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Your Testimony Has Power

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I remember the words I was thinking about regarding testimonies and how valuable they are. My testimony is a treasure because of the rich value it provides in my life and the effects it can have to provide hope for others in their walks with Christ.

I just finished a Discussion Forum regarding storytelling and the importance of how the biblical author used it to provide theology and insights that we can gain. Our testimonies can be the confirmation of the theology of Scripture which provides validation and standard of our basis of faith. No one can discredit your testimony because it is your experience. But I noticed within our church culture we focus too much on what people have been through in the past and not on the involvement of what God is doing now. Here is what I wrote regarding Testimonies and how the church can teach through storytelling.

The Church's most common way to teach through a story is through our testimony, but sadly a lot of us stop on that segment of storytelling and need to retell and redevelop stories of how God is being involved in our lives. Testimonies are great for personal witness about how we made a commitment to Christ and our situations connected with that but learning through our own struggles and situations we can relate through our interaction with Scripture. God is setting up stories for us to tell those around us.
The Holy Spirit does a good job of convicting us when we interact with Scripture to produce a change in our lives which concludes witnessing of a story that can be told through the confirmation of Scripture. 
- Amancio Rosas

When disciplining new believers in the faith I would allow them to go through a program that includes a segment on writing their testimonies. Here are the following three guidelines that I explain and teach:

1.) Your Testimony Brings Remembrance

It is a human habit to forget, our minds are designed to process things in our lives to remember the valuable moments and forgetting moments that are deep inside in the backburner. It is easy to forget what God has done in our lives due to our forgetfulness. Our Testimony helps us remember what we have been through and writing an account will keep us humbled because it was Jesus who helped us in our lives. This keeps us from being critical towards others and their walk with Christ including when they are first starting. The Holy Spirit plays a part to help us remember things in our lives. While Jesus spoke to His disciples about how the Holy Spirit will bring in remembrance everything that was taught and spoken. We can be in full confidence that He is still active in that role today when it comes to what Jesus has done for us and what we have learned from Him.

But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

John 14:26

2.) Your Testimony Has Power

Storytelling is common throughout Scripture since a good amount is narrative accounts. We can learn theology based on the narrative account since they paint a picture in our minds about the complexities of different outcomes. Just like we take serious about context, it is the principle and application which should confirm the seriousness of context. Revelation 12; Depending on your views on prophetic writings, it has a mixture of different literary techniques but the main purpose is to take this verse and provide the common principle when trying to confirm the purpose of testimony.

They triumphed over him

    by the blood of the Lamb

    and by the word of their testimony;

they did not love their lives so much

    as to shrink from death.

Revelation 12:11

While the context is about the war that is going down with the “Women” and Michael, it is obvious and makes sense that the blood of the Lamb in our lives today washes away our sin. When we are reminded about what Jesus has done in our lives and His bloody sacrifice we are reminded of the power of the blood of the lamb. The word of their testimony is where I want to emphasize the importance of your identity. Your testimony has the power to not only to remind but to overcome. This serves to help others overcome their struggles through Jesus because of our witness and praying over them based on the power of Christ through the sacrifice that we provided for the forgiveness of our sins and the testimony of salvation that keeps our foundation firm during life.

3.) Your Testimony Is Ongoing

Your life doesn’t end when you accept Christ in your life. Not sure why so many people believe that and then do not live transformational lives, Seeing God being involved, and slowly go back to their old life. When we are reminded and know that is power then we can have continued to allow God to shape more stories that will benefit those around us. We must allow God to use us in the good times and difficulties to provide hope for those around us.

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Educational Journey Personal Journey Uncategorized

3 Views On The Word “Create”

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It’s not surprising that I have felt a tug in my heart to focus on this one specific word “consecrate.” But wait isn’t this post about the word “create” yes it is but before we get into that let’s go through a little update about the motive behind this explanation.

Consecrate:

To consecrate is to be set apart, to be in total commitment for God and His purposes. This is the definition that I came up with because of my past experiences of how this word meant in my personal life. It is common in our lives to be comfortable, acceptable about certain habits and attitudes, and forget our focus on the kingdom, and learning to navigate the life that God has called us to live by.

I am currently going through the Pentateuch as a personal study through the first five books of the Bible. Currently, in my University classes, I am taking the Torah which is the Hebrew Term for Law. It wasn’t until I came to this explanation of what “create” means, opened up a whole new meaning in my personal life. Let’s go ahead and dive in.

To Create Is To Separate:

We can look throughout the Genesis Story that God decides to separate things when creation was happening. From darkness between light, water between sky, and water between ground. (Genesis 1:1-9)

I am reminded of the scripture regarding David to “create a clean heart”

“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” Psalms 51:10

To have a clean heart, God must separate our hearts which are wicked to bring renewal and restoration as you could see that this impacts us to have the right spirit as our attitudes and actions are being changed but separation is the key.

My question is what is something you need to allow God to separate in your life for creation to personally take place? In order for God to create there must be separation.

To Create Is To Give Life:

As you go on regarding the creation story we see an element of life-giving when it comes with the terms of “produce, make, give,” those are life-giving terms to illustrate creation. (Genesis 1:24-31)

This is the most common view that people have. Which makes sense because our main purpose is to create things that are good in our lives. Through Christ scripture states that:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 2 Corinthians 5:17

How is this new creation becoming? It is becoming due to the giving life to the new. The newness is what is developed in the process of creation. From the beginning God created through life-giving terms we have confidence that our new creation is life-giving.

Jesus states His purpose on why He came according to the gospel of John.

“The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life” John 10:10 NLT

Other translations focus on the word “have” which you can’t have something without it being created.

To have newness and life we must separate and then allow life to begin but even before life can start to express this is the most important aspect that we tend to forget.

To Create Is To Let Things Die:

While we know that God created life, Humans because they decided to be disobedient towards God allowed Sin to come into the world to provide death. This was not God’s design because out of God’s protection He wanted to protect us from this state for not even being close to the tree of Life. While Death was used as a curse, God can use this to provide a way for creation to be purified. (Genesis 3)

It was the death of Jesus that provided life and reconciliation for us to have a relationship with God. What was once a consequence of sin from the fall is now the solution for salvation in our lives.

We are commanded to “put to death” of our earthly nature according to Paul.

5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: Colossians 3:5

Death is good in this reasoning because if we do not do our part of putting things to death, the new cannot be cultivated through the Holy Spirit. Do you remember that this should be done daily as Christians?

Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. Luke 9:23

We are no longer living for ourselves because we put our desires to death and now we are living for Christ as living sacrifices to seek the Will of God. The purpose of creation to is to be in the Will of God!

Creation in essence is a process of separation, life giving, and death.

What are certain things you need to allow God to separate?

What are certain things you must say no and put to death In order for God to renew, restore, and give life in your life?

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Personal Journey Uncategorized

Your First Moments Matter

Throughout our journey when it comes to our relationship with God, we can often admit that life can overtake us, creating distractions and hindrances without knowing there’s a disconnect. Busyness and distractions are part of life and are things we must navigate to keep being persistent in keeping God first.

First Encounter:

I remember my first encounter when it comes with my relationship with God. Growing up in religion and developing a religious background, I thought I was all set by pleasing my parents and following the requirements I was told to follow. It wasn’t until God dealt with my hardened heart and learned that my sins could be forgiven by the blood of Jesus Christ that I felt true freedom. Once the altar call was announced, I received a Word about the situation and circumstances in my life. I knew it was time to give my all for Christ, as a sinner, needing His grace and sacrifice for the forgiveness of my sins. I wish I could tell you that everything was rainbow and sunshine but that’s not logical in the Christian Life.

Wrestling:

While reflecting on Jacob’s account, I noticed an important aspect that I would love to highlight regarding the constant battles that we still have to face as imperfect people that God is willing to use for His Glory.

Jacob Wrestling With God. (Genesis 32:22-32)

Jacob was left alone with a man until daybreak. We see wrestling happening when it comes to these two throughout this section of scripture. Jacob was overpowering the individual to the point to where Jacob got his hip wrenched.

1.) Pain is the process of wrestling

Jacob wanted a blessing from God which is why he didn’t want to let go. This shows how much endurance and perseverance Jacob has developed and matured throughout his journey. The fact that he didn’t want to let go and the overpowerment of consistency is what showed his perseverance. Pain was the result but was a reminder of the faithfulness of the blessing. Grace is a free gift but blessings cost because it demands persistence. Brokenness is a reminder of how much we desperately need God to provide for our need.

2.) Jacob’s Name Change

Because of his actions, Jacob, at the time named James, requested a name change. Names are important when it comes to identifying who you are in the Hebrew culture. Jacob means “supplanter” and “deceiver” while Israel means “one who struggles with God.” Due to this encounter with God, Jacob, who was formerly known as Israel, had a transformational encounter with God. While we as believers no longer change our names to prove our character, we can admit that an encounter with God can produce a change of heart and action.

3.) Transformation is Developed through Pain

While a lot of leaders focus on experience to get ahead, it is those who go through pain who receive growth. We want to believe that we will live a happy and fulfilled life as Christians, but pain is part of that experience. You don’t have a change of heart by knowing, but by reflecting and pondering on the condition and willing to be broken by your sin. We tend to fall short, feel guilty, and then ask God to take the guilt away. I think we must embrace the discomfort of our sin and embrace the pain that not only is imparted by us, but the pain that God feels by our shortcomings. Praise God that He is a gracious God, but He does grieve by our actions when we do not comform to His Will.

4.) Transform and Stay Transformed (Genesis 35:9-12)

Jacob had to rededicate himself and his family to God again. One of the beautiful aspects of this is the fact that God wanted Jacob to go back to where they first met (Genesis 28:10-22). God then reaffirmed that His name is now Israel and what He will do in His future generations by the covenant He gave to Abraham and Isaac. I remember my born again experience was full of joy, passion, and excitement. I would assume that Jacob felt the same when he encountered God for the first time at Bethel. He went through a difficult situation where he failed and succeeded. To reaffirm again, he went back to the same spot to rededicate himself as someone who is transformed.

We must have a constant reminder to not only celebrate our victories, but to remain in God’s presence to keep growth and transformation as our focus. When we set our minds to please God, we don’t gratify the desires of the flesh but are following the Spirit. Let us be reminded that no matter the battle, need, or struggle we have, we must go through brokenness to be reminded we need to allow God to transform us.