Blessed Magazine August/September, 2016

7 Ways to Have a Great Church Facebook Page

August, September, 2016

Are You Afraid To Fully Surrender To God? 6 Things to Do While Waiting on Your Boaz 5 Signs Youâ€&#x;re Maturing as a Christian

M A G A Z I N E

Why Unmarried Christians Are Having Sex Wrong Spirit?

Got To Go!

Praying Down Your Enemies

Satanic Sex Cult If I Am Truly Saved, Why Do I Feel So Empty Inside?

How I Was Initiated By My Mother And Forced To Sleep With 1800 Men!

When God Gives Up And Withdraws His Gracious Hand

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Contents August/September, 2016

Inside This Issue

33

 6 Things to Do While Waiting on Your Boaz – 11 13  Why Unmarried Christians Are Having Sex – 15  Praying Down Your Enemies -- 19 Spiritual Wellness:  Are You Afraid to Fully Surrender to God -- 25  5 Signs You’re Maturing as a Christian - 29 44  If I’m Truly Saved, Why Do I Feel So Empty Inside? – 33  Wrong Spirit? Got to Go! – 41  When God Gives Up and Withdraws His Gracious Hand -- 45

53 71

Featured Columnists

Image by by hang_in_there

Relationships:

―If I‘m Truly Saved, Why Do I Feel So Empty Inside?‖

 Random Thoughts by Reggie Lex– 53 Artist Spotlight:  Jesse Cann-- 71

06 Blessed Magazine August/September, 2016

Cover Photo Can Be Found at Vintage Porches

Also in this issue‌ 08 Letter to the Editor 23 A Word from the Lord by Evangelist Nancy Turner 55 Satanic Sex Cult: How I was Initiated by My Mother and Forced to Sleep with 1800 Men 61 7 Ways to Have a Great Church Facebook Page 65 Dear Blessed Magazine 67 We Heard You! Let’s Talk!

One of the strongest foundations on this One of the strongest earth is FAMILY foundations on this earthfor is FAMILY Steps a Strong Foundation in Jesus Steps for a Strong Foundation Jesus Read the in Bible Together Read the Bible Together Pray Together Together Go toPray Church Together GoCommunicate to Church Together with Each Other Communicate with EachMagazine Other Blessed Blessed Magazine

Letter From the Editor

Editor’s Corner

Praise the Lord My Brothers and Sisters in Christ!

First giving all glory and honor unto the Lord Jesus Christ for without Him in my life, nothing I could ever do would amount to anything!

And, I would like to render a praise report for the many souls who have accepted Jesus into their lives these past months. Continue praying for this ministry as it is all done to the glory and honor of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!!!

With the upcoming presidential election, many are uncertain. There is so much hate and violence in this world that it‘s no wonder many are seeking the grace of God… Within my note today, I encourage everyone to seek the Lord earnestly and pray for His divine guidance and protection for the days and years to come. Without His presence in our lives, there is nothing we can do to protect ourselves, our loved ones and our communities. We are at war and it‘s up to God‘s people to band together against all this evil in the world. We owe it to ourselves…

I want to personally thank all of our fans and readers for their continued support of this ministry which is striving and for that I am grateful Our goal is to continue being a resource for Christians and others for years to come and with your support we can keep this publication available free of charge always on our digital platform Pray for us as we continue to pray for you and thank you for reading this issue of Blessed Magazine God bless you!

Your Humble Servant in Christ,

Laraine Turner Editor-in-Chief 08 Blessed Magazine August/September, 2016

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Will Never Give Up On You!

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Relationships

Article By Amber Travis

6 Things to Do While Waiting on Your Boaz

Major holidays are just around the corner, which can sometimes be difficult for single women who are still waiting for their ―Boaz‖ to come along and sweep them off their feet. The story of Ruth and Boaz is arguably one of the greatest and most popular love stories in the Bible. It‘s the story of Ruth, whose heart was broken after the death of her husband but healed by her faith in God. Ruth met the wealthy and kind Boaz while working in his field to ―glean behind the harvesters‖ (Ruth 2). In addition to being protective of Ruth, Boaz admired her loyalty to her mother-in-law and her love for the Lord. As hardworking women of God, so many of us often dream of meeting our

Blessed Magazine August/September, 2016 11

Relationships hard-working, loving—and sometimes wealthy—Boaz, but what are we doing in the meantime? Here are several things you could be doing while waiting on your own Boaz to arrive:

your goal is, it is important that you also write down the list of tasks that must be completed in order to achieve those goals.

COMPLETE UNFINISHED PROJECTS

Yeah, we know. This may sound like an easy task, but in this day and age, taking time to sit down and read a book is easier said than done.

Not only does reading serve as a stress reliever from our day-to-day lives, but it also allows us to educate ourselves on a variety of topics that we may have never taken the time to explore had we not been single.

We all have them. Whether it‘s that book you‘ve been meaning to write or the new business you‘ve been planning to launch, now is the perfect time to regain your focus and get it done.

ENJOY TIME FRIENDS

WITH

FAMILY

AND SPEND TIME WITH YOURSELF

While in a relationship, it is so easy to spend all of your free time with your partner, leaving little room for time with family and friends.

Call up your loved ones for a fun movie night, an impromptu girls night, or even a weekend road trip. Tomorrow isn‘t promised, so spend those precious moments with your loved ones while you can.

PERSONAL AND DEVELOPMENT

READ A BOOK

PROFESSIONAL

There is always room for personal and professional growth, so why not start now? Sit down and make a list of all of your personal and professional goals. Perhaps your goals include going back to school to get your college degree, strengthening your relationship with God, receiving some sort of certification in your industry, or losing weight. Whatever

12 Blessed Magazine August/September, 2016

When was the last time you took yourself out to dinner? What about going to see a movie alone? Perhaps you should give it a try.

Spending quality time alone is actually a great way to build self-confidence in addition to changing your mindset about needing a partner in order to have fun.

TAKE TIME TO EXPLORE WHAT YOU REALLY WANT Before jumping into your next relationship, now may be a good time to sit down and really figure out what it is that you really want in a partner. There‘s a reason why none of your past relationships worked out, so perhaps it‘s time to hit ―pause‖ and really figure out what it is that you not only want in a partner, but what you actually need in a man.

Relationships Blessed Magazine E-Store The Lord is my Strength and my Shield Hardcover Flap Journal

A

mber Travis is the editor of Urban Faith, UMI's premiere publication for young adults. She completed her B.A. in American Studies with a minor in Journalism from the University of Notre Dame in 2009 and later went on to complete her Masters of Science in Journalism at Northwestern University in 2012. In recent years, Amber has worked for, and contributed to, various publications, including UrbanFaith.com, Indianapolis Star, South Bend Tribune and Notre Dame Magazine. Amber‘s dream has always been to use her writing and editing talents in a way that would give a voice to those whose story is often overlooked. When she‘s not working, Amber enjoys working on her first book, traveling, watching reality TV, dancing, laughing, and spending time with family and friends, especially her beautiful young daughter, Laiya.

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Why Unmarried Christians Are Having

With so many single adults deciding that abstinence is unrealistic, perhaps the church‘s message about sexual purity is incomplete.

Article By Chanel Graham

Remember the days when Christians used to blush over conversations about sex? Sermons on the Song of Solomon left us avoiding eye contact with our pastors and safe sex talks in public school meant guaranteed giggling after class. I guess

we‘re all grown up now. The generation of kids who once kissed dating goodbye and held fast to the promise that True Love Waits is no longer hanging its moral hat on the hook of sexual purity.

According to the National Association of Evangelicals, 80 percent of unmarried evangelical Christians between ages 18-29 admit to having had premarital sex, a shocking figure when measured against the number of pledges made in youth ministries and wristbands worn endorsing abstinence around the country throughout the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. For a generation fed a steady diet of ―just wait until you‘re married for sex,‖ why are so many of us losing our virginity before we say ―I do‖? What is causing the growing chasm between our Christian belief and sexual purity?

I suspect much of our early understanding of sexuality is at fault, being reduced to just saying no instead of developing a holistic view of human sexuality through a person‘s entire lifespan, fully integrating it with God‘s plan.

Blessed Magazine August/September, 2016 15

Relationships COMPARTMENTALIZING SEXUALITY When I moved to New York City in the years following college, I was devastated to learn how many of my Christian friends were regularly hooking up at bars and sleeping with boyfriends and girlfriends with no plans for marriage. And more than that, they didn‘t seem to feel bad about it. The subcultural sentiment was that abstinence is worth preaching through the college years as parental influence wanes and students bumble through the early years of adulthood. But for twenty and thirtysomething Christians, for mature adults who had yet to find the one and had been battling hormones for a decade-plus, waiting was child‘s play.

Celibacy amongst my Christian peer group was viewed as cute and commendable, but certainly not crucial.

Despite the disappointment I felt over my friends‘ behavior, there wasn‘t much room for judgment. At the core they were simply living out the compartmentalization of sexuality that was also present in my heart. From the day I received my True Love Waits Bible in junior high school, I locked up my sexual desire to be opened only in case of marriage. Like Prisca Bird wrote for the Good Women Project, I wore my virginity as a badge of honor, latching onto ―the image of myself as the radical abstinence practitioner‖ and one who would remain chaste to ―fight the good fight.‖ I was unable to view human sexuality as a gift, holy and blessed by God. By failing to embrace my sexual identity in the midst of tempering my desire, I inadvertently called evil what God had deemed good.

16 Blessed Magazine August/September, 2016

You see, promiscuity and abstinence can be two sides of the same coin. Both can hint at an insufficient understanding of God‘s intention for sex, his blessing of it in the context of marriage, and his creation of his people as sexual beings. So preaching only abstinence is not the answer.

Photo Credit: Shutterstock

HARDER THAN THE OLYMPICS We need a new conversation around sexuality in the church — one that doesn‘t insist on the waitwithout the while. We need a conversation that acknowledges our sexuality along a continuum and prepares men and women of Christ to engage in their own sexual development, desire, and growth while they move throughout the seasons of life and relationship. It can‘t be left at telling 15-yearolds to ―just say no.‖ We need an open

Relationships discussion around what it looks like to abstain at 33 when marriage is nowhere on the horizon or at 27 when engaged and just days from saying I do.

That‘s why it‘s helpful to have a new wave of Christians coming forward to reengage the public on the topics of sexuality and faith. This past May, when 29-year-old Olympic hurdler Lolo Jones talked about the difficulty of being a virgin into her late twenties, saying it was the hardest thing she‘s ever done in her life — ―harder than training for the Olympics‖ — we could almost hear the shouts of ―could the Church get an Amen!‖

Photo Credit: Shutterstock

Jones‘ acknowledgment of the tension of feeling sexual desire while also affirming a commitment to abstinence revealed an important dynamic in the vow of purity: it‘s not easy. There will be temptation and desire while waiting. But as believers, we endure the struggle because we know that the testing of our faith always produces perseverance leading to godly character and a hope for the future

GOOD ENOUGH TO WAIT FOR On the flipside, there can be joyful anticipation while waiting. One of the best examples in recent years of this is bombshell actress Meagan Good, who has long since been a movie vixen playing sexy roles in Jumping the Broom and most recently Think Like A Man. This spring Good, a Christian, publicly shared her commitment to abstain from sex until she wed her Seventh Day Adventist pastor and film executive husband DeVon Franklin. Despite her commitment, for the past year she has been able to exude sex appeal onscreen. Chastity doesn‘t have to mean wearing a habit and ignoring our sexual identity. Though we exercise self-control, as responsible adults we are free to tap into our sexuality, own our appeal, and recognize our desire. Good‘s story shows us that true love doesn‘t wait; it develops.

Christian adults must carry on the conversation of abstinence to the next phase. It‘s not just a youth issue. If we could more openly discuss the tingling we feel, the occasional knockout attraction we have to the opposite sex or the times where our sex drives lull, I believe we might find that we‘re able to maintain purity much later into adulthood. Because when we don’t talk about it, we allow the normal ebb and flow of sexual desire to become associated with shame and guilt over what we‘re experiencing. And since the desire won‘t go away, we‘re forced to relieve the shame by separating our morality from our behavior.

We‘ve got to get talking and see ourselves afresh as sexual beings, moving gradually and Blessed Magazine August/September, 2016 17

Relationships prayerfully through stages of sexual expression until marriage where it‘s fulfilled. Because ―not yet‖ is much easier to digest than ―no.‖ Our sexuality, today, is an integral part of who God has created us to be, and like all things must be celebrated while also put in submission to Christ.

One of the strongest foundations on this earth is FAMILY Steps for a Strong Foundation in Jesus Read the Bible Together Pray Together Go to Church Together

C

hanel Graham is a New York-based freelance writer and a pop culture editor for UrbanFaith.

She is also the co-founder of I Kissed Dating Hello, an online community-driven site exploring the challenges and triumphs of Christian dating.

18 Blessed Magazine August/September, 2016

Communicate with Each Other Blessed Magazine

Relationships

Article By Anna Diehl

Today Christians like to talk about the beauty of the book of Psalms. But in real life, there is an ugly theme of hatred woven throughout this book which results in a very polluted product.

Certainly the parts where God is being praised are very positive. But this business about ordering God to wipe out one‘s personal enemies on earth is just carnality run amuck.

Revenge was a strong cultural value for ancient Jews. They celebrated it, they wrote about it, and they took great care to preserve collections of really good hate songs for future generations.

All humans thirst for revenge at one time or another—this is hardly a desire that is limited to the ancient Jews. But the fact that you‘re taught to never question anything you read in the Bible leaves you wide open to run amuck with passages like the ones we cited above. All three of these psalms were written by David—a fellow who Yahweh called ―a man after My own heart.‖ Blessed Magazine August/September, 2016 19

Relationships David was very pleasing to God because he sincerely cared about God in his soul, but pleasing God is not the same as being perfect.

A two-year-old can be very pleasing to his parents, but that doesn‘t mean they think the child is all grown up. Every human has blind spots and areas in which they are very immature.

Responding to earthly enemies was an area that David was very immature in. As we read through his hate songs, we find a consistent theme of David writing off everyone who bothers him as evil, while simultaneously whitewashing himself as perfect. According to David, he is usually just an innocent victim when his bullies come around.

Since they hid their net for me without cause and without cause dug a pit for me, may ruin overtake them by surprise—may the net they hid entangle them, may they fall into the pit, to their ruin! (Ps. 35:7-8) What exactly do we mean when we complain that people have hurt us unjustly? We mean that in the present situation, we see no reason why this particular person should be picking on us. Well, since when do we get to judge based on such narrow parameters of time? How about we step back and look at the whole picture.

Okay, maybe you haven‘t personally done anything to Tom, but are you really going to say that you‘ve never treated anyone unfairly?

In real life we‘re all guilty of acting like jerks and being mean to others. In real life, we often get away with being nasty to others without experiencing any immediate consequences. We crush feelings and walk away unscathed. We 20 Blessed Magazine August/September, 2016

break hearts and scoff. We slander others without getting slandered in return. But though we get away with all of these crimes, we actually have the gall to complain when someone sticks it to us further down the line.

We say there is no justification for us to be persecuted, when in reality there is plenty of justification. We love to apply the old ―what goes around comes around‖ principle to others, but why do we think the same principle shouldn‘t apply to us?

The reality is that we do deserve to be sinned against in this world because we have all sinned against others. But this isn‘t how we like to think. When our enemy falls on hard times, we say, ―Ha! Serves you right after what you did to me five years ago!‖ But when someone sticks it to us, we say, ―Hey! Not fair!

What did I ever do to you?‖ We keep a mental tally of the sins of others while we keep wiping our own slate clean. It‘s a very hypocritical system, yet it is classic human behavior. Listen to this bit of doubletalk that David dishes out here: I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin.

Many have become my enemies without cause; those who hate me without reason are numerous. Those who repay my good with evil lodge accusations against me, though I seek only to do what is good. (Ps. 38:17-20) First David admits to having sinned, then he whitewashes himself by saying he only longs to do good. He says there is no cause for anyone to come against him—how can this be true if he has done wrong to others? It is a refusal to face the depths of our own

Relationships depravity that causes us to feel justified in condemning others. What have any of us done to deserve to spend eternity in Heaven? What have any of us done to earn the forgiveness of God? The definition of grace is undeserved favor. All of the mercy, kindness, and forgiveness God has given us is undeserved yet we have the gall to pray that He withholds these same things from others.

Suppose a rich man gives you a million dollars just because he enjoys being generous. One day the two of you are walking down the street together and you come across a person who you personally dislike. The rich man says, ―I‘m going to give him a million dollars as well.‖ But then you say, ―Yuck! No! He doesn‘t deserve anything good! I think you should gun him down instead!‖ How inappropriate is it for you to act so miserly after you‘ve been so richly blessed? Is it your place to tell the rich man what to do with his own money? Not hardly.

our enemies, does that mean we should be praying for them? No, that‘s not right either.

When we pray for our enemies we‘re still trying to tell God what to do in someone else‘s life. Before He educates us about better ways to pray, the Holy Spirit will sometimes tell us to pray for our enemies because He knows that it will erode the intensity of our hatred if we‘re sincerely well-wishing someone. But at some point we need to move away from the whole concept of trying to manage how God handles others and pull the focus back onto our own walks. God brings enemies into our lives in order to teach us valuable lessons. It is those lessons that we need to be focused on, not on what our enemies are doing.

When we pray against our enemies, we‘re being nasty little hypocrites who are trying to control God‘s behavior at the same time as we conveniently forget that we are just as bad as the next fellow. Whether you want to talk about external behaviors or internal motivations, God could fill a book with all the wicked things you‘ve done. This means that none of us are in a position to look down our noses at anyone else. None of us are in a position to try and barricade the doors of Heaven so that our enemies can‘t experience the same undeserved favor that we have received.

So if we shouldn‘t be praying against cut

Photo Credit: Shutterstock

Blessed Magazine August/September, 2016 21

Relationships In the Church today, you‘re taught to obsess over middlemen. When something goes wrong, you are supposed to get mad at demons or at people instead of seeing them as the mere channels that they are. It is God who is ultimately responsible for everything that happens to you. It is God who brings antagonists into your life, and that means God is the One you need to be responding to. To stay mad at humans is not only a waste of time, it is guaranteed to turn you into the very thing you hate. Someone makes a rude crack, and what do you do? You are rude back. You say your rudeness was justified because they were rude first, but in the end, how are you any different from them? You‘re both being rude.

Or suppose some white guy says ―All black guys are idiots.‖ You retaliate by saying, ―All white guys are bigots.‖ What now? You‘re both condemning large masses of people based on the irrelevant detail of skin color. Hate causes us to imitate the behaviors, attitudes and actions of those we find so offensive until we‘ve turned into their clones. At that point, we sound pretty ridiculous going around talking about how justified we are in condemning them, for in condemning them we condemn ourselves because we are acting just like them.

When someone wrongs you, you need to ask God to help you learn the positive lesson He wants to teach you. Every trial is an opportunity to move forward in your own walk with God. You need to realize that you have options. You don‘t have to just sink to the same low level as your antagonist. You don‘t have to get stuck in pointless grudges. You can choose to look beyond the human and see God‘s hand 22 Blessed Magazine August/September, 2016

at work in your life. You can choose to focus on the fact that God is for you and He is always going to lead you down paths that are good for your soul. To be able to forgive and forget makes for a much happier life, but we don‘t get there overnight. It takes a lot of coaching from the Holy Spirit to learn how to change the way we view people. But He will get us there if we are willing to submit to His program. God‘s ways are always better than ours.

A

nna Diehl is the author of many controversal articles written for the 924jeremiah blog

Does Jesus Live in Your Heart?

A Word From the Lord

by Evangelist Nancy Turner When you are feeling lonely and seem like no one cares You don't even feel good about yourself you need a word from the Lord…

We are sometimes burdened with the cares of this world and don't know what to do. But there is only one way to receive help when we are burdened and that is from the Word of the Lord.

We have to realize that God is our burden bearer. He said in His word, ‗Cast all your cares upon Him, for He careth for you‘: 1 Peter: 5:7 We are the people of God the Word of God let us know: He shall sustain thee, He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved: Psalms: 55:22b We have to remember to depend and believe in the word of God and He will lift the burden and see you through This is (A Word from the Lord) Blessed Magazine August/September, 2016 23

One of the strongest foundations on this earth is FAMILY Steps for a Strong Foundation in Jesus Read the Bible Together Pray Together Go to Church Together Communicate with Each Other Blessed Magazine

Spiritual Wellness

Are You Afraid to

To God? Article By Helen Grace Lescheil

Many people say, ―Sure, I believe in God. I’ve gone to church most of my life.‖ But is this all there is to it? What does it mean to believe?

To believe means more than intellectual consent. It involves surrender. We must give ourselves to God before He can give Himself to us. We practice this kind of surrender every time we fly in an airplane. We board an aircraft, sit down in our seats and put the seat belt on. And for the next four hours or so we‘re at the mercy of a pilot whom we don‘t even know. We trust that he knows what he‘s doing and he‘ll get us to the right destination safely.

Blessed Magazine August/September, 2016 25

Spiritual Wellness We do the same with a doctor. Before surgery we sign a consent form, right? We allow the anesthetist to put us to sleep. Talk about complete surrender! Then the surgeon can help us and not before. The principle of complete surrender holds true in many situations in life. Complete surrender is needed before help can come to us.

It‘s no different with God. Before He can help us, we must give ourselves to him completely.

Being totally dependent upon God is one of the hardest things we Christians have to do in life.

We fear the helplessness of it. We want to be in control. Still, God cannot work unless we surrender to him. His way is always to work through weakness.

We have the mistaken idea that when we surrender completely we‘ll become spineless and mindless persons. Nothing could be further from the truth. In reality, when we surrender we tap into God more fully. We become more alive, more realistic, more courageous, more truly ourselves than we‘ve ever been before.

Dear God, forgive me for being so independent. I want to trust you more in every situation. I give myself to you now in full surrender. In Jesus name, Amen.

Proverb 3:5-6

26 Blessed Magazine August/September, 2016

H

elen Grace Lescheid is a freelance writer in Abbotsford, BC. She is the author of four books: Lead Kindly Light ($20), To Stand On Mountains ($12), Treasures of Darkness ($12), and Prayer: When Answers Aren‘t Enough ($12) plus 2.95 postage. Order with cheque enclosed to Mrs. Lescheid, 1973 Winfield Drive #17, Abbotsford BC V3G 1K6 or use PayPal. Her email address is helenlescheid@shaw.ca.

Website:www.helenlescheid. com

For God So Loved The World, That He Gave His Only Begotten Son, That Whosoever Believeth On Him Should Not Perish, But Have Everlasting Life – John 3:16

Embracing Singleness and Loneliness This booklet is compiled with inspirations to encourage you while embracing the Lord through those periods of single and loneliness

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Spiritual Wellness

Article By Pastor Jack Wellman

5 Signs You Are Maturing as a Christian

What are five signs that you are growing and maturing as a Christian?

Blessed Magazine August/September, 2016 29

Spiritual Wellness A Contentment in Christ There is such a sufficiency in knowing Christ.

Everything might be falling apart around us, but if our focus remains on Christ, we have all we need. Besides, Jesus promised that if we seek the kingdom first, He will supply all of our needs (Matthew 6:33), but that means seeking the King of that kingdom first and foremost. Paul said, ―I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need‖ (Philippians 4:11-12), and ―if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content‖ (1 Timothy 6:8). God told Paul, ―My grace is sufficient for you‖ (2 Corinthians 12:9).

This is one of the truest signs of a Christian maturing, and it is recorded in Psalm 119:165, which says, ―Great peace have they who love your law; nothing shall offend them.‖ If someone is very easily offended, they may be a new Christian or they may not be Christian at all. I can remember several men being severely treated and disgracefully spoken about in their street evangelism, but they responded with grace. They never acted offended in any way, ever! That‘s because they must have loved God‘s law, which gave them great enough peace to take no offense over anything. If someone‘s that easily offended, they must not love God‘s law; therefore, they have no peace and are easily offended over almost anything.

Hunger for the Word The psalmist puts it so beautifully when he wrote, ―As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God‖ (Psalm 42:1). I live in deer country, and you can see the deer often running near dusk, their chests heaving for air as they head for the river to satisfy their thirst. This should be something that Christians have: an internal hunger and thirst for God. Since we can‘t see God, as He is Spirit, we must see God in His Word, for there He is.

Jesus is called the Word (John 1), and we must abide in Him and in His Word (John 15).

Nothing Offends Them 30 Blessed Magazine August/September, 2016

Photo Credit: Shutterstock

Scriptural Memory Bank When I started to witness to people, their questions would make me go back to the Bible.

After a while, I realized that I needed to start memorizing Scripture. If you‘re in the Word of God every day, a result of having a hunger for the Word, then you‘ll start memorizing Scripture without even knowing it. I‘m sure the Spirit helps us with this, as He brings the Word back to our memory. But a sign of a growing and maturing Christian is that they can start to

Spiritual Wellness recall chapter and verse in increasing numbers without having to find a Bible.

Deflecting Credit When people start saying good things about me, I stop them and ask, ―Isn‘t the moon beautiful at night?‖ Of course, they agree that it is. I ask them, ―Where does the light come from?‖ They acknowledge that if comes from the moon. ―There you go,‖ I tell them. ―You‘re giving credit to the wrong heavenly body.‖ The sun should get the credit because that‘s like telling the moon ―oh, what beautiful light you have‖ when truthfully the moon has no light source of its own. Therefore, the sun deserves all the credit. The point is, we must give glory to God, for we reflect only what the Spirit of God has done in us. Any beauty in our character is fully attributable to God, the source of all good and all light, and He is responsible for any fruits we bear (Galatians 5:22-23). Without Him, we can‘t do anything (John 15:5). Without God, we‘re like the dark side of the moon. As a matter of fact, it‘s all dark but for the sun. It‘s the same way with us: But for the Son, we‘d still be in darkness.

Conclusion I hope this encourages and doesn‘t discourage you. Every Christian should be growing. The fact is, if a plant stops growing, it dies. So make your election and calling sure (2 Peter 1:10), but just as with plants, every Christian is going to grow at a different rate. We‘re all heading into the maturity that will come to completion on the day of Jesus‘ return or after our death.

J

ack Wellman is a father and grandfather and a Christian author, freelance writer, and pastor at the Mulvane (KS) Brethren church in Mulvane, Kansas. Graduate work at Moody Bible Institute. His books are inexpensive paperbacks that are theological in nature: ―Teaching Children The Gospel/How to Raise Godly Children,― ―Do Babies Go To Heaven?/Why Does God Allow Suffering?,― "The Great Omission; Reaching the Lost for Christ," and ―Blind Chance or Intelligent Design?, Empirical Methodologies & the Bible."

Blessed Magazine August/September, 2016 31

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Spiritual Wellness There was always this nagging guilt and uncertainty about where I stood with God. I had everything I ever wanted and knew I should be happy and thankful.

I questioned to myself, “Why do I still feel so empty?!”

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―If I‘m Truly Saved, Why Do I Feel So Empty Inside?‖ Story by Kara Petroske

y name is Kara Petroske, and this is my story. From childhood to adulthood, off and on, I struggled with anger and depression. There wasn‘t a rhyme or reason, just that it was there and I didn‘t know why. When I thought about life after death, I was curious, but as far as I could understand, if I believed in God and Jesus I was okay. My parents wanted my older brother and I to grow up knowing about God and what He had to offer. They brought us to a church on Sundays. I wasn‘t really into church because I couldn‘t sit and focus during services. My parents did their best to show me that they loved and cared for me.

Blessed Magazine August/September, 2016 33

Spiritual Wellness One day I found an interesting little comic booklet from my grandmother‘s church lying around in my parent‘s house entitled, This Was Your Life, the story of a rich man who died and went to hell. I read that tract many times, most of the time I enjoyed the pictures. At times I asked Jesus to forgive my sins, but I didn‘t know exactly what I was doing. I just knew that I needed help from God to stay out of hell.

After elementary school I was drawn to other troubled teens. I was in a predicament at school pretty frequently. As time went on, my issues almost destroyed those that I loved.

There was a silence from my parents that caused me to think about it inside. Who had I become?

At that time, the sorrow I felt was that I had gotten caught. I knew that I was in trouble and I needed to do something. In prayer I cried out to God to please change me. I started changing things I did not like about myself, starting with the moral issues and then the things I didn‘t like about my attitude. I was concerned about my choices in life and where I was headed.

Years later, somebody handed a gospel tract to my brother while he was working at the library. He mentioned the church it was from and suggested we go. We loved it and soon after started to attend almost every service. I was finally finding my direction in life. One day I was listening to my visitation partner explaining to a person that in salvation there is a time and a place when you are saved. I thought to myself, ―I must‘ve been saved that time when I asked God to change me.‖

34 Blessed Magazine August/September, 2016

In putting the pieces together in my mind, I felt my testimony was based on how I asked God to change me. I added salvation to it so I would fit in with everybody else. Nobody doubted what I had said was true, except me! (Note: salvation, saved and born again are Biblical terms referring to the forgiveness of sins by God and the rescue of a person from the power and penalty of that sin. This is God‟s requirement for everlasting life.)

“From childhood to adulthood, off and on, I struggled with anger and depression” There was always this nagging guilt and uncertainty about where I stood with God. I didn‘t even feel ―good,‖ but the more soul winning, Bible reading, and church fellowshipping I did helped that feeling pass for a while. Overall in life, I felt pretty good and had a great job that I loved. Then there was a silence again in my life that made me stop. I had been given a diagnosis of an autoimmune disorder that turned my world upside down. I was at a low point in my life at that time.

A couple years later, I met Corey and as I grew to trust him, I opened up about my doubts of being saved. He felt I just needed some help

Spiritual Wellness with assurance, because maybe I wasn‘t discipled enough or hadn‘t had a church in the early years.

We did a Bible study on assurance, and for a little while I‘d be okay, but the doubting would always return. Many times I prayed, ―God, save me if I‘m not saved already,‖ but that gave me no assurance. I wondered why there were still areas in my life that I desperately wanted to change but felt like I just couldn‘t overcome. I figured I just needed to pray more, read my Bible more and listen to more preaching.

“There was

always this nagging guilt and uncertainty about where I stood with God.” About a year later we were married, and I moved out of state, from everything familiar.

From the beginning, being alone all day at home in a silent house was frustrating. I often recognized that I had everything I ever wanted and knew I should be happy and thankful. I questioned to myself, ―Why do I still feel so empty?!‖ I also noticed after we got married that my love was different from Corey‘s. Even though my love was conditional, God had been so gracious to give me such a loving and patient soul mate.

One day, I shared the concerns about my salvation with a friend from a new church. She said, ―Maybe God is putting those doubts in your mind because you are not saved.‖ I was not ready to consider that yet, but she challenged me to think about that point where I said I got saved and match it up with what God says in the Bible about salvation. I tried to talk myself into assurance—after all, look how I was living my life; look at all the fruit in my life. I‘ve had prayers answered and cared about people‘s souls. I get excited about the things of God; I cared about other Christians.

From the point I thought I was saved, I had changed SO much! I had come a long way to a very reformed person. I had, on my own, dedicated my life to Christ several times.

Surely I must be saved.

I met with the same friend on a different day, and she again asked me questions about my testimony. I felt nervous having to explain it to her, and when I got home, I was really overwhelmed. That night I told my husband, ―I think I‘m lost.‖ I sent Pastor Hammett a message and asked what he recommended. After listening to this sermon entitled, Repentance and Faith, I met with Mrs. Hammett. I explained to her that when I thought back to when I assumed I was saved, I couldn‘t remember much, but that I was begging God to change me. According to the sermon on repentance and faith, crying out to God to change you is not salvation. To be true salvation, there had to be repentance and faith together. I could not say in confidence that I had that. All I remember was that I Blessed Magazine August/September, 2016 35

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Spiritual Wellness wanted to change. Everything else was a guess.

I told her how I was counting on the things that I had done for God for the assurance of my salvation.

She said, ―Only God can show you if you are saved or lost. But don‘t just pray a prayer to get it settled. You must realize that you are lost before you can get saved.‖ I wanted to settle the matter so badly. That night, my husband did the 4-week salvation Bible study with me in one session. During that study, God used the illustration of the filthy rag spoken about in the Bible to show me how pitiful I was and that I needed God, not that God needed me. “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness's are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” (Isaiah chapter 64, verse 6) Corey urged me to read my Bible every day. I did this, waiting and praying for God to give me faith to believe He could and would save me. I kept asking God to show me how He sees me.

settling this issue already. He asked me how I was doing. I said, ―How would you feel, knowing you are condemned and separated from God?‖ He told me to see Christ as a daddy, and that salvation was an easy thing to do. I left my appointment on the brink of tears.

I could not deal any longer with this heavy heart.

After we got home from church that evening, I

“I had everything I ever wanted and knew I should be happy and thankful. I questioned to myself, “Why do I still feel so empty?!”

Two agonizing weeks went by with the understanding that I indeed was a lost person and on my way to an eternity in hell. Fear of making another false profession kept me from trusting Christ. Every day, I prayed for God not to send me to hell. I was afraid that if I got into my car and had a wreck and died, I would be hearing the words, ―Depart from me ye cursed, I never knew you.‖ But God promises to show truth to those who are searching for Him with all their heart.

waited till Corey fell asleep (because I didn‘t want help) and thought to myself, ―It‘s time; I don‘t want to wait any longer. I know what I need to do.‖ It was at 11:30 PM that I got on the floor on my knees right next to our bed and humbled myself. I gave Him my sin because I could not carry it anymore. I felt peace within my heart. I thanked Him for dying on the cross for me, and I understood what it meant to be saved. I had felt in my heart that I did not have a lot of faith, but I cried out to Him with what little I had. I thought, ―I know God cannot lie about promising he would save me.‖

Wednesday, December 6th, I went to the chiropractor. I was so burdened about not

The next day, that nagging guilt I‘ve had pretty much my whole life was not present.

Blessed Magazine August/September, 2016 37

Spiritual Wellness Where I was before empty, I was now filled!

All my internal problems weren‘t gone forever, but now I have a way to get through them. I can look back and see how God has truly changed things throughout the years, especially through becoming a wife and mother. At times I am heartbroken to realize that I willfully sin against God. At these times, I am reminded why Jesus willingly put Himself on the cross. I realize also, that if I get my eyes on Christ and what He has done for me, gratefulness surpasses the guilt and makes me want to push forward and do right.

One day, I shared the concerns about my salvation with a friend from a new church. She said, ―Maybe God is putting those doubts in your mind because you are not saved.‖ I was not ready to consider that yet, but she challenged me to think about that point where I said I got saved and match it up with what God says in the Bible about salvation. I tried to talk myself into assurance—after all, look how I was living my life; look at all the fruit in my life. I‘ve had prayers answered and cared about people‘s souls. I get excited about the things of God; I cared about other Christians.

I pray that you will examine your own testimony. The Bible says that it is good to examine ourselves to see if we be in the faith.

(2 Corinthians chapter 13, verse 5).

From the point I thought I was saved, I had changed SO much! I had come a long way to a very reformed person. I had, on my own, dedicated my life to Christ several times.

Surely I must be saved.

To

I met with the same friend on a different day, and she again asked me questions about my testimony. I felt nervous having to explain it to her, and when I got home, I was really overwhelmed. That night I told my husband, ―I think I‘m lost.‖ I sent Pastor Hammett a message and asked what he recommended. After listening to this sermon entitled, Repentance and Faith, I met with Mrs. Hammett. I explained to her that when I thought back to when I assumed I was saved, I couldn‘t remember much, but that I was begging God to change me. According to the sermon on repentance and faith, crying out to God to change you is not salvation. To be true salvation, there had to be repentance and faith together. I could not say in confidence that I had that. All I remember was that I

38 Blessed Magazine August/September, 2016

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Spiritual Wellness

Wrong Spirit, Got to Go! Article By Calvin Brown

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. – Psalms 1 Blessed Magazine August/September, 2016 41

Spiritual Wellness When we keep the Almighty Father first in all that we do wherever we are that‘s exactly where we are supposed to be! Our consistent love of God prepares our hearts and minds for our daily encounters with other believers and non-believers. This is very important because as we go about our day sometimes we come in contact with particular individuals whose negative attitudes and actions cause us to change our location. We have to remove ourselves from the presence of that type of negative energy which could cause us to eventually become negative as well or place ourselves and family in some type of danger.

This is what happened to Lot as He chose for himself and kept his family in the presence of the wrong spirits.

So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom.

Now the people of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord. – Genesis 13:11-13 As for me, I‘ve been in numerous places where I‘ve encountered these types of people and I would say to myself ―Wrong spirit, got to go‖.

I utilize that phrase to help me quickly remove myself from a non-fruitful person or group of people. There is simply no need to waste our precious time in places or with non-fruitful people that taint our progress. Sometimes we encounter non-fruitful people and we have to stay in the same place with them because we either have no choice at that time (employment

reasons) or the Holy Spirit reveals to us that we can actually help them. They happen every day and our hearts and minds must be in the right place so that we can deal with those types of situations. Here are a few examples of being in the presence of the wrong spirit: Shortly after the Holy Spirit left Saul he eventually began to hate and eventually he wanted to kill David. David recognized that Saul had the wrong spirit and David had to flee Saul‘s presence. (1 Samuel 16:31) After Elijah defeated the false prophets of Baal, Jezebel sought to kill him. Jezebel worshipped false gods and did not believe in God. When Elijah knew that Jezebel had the wrong spirit he had to go! (1 Kings 18:20-40) After Peter tried to rebuke Christ Jesus, Christ Jesus knew Peter was being influenced by the wrong spirit. Then Christ Jesus had to rebuke Satan. (Matthew 16:21-23) Satan wanted to sift Peter but Christ Jesus had to pray Satan away from Peter. Christ Jesus didn‘t want the wrong spirit to sift Peter. (Luke 22:31-32) After Christ Jesus told the Jews that He and God are One, they tried to stone Him and arrest Him but He escaped them. They didn‘t have the Holy Spirit which is why they couldn‘t recognize and receive what Christ Jesus was telling them. They were influenced by the wrong spirit so Christ Jesus had to flee their presence. (John 10:22-42) Those examples highlight the fact that the

42 Blessed Magazine August/September, 2016

Spiritual Wellness wrong spirit will eventually try to kill you. In many situations the wrong spirit will try to kill your joy, kill your hope, kill your peace, kill your happiness, kill your progress, kill your family and kill the love that you have within you. Also, the wrong spirit will cause people to have nasty attitudes and nasty ways.

-believers. We are not supposed to isolate ourselves away from non-believers but if they are disruptive and filled with the wrong spirit then we must act quickly in prayer or departure. In most cases, we have to allow our lights to shine bright on those that have the wrong spirit so as to help guide them out the darkness then guide them to the Holy Spirit.

The wrong spirit wants to steal your time and distract you from your purpose for the kingdom of God! So whenever you encounter the wrong spirit please leave its presence unless the Holy Spirit leads you to stay, pray and rebuke it. Otherwise, just say to yourself ―Wrong Spirit, Got to Go‖ then leave immediately and rebuke it while you are departing. Blessings!

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Many individuals are in relationships with the wrong spirits but chose to stay in the relationships.

Choosing to stay in a relationship with the wrong spirit will lead to wasted time, loss of blessings, unexpected pain and sometimes death. Sometimes the wrong spirit has a tight grip upon the person and they make it hard for the other person to leave them via strongholds, trickery and fear. We have to pray away the wrong spirit from these people like Christ Jesus did for Peter.

In other situations, we encounter the wrong spirit in our work places, in the public, at school and even in places of worship. Dependent upon our location, it might be best to just leave the location than to stay and rebuke the wrong spirit. Some wrong spirits are powerful than others and everyone is not equipped to deal with such matters.

This is also why we must meditate in the Word of God day and night so that we can allow God to take charge of such matters. Let‘s not get this confused with how we conduct ourselves with non

C

alvin Brown Calvin Brown is an Ordained Non-Denomination minister at Shechaniah River Church in Newport News, Virginia. He retired from the Army in 2009 after serving 20 years as an enlisted Soldier. During his active duty service, he participated in many major military campaigns such as deployments to Somalia, Kuwait, Iraq, and Afghanistan and received numerous awards to include two Bronze Stars. He attained his Bachelors of Arts in Religious Studies at Saint Leo University, Florida. Calvin currently lives in Hampton, Virginia.

Blessed Magazine August/September, 2016 43

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Spiritual Wellness

When God Gives Up And Withdraws His Gracious Hand What happens to man after God withdraws His gracious, restraining hand?

Article By Pastor, K. David Oldfield

“Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves.” Although there are similarities between the body of a man and the bodies of different kinds of animals, the differences between them clearly set man apart from the animal world. Some animals can communicate between themselves, but none as skillfully as human beings. Some animals can grasp things in their hands and between their fingers, but none as skillfully as us. Many animals can think, but not one of them can think through problems as well as people can. That isn‟t to say that all human adults can speak, work or think as well as the average ape, but generally speaking that is the case. Yet when man chooses sin and God withdraws His grace, man quickly chooses to abuse the gift of his body. The most obvious application of this verse, at least to me, is with homosexuality. And until I began meditating on this verse, that is all that I even considered. But aren‟t there a great many other ways that man dishonors his body?

Blessed Magazine August/September, 2016 45

Spiritual Wellness I used to look at my parent‘s old “National Geographic Magazines,” at pictures of African natives, with horribly stretched necks and earlobes with holes in them large enough through which to drive cattle. I would look at people who cut themselves to ribbons in the worship of their false gods… I saw pictures of people who would cover their bodies in grotesque tattoos… and I would be amazed that people would do that to themselves. Believe me, I‘m not here to condemn you if you had tattoos cut into your body before you were saved, but it would greatly grieve me, to hear that you were going to have a new one done tomorrow. I sincerely doubt that there is such a thing as a ―Christian tattoo.‖ I would inwardly weep if you came in next week with a cross dangling from your eyebrow. These are things that Godless people do; they are not Christian activities. Christianity should strive to put a stamp of holiness on the body that the Lord has temporarily given us.

Verses 26-27 – “For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.”

Again this is a condemnation of homosexuality.

This is a behaviour which can only be found in god-forsaken people. It is indicative of a godforsaken society. There is no such thing as a Christian homosexual, a Christian gay or a Christian lesbian. Those really are words that

46 Blessed Magazine August/September, 2016

cannot logically be mentioned together in the same breath. Homosexual affections are called vile and unseemly by the apostle of God. Vile speaks about something shameful, despicable and ignominious. Unseemly means shameful and ugly. And it doesn‘t take a prophet of God to see the unseemly nature of these kinds of sins. Even the better heathen philosophers condemned it just as vocally as the prophets of God. Socrates, Plato, Zeno all condemned these sins in their generation. ―And receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.‖ This is a particularly large and bitter pill for the liberals and homosexuals to swallow. But there is no way to misinterpret what God says in this statement. Fornication and homosexuality brings its own very special recompense – compensation or reward. The wickedness of Sodom called for a very special judgment from God. Can you think of another city or community to which God poured out His wrath in the same way? There are others in history which had similar judgments – like perhaps wicked Pompeii. But in the pages of the Word of God there was only Sodom and her neighboring sister communities. And isn‘t it interesting that the various kinds of fornication have their own specially related diseases?

Sexual sins bring with them unique diseases which are rarely spread any other way. When someone has one of these diseases, it is obvious to world that they have committed these sins. And when man‘s science has come up with ways to treat, and now to prevent some of these SDTs, the Lord has raised the stakes and created new diseases to physically punish the guilty.

Spiritual Wellness First their were diseases like syphilis – blinding babies and eating out men‘s brains. And now we have AIDS. Let the world call me terrible names for saying so, but only the willfully blind can say that AIDS is not punishment for some of the wicked ways of these last days.

Billions of dollars are being poured into finding a cure for HIV and AIDS. This may sound cruel, but I hope that is wasted money, because if science succeeds, it will only force the Lord to come up with a punishment that is even more severe. ―And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.‖ The word ―reprobate‖ which we find here, is often used, and seldom defined. The English dictionary calls a ―reprobate‖ a ―morally unprincipled person.‖ But the Greek dictionary calls him ―someone who has been cast aside by God – someone unsalvable.‖ From here Paul gives us a list of about two dozen sins. These sins are not the cause of God‘s abandonment, but the result of it. ―Unrighteousness‖ refers generally to

anything contrary to the holy nature of God – i.e.. sin. People whom God has abandoned to themselves are characterized by sin – of all varieties. ―Fornication‖ – sexual immorality, which includes homosexuality, adultery, premarital adultery, and even pornography ―Wickedness‖ – general evil, malicious behavior.―Covetousness‖ – a lust for the things of others; a lack of satisfaction with blessings that God has given. ―Maliciousness‖ – a desire to hurt and injure other people – physically, emotionally, financially, whatever. ―Envy‖ and ―murder‖ mean exactly what you‘d think that they mean. ―Debate‖ – refers to a general contrary attitude, a constant rebellion and strife. ―Deceit‖ speaks about the obvious – lying. ―Malignity‖ – a negative, evil-wishing attititude ―Whisperers‖ and ―backbiters‖ – refer to slanderers and trouble-makers. ―Haters of God‖ are those who despise the Lord, the Lord‘s church and the Lord‘s Word.―Despiteful‖ – people who are so filled with themselves that they are insolent and disrespectful. ―Proud‖ and ―boasters‖ should be well-understood. ―Inventors of evil things‖ – these are people who think up, think on and practice sinful things. They don‘t even have to carry them out to be guilty of this sin. ―Disobedient to parents‖ is a sin in the same list with ―haters of God‖ and ―fornication.‖ Is a person who is ―without understanding‖ guilty of anything? Absolutely.

This takes us back to what Paul has been teaching us earlier in this chapter. When we don‘t know what we should know about the Lord and His law, it is usually because we have Blessed Magazine August/September, 2016 47

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Spiritual Wellness chosen to be willfully ignorant. ―Covenantbreakers‖ – this is the man who agrees to something and then doesn‘t come through. He is a promise-breaker; he is a liar; he is not trustworthy; he is not honest. For example, this is a husband who deserts his wife, emotionally, physically, financially or in other ways. ―Without natural affection‖ – Strong says that this is someone who is unsociable, uncaring, unloving and inhuman.

This is a child who doesn‘t love his parents who have poured out their love, energy and lives on him. This is a husband or wife who turns against the one to whom he promised himself. This is a parent who forsakes his child. ―Implacable‖ – refers to someone who refuses to accept another person‘s apology or covenant. ―Unmerciful‖ means that here is someone who knows nothing of the mercy of God. And lastly, Paul speaks about the this reprobate‘s love for the people in this list.

So here is a terrible catalogue of wickedness.

But I almost guarantee, if we broke all of these apart, and had a single paragraph on each one, that it would be hard for some people to think too badly about some of these. By that I mean that some of these might seem insignificant if they weren‘t a part of the larger group. For example, what‘s wrong with a little pride, and doesn‘t everyone boast now and then?

Someone e-mailed me a short video of a man who professed to be a Christian preacher. This 24-year-old Australian was born without arms or legs, but overcame his depression about what he lacks and appears to be a genuine child of God. But in his interview he mentioned some of his recent meetings in India at which

he spoke to crowds of over a 100,000 people at a time. What‘s wrong with a little pride for the glory of God? – Well, it doesn‘t bring glory to God. As I say, some of these sins appear to be horrible while other appear to be small, but once again, notice that they are all made equal by the Apostle Paul. Not one of them is insignificant.

These are things that take place in people when God gives them up.

We proceeded through these verses in a forward fashion; now, let‟s briefly go back again.

How? By going from ourselves back to the things mentioned and making the right kind of application. If these are the characteristics of people whom the Lord has left to their own wicked hearts, then what does it mean if we find these things in US? If I am an implacable person, someone who refuses to be reconciled to an apologizing neighbor, what sort of person does that prove me to be? If I lack natural affection, or if I display unnatural affection, what kind of person am I? If I am unmerciful or if I‘m filled with malice, whose child am I? If I am disobedient to my parents, no matter how old I am, or how I justify myself, who am I really?

My point is this: If you full are of lies and deceit; if you are a contrary, despiteful, arguing sort of person; if you are unmerciful… then doesn‘t the evidence suggest that you lack the Lord in your life? Don‘t rationalize things and justify your wickedness – you are wicked –

Blessed Magazine August/September, 2016 49

Spiritual Wellness you are a wild, untamed dog. Don‘t expect the Lord to come and rescue you while you go on loving one or more of these sins. You don‘t deserve anything but God‘s wrath. ―For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness.‖

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50 Blessed Magazine August/September, 2016

'How Love Can Survive Prison Walls' Get the compelling book that provides hope and tips on how to survive while your loved one is in prison Click Here To Download Your eBook “I don’t know how I would have survived if it wasn’t for the prayers of the staff at Blessed Magazine. They truly love God’s people and are always providing inspiration for those of us who are hurting. Thank you again for this eBook; it was a blessing to me and my family!” – Teresa A.

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Embracing Singleness and Loneliness This booklet is compiled with inspirations to encourage you while embracing the Lord through those periods of single and loneliness

Click Here To Download Your eBook If I could give this eBook 10 stars I would because it has been an eye opener for me. I didn’t know how to fully cope with being a single male and the ache of loneliness, but this book has inspired me to pray more and seek the face of God. Thank you Blessed Magazine‌..Thomas Y.

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Guest Columnist RANDOM THOUGHTS by Reggie Lex Jesus knocks at your door and asks if he can dwell in you. A true gentleman he is. Death knocks down your door and takes you. Death has no manners. Jesus gives signs and seasons so that you may know when he's coming. He gives warning. Death comes like the wind.

Death isn't so kind. One thing that is certain in this world; That which lives, must die. Two things are certain at the end of the world; Heaven and hell. One cannot choose whether he/she wants to live or die in "this world."

However, one can choose life or death after this world has passed. Heaven can be your final dwelling place, or you can perish with hell, in hell. In this world of uncertainty, we can be certain that Jesus will return for his people. Are you his people? If your heart does not belong to Christ, you can be certain that hell will be your final destination.

R

eggie Lex‌His motto: It is my purpose to help others step out of the box and see life for what it really is and help strengthen one's relationship with God You may follow him on Facebook at Reggie Lex

Heaven is real like the air that we breathe.

Hell is real like the heat that you feel against your skin in the summer. One thing that is certain after death is, all those who mock God, curse God, and refuse him, they will kneel and recognize him as God! It is better to kneel now and accept him as your king, than to kneel at the end of time when judgment is upon you. Either way, you WILL kneel.

Revelation 15:4 Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.

Click Here To Download Your eBook Blessed Magazine August/September, 2016 53

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Satanic Sex Cult

How I Was Initiated By My Mother And Forced To Sleep With The woman who calls herself Annabelle Forest, said she was into the sick cult after 1800 Men! initiated having to watch her mother,

Article By Oge Okonkwo

Jacqueline Marling, perform a sex act on the cult's ringleader, Colin Batley at the age of seven Blessed Magazine August/September, 2016 55

Satanic Sex Cult A woman who got involved with a Satanic sex cult has revealed how her mother made her sleep with 1,800 men by the time she reached 18 According to Daily Mail, the woman who calls herself Annabelle Forest, said she was initiated into the sick cult after having to watch her mother, Jacqueline Marling, perform a sex act on the cult's ringleader, Colin Batley at the age of seven.

'Nothing can hurt me as much as my mum and that man. My mother was an evil woman and I'll never forgive her,' she said.

'To be abused like that by your own mum beggars belief.'

In a memoir recently released by Forest, it revealed she had slept with almost 2,000 men by her 18th birthday after being forced in to prostitution to raise money for the cult's 'church'.

She said she was later raped by Batley when she turned 11 and three years down the line, made to take part in group sex with her mother at their home near Llanelli in Wales, where at least two other households on the street took part in cult activity.

Colin Batley and Jacqueline Marling were jailed for systemically sexually abusing the girl as she was growing up.

A 2011 trial of the duo revealed that Batley, who was married at the time and lived on the same street in a different house, wore hooded robes and chanted before having group sex with the women and children.

Snakes would be kept near an 'altar' in his lounge where residents on the quiet cul-de-sac would congregate on Sunday evenings.

Forest who now has her own family, has spoken out against Batley and her mother who were sentenced to at least 11 years and 12 years imprisonment respectively.

56 Blessed Magazine August/September, 2016

Colin Batley systemically sexually abused the girl throughout her childhood. The sick neighbous were jailed in 2011 for their roles in a satanic sex cult in Wales (Wales News Service) The couple's twisted ideology was based on the Book of the Law by Aleister Crowley, a 20th century Satanist and made children believe they were proving themselves to god by having sex with other members, all the while egged on

by Batley, now 48.

Satanic Sex Cult 'I was 11 when he first raped me - the worst thing about it was the fact that he made me think I was doing it out of choice,' she said.

'It was awful. The most painful and shocking thing that had ever happened - but it was my path, that's what he told me, and if I didn't do it I would go to the Abyss, which was our version of hell.

mother aged 14, the teenager tried to kill herself.

'Afterwards, Colin asked me if I enjoyed it and I knew what I had to say - I had to say yes.

'But inside I felt like dying.

'I was a schoolgirl by day and a sex slave at night.

'It got so bad that at one point I tried to take my own life.‗ At the age of 17, Ms Forest became pregnant by her cruel step-father.

A year after the birth of the child she fled the house in the dead of the night, and did not see either her mother or Batley until their sentencing in 2011.

Jacqueline Marling systemically sexually abused the girl throughout her childhood. The sick neighbours were jailed in 2011 for their roles in a satanic sex cult in Wales

'Colin knew how to manipulate you, to make you believe anything he said.‗ 'We weren't even allowed to look in his eyes.

'He ruled our little community with an iron will and we were made to do what he ordered for fear of angering the Gods.‗

'I went to the sentencing in court because I wanted to see her one last time, I wanted her to reach out to me, to say it was all his fault and she was under his spell.

'But she didn't. She just made a face and asked what I was doing there.

'She went to prison unrepentant and I suppose that made me realize it wasn't just him. She was evil too.

'As a mother myself I can hardly believe how she treated me. It was unnatural and cruel.

'But there is no point getting depressed about it, you have to live for the future.

After being sexually assaulted by her own Blessed Magazine August/September, 2016 57

Satanic Sex Cult 'But I never want to see her again. Nothing can hurt me as much as they did, but that is what makes me stronger.‗ Annabelle, who now lives in north England, has chronicled her horrifying childhood in a memoir titled The Devil on The Doorstep: My Escape from a Satanic Sex Cult.

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The mother-of-two hopes it will help save other children from the ordeal she faced.

'If there's one thing I would like to achieve with my book, it would be for others to start really paying attention to the community they live in.‗ 'There are abused children everywhere - it just takes one person to see it and that life could be saved.'

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ge Okonkwo is a Senior Associate at

Pulse. A creative thinker and music lover, Okonkwo holds a degree in Food Science.

58 Blessed Magazine August/September, 2016

64

Will Never Give Up On You!

Ministry

Article By Tim Peters

Facebook is the hottest trend America (the world) has ever experienced. Facebook has over 800 million registered users. That means they would be the 4th largest nation in the world. The social network is an unbelievable tool when used with purpose and strategy. With most people in the United States entrenched with Facebook, the church has a great opportunity to leverage the trend into a kingdom impacting tool.

Here are 7 ways to maximize your Facebook page – Blessed Magazine August/September, 2016 61

Ministry GOOD CONTENT 80% of people check out your website before attending your church. The second place they visit is your Facebook page to view pictures and dialogue between church members. In most situations your Facebook page is much more telling than your website. This is perfectly okay as long as you manage your content well. Provide people the opportunity to get to know you through general information, photographs of events and services, videos of messages and life-change stories. Make sure the content is monitored and matches up with the message you want to deliver

MAKE IT KNOWN I hear this statement all the time, ―We created a page but nobody joined!‖ I quickly respond, ―How did you inform people that the page existed?‖ They reply, ―We didn‘t.‖ Here are some quick ways to make sure people know about your page – announce it regularly from stage, print Facebook.com/YourChurchName wherever you print your URL and provide a link from your website

recommended reading list, etc.

Tip: This is going to sound bad, but rethink the idea of posting a scripture verse each day. I think if you took a look at your personal wall, you would see that 3-4 other friends already got that one covered. Be different and unique. Offer value.

STAFF INTERACTION Recently, I made a simple post on behalf of a church, ―How can the pastoral staff be praying for you, specifically?‖ Before I knew it, I got ambushed with requests. The only problem was the staff was not prepared to respond. I frantically had to contact the leadership team telling them they needed to engage immediately. I recommend pastors check the church page daily, interact 1-2 times a week and provide the communications team with information ammunition on events and lifechange stories.

PROVIDE GUIDELINES REGULAR RELEVANT POSTS In most cases, the administrator (typically staff person) will be the one driving page activity. Be strategic about what you say status updates.

The content MUST be relevant. Some ideas to share – life-change stories, ministry event updates with pictures, quotes from worship service messages,

62 Blessed Magazine August/September, 2016

Hopefully the staff team is active in building community through Facebook and other social media mediums. If so, take some time to think through what guidelines you wish for them to follow. For example, you might ask them never to speak negatively about your church or any other church. Provide overall guidelines in social media etiquette.

Ministry CHECK THE REPORTS

ANALYTIC

Facebook does a great job of report generation. The reports provide information that will boggle your mind. Check the reports monthly, as these reports will be a great guide on what content to offer to your audience. What are people ―liking‖? What do people click on? When do people ―like‖ your page?

In summary, make sure you capitalize on the opportunity provided by Facebook. They‘ve done a great job of assembling millions into one social community. Now it is our turn to use the tool for kingdom growth.

T

COMMUNICATE PURPOSE Make sure it is very clear that you are using Facebook as a spiritual growth tool for your church. Communicate the page will be used to help people stay connected, receive prayer, find opportunities to serve and spiritually grow.

IN SUMMARY

im Peters helps organizations grow by resolving challenges with branding, marketing and technology solutions He loves seeing organizations of all sizes come alive when they identify the best solutions to advance their cause. With 10+ years of branding, marketing, and strategy experience, he has consulted small businesses, mega churches and multi-million dollar for-profit corporations. With a spontaneously creative brain and a systematic personality, Tim is seen by his clients as one of the best idea generators and executors. He lives in The Woodlands, Texas with his wife, Meagan, and their three children.

He is a graduate of Baylor University with a degree in Marketing. In his free time, you will find him hanging out with his family and playing golf. For more thoughts, follow him on Twitter.

Blessed Magazine August/September, 2016 63

Being Single „A Great Opportunity‟ Get the compelling book that sheds light on the lies, feelings and truths about being single as a Christian Click Here To Download Your eBook “This book. Oh my God! This book answers all of my questions and concerns. It has given me a better outlook on being single and helps me to focus on what I can do while waiting on a mate if that is God’s will for my life…Get this book! You won’t regret it …..Julie R.

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Your Letters

Dear Blessed Magazine…

Dear Blessed Magazine, I‘m learning so much about the Bible and want to tell you how much I appreciate the Bible Trivia puzzles you post daily. Unlike some other pages where they post easy questions like ‗Who built the ark?‘ Everyone knows Noah built it, but with you guys, it‘s questions about the Bible I haven‘t even heard about. Sorry for my lengthy comment, but I want to tell you how much I appreciate your site. – Doris Sanders Dear Doris Sanders, We can‘t begin to tell you how enlightening it was to receive your email. It is our pleasure to bring new content to your ever growing knowledge about the Word of God. Continue to pray for us as we endeavor to do what we can for the kingdom of God. Remain blessed of the Lord Jesus always! – Blessed Magazine Dear Blessed Magazine, It seems that you cannot get your people under control to stop posting the scripture when they answer questions. And, most of them don‘t

know how to answer the Bible Jeopardy questions. Is it possible to give an illustration as to how to answer those questions for those who have no clue? – Very Annoyed!!!

Dear Very Annoyed!!!, First, let us apologize for your frustration, but let us also offer some advice to your dilemma. When it comes to people following rules; we cannot control their actions. We can continue to post ‗Do Not Include the Scripture‘, but not everyone will adhere to our request; so as we do, may we suggest you do this as well.

Pray for everyone and don‘t allow things such as these to frustrate you in any way. We pray this will help you.

Thank you for contacting Blessed Magazine. Remain blessed of the Lord Jesus always! – Blessed Magazine Dear Blessed Magazine, Are any of your staff atheist? – Anonymous Dear Anonymous, Fortunately, none of the staff are atheist. Thank you for contacting us.

Remain blessed of the Lord Jesus always! – Blessed Magazine Dear Blessed Magazine, Is it possible to have all your Bible Trivia puzzles put inside a book? – Sunday School Teacher Dear Sunday School Teacher,

Unfortunately at this time, we do not have a book containing all of our Bible Trivia puzzles. If we decide to do this in the future, we will alert you.

Remain blessed of the Lord always – Blessed Magazine Dear Blessed Magazine, Thank you for the prayers your staff rendered on behalf of my brother. He has gone on home to be with the Lord.

– The Parker Family

Dear Parker Family, We are saddened by your news and will continue to pray for you and your family as you get through this ordeal. There are no words to console, so allow us to leave you with this: Comfort Can Be Found in Jesus Alone! Remain blessed of the Lord Jesus always! – Blessed Magazine

Want to write us? Email us at contact@blessedmagazine.org

Blessed Magazine August/September, 2016 65

God‟s Promises The Bible is filled with countless promises to us from our Heavenly Father Discover what those promises are in this free eBook today Click Here To Download Your eBook “Thank you, thank you Blessed Magazine for making this eBook available. These biblical promises has encouraged me so much in my walk with the Lord”…..Yolanda W.

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Your Thoughts

Pauline Brown: No but being a believer and accepting Jesus you should want to go to church I for one need to be around and receive the word of God just to get through my week.

Kathy Baylon: Church attendance is not required for salvation accepting Jesus Christ is the only thing that saves you but church attendance is good for education edification and for fellowship Sylvia Dubose: Yes.... God said seek the kingdom first and all things will be added Josephine John-Rose: It's an importance to worship with man and woman of God but it is not a requirement.

Diane Bradford: No but its

always good to go into the house of worships. Even way back they built a place for worships Linda Rivera: Hebrews10; 2325: Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another- and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Tiffany Williams: No as long as you continue to honor God in other ways ... Read your bible, pray, do good and not evil Christine Bogle Giscombe: I don't believe so, but Hebrews 10:25, told us what to do! If we willfully disobey, we're speaking

volumes.

Brenda Kennard: The bible states that we should fellowship often. I say no Christopher Yanoski: No its not necessary.

Joyce Shepherd: I'd say no believe, accept God. John 3:16 Yvonne Kindle Richardson Brown: Absolutely no.

Darryl Harris: No Callie Walker: Yes it is Please note: the views and expressions expressed are not necessarily the views of Blessed Magazine or its affiliates

Blessed Magazine August/September, 2016 67

Embracing Singleness and Loneliness This booklet is compiled with inspirations to encourage you while embracing the Lord through those periods of single and loneliness

Click Here To Download Your eBook If I could give this eBook 10 stars I would because it has been an eye opener for me. I didn’t know how to fully cope with being a single male and the ache of loneliness, but this book has inspired me to pray more and seek the face of God. Thank you Blessed Magazine‌..Thomas Y.

Exclusively at Blessed Magazine Get Yours Today! No Purchase Necessary!

Real People

Real Miracles Many will say; “God doesn‟t perform miracles today”, but within this astounding eBook lies stories from ordinary people who have experienced first hand the miracle power of God!

Click Here To Download Your eBook “This book is amazing with real life accounts of people telling their stories of how God moved in their lives. This is a must read for those who are ever in doubt” – John F.

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Classes Now Available Anger Management Domestic Violence Intervention Crisis Intervention and Prevention Parenting Skills Call or Click Today to Register

Precious Life Services

830.372.5980

Artist Spotlight

Jesse Cann is a gospel singer/songwriter and producer with a Christ-centered and Spiritfilled message in song and testimony. He is a pianist, trumpet player, and a Hammond organ player. He has produced and recorded gospel music in a variety of styles on his Jordan Line Music label (ASCAP). In addition, his choral writing has been published by Bock Music Company and Kjos Publishing Company. Jesse has a B.F.A. degree in Music from the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. He has ministered in churches, schools, prisons, outreach and benefit concerts, and has 13 years of professional experience as a worship director. He has been married to his dearest friend Anne for 37 years.

ARTISTS MUSIC GUILD HERITAGE AWARDS: Nominee for Male Vocalist of the Year, 2013, 2014, 2015 Nominee for Instrumentalist of the Year, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015

To

Blessed Magazine August/September, 2016 71

Blessed Magazine Volunteer Post Responders Wanted

Want to be part of a ministry to encourage, uplift and inspire individuals?

Blessed Magazine is now recruiting individuals who desire to make a difference in the lives of others through responding to posts If you are interested, please send us a short paragraph outlining why you would be a candidate to become a part of the Blessed Magazine team Send inquiries to contact@blessedmagazine.org

Listen, If God is not glorified in everything we do, then we are simply wasting our time.

God must be glorified in our walk and in our talk. If this isn’t happening, well‌what’s the point in existing?

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