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Hello, my name is Christine Ericson. This blog is so I might add my voice to the thousands of Christians who wish to speak out on their beliefs. I want to encourage those out there who, "have not bowed their knee to Baal," and to remind everyone that God's ultimate Will will be done.

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Nancy Missler

These are two studies I did recently by Nancy Missler that were AMAZING!!!

     The first is "The Way of Agape." Nancy explains the difference between God's love and Human love. She also explains how we are to demonstrate this love towards others. She goes through each part of loving the Lord with all of your: strength, soul, mind and heart. Although originally designed for a women's marriage seminar, this is in NO WAY limited to only women or only the married. This is an amazing study with brilliant principles for EVERYONE.

     The second is "Be Ye Transformed." Now that a firm understanding of God's love has been established, Nancy explains how that love is to transform our lives. She systematically explains the truths of God in order to set the believer free "from ourselves, our circumstances, other peoples' responses and Satan" in order to truly be vessels of the Holy Spirit in the world.

     Nancy Missler does a brilliant job backing up every statement with scripture, personal experience and the experiences of others. Each statement is systematic and easily understood. Her ministry is The King's Highway and is dedicated to helping believers grow stronger in their Christian walk. She is also married to theologian and scholar Chuck Missler, founder of Koinonia House Ministries, whose specializes in Current Events and End Time Prophesy.

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

For My Brothers And Sisters...

     This is the last week of Ramadan for 2014.

     Muslims and their support for Shari'a Law in the United States has been steadily growing. What the media fails to show is the persecution of Christians in Islamic states (Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Jordan). This persecution manifests as brutal torture and death of anyone remotely connected with Christianity.

     Many people support the expression of Islam in the United States by citing Freedom of Religion; however, freedom of religion cannot come at the expense of FREEDOM. America was founded upon Biblical, Christian principles. The institute of Shari'a Law endangers everything America stands for and vitally endangers the lives of all Christians.

     This video is by Dr. Bill Warner, a historian and commentator on Islam for the non-Muslim.

     This is also dedicated to all my brothers and sisters who will be martyred for their dedication to Jesus Christ.

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

The Dying Christian to His Soul

 
      I've been working on a research paper about the death and resurrection of Lazarus. After praying and meditating on that passage (John 11),
I began to think about how Christ has provided victory over death. Setting aside His great resurrection from the death; Jesus took the time to raise to life the beloved brother of Martha and Mary.

     What's more, Jesus tells Martha, "I am the resurrection and the life." Not only does Jesus provide eternal life through His resurrection, but He IS life. Christians have a hope and joy that no other people can understand. We have the hope of life after death -- eternal life with the God we worship -- where there will be no more pain or suffering.


     This is a poem by Alexander Pope that I felt described this feeling well...


The Dying Christian to His Soul

Vital spark of heav’nly flame!
Quit, O quit this mortal frame:
Trembling, hoping, ling’ring, flying,
O the pain, the bliss of dying!
Cease, fond Nature, cease thy strife,
And let me languish into life.

Hark! they whisper; angels say,
Sister Spirit, come away!
What is this absorbs me quite?
Steals my senses, shuts my sight,
Drowns my spirits, draws my breath?
Tell me, my soul, can this be death?

The world recedes; it disappears!
Heav’n opens on my eyes! my ears
With sounds seraphic ring!
Lend, lend your wings! I mount! I fly!
O Grave! where is thy victory?
O Death! where is thy sting?

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Fight Until You Die

     This was a manifesto/admonition that a very dear friend of mine wrote. He wrote this when God gave him the call to abandon life in the United States and become a missionary to Bangkok for at least three years... His wife had recently born a son and this was the legacy that he wanted to begin for the sake of his family.

Fight Until You Die.

I will fight to die to myself everyday. I will lay myself on the alter of God so that Galatians 2:20 can take root in me. "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." I will die to self and surrender my life to be lived out by Christ. In so doing, I shall be given the ability, grace and courage to finish the race and to fight the good fight. Through Christ, I will fight until I die.

What will I fight for? I will fight for the glory of God among all the nations. I will fight to honor the gospel and the Word of God. I will fight for the bride of Christ to be prepared for her coming groom. I will fight for personal death for the purpose of sanctification. I will fight to be Christ to my wife and to my children. I will fight for those who have no voice. I will fight for those who are unaware that a war is raging and who are dead in their sins. I will fight to the death so that my death will be the sweetest moment of my life. I will fight, and I will fight until I die. 

I am not a missionary to Bangkok. I am not strong or great or mighty.

I am a woman. I am young. I am single.

     Yet, I will fight, for it is not I who fight, but Christ in me. I am a witness to the glory of God every moment I wake up and step out of bed. My smallness offers testimony to the greatness of God because it is obvious that I do not have the strength to do that which I am called to do. I am a woman and must offer encouragement and guidance to the women and men whom I encounter. I am young and must be an example of the righteousness and selflessness of Christ to those both younger and older than I. I am single, but I will fight for my future husband and unborn children -- for their honor, for their future, for their hope in Christ.

And I will fight until I die.

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

The Free

     I just got back from spending a week in the great outdoors. I was a camp councilor at my church's summer camp. I've been doing this for the past three years and this summer was BY FAR the best I've ever had. Not that the other summers were bad, mind you, but this summer I felt as though the messages were ministering to me specifically. The group I was leading was amazing also! I had seven beautiful girls who were about to enter their senior year of high school -- I've never seen girls so on fire for Jesus Christ and seeking His will above their own!


     The theme this year was: THE FREE. The pastors were specifically referring to freedom from sin -- the freedom one receives from Jesus Christ when one becomes saved. Since I and my girls were already saved, THE FREE took on a different meaning for us...

     For me, it was freedom from fear. I have spent my life in fear; not a whimpering, trembling fear that refuses to go outdoors or to experience the new, but a fear of failure and a fear of rejection. This fear manifests as a refusal to do something that I feel will make people laugh at my inabilities or criticize my attempts. This fear also makes meeting new people difficult and talking about serious issues with old friends impossible -- the fear of being abandoned or rejected for something I might say was too strong.

     These fears can be overwhelming at times and although a healthy amount of daring and sensitivity towards others is VERY good, these were to an extreme. I was scared and miserable because I felt weak, helpless and alone.

     But Christ showed me otherwise.

     I always knew:
"Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me" (Matthew 5:10-11, NASB).
and
"If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you" (John 15:18-19, NASB).
     Yet, I never really lived it. Now, I have learned...
 

     I learned that Christ is where all my approval must lie. He is in charge of my destiny. He has given me gifts to use for His glory. He has designed me with a plan and a purpose -- to usher in brothers and sisters to the Faith through my words and actions, even if I have no idea I'm doing it. If I feel God calling me to do something, I can stand in confidence that He will provide the strength and ability to do it with excellence when I know of myself it is impossible.

     God was big enough and smart enough to create the universe from nothing. He was powerful enough to divide the sea, to make the sun stand still, to make hearts strong enough to move blood through our veins. He was loving enough to die for the sins of the universe. There is no problem -- no mistake -- so large that we cannot overcome it with His help.

     I can stand strong. I can laugh in the face of the world when it tries to pull me down! I can do that which seems impossible because it is not me but Christ in me. He is my strength! He is my power because, of myself, I am nothing, but with Him I am everything.
 
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