what God calls you

FRIEND John 15:15

CHOSEN 1Thess.1:4

HIS MASTERPIECE, HAND MADE, PURPOSED AND FASHIONED FOR GOOD THINGS Eph. 2:10

TEMPLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT 1Cor.6:19

MESSENGER TO THE WORLD Acts 1:8

HIS CHILD Gal. 3:26

GREATLY LOVED Rom. 5:8

FREE INDEED Jn. 8:36

BRAND NEW 2Cor. 5:17

HIS PEOPLE, SHEEP OF HIS PASTURE Psm. 100:3

CHILD OF GOD 1Jn.3:1

HEIR AND CO-HEIR  WITH JESUS CHRIST Rom. 8:17

LIGHT OF THE WORLD AND SALT OF THE EARTH Mat. 5:14 

Can you please help? If you have more to add to this list, please send it to me in a comment, with the Bible verse. Thanks in advance.

big parrot return to luta cave museum

Early this morning a bunch of large parrot fish came in from outside the reef.

Parrot fish are very popular on Rota.

"This is the day the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it."

slain in the Spirit

"Slain in the Spirit" (slain in the Holy Spirit) is a very common term primarily used in Pentecostal and Charismatic circles.

It's something you will usually only see in a Pentecostal or Charismatic church or meeting. Nothing harmful has ever been attributed to this experience.

While attending Bible college in Pensacola, Florida, at a Holy Spirit Filled Baptist Church, people being slain in the Spirit was a common occurance. It was usually when people went forward to have someone pray for them, at the end of a church service. 

"Collapsing under the power of the Holy Spirit," sounds less dramatic, and perhaps more accurate. There's got to be many ways to describe this phenomena. 

If Pharisees and Sadducees were still around today, they probably would say something like, "That's not scriptural, and it's nowhere in the Bible." 

Checked myself, through every book of the Bible, cover to cover, and found loads and loads of bizzare things the Holy Spirit did, or things happening as a direct result of the Holy Spirit's movement, influence, or force. One of the strangest was when Elijah called down fire from heaven and instantly roasted alive 50 soldiers, who were trying to capture him (twice). So, the Holy Spirit overwhelming a person, and causing him/her to collapse on the floor, is comparatively minor compared to many other Holy Spirit events in the Bible. 

On a personal note: My brother had gotten Baptized in the Holy Spirit, describing it to me as an intensely emotional life-changing experience, and he also started speaking in tongues. I wanted it too. Went to the Bible Study, listened carefully, and my heart was like, "AMEN" to everything. Prayed the prayer with the teacher, expecting to get blasted by the Holy Spirit, as my brother was. Nothing happened - blah. The teacher told me, "You must accept it by faith." I did just that. 

Two weeks later, at the Bible study, while sitting on the floor, the Holy Spirit started filling me up (from within, felt very cold, and hot at the same time) until I was completely incapacitated, and couldn't talk or move for about 5 or 10 minutes. No one even knew what was happening to me, but I knew what had happened. After that experience, when I went to pray, by myself, I started speaking in tongues. 

A week or two after that, heard this guy preaching about, "hearing God's voice." Really wanted that, desperately. Followed all the instructions, also did the faith thing, and after praying in tongues for 30 minutes, every day, for one week, heard God's voice for the first time (a still small voice). 

God told me that he loved me, then he told me unbelievable things I would do in the future. Everything he told me then, actually  happened. Through time, the Holy Spirit has done and keeps doing amazing things, on His own, and sometimes through friends and I - not just making people pass out and collapse onto the floor, but things like in the Book of Acts, when the very 1st Christians started doing miracles by the Holy Spirit.  

In the church I'm attending, it's quite textbook - a person goes forward for prayer. They first discuss the prayer request quietly, and the pastor or elder lays hands on the person's head or shoulders. After a few minutes, the person's knees start buckling, and they start teatering backward. Ideally, someone is behind them, to catch them, before hitting the floor. That can be a really hard impact on our rough cement floors, in our "Tent Church." Someone brought a large carpet rug, but people don't always fall over where they are supposed to.

A noteworthy observation: people started falling over in the Holy Spirit about the same time as when the church atmosphere changed. Starting in November (I could be wrong on the month), when you enter the Tent Church to get your seat, you immediately get a strong presence of the Lord vibe, which is hard to describe to anyone who hasn't experienced it (almost tangible). As we sing and praise the Lord, it's like the Holy Spirit moves among us, and around us. Then when people are invited to go to the front for prayer, it's like at a Billy Graham Crusade - some invisible force gently pulls you to the front (we believe that to also be the Holy Spirit). 

Have a good friend, who had a vision (the Holy Spirit does that too) - lots and lots of people lying on the ground, slain in the Spirit. When I first heard it, something inside me is like saying, "start praying for that." The Bible is also telling me God will answer our prayers.  

It's like, reading the Bible, and the Holy Spirit makes verses jump out, with your heart burning, and ice-cold, all at the same time.

So, call it what we like - slain in the Spirit, collapse under the power of the Holy Spirit, pass out from God's power, fall over in the Spirit, whatever. 

Really like how Jesus describes the Holy Spirit in the Gospel of John. 

Most importantly, Jesus said He would give us the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, who would teach us all things. He also said that all the things (signs and wonders) he did, we would also do, and more. Of course, we can do nothing without Him. That's what faith, trust, humility, and loving God wholeheartedly is all about.

west dock marina & small island

This is the West Dock Marina, and a small man-made island across the bay, on the beautiful island of Rota, in the Mariana Islands.

My place is right above the Marina, with a small patch of jungle between us. Just recently, surveyors cut a path through the jungle from the Marina directly to where I live. Now I can walk down to the Marina, through the jungle, in a matter of minutes - nice.

On Rota, we all love our Mayor Aubry (glad I voted for her). Thank God for Mayor Aubry! She is the 1st ever woman mayor on Rota, and in the CNMI, and she's still in her 30s. She believes in Jesus Christ and prays.

She and her administration are in the process of building pavillions at key places all over the island. So, in the near future, we'll not only have a new pavilion at the marina, but also a public restroom and beach shower. 

As soon as I get my fishing gear in order, planning to head over to the small island to see what i can catch. My dog, Toku, loves to go to the island.  

Here's the West Dock Marina and small island in the morning. 

war

  

 

GOD'S PURPOSE

Answering God's call to, "Follow Jesus," quickly discovered it's not a lovely walk in the park. Great inner peace was immediately evident, and everything started changing from the inside out. Yes, God became alive, even real, with his presence and power.

Being able to stand up, grab his hand, and start walking with the Son of God, there is a realization of great clarity: the Creator's purpose, a relocation into the kingdom of light, with a new heart bubbling, spewing, gushing with enternal life - War!

SINCE BEGINNING OF TIME

It would be much easier, as Enoch experienced, to walk with God and then just disappear. Or, get taken up to heaven by a flaming chariot, like Elijah.

Abba Father, is actively preparing, training, and deploying willing, and ready individuals to enter immediate combat. Glad I didn't let such an opportunity pass me by. This war has been going on since Adam and Eve. Only recently, its been severely intensifying, while showing signs of coming to a head, with an immanent end. The signs of the time tell us Jesus is coming back very soon.

NATURE OF WAR  

Talking to his disciples, Jesus said, "You are in the world, but not of the world." 

In our lives, we all struggle with inner conflicts daily:

James 4:1(NIV) - What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?

1Peter 2:11(NIV) -  Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul.

Beyond personal conflicts, the scale of this war goes beyond comprehension - causing more damage to our planet and the human race than all previous conflicts and wars combined, since the beginning of time. And yet, it's hidden, invisible - we can sense only some of this war's resulting death and destruction. It rages on, ever escalating.

BATTLE GROUND IN BRAIN

Many battles are won or lost in the brain of a child of God - always ongoing, 24/7.

2Corinthians 10:3-5(NIV) - For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 

We must agressively control our thought life to avoid "stinking thinking." My favorite pastor said, "Letting a crow land on your head is easily prevented. And, no one will let a crow build a nest in their hair." Problem is, we often let the devil build a nest in our brain, and even hatch eggs there (myself included). We can, and should, resist and reject any ungodly thoughts. There's no reason to passively accept or even ponder any and every thought that floats into our mind. Our mind is a spiritual battle ground, a war is raging, so we must have complete and continual control of each and every thought. Dominate the battleground.

People mock and accuse me of being brainwashed. Indeed!

Ephesians 5:26(NIV) - ...to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word...

Bible reading, hanging out with friends who love Jesus, listening to Christian music I like, thanking God for all the cool things in life, speaking in tongues, praising the Lord, attending my home church and meetings, are some things that have been super helpful in getting a handle on my thought life.

NO MIDDLE GROUND 

The war has been between the kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness - the kingdom of God, and the kingdom of Satan (aka, Lucifer, devil), the Creator, with his angels, and the disobedient, created spiritual beings. The natural creation, including flora and fauna, and the human race, have been caught in the middle, since Adam and Eve's disobedience.

God has no intentions of letting the enemy drag the entire human race down into the lake of fire. For this reason, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to earth, and redeemed mankind. If we believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins on the cross, rose from the dead, and is Lord of all (even Lord over the devil), we become born-again into God's kingdom - children of God forever. Countless millions are in God's kingdom, but many, many have yet to be freed from the power of darkness (the absence of Jesus Christ, the light of the world). That's what we're up against. There's no "kingdom of shadows" or "nation of shade"- it's a life with Jesus Christ or without (light and darkness).

Ephesians 6:12(NIV) - For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

 

BATTLE IS THE LORD'S

1Samuel 17:47(NIV) - ...for the battle is the Lord’s...

Exodus 14:14(NIV) - The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.

2Chronicles 20:15(NIV) - ...For the battle is not yours, but God’s.

The Old Testament battles of Israel, after they were set free from Egypt, are great examples of actual physical battles Israel experienced, in history, all of which were initiated and directed by God. In many battles, the army of Israel didn't need to lift a finger - God did everything, they just had to show up to see God's work. Other times, the Lord required Israel to do most of the heavy lifting, but God was with them, always giving the victory.

It's important to note - Israel only won a battle when Israel followed God's directions and guidelines for each campaign. Failure to do so, resulted in defeat.  

Deuteronomy 20:3-4(NIV) - “Hear, Israel: Today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not panic or be terrified by them. For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.”

Joshua 23:10(NIV) - One of you routs a thousand, because the Lord your God fights for you, just as he promised. 

As soldiers in the Lord's Army, we should never attempt to engage the adversary or any of his minions on our own. "Those who are led by the Spirit are sons of God." We must always understand it is the power of the Holy Spirit, and God's authority, in the name of Jesus Christ, that we cast out demons or resist the enemy. Without the Lord, we are nothing. In the Bible Jesus Christ gives believers the authority to cast out demons. As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are also given authority to "resist the devil" and/or rebuke the devil. We do this as a believer washed in the blood of Jesus Christ, in the authority of the name of Jesus Christ, the name above all names, power and authority. In Jesus Christ a believer is, "the righteousness of God." So, I resist, rebuke, or cast out a demon, in God's power, representing His authority (in the name of Jesus Christ), not in my own power, or my own knowledge. When we speak the name of Jesus Christ, it isn't a magic word, or an encantation, it's as a representative of the kingdom of God (who follows Jesus wholeheartedly, full of the Holy Spirit).

In the Book of Acts, the Sons of Scheeva, attempted  an exorcism, using the name of Jesus Christ, and the demon inside the person replied, "Jesus, I know, Paul I know, but who are you?" They were beaten up and chased away, by the demon-possessed person. The Sons of Scheeva did not believe in Jesus Christ.

 

PUT ON ARMOR OF GOD 

 

 

WEAPONS OF WARFARE

• Bible: read, read out loud, memorize, read the entire Bible (from cover to cover, once every year); take notes when someone is preaching (and review later)
• Faith: Forsaking All I Trust Him; speak in tongues often to build up your faith
• God's Presence: practice the presence of God all the time (download a free copy of "Practising the Presence of God" by Bro. Lawrence, and read it often)
• Holy Spirit: be led by the Holy Spirit, get baptized in the Holy Spirit, pray in the Spirit, try to be filled with the Spirit all the time, pray in the Spirit
• Learn to hear and listen to God's still small voice
  
• Prayer: pray with 2 or more believers, pray in a large group (out loud), prayer silently, pray in a closet (so no one can see or hear you), pray in the name of Jesus Christ, pray with understanding, pray in the Spirit, pray in tongues, learn about and do intercessory prayer, be a prayer warrior, fast and pray
• Name of Jesus Christ: Live a life that is consistant with his name. Love the lord with all your heart and soul, speak his name in faith, represent the kingdom of God by being led by the Holy Spirit and filled with the Holy Spirit
• Blood of Jesus: Believe and have faith that his blood washes away all sin, confess your sins and asks him for cleansing by his blood; when you take the Lord's Supper, remember what the blood of Jesus does, and has done.
• Forgiveness: stop waiting for apologies; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven: Father forgive them, for they know not what they do; forgive people you forgot to forgive; ask the Lord to dig deep in your heart and rip out every root of bitterness; read Psalm 51 out loud many times; forgive people 7 X 77 times, and more; forgive yourself
• Fruits of the Spirit: Be patient and grow in the church God wants you to attend. As you grow beyond baby stage, and start to mature, the fruits will start coming out. Often "self control" takes longer than the rest, but it will come out eventually. Most important fruit, of course, is LOVE (it can tide you over until the other fruit start appearing). If your brothers and sisters are shaking your hand instead of kissing you on the  cheek when they greet you every meeting, maybe its not the right church. 
  
• Unity: Be one with other believers, through love, as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one; love, edify, and serve brothers and sisters; meet with other believers and grow in the Spirit together; learn to be a servant like Jesus
  
• Structure of God's Army: Jesus is the head of the body of Christ; Jesus is the head of the church; in the Body of Christ, the Holy Spirit has apostles, prophets, evangelists, teachers, and pastors; apostles establish churches and serve pastors; pastors are the head of individual churches, shepherds of the flock, serve and make disciples; evangelists are used by the Holy Spirit to bring new believers into the body of Christ (often with signs and wonders by the Holy Spirit); teachers equip, prepare, and help young believers in the body of Christ mature; prophets serve all the body of Christ, not only local churches, to edify believers in the body of Christ, and point to future events as revealed by the Holy Spirit.
  

*All 5 are gifts from the Holy Spirit to the body of Christ, and normally do not operate independently of each other, ordinarily the 4 all coordinate with the Apostle or vice/versa.

**Within a Local Church the Pastor is the head. As the Holy Spirit confirms in the body of Christ, the Pastor may appoint elders, and then deacons.

This post is only intended to build up other brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ. By all means, double check with your Bible translation to make sure everything written here is coming from the Bible and OK with the Holy Spirit. There's really no time to sit on the sidelines as a spectator. The spiritual war is full on, with casualties and destruction daily. If you are a spiritually healthy Christian, it's time to enter the battle. Our Commander and Chief is Jesus Christ the Lord of Hosts. Your Commanding Officer is your Pastor. If you don't have a church, ask God to help you find the one He wants for you. Go there, and start growing in the Lord patiently. In time, the Holy Spirit will give you gifts to better serve your brothers and sisters.

The time for hesitation's through.

No time to wallow in the mire.

guppies in the kangkong

 

It doesn't look very good right now - had to cut everything back to the surface-water level, so the kangkong could start producing new, fresh growth. In a week or two, there will be loads of big green, yummy, spinach leaves everywhere.

Kangkong (aka, kong-xin tsai, or water spinach), in the Pacific Islands, in Southeast Asia, and in China, is a favorite veggie for many. It's so easy to grow, as well as being super healthy.

For the U.S.A., it is banned in most states. It is considered too invasive and foreign. Thank the Lord, it is not banned in the Mariana Islands, so, never have to buy "imported American spinach," which is way to expensive, anyway.

In a jungle nearby, found an old broken freezer, overgrown with vines and stuff. Cleaned it up, and planted young kangkong sprouts inside (anchored with rocks, and a little soil). Added water as the kangkong sprouts grew. Kangkong is quite prolific, so it didn't take long to get good results.

 

The water spinach (aka, swamp spinach) loves a swamp-like environment. For that reason, often making sure the freezer is always full of water, as much as possible. No water pump, or drains needed. In this hot tropical climate, water evaporates extremely fast. During our rainy season, no need to regulary refresh the swamp spinach.

There's only one problem with a good Kangkong growbed - too much standing water. Yes, you guessed it - mosquitoes!

This dilemma is easily solved with live guppies. A good gardening friend, on the east coast of this island, uses guppies in their rainwater barrels to irradicate mosquitoes. Put a jar full of guppies ino the kangkong swamp a year ago. Thank you, Jesus - the guppies are thriving, the water spinach has been growing super good, and no mosquitoes anywhere! Discovered, the guppies love mosquito larvae.

Although, on the outside, the rusty freezer looks very ghetto (not trying to get published with Homes & Garden Magazine), my friends and I always have a steady supply of yummy water spinach. With the guppies, no fertilizer is ever needed for the kangkong (not even Miracle Grow). 

Have observed one key factor to sustain the growth of healthy green spinach leaves, week after week, month after month - use a garden hose, spray the surface of the kangkong swamp with fresh cool water every few days, for a few minutes. In doing this, evaporated water is replaced with fresh oxigenated water, which the spinach and guppies both need. Neglecting to spray the kangkong regularly will result in non-desirable looking spinach leaves.

The coolest thing about kangkong - it grows year round (indoors or out), as long as it has plenty of water. The leaves and even the stems are very delicious, especially as stir fry, in noodles, soup, or with pasta.

Swamp spinach is all about the harvest, which brings to mind what Jesus said in the Gospel of John, chapter 15, 1-8 (NIV): 

1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me."

5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples."

Thank you for visiting this blog. Hope you will try kangkong, and even more importantly, you will walk with Jesus, the true Master Gardener. 

If you live on the island of Rota, or visitng from another island, stop by sometime, and get a free jar of guppies - plenty for everybody.

Take care.

Steve and Donna baptized

Steve and Donna decided to follow Jesus! They wanted to get baptized right away. So, after morning worship service this morning, we all headed for the beach - another baptism!?

One of our elders joked with us and said something like, "Maybe we should just start having church here at the beach every Sunday!"

So glad to rejoice with the angels in heaven, when Bro. Steve and Sis. Donna came up out of the water.

Thank you for visiting this blog site. If you are a Christian, please pray for Bro. Steve and Sis. Donna as they begin their new life in Jesus Christ. 

Here in the Mariana Islands, people say, "Thank you", in the Chamorro language by saying, "Si yu'us ma'ase."