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A Challenge from Beth in NC!

Beth in NC challenged me to do a fun thing by posting the sixth picture in my sixth file folder.

Is that a rabbit? Well no, that's me being silly. I can be silly. All you have to do is dangle a carrot in front of me and this just comes out. >:B

Oh uh, don't mind the laundry pile on the couch. It's only been there uh, 2 days. I'll get to it eventually!



And I'm supposed to tag five victims.. er, people :D

Each of you are supposed to show the 6th photo in your 6th folder -- then pass along to 5 other friends.

My Five Very Lucky Victims are.. ((drumroll))

1. Mikey at Be of Good Cheer
2. Martha at Fly Away Birdie
3. SisterLisa at Home Spun Life
4. Jessica at Pages of My Heart
5. Krystal at Krystal's Rants



.......*(hops away)*

A Revelation About Baptism

One of the most exciting things about this whole experience is how God keeps giving me (and others around me) revelations about the truth that is in his Word. It is outside of everything we have ever been taught and "indoctrinated" with. Truth is at the very source, from the Spirit of God himself speaking to us with his Word. It's enthralling to have the Living God moving inside of us and revealing things to us that our finite and carnal minds cannot grasp on it's own.

I attended two organic church gatherings and bible studies this week. A question was raised by some people asking about baptism. Personally, I never questioned baptism. I grew up with the belief that after we are saved, we go to be baptized with water to represent our new life in Christ. We die, leave our flesh in the water, and we are born again in the spirit.

But someone recently questioned this verse saying there is only one baptism:

"One Lord, one faith, one baptism,"Ephesians 4:5.

Okay, so?

But the bible speaks of two baptisms, one of water and one of the Spirit.

But that's two kinds of baptism, and the Bible says there's only one! We know the Bible doesn't contradict itself, so there must be an explanation.

And there is.

John the Baptist was a prophet of repentance. He preached repentance in the wilderness and baptized many in the water. When Jesus came to him to be baptized, John was stunned and said,

"I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?" Matthew 3:14

Imagine, the long awaited Messiah, the Son of God coming and asking YOU to baptize him. Who is worthy? Yet, Jesus replied:

"Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness." Matthew 3:15

Jesus Christ said this needed to be done for now, because he has come to fulfill all righteousness!

Jesus Christ walked a perfect man on this Earth and fulfilled ALL LAWS. He ALSO fulfilled righteousness. He fulfilled BAPTISM!!!

Now there is one baptism, which is the one of the Spirit.

When the guards put a spear through the body of Christ on the cross, it sprinkled blood AND water mixed TOGETHER (John 19:34). We are baptized of Christ in blood AND water, and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

John baptized with water, but Jesus Christ baptizes with the Holy Ghost! (John 1:26, 33)

All physical things have been done away, and now Christ has brought spiritual things. Christ tore down the physical sanctuaries and created a spiritual temple within us by fulfilling the law. Christ fulfilled the physical water baptism and created a spiritual baptism by fulfilling righteousness.

Water is also an illustration of the spirit in the Bible. John 7:38, 39 reveal this.

"He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified."

We are now baptized with the living water, which is the Spirit of God.

Behold, Jesus Christ has made all things new. Praise HIS name!!

Some of you follow me on Facebook and have witnessed that I have lost a friendship with a Sister in Christ over disagreements about the law. It's been difficult, because we do love and care for her and her family. I will remember them in my prayers, and think fond things of them, but I must still stand for the truth.

The Truth Is: If we choose to follow the law, we are choosing to have a yoke of bondage. We are choosing to reject grace, and then Jesus Christ has died in vain. He fulfilled the law while he walked on Earth and his death brought us liberty.

Jesus Christ followed the 613 laws of the Torah completely. He perfected the laws while he walked on Earth as a man. When we receive him as our Saviour, we are receiving his perfect righteousness. Jesus Christ took our place and received our punishments. We traded places with him and became heirs to the Kingdom of Heaven. When the Father looks at us, he sees his Son in us. He sees Christ's righteousness in us! He sees all 613 laws of the Torah completed in us!

I was driving this afternoon and worshiping God. I was in awe of Him and I told Him that I have nothing to offer. I have failed. When we break one law, we're guilty of breaking them all. Even at my best, I am not good enough.

If we were good enough, we wouldn't need Christ. We wouldn't need him to leave Heaven and die for us. We wouldn't need a Saviour.

I need Him.


When I try,
I'm still gonna fail,
All my righteousness
Is worthy of hell
You looked down and saw me dying, Lord
You came down from Heaven with love
And you took my place
And you took my place
You died the sinner's death for me
And you let me take your place
And you let me take your place
And now the Father sees the Son in me
by, Charlene




I received this in a forward. It was an amazing read and I thought it was worthy to share. Please pass this on too!

THE QUESTION that CHANGED MY LIFE

-by David Ryser.

A number of years ago, I had the privilege of teaching at a school
of ministry. My students were hungry for God, and I was constantly
searching for ways to challenge them to fall more in love with
Jesus and to become voices for revival in the Church. I came across
a quote attributed most often to Rev. Sam Pascoe. It is a short
version of the history of Christianity, and it goes like this:

Christianity started in Palestine as a fellowship; it moved to Greece
and became a philosophy; it moved to Italy and became an institution;
it moved to Europe and became a culture; it came to America and
became an enterprise. Some of the students were only 18 or 19
years old--barely out of diapers--and I wanted them to understand
and appreciate the import of the last line, so I clarified it by adding,
"An enterprise. That's a business." After a few moments Martha,
the youngest student in the class, raised her hand. I could not
imagine what her question might be. I thought the little vignette was
self-explanatory, and that I had performed it brilliantly. Nevertheless,
I acknowledged Martha's raised hand, "Yes, Martha." She asked
such a simple question, "A business? But isn't it supposed to be
a body?" I could not envision where this line of questioning was going,
and the only response I could think of was, "Yes." She continued,
"But when a body becomes a business, isn't that a prostitute?"

The room went dead silent. For several seconds no one moved or
spoke. We were stunned, afraid to make a sound because the
presence of God had flooded into the room, and we knew we were
on holy ground. All I could think in those sacred moments was,
"Wow, I wish I'd thought of that." I didn't dare express that thought
aloud. God had taken over the class.

Martha's question changed my life. For six months, I thought about
her question at least once every day. "When a body becomes a
business, isn't that a prostitute?" There is only one answer to her
question. The answer is "Yes." The American Church, tragically,
is heavily populated by people who do not love God. How can we
love Him? We don't even know Him; and I mean really know Him.

... I stand by my statement that most American Christians do not
know God--much less love Him. The root of this condition originates
in how we came to God. Most of us came to Him because of what
we were told He would do for us. We were promised that He would
bless us in life and take us to heaven after death. We married Him
for His money, and we don't care if He lives or dies as long as we
can get His stuff. We have made the Kingdom of God into a business,
merchandising His anointing. This should not be. We are commanded
to love God, and are called to be the Bride of Christ--that's pretty
intimate stuff. We are supposed to be His lovers. How can we love
someone we don't even know? And even if we do know someone,
is that a guarantee that we truly love them? Are we lovers or
prostitutes?

I was pondering Martha's question again one day, and considered
the question, "What's the difference between a lover and a prostitute?"
I realized that both do many of the same things, but a lover does
what she does because she loves. A prostitute pretends to love, but
only as long as you pay. Then I asked the question, "What would
happen if God stopped paying me?"

For the next several months, I allowed God to search me to uncover
my motives for loving and serving Him. Was I really a true lover of
God? What would happen if He stopped blessing me? What if He
never did another thing for me? Would I still love Him? Please
understand, I believe in the promises and blessings of God. The
issue here is not whether God blesses His children; the issue is
the condition of my heart. Why do I serve Him? Are His blessings
in my life the gifts of a loving Father, or are they a wage that I have
earned or a bribe/payment to love Him? Do I love God without any
conditions? It took several months to work through these questions.
Even now I wonder if my desire to love God is always matched by
my attitude and behavior. I still catch myself being disappointed
with God and angry that He has not met some perceived need in
my life. I suspect this is something which is never fully resolved,
but I want more than anything else to be a true lover of God.

So what is it going to be? Which are we, lover or prostitute?
There are no prostitutes in heaven, or in the Kingdom of God for
that matter, but there are plenty of former prostitutes in both
places. Take it from a recovering prostitute when I say there is no
substitute for unconditional, intimate relationship with God. And I
mean there is no palatable substitute available to us (take another
look at Matthew 7:21-23 sometime). We must choose.

-Dr. David Ryser.


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To subscribe, please send a 'subscribe' email to-
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See our website and discussion board-
http://www.revivalschool.com

I read this amazing entry by Tranquility, whom I have learned so much from and hold in such high respect! He spent years studying about this topic concerning the Roman Catholic Church. He just spent literally the entire day writing this amazing post called "The Lord Jesus Christ vs The Roman Catholic Church!" Click on the link to read about this and he has covered it in great depth and detail. This is also a wonderful link to give to your Catholic friends that you care about.
I recommend this wonderful site!

Wow...

I read this and it just struck me hard. I have to share it with everyone. This is SO important too. Many of us have heard this story about the conversation between Jesus and Peter. It was never clear to me why Jesus rebuked Satan in Peter when he was saying something that seemed caring. Read this!! (Copied & Pasted)

-----------------------------------------------

Matthew 16:13-23 is a dialogue between Jesus, Peter and Satan.

13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of thes aring God.
17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not REVEALED IT unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on eart youall be loosed in heaven.
20 Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.
21 From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.
22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.
23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
Matthew 16:13-23

In verse 17, Peter had a direct revelation from God - " . . .for flesh and blood hath not REVEALED it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven." Again, notice God "REVEALED" it unto Peter.


Notice what happens in verse 23, just seven verses later. Jesus addresses Peter as Satan! Satan had completely taken over Peter. God, the Father was communicating directly to Peter in verse 17 and in verse 23, Satan had completely taken over Peter!


But what is really interesting is Peter's motive.


As Jesus began in verse 21 to tell how He would be crucified, verse 22 reads, "Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee."


Peter's motive was his LOVE FOR THE LORD JESUS! He did not want Jesus to be crucified. And even though Peter's motive was RIGHT - when he got out of the will of God - Satan COMPLETELY TOOK OVER. You can have the RIGHT motive (even love for the Lord Jesus Christ!) and be completely WRONG! Even to the point of under the control of Satan.

Sincerity, and even love, is no substitute for the WILL OF GOD.

Let me say that again. . .

Sincerity, and even love, is no substitute for the WILL OF GOD.

*I read this from http://www.av1611.org/crock/crockex2.html that exposes false Christian bands. Read more for amazing information.*
------------------------------------------------------

So many of us may have a heart with good intentions, wanting to please God, to follow him and do more for him. Satan EASILY takes that and uses it for his will, and not God's. We all need to make sure we are SO CAREFUL about this!! Don't let Satan move you off the mark even by a small degree, because down the road, the slight change in degree becomes wider, and WIDER and we've realized that we've gone too far.




How to Dig for Treasure

The Bible tells us to dig in his Word like hidden treasure. It is more valuable than gold!



Here are some tips to really dig deeper into the Word of God. The Bible is like a jigsaw puzzle, and the pieces are ALL OVER the Bible, in both the OT and NT. Every verse has layers, and it leads to a bigger picture. The Bible can be the most exciting and exhilarating book you'll ever read!

Tip #1: Find Keywords. Each word is a key to a bigger piece of the puzzle. Track it down all over the Bible and list it.

Tip #2: Get the Greek and Hebrew translation. The grammar is structured differently, but you can find the real and accurate definitions to the word. Sometimes the English word can have three or four different Greek words and meanings to the same word.

Tip #3: Get a concordance and find all the references to the verse you want to learn more deeply.

Tip #4: Once we unlock a piece to the puzzle, we'll find MORE puzzle pieces and trails! So write down what you have learned in a journal, and categorize it.

Tip #5: Most importantly of all.. Pray for God to reveal his truth to you. Only he can lift the veil off our eyes and make his Word manifest to us. It is the living Word, and it leaves 'wise' men of the world dumbfounded. The carnal mind cannot perceive it, only the spirit can.


In our group, when we bible study together, we have several books open all at once at the table. We have the KJV open, the Geneva Bible open (has amazing and historical notes from Puritans that were martyred and persecuted for hundreds of years), The Greek and Hebrew translation, Strong's Concordance, and a dictionary.

Happy Hunting!!!

My Prayer Drive

One of my favorite things to do is to take a prayer drive. I especially love to take those during the sunset in a summer evening, or during thunderstorms. I live on the outskirts of town and it's a quiet area by the mountains. I don't live very far from a road that has miles of endless fields and farms. I took some pictures with my phone so the quality isn't very good. These pictures only give a glimpse of the vivid colors of the skies, the vast and endless fields, the cows and horses grazing the grass, and the magical feel of old, rugged barns. I recommend taking prayer drives because it is such a rich way to worship our Saviour while being in awe of his creation and wonder.

















Stranger in a Photograph

"Stranger in a Photograph"
Dedicated to my Sister @;-->--


You've robbed me of my worth
As a woman, and as your wife
She's just a girl
That you've never met
You don't know her name
She's a stranger in a photograph
And you've let her take my place

You say it has nothing to do with me
But it has everything to do with me
You left me out
Right where I should have been
And you let someone else in
(In your heart, in your mind)
She was the one you were thinking of
And it wasn't me,
And it wasn't me

Remember when I was your forever girl
Will I ever be enough for you?
I was created for you by the hand of God
A woman made for this man
I'm meant to be
Just what you need
Why won't you let me?
Cause I don't wanna share you anymore baby
Cause you're supposed to be mine
But I don't feel that way

Let me love you freely
Without fear of pain
There's so much we're missing out on Darling
If only it was that way
If only you could see
How much it hurts me
And try to understand
My worth is all in the eyes
of the man I love

by Charlene, 06/10/2009

Come and check out AGM's newest articles! SisterLisa has been writing many amazing posts! She is writing about the profound things we have learned during the past three months! What a revelation from Christ! Be sure to visit Apples of Gold Ministries today!

Apples of Gold Ministries

Children of the Promise

One night, Jessica and I were bible studying together. She showed me this passage she found in Galatians. She had read this entire book of Galatians the night before, how awesome! She found this amazing analogy about law and grace in the story of Abraham. WORTH READING!!


READ Galatians 4:22-31

22For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.

23But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.

24Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.

25For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.

26But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

27For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband.

28Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.

29But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.

30Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.

31So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.


Abraham = Father of the Children of Promise
Sarah= Free woman which represents Grace.
Hagar = Bondwoman which represents Law
Ishmael= Flesh
Isaac= Spirit.




The flesh and the spirit war with each other. Eventually, the flesh must depart. The free woman and her son is the heir to the promise God has given to us. Cast out the bondage under the law, and the flesh. They will not be the heirs to the promise.

What a beautiful passage, and we know that everything that happened was a shadow of things to come, and everything is about Christ!

At the Last Day

I am going to throw some verses in here without telling you what I think it means. I'd rather you share what YOU think it means. You don't need to hear me tell you what it means, God can speak to you himself. It is in his Word. I'll just ask some questions what you think God is telling you.


*"Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day." John 11:24

*"And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day." John 6:39

*"And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. John 6:40

*"No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. " John 6:44

*"Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day." John 6:54



The Bible mentions the "last day" multiple times. What is the last day? What does it mean that he will raise us up at the last day?

Hi everyone!

I can freely come out and announce that I do homeschool both of my boys! Their father has given us his blessing which is a joyful miracle to me!! I have been learning about homeschooling for several months. This is my first year, and I am still learning!! Any advice and tips would be appreciated!!

I enjoy spending quality of time with Landon (age 4) and Brady (age 2). We have a wonderful bond. I enjoy the liberty in homeschooling and teaching them wisdom in life as well as education. This is the most natural way to go, and God designed teachers in parents. As I give Landon and Brady back to God, I want to lift them above my head. I want to teach them everything I know, and teach them how to go on ahead of me.

From Nature walks and picnics in the park...



to enjoying music together...



to hands on activities...



and quiet time readings.



Homeschooling is fun!!!

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