Who are the Pharaohs of our Day?

   Are they not people who have hardened their hearts toward the voice of God and go on living in their own proud conceits?
   God allows things to come into our lives to get our attention, but a hardened heart just gets harder. They are shaken for a bit but when they find that they didn't surely die like the serpent told Eve in the garden, they harden their hearts yet again and do not allow God to set them free.
   Egypt is like this world and Pharaoh is like the devil, Israel are Christians in types and shadows of the Old Testament to the New.God does signs and wonders and allows various calamities and tragedies to touch our lives, to get our attention and to turn us from our wicked ways. What are we doing about it?
   Right then we may be shaken. Unless we are shaken to the core and allow God to get a hold of us so that we turn from our wickedness, we will stay in Egypt under bondage, the more we harden ourselves to God's Spirit and do not heed, the more the devil will make inroads into our hearts and the root of sin only grows deeper.
  But if we are willing to flee Egypt, God will go before us, covering us with his cloud by day and a pillar by night. Thus it was a cloud of darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night. Exod.14:20. He will definitely be our protection. And we can stand back and see the Lord fight for us,
   Therefore we need the whole armor of God. If anything is lopsided, look out, thats a loop hole for the devil to trip us up.
   Let us not live in self-denial or let pride stand in the way, but rather, let us quickly humble ourselves under God's mighty hand so He can save us.
   This has been a real burden on my heart. If we continue to walk in disobedience to the voice of God, gradually our conscience gets seared. The word of God is the Spirit, and if we do not heed the Spirit, the Spirit cannot abide, there is just no way it can. So what spirit will take over? The Bible says satan watches, he sees the room is cleaned and garnished, he invites seven other spirits worst  then the last, the latter end is worse then the beginning. May God get our attention while it is today and may it shake us to the core and bring deep repentance and a turning back to God in truth, let us do away with lies and the deceitfulness of sin. Let us flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call upon the Lord out of a pure heart. 2 Tim.2:22.

When we are related to God, he guards from dangers seen and unseen.

Hidden Things of the Heart

    What are hidden things of the heart? Are they not things we can hide from the human eye? Things like covetousness, anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, fears, lust? But God can see all these things.
    When God gets a hold of us in His mercy, He wants us to make a choice to be free of all these issues, His grace is ready to be poured out, and He wants to help us come through victorious. But we need to be willing to enter in with Him and get free, if we aren't totally willing, we cannot abide in Him.
    I myself have been in situations where I was not ready to let go of issues of my heart, or not even willing from the heart to face these things and it left me a miserable stumbling Christian. We can even keep others close to us to grow in their Christian walk.
    I see so many believers get stuck right here, they are not willing to give up what they believe they have a right to, and it can be in many forms, and they end up being a lopsided christian and can't ever come though victorious, and they're puzzled why they can't. Only serious business with God can they come through in victory. Others cannot help unless there's the willingness on the individual to really be helped, I have been involved with many such people, and you can tell them straight what needs to happen before they can be helped, but its like they want you to bring them to that inner peace, and I've had to tell them that they have to mean business with God but its like they don't see it or just not willing to give it up. There seems to be a lack of trust towards God that He will really bring them through. I ache for these individuals, and feel very helpless. Because I know what many of them go through and I see how they could be free through my own experiences.
    It can hinder our relationship with the Lord tremendously. If we feel God isn't hearing our prayers we need to check our hearts. He knows our hearts but He wants us to deal with whats in there, then He can pour out grace for healing. May we be sensitive to the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives so we don't end up in a place like this. Lord, help us to live a transparent life before God and man.

                Brief testimony of my Life

I was born in Chihuahua, Mexico on July 13, 1965. I am the oldest of seven siblings. I have 11 half sisters and brothers older then I, from both my parents first marriage. Both their first spouses passed away and left each of them some children. My dad had 7 children 12 and younger, my mom had 4. So, this made an interesting combined family.

    The home I came from was not always a happy one. God was not the head in the home and with three families combined it was a real challenge. We did have good times too.

    My family attended the Old Colony Mennonite Church, very traditional church! The church taught you could not know if you were saved and many other things, most homes were not happy homes because they lacked a personal relationship with Jesus.

   I thank God that my Father did not drink or live in wickedness, he was a family man the best he knew how. He provided the personal needs for the family but lacked spiritual leadership. We saw him read his Bible often and I believe he had a prayer life as well and he was an active member in the church. He did teach us to pray which is probably why I'm where I am today.

   At a young age I wanted to be good and I remember praying in the morning that God would help me be good but it was very hard to actually live it with a houseful of selfish self-centered unrestrained siblings, so there was a lot of fighting going on and parents taking sides among their children. Without guidance and godly example to follow this kind of life created bitterness and anger in hearts.

   We were a hard working family. Everyone had to pitch in to help make a living, so we did a lot of field jobs where almost the whole family could work together, hoeing cotton fields and picking produce. In all of that I have good happy memories. Working together like that we never had a boring moment, it could get quite interesting sometimes.

   I met my husband in Canada years before I actually married him, because he hung around a lot with my brothers. So when he asked me to start dating (which is what we did back than) I kind of knew through my brothers. We got married September 18, 1983 in the Old Colony setting and basically lived like we grew up. But thankfully God had other plans. So we started on a journey searching for real life, which we felt the need to look for something other then what we grew up with after we had several children and we wanted to send them to school. Although at the time we had no idea what we were looking for. God in His mercy closed a door and opened another. So we moved to east Texas. Here Jacob attended a Christian school by the Kleingemeinde church that we attended there as well. Here for the first time in my life I heard the gospel preached. This really wetted our appetite and we started searching the scriptures. Our children were memorizing scripture in school so I helped them and learned along with them, we were so thrilled.

   Eventually through our own searching the scripture and thirsting to know God, He opened another door and so we moved to Oklahoma to a stable Kleingemeinde Church. After six months we became commited members. We were very involved in the church and the church helped us grow in our walk of life. Trying to fit in with the church was a real challenge but we enjoyed the hard working people there and learned alot of things. By this time we had 5 children and the 12 years we lived there God added 3 more children to our family. Our oldest four were born again believers and active members in the church.

   About this time we heard and met some people through my oldest half sister and her family from Ephrata PA Charity fellowship. My husband attended leadership seminar in 2002. From there God took us on an even higher journey. At this point I really started doubting if I had ever been truly born again. I started on a serious search for assurance of salvation. I achingly longed for peace in my soul and a personal relationship with the Lord. For years I tried to be a Christian in my own strength and miserably failed. One night among many sleepless nights I was so burdened that I begged God to give me peace in my soul, I prayed and confessed all and all of a sudden it was like a hand touching my shoulder and saying "You are born again!" Such peace and joy surged my heart! I put my stake down good and deep and let the devil know he could not harrass me anymore, I was now a child of my God.

   During this time we tentatively started attending a small fellowship in Perkins, an hour from Boley where we lived. I got rebaptized along with my son Abe, Joseph and my then future daughter in law. This was a very memorable day of rejoicing. We sang a song that was so fitting.

All my life long I had panted 

for a draught from some col spring

That I hoped would quench the burning

Of the thirst I felt within.

Hallelujah! I have found Him

whom my soul so long has craved!

Jesus satisfies my longing;

Thro' His blood I now am free.

Feeding on the husks around me

Till my strength was almost gone,

Long my soul for something better,

Only still to hunger on.

Poor I was and sought for riches,

Something that would satisfy.

But the dust I gathered round me

Only mocked my soul's sad cry.

Well of water, ever springing.

Bread of life so rich and free,

Untold love that never faileth.

My redeemer is to me. 

                 Amen!!

I found Him whom my soul loveth.

                 Song of Sol.3:4

I wish I could say that from here my christian life was one blissful story. But I still have a lot of things to learn, I'm still a student in God's school. Jesus is my longsuffering teacher. He uses many people in this world to teach me to walk the straight and narrow path. To obey Him and love Him. I have stumbled and messed up His divine plan many many times. He picks me up and puts me back under testing. Some things I can say I have overcome and have victory and in other things I'm still learning. His grace is sufficient and His mercy is great!! If He asked if I still would follow Him, YES! Where else would I go? Thou hast the bread of life!! He has become my salvation, Praise the Lord! Who can separate me from this great love,of whom shall I be afraid. He is my Rock and my Fortress, a very strong help in time of trouble. I will take up my cross and follow my Jesus! So help me Lord!