“And Jacob awoke from his sleep and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place and I did not know it. He was afraid and said, How to be feared and reverenced is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gateway to heaven!” (Gen 28:16-17)

Well if we believers are now the house of God, what does that mean for us? The church is not a building put together by human hands but it is collectively the people of God (Acts 7:48). That means through our fellowship with God, we should be the way to experience heaven on earth. As the writer of Acts put it, “Heaven [is] My throne and earth the footstool for My feet…” (Acts 7:49). Blessings descending from the Father onto His children. Do we live like we have an open gateway to heaven?

The story from Gen 28 amazes me everytime I read it. Also in this chapter Jacob was blessed by his father, with the same blessing that Abraham received. He was obedient to his father’s wishes to relocate from one city and journey to another to find a wife. He stopped in a certain place for the night to rest. Reclined his head on a stone to sleep and had an annointed dream of a ladder resting on the earth pointed up to heaven, with angels ascending and descending upon it. God Himself prophesied in this dream the blessings he would incur, were the same ones spoken to Abraham. Amazingly, despite the kind of deceitfulness Jacob displayed, in order to receive this initial blessing from his father, God still planned to bless him abundantly. When Jacob awoke from his sleep he had a revelation that God’s presence was so near to him. Therefore, he gained a referential fear of God. He was in awe of God’s presence and how real it was. He set up something to remind himself of his experience. And marched forward knowing that if God was for him all of his needs would be met. And in the next chapter Jacob journeyed forward vigorously and joyfully 400 miles until he came to his destination (Gen 28;12-22, Gen 29:1).

His experience with God motivated him to actively to reach for and obtain his calling. We as children of Abraham get to benefit from that same promise because we were grafted into the family of God, by accepting the payment Jesus made with His blood shed for us on the cross; for our sins and our whole well-being (Eph 3:6, Ps 103:3). Do we live like that’s true? If so, do we have lives that reflect that?

God wants us to have life and life abundantly (John 10:10). Are we experiencing and displaying that life to a lost and dying world? How important is this in leading people to Christ? (1 Cor 2-3).

I just want to challenge us all to really consider where we stand in our relationship with God. Are we only surface deep and externally devout, while missing the internal experience of our God?

My experience lately has been God is at a distance. The Bible does say the proud person God only knows from a distance (Ps 138:6). I sincerely hope that this is not my problem. I sense that I’m just in a season that will end as I go deeper with Him. I feel like the Lord wants to take me to new places with Him. This will mean I can’t use the same means I have in my past with which to reach Him.

Just as Jacob wrestled with the Angel of the Lord for a blessing, we should be wrestling with the Spirit to obtain this blessing of deeper fellowship with God and letting our lives display this (Gen 32:22-32). While we’re quarentined in our homes we have lots of time to spend with our God. Let’s make the most of our time people of God.

“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Heb 4:16).

Check out my book A Life Redone. In it is an encouraging word for you!

https://www.authorhouse.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/464097-a-life-redone

Regrets. What are they? And are they helpful or do they hold us captive? We can remember back in our lives when we’ve made poor decisions and had terrible outcomes. We can remain stuck in those memories or we can move on and be free from them.
I think back to my high school years in choir. For reasons I dont know, I seem to have this reoccurring dream of my teacher in that class. I dream that I shared Christ with him and he accepted Jesus. That teacher passed away relatively young. And I have regrets that I did not live in alignment with God to show this man Christ. I won’t know until eternity whether he made it to Heaven or not.
I see on my Facebook feed pictures posted by the mom, in the car accident we were in, of the baby stillborn after 8 month’s in his mothers womb and it still gets me to this day. And that baby’s in heaven but it still hurts his mom after nearly twenty years has gone by. Deep down I can feel that pain. Ya I have regrets. Do you?
I don’t know what regrets you have also, but a good question to ask is what do we do with them? Do we live with memories of choices that sting us or others for our entire lives? Ya I think there’s a part of us that should remember, so we never go back to where we’ve been delivered from. But I think that we need to allow the God of Heaven to heal us so we don’t lug around burdens we were never meant to carry. Because all of our sin was paid for on the cross that Jesus carried for us (John 3.16) We are told in the Bible to, “Cast our cares upon Him because He cares for us” (1 Peter 5.7). These cares can be something that hold us back from receiving truth from the Lord that will free us. In Luke 8.14 Jesus talks about seed that is sown among thorns but because of the cares of this world it will not go deep and produce what it was sent to. Jesus told us in Luke 21.34 that we’re to keep our guard up because our cares can keep us cloudy and unable to receive truth.
So I just want you to consider where you’re at this moment as far as regrets are concerned? Have you given them to Christ or are you burdened by them? Do you know Jesus personally to be able to cast your cares upon Him? For the Bible says,

“Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you–and even more” (Mark 4.24).

So what you’re thinking about you will be. Don’t live in regret. Move forward into what Christ died for you to have; freedom. “Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom” (2 Cor 3.17).
If you dont know Him personally just ask Him to forgive you of your failures and to come live in your heart (Roman’s 3.23, 6.23, 5.8, 10.9, 10 ). Receive that free gift He offers of eternal life with Him. Ask for the gift of the Holy Spirit to fill you (Acts 2.38). Walk out of the bondage of regret and into the new life Christ died for you to have (2 Cor 5.17).

Check out my testimony on freedom. You will be inspired. A Life Redone: My Journey to a Life of Freedom.
https://www.authorhouse.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/464097-a-life-redone

https://aliferedone.blog/2014/09/03/what-exactly-is-prayer/

https://instagram.com/stories/lauraharding37/2277007297863900945?igshid=qpxz5r1ceuia

Using my time to study God’s Word, I’ve seen something new in a passage that I’ve read and used many times over the years when sharing my testimony. Its taken from 2 Samuel 22. This Old Testament passage refers to God rescuing David from his enemies. Verse 13 says, ‘From the radiance of the Lord’s presence a FIRE was kindled.’ Blueletterbible lists dictionaries referencing what FIRE is here. In The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia FIRE is THE BAPTISM OF FIRE.
This leads to the verse Matthew 3:11, which says,

I indeed baptize you with water. unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire…

The copulative kai requires that the baptism “in the Holy Ghost and in fire,” should be regarded as one and the same thing… The statement, therefore, in this verse indicates the manner in which Christ will admit them to discipleship and prepare them for His service.
(Blueletterbible.org)

So how have you prepared for ministry in your life? In our lives are we standing close enough to the Lord to experience His radiant presence to ignite a fire within our hearts that explodes into people’s lives all around us? In big or small instances that come our way, it doesn’t matter. We need ‘to be ready to give an answer for the hope we have in Christ Jesus’ (1 Peter 3.15) Is it by your power or by His?

The Bible says to ‘Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness.’ (Matt 6.33) ***Challenge yourself this day is to get into His Word. Let it explode into your life so you can pour out on others.

“They looked at Him and were radiant; their faces shall never blush for shame or be confused.” Psalm 34.5

Check out my book A Life Redone at https://www.authorhouse.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/464097-a-life-redone

https://aliferedone.blog/2020/03/26/the-baptism-of-fire/

This morning I woke up thinking about a ministry that I had been involved in in the past. How I had an experience with this ministry to lead a Bible study group for ladies, where no Bible study was even offered anywhere within this ministry. This was something I had to fight with a Pastor about to do. I had really sensed that God wanted me to write these lessons on a regular basis, listening to Him weekly for those lessons. I had to fight to even write them. Even though I had shown myself, in times passed, as being a dependable person in the ministry, for a lot of years. I even had the opportunity to share my story with all the churches, a part of my church, on a Sunday morning a few years earlier. They knew I was legit. They had heard the story of freedom and yet they trusted in themselves more then in asking for God’s leading.

I had experienced in other ministries within this church how shallow their teachings were. And I believed that the Lord prompted me to write these lessons for addicts, based upon my own experience from breaking free from years of bondage under Satan. How wrong it is for the church to believe that they are strong enough with their own head knowledge to fight the battles of addiction. This battle is only something that can be broken by the Holy Spirit. And I had experienced this myself in my own life. Over my time serving in this huge ministry I had seen many lose this battle, dying, even after being involved in this church. To this day I pray for the Lord to conquer this spirit of pride that led this ministry at one time. I don’t know what they do or don’t do but I do pray that if they haven’t changed their ways that God would take this ministry away from them and plant these people somewhere they will find freedom in Christ. Not only for the church’s discipline sake but for the sake of these people’s lives they’re trusted with.

Oh how quickly we forget what the Word says:

“My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you [sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully]; for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and show themselves most effective in [your] weakness.” (2 Cor 12.9)

“LET LOVE for your fellow believers continue and be a fixed practice with you [never let it fail]. Remember those who are in prison as if you were their fellow prisoner, and those who are ill treated, since you also are liable to bodily sufferings.” (Heb 13.1, 3)

Check out my book: A Life Redone

https://www.authorhouse.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/464097-a-life-redone

Last night I had a dream I can recall this morning. I was walking around using Jesus’ name to see works done by His power. Everywhere I saw need, to whomever was struggling, I declared things to be done in Jesus’ name and they were completed. This morning reading John 15 in my Bible are highlighted verses that say just that. If I live [abide vitally united to Me] and My words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts, ask whatever you will, and and it shall be done for you… I have chosen you and I have appointed you [I have planted you] that you might go and bear fruit and keep on bearing,that your fruit may be lasting [that it may remain and abide], so that whatever you ask the Father in My Name [as presenting all that I AM], He may give it to you (John 15.7,16).

Digging deeper into the text I see when the author John wrote these verses he was stating that we could use Jesus’ name to command things to be done but not in casual sense. At times it’s as if we’re coming to God begging Him, to do only what He can do. That means we’re coming to Him with everything we’ve got in us. He’s our only hope. God knows our hearts.

What about you? Is your heart divided? I know mine can be sometimes. Give God your all and see what happens.

Check out my book: A Life Redone here

https://www.authorhouse.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/464097-a-life-redone

I was interviewed by the Associate Pastor of our church. He has a daily show called KDS INSPIRE. Check this out. Sharing a bit of my testimony and just great conversation.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10106538227676424&id=30304253

Chevk out my book A Life Redone https://www.authorhouse.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/464097-a-life-redone

New day. New year. New season. I’m proclaiming this over myself and MY life. Goodbye spirit of death. Get off of me right now in Jesus name. I invite the SPIRIT OF LIFE to flow over me and through my blood, in my brain, throughout all the organs in my body in Jesus name. I am healed in JESUS name. No more. No more will I just deal with the infirmity that has been over my body going on now 19 years. No More!! I am proclaiming the WORD of God over myself daily. I am FREE from the power of sin and death. I am FREE from satan’s grasp. “I AM MORE THAN A CONQUEROR THROUGH CHRIST” (Rom 8.37) “If God is for us who can be against us?” (Rom 8.31) The WORD is true. 2 Cor 2.12-13 says, “We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing Spiritual truths in Spiritual words”. Fill my mind with thoughts that are “…are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” (Phil 4.8) I am expecting return on HIS WORD. He does not lie. His Word does not return void (Is 55.11)

Check out my book A Life Redone

https://www.authorhouse.com/BookStore/BookDetails/464097-a-life-redone

You know growing up you dont really understand the brevity of life. I know I certainly didn’t. I had a best friend in High School until probably my senior year thst was my bud. We’d met in choir freshman year and both moved up in choir basically together. She was smarter than me though. I can still remember her yelling at me for getting grounded again for something stupid and foolish I had done at home. I was sad that we’d ended HS on such a bad note. She wanted nothing to do with me. When Christ changed my heart after the car accident I had in between my 11th and 12th grade year, my whole viewpoint of life changed. She was very much against God. Who knew that years later, in her early 30’s she would’ve passed away? I still to this day wonder if she’d died knowing Christ or not? I was a bad representative of Him in HS. I could’ve had an impact for Him with my friends if I would’ve known Him intimately.

Life is so brief. Dont waste it with having to be right about everything. It’s not about the size of your IRA or about what you have or dont have. Use your time to love others into the Kingdom. Take chances. Share Christ with people because you just dont know when a friend or family member will depart from this world. You want to make sure they know thier eternal life is spent on the right side. Point those you have contact with to Him. Because once this life is over thats it. And when it all boils down to it that’s all that really matters.

It starts with your inner man. What are you feeding yourself? And where is it gonna lead you to? Do you have enough of Him to share? And is He truly reigning to make a difference to those around you?

Check out my book:

https://www.authorhouse.com/BookStore/BookDetails/464097-a-life-redone