have had or heard that something, You. Own. It. And there will never be any forgetting it. You cannot go back to the ignorance you once had, for the rest of your life, sometimes certain knowledge will strike you and leave a lasting impression that will forever leave you changed.

  The free gift of God's Holy Spirit is like that.  He will hit you, seal you, and keep you, to where you will be forever changed if you believe.  There is no turning back to the way life once was, once this truth is revealed to you.  Only instead of tarnishing you, Christ leaves you blameless. (1) (See Spring Cleaning the Soul.) The Spirit then comes to us (2) to help, teach (3), and seal us. (4)

  But to be "sealed" describes a message of authenticity. It shows that it's genuine, completed and not tampered with.  God is the one who sent the Holy Spirit as guarantee of our delivery unto Himself.  To be sealed with the Spirit is an identification of ownership, of protection, and security. This is something that can never be taken away. (5)

"In him you also, when you heard the Word of truth,

the gospel of your salvation,

and believed Him,

you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,

who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire

possession of it, to the praise of His glory."

-Ephesians 1:13-14

   It has always been about salvation through the promised Messiah.  Jesus Christ has paid our penalty in full by what He did on the cross. (6) Thereby releasing us from the slavery of our sins.  God gives the Holy Spirit as a deposit to our soul, once believing, life-changing deposit. Not as a "down payment" but the transaction is completed. It has been paid in full.  It is a promise of commitment to seal us.  Jesus Christ is the bridegroom and the Holy Spirit is a promise that nothing can break.

"... and no one will snatch them

out of my hand."

-John 10:28

  Salvation is not temporary. It is eternal!  This is a knowledge that is beyond life changing. This is an assurance that can never move backwards. Once you have this sweet salvation, You. Are. His.  It becomes a part of you, a new you that will never be the same. Epic.  

"... so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.

For God so loved the world,

that he gave His only Son,

that whoever believes in Him shall not perish,

but have eternal life.

For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world,

but that the world might be saved through Him."

- John 3:15-17

Featured Music:
TobyMac- Feel It (Audio) ft. Mr. TalkBox

1.)  Colossians 1:22
2.) 1 Corinthians 3:16
3.)  John 14:26
4.)  Ephesians 1:13-14 (See it quoted above.)
5.)  John 10:28-30
6.)  John 19:30

Eternal Profits

Like flowers bloom for the stinging bee

Bringing sweet honey;

Invisible songs allure mischief

A means to an end, just money.

Coins impede mere reason.

Blinding importance in effects 

of attention altered; Lord's treason. 

Rather trust provisions will come

for those who follow the Son.

Work for the Kingdom come

cannot be worthless in the eyes 

of the Most High, sovereign King.

He who keeps us.

Loves us.

Unfailing.

        I say to myself, 

           "The Lord is my portion;

            therefore I will wait for him."
       Lamentations 3:24 (NIV) 

Featured music:

Lauren Daigle - Trust In You

Spring Cleaning the Soul

Hello friend, and hello Spring!

Sometimes, in order to clean my house it involves getting rid of insects - especially living down in the southern pines of North Carolina.  Unwanted spiders or ants can make their way in, and if I'm not keeping up on my cleaning, they can nest and eventually reproduce.  Then my house would become infested.  To prevent that problem from growing, I have to destroy any little homes I find forming. I rid them from my home, where they don't belong.  Some could even be a fatal threat to my family, like poisonous spiders or scorpions.  Therefore, I need to clean, treat, and repeat to prevent or stop infestation.  

In a very real way, sin can take on the same role.  Our bodies are our home, and our souls need cared for within just as do our bodies.  When we wash our faces and brush our teeth, lets remember the importance of being renewed in our minds as well. (1) {Wash our souls, Lord.}  Sin has a subtle way of creeping in, and if left unchecked, can nest and take root in our hearts.  In order to prevent sin from infesting and growing in our souls, we need to clean, treat, and repeat.

We clean our hearts of sin by accepting Christ's payment for them on the cross. Confessing with our mouths that Jesus is Lord, and believing in our hearts that God raised him from the dead and we will be saved (2) - This is cleansing us from our sins.  Asking God to forgive us from our sins and going on to sin no more, repentance. Understanding that our salvation is not contingent upon what we have done, but what our Lord and Savior did for us. (3) An unconditional gift, not conditional by what we can do. Christ payed the price and said, "It is finished.". (4)  Washed clean our souls.

To treat our souls, we must walk in the Spirit thereafter.  Preventing any infestation of sin.  The Word says a house swept clean is left wide open to the enemy if the house is left empty (5), or not filled with the Holy Spirit.  First, pray for God to fill you, I am praying this for us even now.  Studying God's word to learn who He is will treat your soul.  The Living Word.  May it stay fresh in our minds, wiping away any webs of the enemy.  Take up the armor of God (6) and see the fruit of the Spirit {love..} take root. (7)  This way we have an unchanging standard to hold everything.  A standard of Truth. When that little pest, selfishness, creeps in - or drunkenness wants to crawl up and make itself comfortable in your life - you stand on the Word of God. We remember Galatians 5: 24 and know that "those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to the cross and crucified them there.  If we are living now by the Holy Spirit, let us follow the Holy Spirit's leading in every part of our lives." Wipe it out.  Pray.  Treat your soul. 

Repeat. Lets not forget to remain in the body of believers. We need the church, we are the church.  I saw a meme that said, "Not going to church because of hypocrites is like not going to the gym because of out of shape people." How true that is! I pray we remain in a Bible based church to worship and fellowship, for encouragement, accountability and warning. (8)  Furthermore, the music we fill our minds with will be what's on repeat in our souls.  May we take care in humming along with the Spirit, not otherwise.  I promise this is the foundation on which your house will always stand through eternity. (9)  Peace will then reign in Him.  May God bless you, my friend, as we together work on spring cleaning our souls.  My thoughts and prayers are with you, as I hope I might be in yours.  

In Christ's Love,

Traci Ann 

Featured Music: Tobymac - City On Our Knees

Biblical References: 

(1.) Ephesians 4:21-24 (Read through the end of Eph. for details on how.)    

(2.) Romans 10:9

(3.) Ephesians 2:8-9, Galatians 5:1-6

(4.) John 19:30
(5.) Luke 11:24-26

(6.) Ephesians 6:13-18

(7.) Galatians 5:22
(8.) Hebrews 10:25

(9.) Matthew 7:24-28