Christ Bell

I KNOW WHO I AM
I am God's child (John 1:12)
I am Christ's friend (John 15:15)
I am united with the Lord (1 Cor. 6:17)
I am bought with a price (1 Cor 6:19-20)
I am a saint (set apart for God). (Eph. 1:1)
I am a personal witness of Christ. (Acts 1:8)
I am the salt & light of the earth (Matt 5:13-14)
I am a member of the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:27)
I am free forever from condemnation ( Rom. 8:1-2)
I am a citizen of Heaven. I am significant (Phil 3:20)
I am free from any charge against me (Rom. 8:31-34)
I am a minister of reconciliation for God (2 Cor 5:17-21)
I have access to God through the Holy Spirit (Eph. 2:18)
I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realms (Eph. 2:6)
I cannot be separated from the love of God (Rom 8:35-39)
I am established, anointed, sealed by God (2 Cor 1:21-22)
I am assured all things work together for good (Rom. 8:28)
I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit (John 15:16)
I may approach God with freedom and confidence (Eph. 3:12)
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil. 4:13)
I am the branch of the true vine, a channel of His life (John 15: 1-5)
I am God's temple (1 Cor. 3: 16). I am complete in Christ (Col. 2: 10)
I am hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3).. I have been justified (Romans 5:1)
I am God's co-worker (1 Cor. 3:9; 2 Cor 6:1). I am God's workmanship (Eph. 2:10)
I am confident that the good works God has begun in me will be perfected. (Phil. 1: 5)
I have been redeemed and forgiven ( Col 1:14). I have been adopted as God's child (Eph 1:5)
I belong to God
Do you know
Who you are?

Qualcomm Day of Prayer

For those who are interested in attending the day of fasting and prayer at Qualcomm - Maranatha Chapel is sitting in the Plaza level, 16 and 17. We suggest parking in the east section. We understand there will be concessions but you might want to bring water.

We hope to see you there! God Bless!

His View with Kathy Priest

How’s Your Heart?

You should know this, Timothy that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love ONLY themselves and their MONEY. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. (II Tim. 3:1-5)

People will be terrified at what they see coming upon the earth. Men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. (Luke 21:26)

When Jesus returns it will be like it was in the days of Noah. Let’s not forget what “those days” were! The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and He saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. (Gen. 6:5) It broke the heart of God.

Fast forward to 2008 where lust rules their hearts and dishonors their bodies. Women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise men leaving natural use of the woman burned in lust for one another. Men committing what is shameful and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. (Rom.1:26b,27)

These are those days where good is called evil, where evil is called good! We must be ready for the stage is set! Jesus is coming back it says when we least expect it! People are watching a lifetime of savings and security for their retirement gone in a day. Everything that can be shaken will be shaken. Look at even the weather! The earth is in travail. The earth is declaring with birth pains that “HE KING JESUS IS ON HIS WAY”!

All this has been a dress rehearsal for that coming day. We have been being prepared for eternity. Our Father is only waiting because of one thing. All are not saved! The time is short and we must bring the good news to everyone everywhere that God so loved the world that He gave His Only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (Jn. 3:16)

Jesus died of a broken heart. His love took him to the cross for you and for me. There was a woman in a hospital that had to make the hardest decision of her life. Two young girls lay dying. Only one could be saved. With both girls on life support the doctor asked if this mom would be willing to give her daughter’s heart for a transplant so the other little girl could live. After much prayer and anguish she agreed to the operation. After a little time had gone by this mother made her way to this little girls room that was filled with balloons, family and friends and this mother knocked on the door and said “may I come in”? “I know you do not know me but I am the mother of the little girl whose heart was given to your daughter. I was just wondering if I could put my hand over your little girl’s heart and hear my little girl’s heart beat one more time?” Of course the mother said yes with tears of gratitude streaming down her face! This is the picture of God! Father God gave Jesus life and His very heart has been given to us as a transplant for eternal life! Without His Heart given for us we would surely die! We could not save ourselves but God stepped in and now we live because of what He did. He dwells in us through the Holy Spirit and we have this assurance that we will spend eternity with Him! We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us! (II Cor. 4:7)

Therefore do not lose heart even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day! (II Cor. 4:16) Let not your heart be troubled and remember that not a sparrow falls to the ground that our Heavenly Father is not aware of! Now -- how much more does He care for YOU?!

You are safe and secure in our Father’s Arms of Love. Put your faith, hope and trust in Him! Look to the Father and not to the World for He is our Peace!

Love, Peace & Joy in Him,

Kathy

I am a Disciple of Jesus Christ

by Bob Moorhead

I am a part of the fellowship of the unashamed.

I have Holy Spirit power.

The dye has been cast. I have stepped over the line.

The decision has been made.

I am a disciple of His.

I will not look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still.

My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure.

I’m finished and done with the low living,

sight walking, chintzy giving, dwarf goals.

I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position,

prominence, plaudits or popularity.

I don’t have to be right, first, tops, recognized,

praised, regarded or rewarded.

I now live by presence, lean by faith, walk with patience,

lift by prayer, labor by power.

My face is set, my gate is fast, my goal is Heaven,

my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few,

my guide reliable, my mission clear.

I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured,

lured away, turned back, deluded or delayed.

I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice,

hesitate in the presence of the adversary,

negotiate at the table of the enemy,

ponder at the pool of popularity,

or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I will not give up, shut up, letup, until I have stayed up, stored up,

prayed up, paid up, preached up for the cause of Christ.

I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.

I must go until He comes, give until I drop,

preach until all know, and work until He stops me.

And when He comes for His own,

He will have no problem recognizing me.

My colors will be quite clear.

Amen.

His View with Kathy Priest

Forgive Us Our Trash

A Mom listening to her Son repeat the Lord’s Prayer was surprised to hear… “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Your Name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on Earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trash as we forgive those who pass trash against us! And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever! Amen!”

Out of the mouths of babes He has ordained praise! There is so much truth to that statement! Forgive us our trash as we forgive those who pass trash against us. I have heard people say I will forgive that person when I feel it is right. That is never going to happen! Forgiveness is not a feeling. Forgiveness is a decision. People do not fall out of love, they fall out of forgiveness!

Jesus did not feel like going to the cross and being crucified! He went because He loved you and me and it was the only way we could be saved and have eternal life. You see we owed a debt we couldn’t pay. The wages of sin is death. But God paid a price we could never pay! His sinless spotless life in exchange for eternal life!

After being beaten and abused He said “Father forgive them for they know not what they are do.” What Love and what commitment! Jesus decided to forgive! He goes on to say in the gospel of Luke 6:37, “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”

You are never more like Jesus than when you forgive. If you want to be free you will have to forgive! Unforgiveness blocks the blessings into your life. God will be glorified when you act in obedience and forgive. I have watched it personally in my own life. From bitterness to forgiveness and finally free!

Sometimes we feel justified to not forgive but Christ does not give us that option. He says if we will not forgive then He will not forgive us! My brother Bobby was shot and killed at 21 yrs. of age on purpose by a 17 year old step son. I know you are thinking that doesn’t make sense? However, my brother married this 40 year old lady because he was lonely and still looking for a mother. My mom had checked out long ago with alcohol and a mental breakdown and beat my brother very badly until one day he ran away and never came home. I am called to forgive this boy that took my brother’s life.

My husband Gary struggled with forgiveness because he hated my mom for what she had done to me with the beatings I had endured. Gary had come to pick me up for a date when I was 17 and stepped in and took a beating for me!

One of our very wise counselors at church read one verse in Heb. 12:15, “Looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become deviled.” Gary was able to forgive my mom in the Lord through the enabling power of the Holy Spirit and my mother ended up asking Jesus into her heart and forgiveness for her sins.

There will be a cost to forgive. It will cost you your pride! You will have to be Christ-like and die to self. Jesus knew you would not be able to do this in your own strength and that is why He did it for you! Trust Him to enable you to be obedient, to forgive. The moment you say not my will but Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, you will be free!

Love & Mercy~

In Him, Kathy

Guest Study - Os Hillman

From Pain to Destiny "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything" (James 1:2-5). God often allows pain to ignite destiny in our lives. Without motivation, many of us would never fulfill the purposes for which God created us. Oftentimes a measured assault invades our life and creates a depth of pain that all we know to do is press into God with all our being. At first, our motivation is to alleviate the pain. After a season of extreme emotional and sometimes physical pain, a second phase begins. This phase moves us to discover a new and deeper relationship with God. We begin to discover things about ourselves and about God that we never would have discovered without this motivation. Gradually, our heart changes our motivation from pain to loving obedience because there is a transition of the heart that takes place. No longer do we seek God for deliverance from the pain; we seek God because He is God. We seek His face and not His hand. When we move to the second phase we often find ourselves moving into a new destiny and calling for our lives because God often separates us from the old life in this process. No doubt Joseph and Peter felt the pain of their individual crises. However, later they could realize God's purposes in their crisis. Like Joseph, we are able to say, "You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good." Today, let God move you from the place of pain to the place of destiny. Let God show you the secret things He has reserved for you as a result of the crisis you may find yourself in.

From Your Blog Editor

Hi Ladies -

Just wanted to let you know that I'll be on vacation for a couple of weeks. So there won't be any updates to our WiM Blog 'til I get back the week of the 18th. We hope you are enjoying the posts and we'll have more to share with you when I return!

Blessings in Him,
Lisa Christy

His View with Kathy Priest

The 2 Week Diet of Words

We are women of many words! Some of the first sounds uttered by children on the playground are boys making noises and girls using many words!

I guess I would be considered a mouth in the body of Christ. God has given me a gift to speak His Love to a dying and hurting world. There is a great responsibility for those that desire to represent the Lord whether we are at home or standing before a crowd.

Colossians 4:5-6 says, “Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.”

Knowing our greatest strength pushed out of balance can be our greatest weakness, here is a diet that all of us can do that will produce immediate fruit in our lives.

1. Eliminate- Cut words by ½ for 2 weeks!
2. Weigh- Everything that comes out of your mouth. Another way of wording it does it Bless or Blast? Heal or Hurt? Soothe or Slander?

a) Is it true?

b) Is it kind?

c) Is it necessary?

3. Not Allowed

a) No criticism

b) No boasting

c) No lying

d) No gossip

e) No evil speech

f) No anger

4. Unlimited Foods (The more you use, the better your diet)

a) Please

b) Thank you

c) I’m sorry

d) I’m praying for you

e) I love you

5. Seasonings

a) A little salt

b) Grace-lavish on freely

6. Everyday should begin with a Hearty Breakfast - Have breakfast everyday with the King! (Isaiah 50:4)
7. Goal- Know how to speak in the right way.
8. The Payoff- Proverbs 15:23 A man (woman) finds joy by the answer of her mouth. And a word spoken in due season, how good it is!

Jean's Jems

Organizing for the New School Year

I was having a conversation with a fellow Mom yesterday, and as we were talking I mentioned that I have several schedules for getting ready in the morning for school. She suggested that I pass on these ideas, so here you are. Now before I get into the details, I do need to let you know that my close friends say that I am a bit of an organizing enthusiast. Anyway…when I was getting ready last year to start my 5 year old daughter off to a full day kindergarten, I knew that without some structure to our mornings, we would be in for a rough year. First off, I am not a morning person, so every bit of help in the morning is welcome. I am fortunate that my husband goes to work very early, so he is up and gone before either myself or my daughter are up, and I only have one child to get going. This eliminates much of the morning confusion that I hear about from my fellow moms. I do believe that these ideas would work well with a full household, too.

So, as I thought about what we needed to do in the morning, I came up with 3 basics: get my daughter dressed for school, get her breakfast and get her snack/lunch ready to take with her. This sounds easy enough. For a day or two, it is. For 200 days [Sep-June; M-F] this was going to be less than fun. So…with my organizing brain in gear, I created 3 schedules.

The 1^st was clothes for school. Together with my daughter, we created 10 school outfits and made a 2-week – Mon-Fri schedule and posted it on her closet door. We even included what shoes and how to wear her hair. Every night before bed we hung out the next day’s outfit all ready for the morning. This worked very well. I always knew that the clothes she needed were clean and ready and there were no morning “disagreements’ on what she was to wear to school.

The 2^nd schedule I created was for breakfast. This may seem silly to some of you, but remember I am not a morning person and deciding between eggs and Captain Crunch uses up those valuable morning minutes. Anyway…I made a weekly schedule for breakfast – again together with my daughter we created 5 nourishing breakfasts.

3^rd and lastly we created a weekly schedule for school snacks/lunches and after-school snacks. I put these together on one schedule and we posted it on the pantry cabinet door.

I have to say…these worked FABULOUSLY. I am just now getting ready to revise last year’s schedules for this fall. You can make this a fun family project, too. Put the schedules on a larger sheet of paper or poster board and let the kids decorate it.

I hope that this gives you some good ideas for your household. I would love to hear any stories that you would like to share and or ideas that you have to help keep your family organized.

God Bless, Jean.

A Devotion by Vicki Bentley

A Prayer of Worship

You and I breathe without really thinking about it unless we are stressed physically or emotionally. The Apostle Paul exhorts us to, “pray without ceasing.” How does anyone really do that? Reading through the New Testament you get a glimpse. I think it culminates in Romans 12:1-3 when Paul exhorts “Present your body as a living sacrifice which is your reasonable service…” The entire chapter is a primer for living, breathing prayer. To go along with that thought I wanted to share a prayer from 31 Days of Praise by Ruth Myers.

Lord, I’m Yours. Whatever the cost may be, may Your will be done in my life. I realize I’m not here on Earth to do my own thing, or to seek my own fulfillment or my own glory. I’m not here to indulge my desires, to increase my possessions, to impress people, to be popular, to prove I’m somebody important, or to promote myself. I’m not here even to be relevant or successful by human standards. I’m here to please You.

I offer myself to You, for You are worthy. All that I am or hope to be, I owe to You. I’m Yours by creation, and every day I receive from You life and breath and all things. And I’m Yours because You bought me, and the price You paid was the precious blood of Christ. You alone, the Triune God, are worthy to be my Lord and Master. I yield to You, my gracious and glorious Heavenly Father; to the Lord Jesus who loved me and gave Himself for me; to the Holy Spirit, and His gracious influence and empowering.

All that I am and all that I have I give to You. I give You any rebellion in me that resists doing Your will. I give You my pride and self-dependence that tell me I can do Your will in my own power if I try hard enough. I give You my fears that tell me I’ll never be able to do Your will in some areas of my life. I consent to let You energize me…to create within me, moment by moment, both the desire and the power to do Your will. I give You my body and each of its members…my entire inner being; my mind, my emotional life, my will…my loved ones…my marriage or my hopes for marriage…my abilities and gifts…my strengths and weaknesses…my health…my status (high or low)…my possessions…my past, my present and my future…when and how I’ll go Home.

I’m here to love You, to obey You, to glorify You. O my Beloved, may I be a joy to You!

Our Father in heaven sees you through eyes of love – so much so that He sent His only begotten Son. Don’t you think that He wants to hear your voice in worship and petitions? It is our part to sing unto the Lord whether it be praise or sorrow and then…to listen because He has so much to share with each of us personally, intimately, passionately.

His View with Kathy Priest

Are You Contagious?

Do people want what you have? Can people catch what you have? Do you bless or blast? If we are the only Bible some people will ever read then what are they reading in you? We were made by God to love Him and to love others. Finding a way to express that love is the question.

I have found if you listen to a person long enough you will hear a need. That’s the time to ask God, “How can I be a part of meeting this need?” People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care!

How can I be so full of Jesus that it spills all over on them? I John 3:16 says, “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”

We want to share Christ in a practical manner. When you are at the grocery store you can let someone in line ahead of you. As you walk through a door at the bank you can hold open that door. You can smile and compliment someone for doing a good job. You can make such a difference in people’s lives by simply saying “now what would Jesus do and what would He say”?

Just like a moth is drawn to the light so it is when the world sees that there is something different about us and the way we treat people. Have you heard that what you are doing is speaking so loud I can’t hear what you are saying?

We need to show people that God loves them! When you are transparent the love of the Lord shines through and the Bible says, “By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. (Jn.13:35)

Remember, we live in a world with lost and hurting people. Be Jesus with skin on! Listen with compassion. Be His eyes, ears, hands, feet, and remember to brighten your face and smile! Yes! You are contagious!

A Sweet Reminder

This is such a powerful witness that we HAD to share it with you. Some of you may have seen this already, but each time you watch it, you see something new. Amazing grace, how sweet it is!!

Cardboard Testimonies:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvDDc5RB6FQ