Beauty in your life- change your thoughts for a positive outlook
List three jobs you’d consider pursuing if money didn’t matter.
There are three jobs I would want of money didn’t matter.
They would be a psychologist, because I like to understand human behavior.
A veterinarian, because I love animals, and I think veterinarian services are overly expensive. People can barely afford pet care these days.
I would also like to be a flight attendant, or a traveling nurse, this would fill my love to help others and travel.
John 8:7 is an account of “he who cast the first stone, where Jesus responded to those who were accusing a woman of adultery. He challenged them by saying that someone without sin should throw the first stone, which caused them to leave one by one.
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John 8:7 serves as a profound call to introspection. It encourages us to look at our own lives and acknowledge our own sinfulness before casting judgment on others.
I think it’s a call to “drop the rock“ and cease from being harsh in our judgments of others.
Jesus is silence and words to the woman and John 8 demonstrates His immense grace and mercy, offering freedom from condemnation rather than punishment. It’s a sharp contrast of legal condemnation. The men sought to impose on the woman.
Only Jesus, being sinless, had the authority to act as judge. His action demonstrates His divine nature and ultimate authority to judge and save. He fulfills grace rather than condemnation.
John 8 teaches us that true spirituality involves recognizing our own imperfection and extending grace to others who stumble.
I think it goes to show us that we can hate the sin but not the sinner.
What aspects of your cultural heritage are you most proud of or interested in?
My cultural heritage is Hungarian. I am interested in their traditions and festivals, folk art, and cuisine.
Hungary’s traditions are deeply rooted in Christian customs in folk culture with each major holiday, having its own set of rituals, foods, and songs.
Their folk art is very vibrant and culturally rich. A reflection entries of rural life, community identity, and craftsmanship passed through generations. Their embroidery, poetry, wood, carvings, and painted furniture are deeply symbolic.
Their food is bold, comforting, and flavorful because of its hard ingredients. Paprika has deep fruit in both rule and royal cuisines. A lot of dishes contain paprika and onions. Their food is often slow cooked and generously seasoned. Dishes like Gulyas or more commonly known as goulash is their National dish.
A supernatural fight is a spiritual conflict. It’s not about physical people, it’s about spiritual forces it’s about satan and his followers, (I call them his minions). Ephesians 6:12 tells us, “For our wrestling is not about flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of the darkness of this age, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in heavenly places (Massianic). If you have been baptized and accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior you are equipped for this battle with supernatural “armor” having the “belt of truth, the breast plate of righteousness, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. This equips us with spiritual armor that allows us to overcome unseen forces.
Victory is achieved not by our strength alone, but by relying in God’s power. God is always with His people providing strength and guidance. Jesus demonstrated authority by casting our demons, healing the sick, and conquering death, which is also given to believers through Him.
God will fight for us, if we keep silent, pray and trust Him. We have been given authority to overcome spiritual fights through faith and redemption.
You may have seen God in supernatural ways. I’ve seen Him shoe up in my life. Through out my childhood, even when I said I hated Him. Thinking back I know it had to be Him, that saved me from horrible scars from having hot oil dumped on me. He saved me from a drug addiction and alcoholism, and the dangerous experiences, I put myself into, because I thought no one loved me, because I didn’t even love myself. I lot of suicide attempts, cancer. Through it all God was there, it took me years to realize it. He was supernaturally fighting satan for me.
One thing I’ve learned over years of abusing myself is that faith is like a muscle, it gets stronger the more you use it.
Life is full of big battles, chaotic challenges, and tough trials that test our faith. The Bible reassures us that God Himself fights for us. Exodus 14:24 gives us a profound promise, “The Lord will fight for you, you shall only be still.” This scripture can offer hope and comfort reminding us to remain calm, knowing that God is on our side.
What are we doing with our lives? Are we so attached to our luxuries and our physical interests that we don’t have time for God? Are we living for our own pleasures or do we realize that the best is yet to come?
The apostle Paul wrote about this struggle between the physical and the spiritual, but his emphasis was on the spiritual. For many of us, this might be difficult to comprehend because we are so attached to what is going on with the here and now. Paul’s goal, was to be ready for eternity.
Our bodies are just vessels that our souls inhabit, attached to a shell that we will one day leave. One day our bodies will be destroyed and when that happens, God will have a house for us and it will either be in heaven or hell. The choice is ours.
We know our life and our body won’t last forever, but, too often we live as if this is all there is. However, this isn’t all there is to life.
We should be looking forward to a better body and home. A body that isn’t subject to aches and pains that many live with each day. God is going to provide a body and a home that will last forever. No more burdens, no more tears, no more death. For many, it may seem to be a utopian dream, but this isn’t talking about life as we know it on earth. But real life, eternal life. This is not only what God wants for us, but this is what God has made for us.
God has given us a guarantee – His Spirit. When we are united with Jesus. Galatians 3:26-27 says,
“For you are all (children) sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as we baptize into Christ have put on Christ.”
We not only receive forgiveness but we also receive the Holy Spirit as a gift.
“Repent, and be immersed, every one of you, in the name of Jesus the Messiah for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit -Acts 2:38
Even though we have been baptized and have the Holy Spirit in us, do we have recognition of this? Or do we ignore how God wants us to live and resist the Holy Spirit’s influence in our lives?
While we live in this body, we should always strive to have courage and live by what we believe, not by what we see. Our only goal should be to please God whether we live here or in heaven, because we all stand before Jesus and will be judged. Each of us will receive what we get good or bad for the things we do in our earthly lives (2 Corinthians 5:6-10).
What do we base our lives on? Is it just what we can see around us? Or do we have hope and our lives fixed on Jesus, on what we believe? Do we really want to leave this life so we can spend life in eternity -in heaven? Or do we even have a goal beyond existing day to day?
I believe Paul’s emphasis is that we live not for now but for Jesus. We live with the realization that we will have to answer for how we live our lives here. We will receive eternity based on what we did during our lives on earth, whether good or bad.
Psalm 19:14 encourages us to live each day in a way that pleases God.
“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock my Redeemer.”
Our goal in life should be simple to please God. Could you imagine how different it would be if people who say they follow God lived this way?
This isn’t always easy because it goes against the current of what most people around us are doing.
May we have the courage to live for Jesus so that we can eternally be at home with Him.
What brands do you associate with?
I almost always shop outlet stores m. Stores where I can find deals on overstock, or past season items.
If it’s good quality and not damaged at a discounted cost, I’m in, I don’t really focus on brands if it looks good. I get it.
The only thing I’m picky about and buy name brand are shoes. I hate having hurting feet because of lower quality materials. I usually buy sketchers or clarks or timberline boots.
Our world today is full of books, podcasts, and blogs sharing life hacks that let us in on secret shortcuts or tricks that will increase our productivity or efficiency. These life hacks cover everything from time management to personal finance to working out to anything you can think of.
Why?
Because our culture has become used to the instantaneous.
We can get packages delivered to our door in less than 2 days. We can order food at the click of a button. And we can share our thoughts with the world and get feedback instantly from people all over the world.
We have become accustomed to quick results with little effort. Unfortunately, this way of thinking can seep into the way we read the Bible too.
Today, it’s easier to scroll through social media, like an image of a Bible verse overlaying a mountain landscape, and feel like we interacted with scripture than it is to spend half an hour reading the Bible and actually becoming a more effective follower of Jesus.
Jesus Himself told us in John 15:4, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.”
Jesus made it pretty clear when it comes to growing in our relationship with God, there are no life hacks.
William Wilberforce stated, “There is no shortcut to holiness, it must be the business of our whole lives.” There is only one way to grow and that is through abiding.
Abide in the Greek means to remain, stay, or dwell. So abide means to remain with Jesus.
The Bible is not something we can just scroll through and double-tap our favorite parts. It’s something we must read, study, and meditate on, and then let it transform our lives.
The world is becoming a darker place as time goes on. The uptick in violent crime as well as the weather changes and division in the Middle East is getting worse. With all that we need to gain an eternal perspective on life. What we read in scripture gives a grand narrative to our lives.
The Bible gives us the story of redemption and gives meaning and purpose to the world. When we see it that way, since creation, God has woven history together and cared for His people and kept His promises, it changes the way we view our current events.
There have been pandemics, elections, plagues, floods, racism, and civil unrest before, and every time God has been faithful. God has kept His promises.
While the world is falling apart, we don’t have to be. Because we know that God has proven Himself before, and He will prove Himself again.
“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” -A.W. Tozer
That means we should do everything we can to have our view of God tethered to God’s Word and not our own imaginations.
The Bible is God’s divine revelation to His creation. It’s how He speaks to us. It is how He teaches us about who He is. Which means, if our goal is to have a real, personal connection with God, then it is only by immersing ourselves in His very words that we will grow in our understanding of who He is.
Spending time daily in God’s Word helps us tether our view to God to scripture. Not some version we have created for ourselves.
What could I Use more of?
I could use more nature in my life, where it is more walking, more finding a secluded place to read or enjoy God, and listening to the sounds around me, rivers, the rustling of the trees, this kind of quiet is good medicine.
If you have been watching what is going on in our world, you cannot deny that some pretty evil things are happening. The Bible tells us in Ephesians 6:12 that we do not fight against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this age, against hosts of wickedness in heavenly places.
It is crucial to understand that the spiritual fight is not a physical fight. I think applying physical methods to a spiritual battle is a waste of time and ineffective because it fails to address the true nature of the enemy.
While the battle itself is spiritual warfare it can have both physical and mental effects in the natural realm. The core difference is that spiritual fight involves the spiritual enemy, whereas physical fights involve human opponents and the appropriate methods to addressing each are entirely different.
The spiritual fight involves an unseen battle against forces like satan, demons, sin, and negative desires. Our enemies are entities it aspects of sin that try to influence our thoughts, actions, and relationship with God.
I believe that there is an evil Spirit that takes control of people. Because otherwise, I don’t think most people could do the things they do. It’s a spiritual condition of the heart, that is rooted in a biblical understanding that our eyes reflect our inner state. Our eyes are the lamp of the body.
The unseen battle between good and evil that is happening in the spiritual realm is now being seen on earth. It is being influenced and manifests in physical world events. It affects personal struggles, societal trends, and temptations from the flesh and the world. It’s a fight for people’s souls, purpose, and connection to God. To resist these forces, we must use spiritual weapons like prayer, the Word of God, and faith, and resist the temptation to fight evil with evil.
The primary battle is against principalities, powers, and the rulers of darkness, which Ste evil spiritual forces.
There are three enemies in our world. In addition to satan, the struggle involves the flesh, which is one’s own internal sinfulness and bad habits, and the world which is the culture that promotes selfish agendas.
There are ways spiritual forces affect the physical world. People experience attacks on their identity, resistance in relationships, of discouragement in the way they are living. Along with that societies or cultures can be influenced to think and act in ways that oppose God, representing the workings of the world and spiritual forces. Then satan tries to lead people astray by tempting them with suggestions and, lies which manifest as internal urges and desires. I think these things together create a “perfect storm.” This is what I think is going on today in our world.
While the spiritual war was won on the cross by Jesus, making victory possible for believers through His sacrifice, we are still called to stand firm in our faith and resist satan, putting our trust in the strength that God provides. It’s a continuous struggle against the flesh and the world is ongoing, and requires a daily commitment to follow Jesus and crucify our desires to fight a physical fight (that will do nothing) intead of fighting the spiritual fight where everything matters.
We can see the difference between good and evil. We see when certain groups murder, riot, and destroy things while another stands in prayer, holds vigils, and supports each other.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
The best advice was given to me by an Indian women that I went too for prayer who was praying for to understand when I was suffering from intense facial pain.
After she prayed, she something that changed my life forever.
She say “you know you have to stop carrying your mother’s sin.”Ezekiel 18:20 tells us, “The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father” -Ezekiel 18:20.
For years I carried my mother’s sin’s because I felt like a sin myself. But, after she said that. I began every day encouraging myself to live with healthy emotional boundaries.
I didn’t blame myself for my mother’s bad choices, I stopped internalizing guilt and shame things that didn’t belong to me.
This changed my mindset to be able to protect my mental, emotional and spiritual health. I began to recognize where my responsibility ended, and let others face the consequences of their actions. And chose not to let others project thief sins and failures unto me.
In this world we are supposed to help people, but we don’t need to bleed for wounds that are not ours.
The last harvest in the Bible refers to the final gathering of souls as depicted in the parables like wheat and weeds in Matthew 13:36-43, and in the Book of Revelation. This event symbolizes God’s judgment where the righteous are separated from the wicked, emphasizing the importance of living a faithful life in preparation for this moment.
I usually avoid posting anything that the news is covering. But this one is hard to ignore what has been going on since Charlie Kirk’s murder on Sept 10. Many people are celebrating his death. Many are mourning. I think God is drawing a clear separation between the good and the evil.
In church this morning we were talking about persecution for righteousness’ sake. I felt the Holy Spirit say to me, This is the beginning of the great harvest! We need to understand the concept of the last harvest, in that it is the final gathering of souls at the end times. I believe that good and evil can only coexist for so long.
There are a few scriptures that reference the last harvest, they are:
There is a process of harvesting:
1. Separation of good and evil: At the last harvest, the righteous (the wheat) will be gathered to God, while the wicked (weeds) will be separated and face judgment.
When Charlie Kirk was taken from us. I think I caused a movement of people gathering together for the Kingdom of God. If you are a true believer in God, you have an assignment. We have to be ready to disciple these people to be ready to enter the body of believers, to get them ready for the Kingdom of heaven. We need to pray, intercede for others, and meditate on the Word of God.
2. Role of Angels: Angels are depicted as the reapers who will carry out this separation during the final judgment.
3. Opportunity for Salvation: The last harvest symbolizes God’s mercy, offering a chance for salvation to those who did not have it in their lives.
The significance of the last harvest serves as a reminder of the urgency for us to share our faith, and prepare for Jesus’s return. It emphasizes living a life aligned with God’s teachings as the final judgment will reflect our faith and actions throughout our lives.
I believe that Charlie Kirk’s murder woke a lot of people up, from just going with the flow, and accepting sin. His death began a great harvest.
Charlie wanted to be remembered for courage for his faith. That was his most important thing. The most important thing was his faith.
We should all want the same thing. “To be remembered for our courage of our faith.
“Jesus defeated death so that we can live.”
From Pity to Praise