JESUS CAME TO SET THE CAPTIVES FREE!

If you have excepted the free gift of God's forgiveness and have made the very personal, yet public commitment to give your life over to Jesus Christ - then you are born-again (redeemed, saved, you know and are known by God). You have gone through the strait gate, which is Jesus, and have begun your precious journey down the narrow way of the Christian life which the Bible says few ever find. If these things are true in your life, then I have a very powerful, important, life-changing truth for you from God: You are not a sinner saved by grace. You were a condemned sinner whom has been, is being, and will be saved by grace, and are now the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.
 You are no longer "compelled to sin", but you still have the ability to sin (by choice). In your born-again spirit you have the very mind, character, feelings, and emotions of Jesus himself. And you can and will live a loving, holy, free life - to the extent you allow your soul (mind, will, emotions, personality) to learn and agree with God regarding who you really are now - according to His Word and the leading of the Holy Spirit. But, at every point you agree with the worldly, politically correct, selfish, lustful, erroneous ways and desires of your flesh...you will sin (whether in thought or deed).
  We as Christians have the responsibility of learning what truth is according to God, agreeing with and allowing Him to renew our minds through His Word (The Bible is God's revelation of Himself to His children, word for word, cover to cover). If God said it, that should settle it.
  The life of faith is a life of love, and humility. As Christians, the Holy Spirit is our single source of power to live this new life. He empowers us to love the unlovable, forgive the unforgivable, believe for the unbelievable, and to trust in a loving Father we have never seen and a conquering savior whom to the natural man seemed to be crushed and humiliated by His enemies.
  To the enemies of Christ the simplicity of the gospel, the talk of the cross, the resurrection of the dead, Jesus' precious redeeming blood, a tangible kingdom more real than the one we see, ministering angels, the power of the Holy Spirit, and the eternal hope of the life to come are all foolishness. But to those of us who know Him, these things are very real. Scientists may be able to count how many seeds are in an apple, but since they cannot tell me how many apples are in a seed...I will stay close to my loving Creator, who can.
  God loves you and has a perfect plan for your life which includes freedom from sin, and a real relationship with Him. Seek Him with your whole heart...the promise is 'you will find Him'. Jesus came to set the captives free - throw off your chains today.

-And Christians, please remember this: when you decide to condemn and criticize others for their sin, your motive is never one of love. It is correct to shed light into the life of a deceived or defiant person, but remember God loves that person and Jesus died for them. Unless you can hate the sin but love the person with the love of God, leave them alone. Do you spend time on your knees crying out to God on their behalf? Do you allow them to see God in and through your life? If not, then I doubt God has assigned you the task of fixing them. While it is possible you mean well, you must consider the effect of your judgment on that person. You will find it to be counter-productive. Remember that Jesus bore our shame, guilt, and condemnation on His body on the cross...so anytime you employ those same aspects of the curse; shame, guilt, condemnation - you will have a negative effect instead of a positive one. Make sure you are seeking to glorify God and to reconcile others to Him. It gives Him no glory for you to be right, but the other person not be reconciled. The Bible says to examine yourself to see if you are in the faith.-

I am praying for you...please pray for me too.
Love & Blessings,
Will

Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. ~ Matthew 7:14 KJV

I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. ~ John 10:9 NIV

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ~ John 14:6 NIV

For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. ~ John 1:17 KJV

and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. ~ John 8:32 ESV

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh ~ Ezekiel 36:26

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. ~
2 Corinthians 5:17

(Jesus said) And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. ~ John 14:16-17 NLT

"...you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." ~ Acts 1:8 NIV

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. ~ Romans 8:14 NLT

For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; ~ Titus 2:11-12 KJV

For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. ~ Romans 6:14 KJV

Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. ~ 1 John 2:15 NLT

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ~ 2 Timothy 3:16 NIV

Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test! ~
2 Corinthians 13:5 ESV

OBEDIENCE IN CHRIST

Our faith is a gift from God, as is His grace. When we draw on our faith to give us strength to obey God at times when His will and ours cross, we will find ourselves plunged deep into the supernatural power and blessings of God. Oh what a magnificant journey! Our needs, our hurts, our wants do not cause God to act in our lives. He has already acted through the perfect and fin

ished work of Christ's life, death, burial, resurrection, and enthronement. It is finished...now we just use our faith to obey and cooperate with God, and obtain those things already provided by His grace! He has already provided all things pertaining to life and godliness...forgiveness, healing, eternal life, deliverance, power, and prosperity to further His kingdom and establish His covenant in the earth...believe it, receive it, speak it, live it, shout it from the roof tops....victory is ours...Hallelujah!
~ Blessings, Will Brocker

"The man that believes will obey; failure to obey is convincing proof that there is no true faith present. To attempt the impossible God must give faith or there will be none, and He gives faith to the obedient heart only." ~ A. W. Tozer

[The natural life] knows that if the spiritual life gets hold of it, all its self-centeredness and self-will are going to be killed and it is ready to fight tooth and nail to avoid that. ~
(Clive Staples) C. S. Lewis

I know the power obedience has of making things easy which seem impossible. ~ Teresa of Avila

(Jesus said) "Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.” ~ John 14:21

Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them." ~ John 14:23 NLT

"When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love." ~ John 15:10 NLT

"And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments." ~ 1 John 2:3

"Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome." ~ 1 John 5:3

"Love means doing what God has commanded us, and he has commanded us to love one another, just as you heard from the beginning." ~ 2 John 1:6

"I suspect you would never intend this, but this is what happens. When you attempt to live by your own religious plans and projects, you are cut off from Christ, you fall out of grace. Meanwhile we expectantly wait for a satisfying relationship with the Spirit. For in Christ, neither our most conscientious religion nor disregard of religion amounts to anything. What matters is something far more interior: faith expressed in love." ~ Galatians 5:4-6 MSG

THE HEART OF THE MATTER (for the grieving)

Remember God loves you. He does not bring sickness, nor does He kill children. Religion, many times, has missed the mark regarding God's true nature. We live in a fallen world that is temporarily under the rule of a fallen angel and those with him. We as Christians are in a war while we are here on earth, battling the invisible forces of evil in the heavenly realms. The weapons of our warfare are opposite of what the world teaches. We love, bless, pray, and trust in an awesome God who has made a way for us back to him by sacrificing His own Son in our place.

 "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God."  2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Purpose -  to find peace and perspective in the midst of painful and sometimes confusing times.

My calling and my heart for God's people is to help them come out of religious traditions & into real relationship with an awesome Lord who loves them - no better way to get perspective than to hear God's own words regarding death, life, hope, suffering, faith,and peace. Here is a tapestry of scripture, in common language, that I feel captures the essence of God's heart, truth, plans and provision regarding these things. 

Some of Jesus' words from the night of His betrayal:

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am ~ John 14:1-3

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27 NKJV

"Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am...!" John 17:24

Paul's Words:

"Can anything ever separate us from Christ's love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? ......... No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow -- not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below -- indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord" Romans 8:35 - 39

"No eye has seen no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him." 1 Corinthians 2:9b

"And God will raise us from the dead by his power, just as he raised our Lord from the dead." 1 Corinthians 6:14

"All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort." 2 Corinthians 1:3

"For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands" 2 Corinthians 5:1

"For we will put on heavenly bodies, we will not be spirits without bodies." 2 Corinthians 5:3

"We would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord" 2 Corinthians 5:8b

"Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6 - 7

Here is what the Word of Says Regarding Believers Who Have Died:

and now 

 Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death,so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words. ~ 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Peter's Conclusion to the sufferings of the living:

"So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold -- though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world." 1 Peter 1:6 - 7

"Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see." Hebrews 11:1

And Finally:

 When we are suffering,

During the worst days following a death, (if we allow Him) God surrounds us with others who have gone through what we are going through. We should take full advantage of this, as our Christian brothers and sisters are compelled in their hearts and conscience to be of comfort to those who are suffering, just as they have found comfort in their past experiences through God's word, and the compassion of His other children toward them.

So here is my charge to you, in the name of the Lord:

today - honor your loved one by acknowledging his passing, or better said, his home going. Then celebrate his life, and don't call him dead, because he surely is not. Tell fun stories, eat his favorite foods, find comfort in each other and in God's promises...then, at the end of the day, when it gets quiet and you sense the Lord's presence...take time to make a commitment to the Lord, and to your loved one to meet them in heaven. And you can have confidence that the Lord, who is faithful, willing, and able to make this happen, will stand good on His promises, if you will humble yourself, acknowledge your need for a savior, and put your trust in Him and His finished work on the cross on your behalf.

God Bless you...in Jesus' name.

Thanks & Be Blessed, 

Will Brocker281-216-8960
Grace & Truth Ministries
http://www.facebook.com/GraceTruthMinistries

http://intorelationship.com

A Prayer of Trust

Father thank you for this day. I have been sitting before you. I have been building myself up in my most holy faith. You have been speaking to me through your Word and strengthening the faith you have given me. I get so excited in your presence that it is hard for me to be still and quiet. Why are you so mindful of me my Lord? How can you love me so much? Yet, you assure me that you do and it gives me strength. I am so excited to see your supernatural intervention in my life again today. Thank you for showing me that you are the blessing, yes you and not the things you have made. Oh I love you Lord, because I am convinced of your love for me, and the hope I have of eternal life with you overwhelms me. Today Lord protect me from the enemy of my soul. Help me not to allow him access into my life by the things I do, or say, or set before me. Thank you for the angels that you have assigned to watch over me. I trust you Lord.