GAME ON!

Well, it’s my birthday! The BIG 46! And I've decided to gift myself a birthday mantra  – GAME ON!
You see, every year I get very motivated. Probably because my birthday falls at the beginning of the year and it always feels like a fresh start. Some people hate birthdays. Not me. Since I turned 40, I embrace every year as an exciting adventure and opportunity to grow spiritually.

At 40, I went a little nutty (in a good way). I became addicted to reading, fell in love with a fictional character, and gained some much-needed confidence.

At 41, I wandered in a spiritual desert for a while.

At 42, I channeled my nuttiness and desert experience into a passion for writing.

At 43, I had a powerful encounter with the Holy Spirit that changed my life.

At 44, God helped me overcome feelings of unworthiness and doubt. I'm still a work-in-process in this area, but God is good and never gives up on me. 

At 45, I unleashed my inner bombshell and started exercising. I have spin'd zumba'd, and yoga'd myself to better health. I don’t mind aging but I want to age physically, mentally, and spiritually strong.

So at 46 it’s GAME ON!

Everywhere I look, I see posters with variations of my new mantra.  I feel like the Lord is telling me that all my exercise and strength training in 2014 was in preparation for what’s coming this year. This year it’s Game Time! He is pruning my life of junk that’s been weighing me down physically or spiritually. And instead of whining and complaining, like I usually do, I’m ready and willing to lay the junk down at Jesus’ feet.

God calls our body the temple (home) of the Holy Spirit and it’s time to get my temple in tip-top shape so I can have the physical endurance and mental clarity to do God’s work.

You surely know that your body is a temple where the Holy Spirit lives. The Spirit is in you and is a gift from God. You are no longer your own.  God paid a great price for you. So use your body to honor God. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (CEV)

So in 2015, God is urging me to be stronger, braver, kinder, unstoppable, and fierce. I have listed the following scriptures that I'm praying and claiming for myself this year. Praying scripture out-loud is life changing.

“Speaking Scriptures activates a powerful, mind-renewing cycle because it allows truth to ingest in you, to get out of you, then back into you and so on. This transforms your life with confidence in what God has assured.” Quote from article by Kyle Winkler, The 1 Spiritual Habit You Can Begin Today That Will Change Your Life Forever


Strong:

The Lord is my Strength and my impenetrable Shield; my heart trusts in, relies on, and confidently leans on Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song will I praise Him. Psalm 28:7 

Brave:

Lord you have commanded me to be strong and brave. I don’t have to be afraid or discouraged! You are my Lord, my God, and with me wherever I go. Joshua 1:9

Kind:

You have commanded me to love others. In the same way you loved me I must love others. This is how everyone will recognize that I am your disciple—when they see the love I have for others. John 13:34-35

Unstoppable:

But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] shall change and renew their strength and power; they shall lift their wings and mount up [close to God] as eagles [mount up to the sun]; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired. Isaiah 40:31 AMP

Fierce:

So, roll up your sleeves, put your mind in gear, be totally ready to receive the gift that’s coming when Jesus arrives. Don’t lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing. You didn't know any better then; you do now. As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God’s life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, “I am holy; you be holy.” 1 Peter 1:13-16 (MSG)

I believe God is calling Believers to higher level of commitment. He wants us to prioritize our relationship with Him. God’s Word says He earnestly longs for us. He desires to show us His loving kindness. He offers us a personal relationship that is matchless and unbreakable. (Isaiah 30:18 AMP). He's urging His Church, "Come back to me. Remember your first love". He knows that the battle against our faith is heating up and we are going to need the Holy Spirit's power more than ever. 

As I was talking to God about this post, the Apostle Stephen came to my mind.  He was the first apostle to be martyred for sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He was stoned to death by an angry mob. Through out the world, persecution against Christians is on the rise.* Jesus told us, "You will be hated by all for My name's sake, but he who perseveres and endures to the end will be saved." (Matthew 10:22) He was warning Believers that in this world we would see trouble and persecution. Most of us will hopefully never have to suffer literal stoning but we are seeing stones of hatred and intolerance being thrown against any symbol or representation of Jesus Christ. Lawsuits to prevent crosses, Bibles, and prayer abound. And just like those that threw stones at Stephen to shut him up, the world is throwing stones at Christians to shut us up.

As we look at the Biblical account of Stephen (Acts 7:54-60), we find the key to surviving and thriving in these dark days.

At that point they went wild, a rioting mob of catcalls and whistles and invective. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, hardly noticed—he only had eyes for God, whom he saw in all his glory with Jesus standing at his side. He said, “Oh! I see heaven wide open and the Son of Man standing at God’s side!” Acts 7:54-56 (MSG)

God gave me this scripture to remind me that in order to be stronger, braver, kinder, unstoppable and fierce, I need to be full of the Holy Spirit, with eyes only for Him. Then I will hardly notice the stones thrown my way because my eyes will be focused on His Glory.

I admit I've never been a sports person. In school, I was the last person picked for every team. But God’s ways are not man’s ways. On his team, none of us are chosen last and no one is intended to be a bench-warmer. We all are called to suit up and head down to the playing field. The opposing team may attempt to knock us down, but with the Holy Spirit as our Coach, God calling the plays, and Jesus cheering us on, the victory is already guaranteed!!!

So, if this mantra is resonating with your spirit, God is calling you off the bench of life because it's GAME TIME! 

GAME ON!

Love,
Yolanda 

*Washington Post article, Persecution of Christians reached historic levels in 2014. Will 2015 be worse?

Unleashing Your Inner Zombie Slayer - 2015 New Year's Resolution

Recently I've been doing a lot of research on The End Times, the Rapture of the Church, and the return of Jesus. Those that know me are thinking, “Oh no! Here we go again.” You see, when I get passionate about something I tend to go a little overboard. For example, I kind of freaked out before Y2K and made my whole family store barrels of water, have a designated meeting place, and forced them all to ring in the New Year with me. Also, I got slightly fixated on the Mayan calendar date 12/12/12 and lived the entire year like a New Year’s Eve countdown.

Due to my recent studies on Biblical prophecy, I’m kind of fixated on 2015 being significant on the prophetic calendar. Oh things like the four Blood Moons occurring on important Jewish Holy Days in 2014/15, this being a Shemitah year (2014/15), the Middle East crisis boiling over, and what appears to be a fanatical-terrorist organization trying to take over the world. So yeah, lets just say that I've decided to throw out (I’m mean relocate) all of my daughters mementos so I can make room for my survival stash of food, water, medicine, and toilet paper (I won’t survive without toilet paper, sorry). I’m telling those close to me (who are starting to worry) that it’s just an earthquake kit. So, this will be our little secret.

Part of my urgent desire for an “earthquake kit” is that I recently had a nightmare. I dreamed that I was sitting in church with a large group of people. We were worshiping God when suddenly terrorists stormed in. They started to pull people out to execute them. I tried to run and hide but…

Well, let’s just say the dream didn't end well and I woke up completely shaken, weeping, and sick to my stomach.

Greatly disturbed by the dream, I pretty much accosted a pastor friend the following morning.  I begged him to reassure me that The Rapture would happen before the Great Tribulation. Very briefly, let me explain that the Great Tribulation is a 7-year period of time described in the Bible where very bad stuff is going to happen: like economic collapse that leads to a one-world government, a one-world currency that pretty much enslaves people to the government, and a mandatory one-world religion that will be forced on people via threat of execution and beheading. You won’t be able to work or buy food without an identifying marker on your hand or forehead. Picture Hitler’s reign over Germany and multiply that by a 100 times worse. The Bible says it will be the worst period in history. Now you understand why the nightly news is freaking me out and all I see are Biblical signs unfolding. 

Now “The Rapture” is the Believers get out of dodge ticket. God will instantaneously remove Believers from the earth and take us to heaven. There are 3 Christian viewpoints about The Rapture 1) we are taken out of here before the start of the 7-year tribulation. Yay! My favorite. 2) We have to suffer 3 ½ years of persecution and then taken up. Option 2 is not great but I’ll take it over option 3 which is we have to suffer through the entire 7-years of Tribulation.

Unfortunately my pastor friend was unable to reassure me because he reminded me that the Bible says, “No one knows the day or the hour.” Bummer! But he did offer me some comfort. He told me, “Yolanda, concentrate on what we know:

1. Jesus died on the cross for our sins so we can have eternal life.

2. Jesus said He’s coming back for us and we can trust His Word. What happens between now and then is out of our control. But God wins so we win.

3. God has promised us a new Heaven and new Earth where God’s presence will dwell and Jesus will reign. So it’s all good, Yolanda!”

Now, I'm using humor in this post because that’s how I deal but in all sincerity my dream has weighed heavy on my heart. Since my mini-panic attack, I've heard two sermons that have helped me “get a grip”.  The first sermon is from my favorite pastor on the book of Revelation (watch video below - Approaching Revelation Sermon). The sermon reminded me that we don’t study prophecy to become fortune tellers. We study it to learn how to live for Jesus today.

The second sermon I heard while driving so I can't remember the pastor's name but boy can I remember the message. He spoke about how many Christians, including himself at times, are feeling fearful because they see the prophetic writing on the wall. He said to overcome fear we have to abide in Jesus and His Word. Abide means to remain, stay, fix, hold on, hang on for dear life, and basically stick to like glue. When we abide in Jesus and His Word, we are reminded of His promises: to return for us, to be our refuge in times of trouble, and that He is in control of the future.

So part of my abiding plan for 2015 is to remove anything in my life that hinders me from sticking close to Jesus. For me, that means donating books and movies that don’t edify my spirit and eliminating anything that harms me physically and spiritually. This will be an ongoing process because I just donated a box of books and movies and I felt as if a piece of my heart was being left at the donation center. But as the Holy Spirit leads, I will follow.

Here is my training manual on how to ABIDE based on the verses below: Live holy, hold tightly, encourage others, and remain in God's Word.

2 Peter 3:9-12 (NLT)

The Lord isn't really being slow about his promise [to return], as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment. Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along...

Hebrews 10:23-25 (NLT)

Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.  Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

John 15:4-7 (NLT)

[Jesus said:] Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me...But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!

So I’d like to end with a dream a friend had about me recently. I love this dream and I am embracing it as a prophetic word for my life. In the dream, a few of us where running in a meadow when suddenly I turned and froze in horror. It seems that zombies where coming out of the trees and rushing towards us. I started to scream, “RUN, RUN!” They started running but when my friend turned to look at me, I was standing still. She told me to run but I insisted she go ahead and I would be OK. They ran away but decided to circle around to check on me. I was surrounded and overcome by zombies. Suddenly from the bottom of the zombie heap, I rose up and shone with a bright light that came from inside my soul. As the zombies reached out to attack me, the light caused them to shriek and recoil away from me. As they tried to grab me, they ricocheted off, thrown up and away. Cool dream huh!

I believe my friend was lead by the Lord to share this dream with me to calm my fearful heart, to remind me how to live for today, and give me my New Year’s Resolution. In 2015, I intend to embrace my new identity – powerful Zombie Slayer. And just to confirm that this is God's plan for my life, I read the following scripture verse for the first time while preparing to write this post:

Zechariah 14:12-13 (NLT)

And the Lord will send a plague on all the nations that fought against Jerusalem. Their people will become like walking corpses, their flesh rotting away. Their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.  On that day they will be terrified, stricken by he Lord with great panic. They will fight their neighbors hand to hand.

My first thought when I read this scripture verse was that it read like a scene from The Walking Dead television series. Even though I plan to be Raptured before this judgment strikes, it confirmed my new Zombie Slayer identity. You see, the Devil (enemy) is always waging war against us. He knows his time is limited and he is like the walking dead trying to infect others. And because the enemy senses, like we do, the end approaching his attacks are coming fast and furious. The enemy and his followers are hell bent on extinguishing our light because they know that the Light of Jesus guides lost souls to salvation. Our only defense against the enemy is to be filled with the light and power of the Holy Spirit. The closer we draw to Jesus, the brighter we reflect His light. The more we study His Word, the more prepared we are for battle. And when we shine bright with the Holy Spirit, in this dark and desolate world, we fulfill God's ultimate purpose for our lives which is to encourage one another because the day of Jesus' return is drawing near.  

So my Zombie Slayer training has started. How about you? Are you up for the challenge of unleashing your inner Zombie Slayer?

“The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness; the darkness couldn't put it out.” John 1:5 (MSG)

Happy New Year!

Yolanda
Dedicated to my fellow Zombie Slayer, C.L., whose awesome dream inspired this post.

Here are some scriptures on the Rapture for your own study 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, Revelation 3:10, 1 Thessalonians 5:9, Daniel 12:1-2, and Matthew 24:29-31. Also read Malachi 3:16-4:3.