2 RED WINE AUGUST 2016
Editors
Voice
RED WINE MAGAZINE believes in the RTT effect, which stands for relevance, tones and texture. If you are a red wine drinker, you know all three of those play an important part in how natural wine taste on your palette. We have just entered a new dimension here at RED WINE. We are a spiritual connoisseur of God’s purpose and plan for all of us. So we want to introduce to you a new RED WINE. We have expanded to all the major platforms with new distribution across the world from Amazon, iTunes to Google. Including across North America including Mexico and other places. You can now find RED WINE MAGAZINE on a digital shelf near you. There’s more good news! Our magazine will be going into print in Austin very soon. God gave us an assignment in Austin, TX. Please read the article Hey Austin where I share how God gave me this awesome idea I want you to be a part of so please share this publication. We invite you to share your comments, thoughts and ideas. We are now three years old and ready for the next level of communication. Please subscribe. This magazine embodies the wisdom, purpose and plan of God for you and for all of those you love. Thank you for reading our publication! God bless you and heaven smile upon you. Dr. Diana
CONTENTS AUGUST 2016
20
16
8 The appeal of Violent Subcultures in Modern Times 16 The Dead Son 20 Wow! That tasted Good! But I don't Feel So Well 26 The Worry Diet 30 Black White & Divine 34 The Spiritual Indubator
PriFighterze 40 2203 Hilton
44 Good Girls Gone Bad
THE pg12
RED WINE
4 The Balance
40
EXECUTIVE OFFICE RED WINE MAGAZINE INCORPORATED 17503 LA CANTERA PARKWAY, SUITE 104-193 SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS 78257
EDITOR -IN CHIEF DR. DIANA HARDY
WRITERS DR. DIANA HARDY ERICA JOHNSON
GRAPHIC DESIGN KAREN HUE GUSTAVO
WESITE DESIGN GAGAN MASOUN
4 RED WINE AUGUST 2016
The
Jesus was moved with compassion (Matthew 14:14) which means He didn’t just have an emotion or give them a shoulder to lean on. He was moved to do something in their life that would stop the pain and confusion. Leave people with something that will help them move out of despair into a blessed life.
Balance In the last few years, I have been struggling with finding the balance between showing compassion but being truthful about the behaviors that lead people into difficult situations. As a minister and a leader, you confront this on a daily basis. You want to show mercy and compassion because after all, the gospel is all about love! But you also want people to change for the better. And you can’t do better unless someone points out what you are doing wrong that’s causing drama and problems in your life.
I have prayed about it and read about it and I have gained a little balance but it still is a question that comes up for me often. Then I had the pleasure of meeting John the Uber driver. In his previous life he was a social worker who eventually became a social worker with a drinking problem. He put that issue behind him and moved on but he told me as an Uber driver he gets a lot of people in his car that are just wasted or on their way to get wasted. He said that he often has really enriching conversations with them because they know he is not judging them. He was professionally trained on how to talk to people and politely suggest the idea of changing behaviors but he is also a former drinker. That’s when he said the word that resonated in my brain for days. He said, “I just know how not to over-identify with people.” That made such sense when he said it. He didn’t put himself in danger by over-identifying with people
5 RED WINE AUGUST 2016
who may have had way too much to drink and got in his car. But he knew how to engage with them so they didn’t feel like they were being judged by him. And I realized that is the balance we all look for as leaders and helpers. We move along a path daily to become more and more like Christ and He provides the perfect example.
“This High Priest of ours [Jesus] understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.” (Hebrew 4:15).
Well, we are human, we will sin but the deeper meaning here is that you can have compassion, you can identify with people’s suffering but in all of that you can still be an example of a better way to get through this thing called life. Jesus is the Way. Point others to Jesus in what you say and what you do, even when you make the wrong choice. Too many people are hesitant about God and faith because they see it all as a bunch of rules and standards they will
6 RED WINE AUGUST 2016 be forced to meet. But anyone truly living for God will tell you the value in having a relationship with God is knowing when you make the wrong choice, when you take the wrong road and end up in a firestorm, you have a relationship with the One who can lead you out and help you make a better choice the next time. So I can show compassion but I can also speak up in love and expound a more excellent way to my brother or sister who is struggling. The key is not over-identifying with someone’s suffering but instead to help them identify with their Savior. To help them realize that they can get on the road to becoming like Christ, a road that will surely lead them away from struggles, drama, danger, addiction, whatever keeps hindering their growth and happiness. What’s the takeaway? Give your friend that shoulder to cry on, that warm embrace they may need. But also be equipped to point them to the cross however you need to for them and where they are in life. Jesus was moved with compassion (Matthew 14:14) which means He didn’t just have an emotion or give them a shoulder to lean on. He was moved to do something in their life that would stop the pain and confusion. Leave people with something that will help them move out of despair into a blessed life. Tell that friend they can cry as long as they need to but when they are done you are going to stand and pray with them about the matter.
Let people know you
give hugs but you also give
scriptures
because the Word will
last forever
but your hug will only last a moment. And they need one much more than the other.
8 RED WINE AUGUST 2016
THE APPEAL OF
VIOLENT SUBCULTURES IN MODERN TIMES
It’s sometimes difficult to understand why the Jews of the New Testament didn’t just believe Jesus straightaway. Instead, He had to deal with doubts and propaganda from them, especially the Sadducees and Pharisees. But we have to remember the events of the Bible did not occur in a vacuum but in fact are part of the tapestry of the world’s history. There’s an estimated 300 to 400 years between the end of the Old Testament and the start of the New Testament. When Jesus comes on the scene, the Jews are under forced Roman rule which includes the presence of Roman soldiers as part of their everyday life. The political climate dictated how they could worship God despite the fact that they received their instructions from Moses hundreds of years before.
The real battle started within their own walls. When Jerusalem fell under Greek rule, many Jews became Hellenized which caused an internal rift, springing forth different groups or sects of Jews. The Sadducees embraced Hellenistic religious influences while the Pharisees opposed any Greek influence on religious traditions but accepted their influence on culture. The Essenes left Jerusalem altogether because they felt that both religion and
9 RED WINE AUGUST 2016 culture had been defiled by Greek influence. And then there were zealots and other groups all with their idea of what was right and what was wrong.
revolts and governments and economies falling all over the world. And the Bible tells us that before the second coming of Christ, there would be wars and rumors of wars (Matthew 24:6). But we must discern the times and not just dismiss what is happening.
God expects us
to win souls no matter what is happening in this world. So how do we reach a world that is unstable and
falling apart? We must pray and use discernment for sure.
While these groups were fighting for notoriety and followers, the Romans invaded and the Jews found themselves under military rule by Rome. So we are talking decade after decade of waking up and having to find out who your ruler is that day as the Greeks and Romans changed leaders like clothes. The Jews struggled to see Jesus as their Messiah because in their minds all they knew was military takeovers. They wanted a Jewish Rambo to walk into the city and free them. But instead, Jesus came in meekness and humility. So you can understand why it was hard to wrap their heads around this peaceful guy being the Messiah. The thing is, we are in that same place in time as the Jews were before the first coming of Christ. There are all these groups and sects and each professes to know what is right and what is wrong. There are military
The Jew didn’t recognize Jesus as their Savior because they were war-weary and focused on their natural circumstances. They want to be free from seeing soldiers every time they went to the market. They were not focused on being free from demons. And in their desire for freedom from oppression, they allowed the laws and traditions given to them by Moses to be perverted and influenced by other cultures. Today we have people professing to be Christian leaders supporting pre-marital sex, homosexual relationships, drinking and smoking by engaging in it themselves as they “preach’ the gospel. Is it because they are afraid the real gospel will not be received by this generation that is steeped in the “have it your way” mentality? That’s what the Sadducees thought when they allowed for Greek influences in their worship of God. They felt they no longer had the influence over the people who were angry and oppressed so they compromised to gain some influence.
10 RED WINE AUGUST 2016 ISIS has been effective in securing tens of thousands of recruits from all over the world because they target a specific, growing population: disaffected teens and young adults. Young people who have been alienated to the point of discontent, unrest and disloyalty to the traditional. The average ISIS recruit is disappointed in established government and even in the Taliban, wanting swifter resolution and restoration of rule than either of the aforementioned has offered. But we must understand that this is the same thing that is happening in Southside Chicago where dozens are killed and/or wounded every weekend. Actor Jesse Williams recently said that public servants must change how they police the public, especially African Americans in the United States because our society will not tolerate anything less than change. But for the thousands of disaffected Black youth in Chicago, they are discontent with the system and how Black people have traditionally tried to change the system. You don’t hear about protests in Southside Chicago. That’s because these young people have no loyalty to tradition. They have been marginalized for so long that they have created their own sub-culture where they’d rather kill each other to get some fleeting respect than engaging in a society that has rejected them to get false respect.
desperate for change. So desperate that many of them are taking up weapons and fighting the only way they know how. And they are seeking others to unite with in their discontent. That is part of the appeal of gangs, a unity and a sense of family. They are not running to church for that sense of family and unity because the church represents the systems and traditions they want to be free from. This was the same state of mind of the Jews when Jesus came to them in the New Testament.
This is an open call to
THE CHURCH to pray for young people
all over the world that they would not succumb
to gangs and
VIOLENCE
and turn against their own brothers, their own countries.
We as the Church and as those that have been charged to evangelize the world must understand that it is the same spirit and we must fight it with every tool in our arsenal so that we don’t lose a generation to hell. The same spirit is operating whether our young people are Don’t preach a watered-down gospel thinking that will bring them in, it will only add to their disillusionment. joining ISIS or MS-13 or Black P-Stones. We must preach Christ in entirety and in truth. But Whether they live in Syria or Chicago, Belgium or we must also be truly led by the Holy Spirit. Don’t Indiana, the bottom line is that our teens and young go with tradition alone, what worked a decade ago adults are angry, unhappy and dissatisfied with the may not work with this generation. If we want to see systems they have been subjected to and they are real change, we as Christians all over the world must spend a lot of time in prayer and fasting to turn the
11 RED WINE AUGUST 2016 hearts of today’s youth to God. Remember the man who wins souls is wise (Proverbs 11:30). Preach, teach, write, sing, go on missions but aside from all of that pray and pray effectively for the souls of this generation. Ask God to open their eyes to see that bullets and bombs won’t save them or heal the hurt but Jesus can and will if they open their hearts.
The prayers of the righteous are powerful and effective (James 5:16). Be blessed, but also, be effective.
12 RED WINE AUGUST 2016
PriFighterze Prize THE
Erica Johnson
When Goliath the Philistine challenged Israel (1 Samuel 17), King Saul offered prizes to the man who killed the giant. When David came upon the camp, he asked the soldiers what the king was offering. The man who killed Goliath would receive riches and permission to marry one of Saul’s daughters. Additionally, the man and his family would live in Israel tax-free (1 Samuel 17:25). Now Goliath was so frightful that the promise of prizes did not motivate
the Israelite soldiers to fight him but David answered the call and defeated the giant. We’ve all heard the saying, “Choose your battles.” This is so true. We engage in so many battles that do not have a real reward. We waste energy fighting on Facebook and Twitter. We fuss and argue over such trivial things in everyday life. But take a lesson from David and fight the battles that are worth it. Fight the battles that provide a reward.
13 RED WINE AUGUST 2016
Fighter
When you pray about situations and attitudes you get the blessing of God’s assistance. You get the blessing of God’s wisdom. Often we are fighting the wrong person. We project our anger onto people when quite often we ourselves have made a bad decision or we are being attacked by our enemy satan. Either way, the resolution is not in arguing with our spouse, kids or co-workers.
The resolution
thoughts,
is in praying about our
actions and attitudes and praying effectively against the
real enemy.
The weapons of our warfare are not carnal or worldly, but spiritual weapons that know how to hit the right target (2 Corinthians 10:4). So Twitter rants won’t do it and un-Friending someone won’t fix it and yelling will not change it. But prayer, well prayer changes everything (James 5:16).
When you fight the right battle, you reap the rewards. Like power, love and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). Peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7). In this crazy world, we need these things more than we need to one-up someone in an argument. What you say has the power to give life or bring death so be careful with your words (Proverbs 18:21). This life is tough and we will have to fight. The Bible even tells us that the Kingdom will suffer violence (Matthew 11:12). But make sure you are fighting
the right enemy, the right way. Make sure you are fighting battles that are worth winning. I know we hear that the battle is not ours but the Lord’s. But we must understand that we have a part in our victory. The Bible tells us repeatedly to pray, believe, seek, speak, etc. In other words, we have to take action to get the victory. And we must direct that action towards the right target while aligning ourselves with God’s will for everything in our life.
Look at God's
Glory
D E 16 RED WINE AUGUST 2016
the
("But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.)
A D
Matthew 10:33 NASB
SON
17 RED WINE AUGUST 2016
T
ears keep flowing, especially when you live smack dab in the middle of pain. This all started because maybe your son wandered off and got with the wrong crowd. Maybe you said something that initiated the whole blow-up and now the family is at odds because your boy is not where he should be. Walking the streets of Austin, I saw handsome young men who were homeless with dirty, straggly clothes. The look on their faces was as if life was already over for them. They probably feel dead inside. They probably can’t trace back to the first step that led them to the house of homelessness. It reminds me of the story in the Bible of the prodigal son (Luke 15).
He leaves his family but before he leaves, he asks for what was going to belong to him (inheritance). That’s not uncommon. Many of our relatives have done just that. There are some parents that will give their children anything they ask. And there are those like my mother who me very little. Unfortunately, there are so many parents out here today in pain because they have a lost child. It can be an adult or literally a child. The good news is that though there are hundreds of circumstances for which this could happen and your child becomes lost, the bottom line is your loved one is
NEVER lost to
GOD.
18 RED WINE AUGUST 2016
He knows right where he or she is and has plans for your child. If you have lost someone, they can be FOUND. It may require you stepping outside of your comfort zone. You may have to find a relative that believes God can do the impossible. Most everybody has a relative or a friend that believes in God. If you are one of the few that don’t, good news; start talking to God yourself. Speak out from your heart and make your request. Ask Him to reveal Himself. You cannot ask God to do something if you do not believe He exists. By virtue of the fact you started talking to this invisible God, somewhere in side of you, you believe that He exists. So if you have been saying you are an atheist, quit saying that. If you have lost your way, lost your family or friends, you are homeless, hurt or trapped in anything; you can have that same conversation in that abandoned building.
Start talking to God and ask Him to help you get out and
restore your life so you can
live again.
Tell Him the truth. Tell Him He can make you a new man or woman. Because He can, you know.
There isn’t a person on this earth who doesn’t believe God can do the impossible. I think the problem is that most people just don’t believe He will do it for them. Or they don’t trust Him because they don’t see or know Him.
19 RED WINE AUGUST 2016
LI VE
W
ell here’s your chance. The prodigal son took what was his and blew it, not thinking about what would happen down the line. We have all done stupid things because we’re caught up in the “right now” and didn’t consider the future. Caught up with somebody that said they would be there for us but they lied. Sometimes that’s Momma or Daddy or some guy or girl. Who else do you have? Good question because there is One who will come and will never leave you. And He doesn’t have to come from far because He is right there anyhow. And that is the Lord. He goes by many names and He can be whatever you need when you need it. So if you are dead and want to live again, tired of being afraid, lost, broke, busted and disgusted. Tired of addiction or sickness, step up to the plate and don’t let God get any rest until He comes and gets you. If you are real with Him, He will be real with you. If you are going to avoid Him, He will avoid you. If you deny Him, He will deny you. ("But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.) Matthew 10:33 NASB The prodigal son or daughter can return home anytime they want. They just really have to want to.
20 RED WINE AUGUST 2016
WOW!
THAT TASTED
GOOD!
BUT
I DON’T FEEL
o S well
21 RED WINE AUGUST 2016
FOOD.
That’s almost everyone’s favorite topic. Thin or voluptuous; food is high on your priority list. Recently I had a conversation with a young woman in her late twenties. We were talking about food and she was telling what she ate that day and what she likes to cook. She talked about how good her food tasted. We can all relate to that, right? You might be eating something good right now. Let’s face it; none of us wants to eat anything that doesn’t taste good. She’d eaten a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich on a roll. The eggs were buttery and the bacon was crispy. The sandwich was flavorful. But after she ate that, maybe an hour later her stomach started to bother her. We don’t expect our stomach to hurt after we’ve eaten. And you’d think the body of a 20-something young person would be able to handle a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich. But times have changed and it is no longer just 40 and 50-year olds that are feeling the effects of foods that are not really good for us. Those in their twenties and thirties are getting diseases and conditions traditionally attributed to older adults. So what’s happening? Is it the quality of our food? Yes. Is it the stress we face the moment we open our eyes in the morning? Sure it is. Just even thinking about some things can make your stomach hurt. So we need to start to learn to eat better. My hat is off to all of you who have started to make healthier choices. Why do you think the restaurants are introducing low-calorie dishes like Cheesecake Factory and introducing vegetarian and vegan
22 RED WINE AUGUST 2016
dishes like The Yard House? In fact, The Yard House has a whole vegetarian/vegan menu. They serve Gardein products and I have to say the food is fabulous. If you are looking for something good, try the Gardein Orange Chicken with brown or jasmine rice. It is seasoned very well, you won’t even know you are not eating meat. The restaurant industry is aware of what is happening in households and the magazines are showing us how to live healthier and not be laden down with foods that are not good for us. Do bacon and eggs taste good? Yes, but they are not good for us in the long run. Eating those kinds of foods on a regular basis can have adverse side effects that are detrimental to your health like weight gain, hormonal fluctuations, metabolism issues, and all things that are already impacted by age anyway.
So we really need to incorporate FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETABLES and lots of water to help our bodies rejuvenate and create the most optimal health conditions.
23 RED WINE AUGUST 2016 I am not a healthcare professional but I can tell you as a middle-aged woman, when I was in my twenties, I wasn’t experiencing some of the things which are confronting me now due to a poor diet. Fifteen years ago I gave up meat and started to eat meat alternatives. Over time I have begun to move those out of my diet because they are processed and full of sodium. The best way to eat is clean!
His advice was to
EAT
CLEAN.
I didn’t get that from a book, I got that from God. I told Him I wanted to lose a certain amount of weight. Prior to asking God for His help I found myself losing weight and then regaining it all back. I didn’t really diet but tried to eat right and exercise.
No processed food and to start drinking a lot of water. That was for me and I am sharing it with you. I know God has a plan that will work for you. You don’t have to run out and spend money on Jenny Craig and all that. God can give you a plan, just ask Him. Carry a pen and paper with you so you can write down what He says. Sometimes He interjects thoughts into your mind when you ask questions or are waiting on an answer. Take your time and wait on God. He is worth it. Don’t just up and spend your hard earned money on these diet plans. God knows better than these organizations and you will not fail with Him. It may take some time but you will not fail.
WORRY
26 RED WINE AUGUST 2016
the
diet There is a story in the Bible about King Ahaz of Judah (Isaiah 7). He was being threatened by the king of Israel and the king of Syria. And he was very afraid. In fact, the scripture says he and the people of Judah were shaking like leaves on a tree (Isaiah 7:2). But the Lord God reassured Ahaz that these kings would not defeat him. Whatever they were planning would not work because God wasn’t going to allow it to work. In fact, God’s exact words to Ahaz through Isaiah were, “Tell him to stop worrying. Tell him he doesn’t need to fear the fierce anger of those two burned-out embers. . . ” (Isaiah 7:4). Isn’t it amazing how you can be so afraid of something or someone and they seem like such a serious threat to you but to God, they are just burned out embers; which are basically burned up coals. But that is the essence of fear, false evidence appearing real. Let’s be honest, so much of what we worry is about is hypotheticals. What could happen because once it happens, we actually don’t necessarily worry anymore. We then just go into react-mode to deal with whatever has happened. So imagine all the energy we spend
27 RED WINE AUGUST 2016
GOD KNOWS WHAT YOU NEED BEFORE YOU NEED IT. SO INSTEAD OF WORRYING, PRAY AND TALK TO GOD.
28 RED WINE AUGUST 2016 worrying and thinking about what could happen. I know it seems easier said than done but you just What a waste right? It is like walking around with an have to work at not worrying. Remember that God open umbrella waiting for it to rain. didn’t make you to worry. He didn’t give you a spirit of fear but He did give you love, power and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). You have to call upon those things when worry and fear come at you.
A pray
better use of our time would be to
and make our
request
Paul said it the best in Philippians 4: 6-8. “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s Tell God all about the situation and that you need peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. Him to work it out. Now He will not always work His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you it out exactly how you want it but by talking to Him live in Christ Jesus. And now, dear brothers and about it, He will work it out how it needs to be which sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, will always be the best case scenario for you. and admirable. Think about things that are excellent God knows what you need before you need it. So and worthy of praise.” instead of worrying, pray and talk to God. Take that time to praise and worship Him. Take all of So just like when you are on a diet and you have to that energy you use to worry and use it to serve God really think about what you eat and literally stop yourself from picking up the wrong foods, you have instead. to put that into practice with worrying. Go on a The Bible clearly tells us, “Don't worry about worry diet. Every time your mind wants to worry or anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God be fearful, make a healthier choice by thinking about what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” God and how He will work everything out for you if you just talk to Him about it and believe that He can (Philippians 4:6). fix it.
known to GOD.
29 RED WINE AUGUST 2016
ab
wor ry “Don’t
ing. yth er ev
; instead, pra g n i ya h t y bo n a ut t u o
Always remember, once you confess Jesus as your Lord and Savior,
worry and fear have no place in your life. When the Son of God sets you free, you are absolutely free (John 8:36)!
30 RED WINE AUGUST 2016
d
BLACK,
&
Isaiah 55:8-9.
Erica Johnson
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
IVINE
WHITE
31 RED WINE AUGUST 2016
There is a good reason God admonishes us not to judge it. The Bible says no man has seen God and lived anyone. We simply do not have all the information (Exodus 33:20). needed nor will we ever know all that should be known to judge another person or even ourselves.
His glory and power is too much for the human frame. So He gave us Himself through Jesus Christ as the Word
Only God has all the information and that is why He is the just Judge (Psalm 7:11). We only prophesy in part (1 Corinthians 13:9), so God doesn’t tell us everything, just what we need to know. The Bible tells us, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor (John 1:1). are your ways my ways, says the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways You can pick the Word up, sleep with it on your pillow higher than your ways and my thoughts than your and read it from cover to cover over and over again. The Word is Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ is God. So thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9. it is there that our relationship with God starts. God made man so He knows what we are able to grasp while we reside in the flesh on this earth. He took time out of eternity so that humans can comprehend the idea of a beginning and an end. In order to reside in eternity, we have to receive new bodies; we can’t reside there in these fleshly bodies we have right now (1 Corinthians 15). Even in the revelation of who God is Himself, He had to break it down so we as humans could comprehend
If God revealed through His Word moves us to confess Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we can then know God on another level as the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:11). Through this relationship we get a deeper expression of God’s glory and power to carry us through until that day when we will reside in eternity in the presence of God in all His glory and power (Revelation 21). But that is a place and time we have to work our way up to through seeking and engaging God daily.
32 RED WINE AUGUST 2016
In His wisdom, God doesn’t expose Himself to us all at once in our human state but guides us to a place and an age where we can see Him in all that He is.
We can’t judge others or ourselves because again the idea of right or wrong is really a God-concept that has to be revealed to us as we walk with God. He allows us to have laws and guidelines in the natural for the purposes of order but as anyone can tell you based on the state of the world today, those laws and guidelines fail and order can be interrupted. Since these human laws and systems fail, the quality of your existence should not be predicated on them alone. In eternity, there is no right or wrong, there is just God’s will. There is God’s will and everything else falls outside of God’s will (Romans 12:2). So we cannot judge people or ourselves because we are
only equipped with a human concept of right or wrong (Matthew 7:1-3). Though the hope is that as we walk with God, we can recognize what is His will and what is not, we can only apply that to our own lives. We must love and have compassion for our fellow man. We can show them when their behaviors do not line up with the Word of God but we cannot judge their quality or value as a person. We should look at whether our own thoughts and actions line up with God’s Word but we cannot assess our own value. We can’t declare that we are “a good person” or “a bad person” only that our life is aligned with God’s will or it is not. So don’t be too hard on yourself or your fellow man. The world is not black and white, there is this area that is divine and perfect called God’s will. You can be in God’s will and still have a sleepless night. You will cry and laugh, gain and lose. But because you are in the will of the Master, He will strengthen you to go through the tough patches and truly appreciate the good times (Psalm 30:5).
33 RED WINE AUGUST 2016
34 RED WINE AUGUST 2016
All of us know what an incubator is and its purpose. They are used in hospitals and labs all over the world. Tonight God downloaded into my spirit that salvation, the promise He gave us when we gave our life to Him and made Him our Master, is a type of incubator. It is the place where we are protected. When we get saved, God puts a seal on us as a way of claiming us saying that we now belong to Him. He then comes to live in our hearts and takes up residence with us. All we have to do it make Him Lord and follow and seek Him. One of my favorite scriptures when I first got saved was, “But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.” (Deuteronomy 4:29). That was my mantra. You have to have the Word of God; it is the power unto salvation (Romans 1:16). It is the only way. With everything going on in the world today, we need hope. But along with that hope, which we have in Him, we need understanding. We can’t have hope without any understanding. Things happen that we don’t understand. We don’t understand why we went through a divorce, molestation, being given away as a child; there are an infinite number of things I could say here. But you get what I am trying to say.
But we can gain understanding through a
relationship with
god and get our
hope back.
S
th
S
he
35 RED WINE AUGUST 2016
piritual r o t a b u c In
36 RED WINE AUGUST 2016
Once we come to God He puts us in this spiritual incubator; a place where He develops us. Which means we are safe in His hands. He not only develops us but He uses tools like His wisdom and knowledge. He heals us of heartsickness and emotional pain and opens our eyes. You may live a long time but there are some things you will never see unless you get into that incubator and live there. If you don’t let Him put you in there and develop you in every area, through stages and ages, you will miss out on a lot. As you live in that incubator, you will not always understand a lot of the things that you will feel, hear, see, smell and be involved in.
that is chasing you down. When God sets you free from those things, you will be free.
You may be walking in the world, you have a job and a car and a family but if you have given your life to God and
All this that is happening is a result of people not seeking the Lord. The Bible says, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14).
you trust
Him and seek Him`
with every ounce of strength you have right now and stay that way, you are in the spiritual incubator. And you can’t be wishy-washy running back to the world or back to your parents to settle it for you or trying to figure it out on your own and making gigantic mistakes. If you trust God in spite of what you have done in the past or what you are doing right now, He will keep you in that incubator and save you every day from the thing
“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36). That’s what that means. If Jesus does it, you will be free. You won’t have the desire or need to go back to it. The spiritual incubator is the only way you will be protected. And let’s face it, with the civil unrest throughout today’s society, even right now in places like Dallas with the killing of the police officers and the copycat incidents that have happened around the country since, you need protection.
That is what is wrong with the United States of America. We are a superpower in the natural yet we cannot stop all of this that is going on. We are in contempt because we have turned our back on God by allowing and doing things that are an insult to Him. We now have to turn to God. We cannot leave it to the people in the White House or the courthouse. We can’t even leave it to the church house. We have got to get on our knees and speak from our hearts and tell God we are sorry and to correct our ways. We have to give over our thoughts and everything to Him. If we do that, American will enter the spiritual incubator and we will begin to see the hand of God work for us and not against us. We can turn this around.
37 RED WINE AUGUST 2016
We understand that an incubator allows a baby to grow until its organs are ready to sustain the baby outside of the incubator. The incubator protects the baby and it is the same for us. When we get in that spiritual incubator we have got to stay in it America. When we confess to be a Christian nation, we must be that! One nation under God? Then that’s what it has got to be. We have to call on Him from the White House on down through every household. Everyone needs to be submitted and committed to Him. Unless we do, we will see civil wars, World War 3 and other horrific things. Every nation that walks away from God faces disaster, death, slavery, famine and just loss; read the Bible! I am not making it up. It is all in the 66 books of the Bible that God wrote to us. Let’s check what we are doing against the Bible and really repent from our hearts.
The Bible says, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14).
You can’t really do that unless you are willing to understand that if we really are one nation under God, that God is our God and is sovereign we must do this thing His way. So let’s really come to our senses, turn our hearts around about doing wrong and stop leaning on our own understanding but in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path (Proverbs 3:5).
BE BLESSED! Dr. Diana
p U s ' t a Wh
? n i t s Au
40 RED WINE AUGUST 2016
2203
The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;”
HIL TON
You can start by praying that everything God wants will come to fruition in Austin.
(Psalm 24:1).
N
41 RED WINE AUGUST 2016
What happened on the 22nd floor of the Hilton Hotel changed my life. Waking up in an apartment-styled room, my heart and mind pumped with fresh information I needed to know. Why am I here? Unexpectedly, I stared out the window as the both of these suitors spoke inside of me revealing the truth as to why I was really in Austin. I said, Hey Austin! We are here. Right smack in the middle of an acquisition; a subtle takeover, Austin is getting ready to meet the largest corporation in the world. The funny thing is I have been in a top position in this organization for over 20 years now and I am not aware of all the details of the plan. But I can share with you that at the core of this conglomerate is the heart of the people. There’s an explosion in Austin. In the last few years, Austin has become the place to move to. People in the US are pointing to Austin on the map when they think of relocating. And people looking to move into the US entertain Austin. It’s one of the music cities. Atlanta was first but now that Atlanta is full, everyone is
42 RED WINE AUGUST 2016
flocking to Austin. What do you see when you go to Austin? Loads of traffic! That is the first thing people talk about. The city is trying to do something about that but the way you see that happening physically; the same is going on in the realm of the spirit. There is a move of God. God told me that the people in Austin were asleep. So there is an awakening going on right now. People are waking up. And that is going to change the city. The city will become more vibrant. In fact God pointed to young adults in their 20’s. That’s who I am assigned to. He told me that there were a lot of young adults who were worshipping Him and crying out from their hearts in praise and worship and adoration to the Lord. Because they believe like little children that He exists. And they want to know Him and grow closer to Him. He showed me them with their hands up in worship. So no one will have to get them saved per say, they are saved because whatever dilemma or destruction that was around them, forced them to look for God in places that most people wouldn’t seek Him. But there He is because He inhabits this whole earth. The Bible says, “. . . The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;” (Psalm 24:1). Part of my assignment is to meet up with these people, God will bring us together, and I am to show them His plans and provide some
43 RED WINE AUGUST 2016
structure. I am to pour out His love, actually to give back the love that they have been giving Him. Yes, they may be addicted to drugs, children of broken homes or have been molested. But they are vibrating on a certain level and have caught the attention of God. And God is going to bless them and raise them up and use them. Austin will improve because of it. These young people are in Austin and they may not look blessed to you right now. Maybe it is your son, daughter, niece or nephew. Maybe even someone’s mom or dad. But I am telling you this is getting ready to happen right now. And you can be part of it. You can start by praying that everything God wants will come to fruition in Austin.
H
Hey Austin! RED WINE MAGAZINE is here for you. We are coming and we will be here for you. We are ready. See you soon.
IL
Dr. Diana
TO
N
44 RED WINE AUGUST 2016
45 RED WINE AUGUST 2016
GON
GOOD GIRLS
E
BAD
Hey, are you a good girl or are you a bad one? Let’s simplify it. How do you define yourself? Next, what does your inner circle say about you? We have to get clear on these things if we are to discover the truth. Don’t you want to know the truth about who you are? I ask these pertinent questions because sometimes we don’t always tell ourselves the truth. We often look through rosecolored glasses. After all roses are beautiful but we cannot view life through them. So many of us need to take that filter off of our glasses but how do we do that? Let’s face it good things can go bad. Like fruit, when you first buy it, it’s nice and beautiful. But if you let it sit around too long it starts to turn in a direction that is not so good and we end up having to throw the fruit away. Thank God that is not what has to happen with you. You should never be thrown away. No matter how you started. If you started out good and then you went wrong and started to turn bad, there is a switch, you just have to find it. That is why God is available, to help you find the switch.
Maybe your parents are still reminiscing about how you used to be a good girl and you think that too. So where did you go wrong? Well, if you are in your twenties, it is a time of trial and error when young adults want to have fun. It is the time we just want to have fun and do all the things our parents would not let you do. But somewhere around the latter twenties life begins to shift more so in the late twenties. You should see yourself start to get more serious about what direction you are going. But what if you don’t? What if you have done so many bad things that you now have deemed yourself a bad person? How do you come back from that? Let’s talk about the switch! God didn’t make any garbage. If you feel like you are garbage, you are wrong. So if you feel like you are garbage because of poor choices and misjudging and trusting the wrong people, you are not. Perhaps you got involved in child’s play or maybe broke the law and are paying for it. You can turn it around. In fact, this is your time to turn.
46 RED WINE AUGUST 2016
The Bible says either make
the tree good or bad (Matthew 12:33).
That means you can decide whether you want to be
bad or be good.
So make a decision. That’s all you have to do. I am not going to tell you that it is going to be easy or that you will not slip back into some old ways in the beginning. But you can change right now. But you need to know what to put in place to facilitate that change and that is God. You will also need people in your life that will help you make the changes that you are looking for. It can’t be the people you hung around to do bad things with. Those are not the ones. You will actually have to pull away from them and there is a successful way to do that. But first, talk to God about all the things you have done. Be upfront and honest. Write a list. It may be hard and you may cry but God collects our tears (Psalm 56:8). That must mean He really cares. What a romantic, loving gesture to count your tears. Lay it on the line and slowly begin to tell Him what you have done.
back. You can undo what you did with God. He’s the only one. He will give you a clean slate, new friends, new life, even a new name if He has to. You never mess up so bad that you can’t come back from it. You may judge yourself harshly. But when you go to God and tell Him everything you did, that you are wrong and you want to change your life, there is hope. Tell God that though you have done some things, if He would give you a new heart and mind, a new life and come in and be your teacher and put you somewhere you can be safe you will serve Him. He will do it. It doesn’t matter if you are drunk, high off of meth, cocaine or heroin. You could be prostituting right now. Take this moment, talk to Him from your heart, you can whisper or even yell it, He will send an angel to you real quick and lead you to a safe place. God is on your side and able to do anything, you could have just stuck a needle in your arm and thought you would OD. You can tell God to stop the OD right now and you will serve Him.
Tell Him if He lets you live you will
change your life with Him and through Him.
The truth is you are not bad; you have just done For those of you who feel like you crossed some some bad things. Maybe you hung out with line and have gone overboard and there is no people doing bad things. You were made in His turning back, there is always a chance to turn image (Genesis 1:27). You were made out of love.
47 RED WINE AUGUST 2016
Maybe no one has told you that before but God said it. God doesn’t make garbage. Who would make garbage? Not the Sovereign One, Jehovah. Don’t be afraid. If you are looking for hope, she is waiting for you. Just tell God to give you hope. Ask Him, “Free me from (YOU FILL IN THE BLANK).
I can’t wait to hear what God does for you. Be blessed! Dr. Diana
49 RED WINE AUGUST 2016