TIME TRAVELING PORTALS

Me thinks we worry too much. Let things ride. After all life is an adventure. Even the day to day movements a precision walk. Whether in the deserts of Afghanistan or my own bed in the safety of my home in California, each nano-second is valuable.

I have been looking at time as a vehicle for works rather than a vehicle of experience. Time is the greatest portal that once we learn how to harness it's fullness through each valued movement, there will be no more striving, anxiety, anger and chaos. Only the anticipation and excitement of the next step.

Yet the difference of walking through portals of darkness or light, life or death, still hinges on only one thing, whether we walk alone or in Christ. Yahshua, our messiah is the key. There is no other name by which mankind may be saved. Jesus said "follow Me" and we can do through belief.

WHAT'S MY PURPOSE IN LIFE?

The Apostle Paul explains it very simply in the Bible, to the people in Ephesus.

"For we are His workmanship, created in Jesus Christ for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them".  Ephesians 2:10

Many of us wonder why God doesn't answer our prayers.  Most likely we're praying wrong, asking God to hear our petitions and perform what we want, like He's Santa Clause.  Instead we should be asking Him, what our purpose is for each day and to give us His instructions to follow.

This is what Jesus meant when He said to pray to the Father:

"Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done...give us this day our Daily bread...for Thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory, forever". Matt. 9:13

And yes it's a sin to waste our lives on ourselves or things we deem important.  And even to decide to destroy ourselves or others God has made for His purpose, which we often do when we believe ourselves to be superior to God.

It's time to use our short lifespans on earth, for our godly purpose and accomplish our true destinies.  How you say?  Ask your Father in Heaven and He will answer, in His Son Yeshua's name.

May you find life's richest blessings, when you practice the Art of Hearing God through the power of the Holy Spirit, then it becomes more clear to follow the Good Shepherd!

Olga Hermann

WHO CAN WE TRUST

How do we know when someone is leading us or controlling us? There has been so much manipulation in the world throughout the ages. This began with the trickery of the serpent in the Garden of Eden to Eve and Adam, turning a free people into servants to be used for someone else's agenda. This happens in families, husbands and wives, parents to children, friends, neighbors, colleagues, politics and often in church circles.

What then should be our gauge to know when we're being controlled or led by free will?  Jesus said, “Anyone who doesn't come into the sheepfold using the door but climbs in another way is a thief and robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd”. A door can only be legally opened by the owner of the property or those he gives permission. He goes on to say His sheep (followers) recognize His voice and follow Him receiving His protection and provision, “If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and find pasture”. They won't follow a stranger.

Jesus also gave a warning about the counterfeit and said, “All others who've come (with promises) are thieves and robbers to steal, kill and destroy”. A good picture of this, in Israel's past, sheep were born and raised with shepherds, who walk with them, and they follow him anywhere because he is familiar. But around the world today, a sheep dog, horse or vehicle is used, not to lead but to push from behind and drive them through threats and fear.

The final pledge Jesus offers is, “I AM the Good Shepherd who gives His life for His sheep”. But a hireling, someone who profits from others, will run away when they see danger to their plans.  Jesus reveals to us that a true follower of Christ, is willing to spend his life for those God places in their care. Whether this is our families, neighbors, country, etc. Loyalty is the tested fruit of real love, the most powerful attribute where from real trust has been earned.

If we are a people claiming to love others but run away when things get too complicated or dangerous, we are only con- artists pretending to serve with motives of taking something in return.  We should each ask ourselves, “Am I a hireling or a shepherd?” And to be a true shepherd we must first learn to follow the only true One to lead us, Yeshua our King.  Then we'll learn from another natural order of a Shepherd leading his sheep in a group, the majority also follow behind a few of the lead sheep who walk directly with the Good Shepherd. 

The only way to know another's motives is to see who is really leading them by the fruit of those following.

Olga Hermann

Story from John 10

BLAMING OTHERS

There was a man lying down at a pool in Jerusalem, who was sick for 38 years.  He waited with many others; sick, blind, lame, paralyzed.  Every once in awhile, an angel would come and stir up the pool and the first one who got in would be healed.  

Jesus came and asked him "Do you want to be healed?", telling us this man had a choice.  But rather than say "Yes, of course", the man began to blame others for not helping him into the pool first. The only thing Jesus replied was, "Rise, take up your bed and walk."  Again, the man was given a choice to obey.  And immediately was made well and got up.  

Then the  Jews saw this man carrying his bed on the Sabbath the holy day of rest, which according to their written Laws it was illegal to carry anything, so they confronted him.  Again for the second time the man shifted blame to another and said "He who made me well told me to, "Take up your bed and walk".   

Later Jesus met the healed man in the temple, and said to him, "See you've been made well.  Sin no more, so a worse thing won't happen to you".  But unfortunately for them both, the man's sin of shifting blame had become fully developed and with his new healing he was able to walk over to the Jews to point out Jesus as the one who healed him and caused him to break Jewish Law by carrying his bed on the Sabbath.  And the story says the Jews began to persecute Jesus over this incident and wanted to kill him.

It's hard to say which sin is greater, those who value controlling systems above God's mercy of healing or the one betraying his healer to shift blame away from himself.  Leaving us to ponder, this story definitely gives us a choice to look at ourselves and either pick up our own beds of responsibilities with gratefulness or lie down in self pity and blame, causing grief and trouble to our Savior and others who help us.  Jesus said, “Sin no more, so a worse thing won't happen to you”.

Olga Hermann

Story from John 5

HANDLING OFFENSE

The Bible says when we're offended, we need to leave our gift at the Lord's altar, and go to that one to set it right.  Offense is one of the easiest emotions to take on since it's hard to recognize and disguises itself with all sorts of reasons why we have the right to be mad at the persons who did us wrong. 

Especially in this modern digital age when life is so fast paced, we often don't have time to garnish true relationships with everyone we come in contact, even putting time constraints on those in the same house.  Many families find themselves devoting more time to entertainment than to listening to one another which is a major cause of isolation, loneliness and rejection.  Instead of offenses being dealt with as they come up in small spats, they are forced into the back ground slowly driven deep within a persons soul only to rise up when similar situations occur throughout a person's lifetime causing us to react with each instance.

This widens the gap in communication and understanding leaving us unable to trust fully, and building years of walls around us.  And Oh, the bigger the offense, the greater the pain and the thicker the walls which protects a root of bitterness as it grows into full grown tree.  James 1...  Often we see the fruit of that tree in a person who does really terrible and evil things, minor or major. 

So how do we deal with the pain caused by offense.  First of all we ask the help of the Lord to give us the ability to look at the situation as a person looking from the outside.  Having a person we can trust to talk and pray with is also very beneficial.  The Bible says, confess your sins one to another so we may be healed.

Then put ourselves in the offenders shoes and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal truth as to why they acted that way or said that hurtful thing.  Then pray for our offender to be healed.  Remember in the Book of Job, he lost his whole family, all his wealth and came down with painful boils all over his body.  Once he prayed for his offensive friends, God healed him of all his wounds, trouble and blessed him more than before.

So it's important to forgive our offenders, forgive God (since we often blame Him), and then forgive ourselves, recieving the cleansing He offers through Jesus payment on the Cross.  We can accept that payment by dedicating our lives to Him and turning from our offenses and sins.

Now this entire process may be instantaneous or take a while.  When we're hurt by others it causes a state of grief which is important for us to process emotions. And if we don't release these emotions, anger can set in leading to blame, bitterness and a hidden rage against others, ourselves and God.  This often leads to depression, addictions, deviances and eventually mental and physical illnesses, because the Human body cannot sustain the level of pressure built up without release.  No amount of pills will take away the pain, they only mask it to be bearable, and allows the root of pain to fester.

So the best thing to do for ourselves, is to enlist the help of the Holy Spirit, who Jesus said was sent to be the comforter and counselor to those who accept Him.  If neccessary, go to the offensive person and discuss the issue with them.  Often offenses are just misunderstandings, but if they are unable to hear you, forgive them anyway, drop the offense.  By carrying it around, we are only lugging around their sin, and our own is heavy enough. 

This is a great beginning and effective way to live a healthy and peaceful life.

May God restore and bless you in every way.

Olga Hermann

SIGHT AND SOUND

Today I read something incredible.  When we view something digitally, whether by Internet or TV, we are actually hearing sound, which makes so much sense, since God spoke to produce light.  His sound is still echoing across the Universe producing in-kind offspring through His Life carrying Voice when He first said, "Let There Be Light". And there was.
Olga Hermann

BEING STILL TO KNOW GOD

What Does It Mean To:  "Be Still And Know I AM GOD"?

Some say that means spending time with God in His Word, the Bible.  The passage comes from Psalm 46:10, where King David wrote in his song, that God calls for peace in the midst of the upheavel in the earth, then all will understand He is God.

Reading the Bible and being familiar with God's word is extremely important since it's hard to know who God is, without reading the words He gave His prophets.  In it we learn the geneology of mankind, particularly Yeshua the prophecied son of David, King of Israel and all eternity.  The Bible is His-Story. 

The word "know" in the Bible often refers to an intimate and close relationship, such as "Adam knew Eve and she conceived a son".

The first part of God's instruction is, "Be Still".  This may sound easy but is really extremly hard in a society filled with noise and distractions.  Most of us struggle with this, whether we're young and physically active or older and mentally active.  

Jesus said, "my sheep hear my voice and will follow no other".  So first we have to ask ourselves, "Are we His sheep?  If we aren't sure, then we need to decide if we want to believe, then dedicate our lives to Him, by renouncing our sinful ways, and accepting his forgiveness in order to "follow Him". 

Secondly, an important part of our discipline is to learn to be still;  not reading, writing, doing, singing, chanting, etc.. just waiting on Him.  When I first began practicing this, it would take hours to quiet my mind enough to hear His voice.  And when I allow too many things to weigh me down, it still does.  But once we make that time as a special date time with Him, we will hear His "still small voice" clearly enough to hold conversations with this ONE who is closer than a brother and more intimate than a lover, because His Spirit lives in all who invite Him. 

Prayer should never be a one-sided conversation with us doing all the planning and talking.  In this way, by sharpening our listening skills, we come to "Know" HIM.  And there is no earthly relationship more deeply intense and wonderful.

Olga Hermann 

WHO IS OUR MASTER?

Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters; either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (money)”,  Matthew 6:24.  This is a choice each one must make as individuals, communities and even nations.

A few years ago I was tested in this, when the economy took a turn for the worst, and panic gripped me.  I knew God’s promises and claimed to believe them, yet my actions proved a heart filled with fear of “what ifs” in loss of income and value. When I finally realized my time was spent more on thinking about bills than God, it hit me that I’d given myself over to worshipping mammon.

God’s first Commandment says, “you shall not put other gods before Me”. And when we devote more of our time and energy thinking about money, it becomes more important than God, and becomes our god. Our first priority in life than becomes attaining financial success, so in effect we are building the kingdom of this world first.

But Jesus said, “seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and ALL these things will be given to you” Matthew 6:33. So how do we do that?  We can start by finding out what God’s purpose for our life really is.  And how do we know?  We can  search out who we really are, what our gifts are, our talents and passions.  Not in superficial things, but talents that feel natural to us, this is where God can use us most. Then we need to get trained up in those areas.

Finally, we have to step out, and whatever the talent is, find the best place to use them for the benefit of others, starting with those around us and where we have the most influence.  Then before we know it, our priority focus will shift from making money to doing good works. Money will then take it’s rightful place as a useful tool to fulfill God’s Kingdom purpose for our lives and will come in as and when needed.

By changing our priorities from Earth’s to Heaven’s, our lives will not only be more rewarding and exciting, but the most important thing will be the Lord’s answer to us when we stand before Him on Judgement Day to settle accounts.  Jesus said we’ll only receive one of two answers on that day, and we have the opportunity to choose now what that will be:  He will either say, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many.  Enter into the joy of your Lord”. Or He will say, “You wicked and lazy servant…cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth”, Matthew 25.

We can see how crucial it is to use what God has given us wisely and to change our focus from trusting mammon to trusting God.  Some may say they don’t believe this applies to them, but what if Jesus is actually telling the truth and it does?

Others say "we are saved by grace and not by works".  It’s true we can only have eternal life through faith in Jesus alone and not through anything we do, since He said, “no one comes to the Father except through Me”.  But it’s our works that reveal whether we really believe Jesus enough to follow Him as He said, “if anyone loves Me, he will follow My commands”, John 14:21-24.

A good example is the thief on the cross who hadn’t done anything good in life, and only pardoned in his last moments.  Yet he was allowed into Paradise, and with his dying request to follow Jesus, his words became a witness for Christ these 2000 years, every time we read the crucifixion story.

So we need to ask ourselves, “Who do we love?"  Then get our priorities in order and serve that one first.

Olga Hermann

AM I GOING TO HEAVEN?

Yes? That's great! I'll see you there!

Not Sure? Do you want to?  IT'S REALLY SIMPLE

God gave mankind 10 Commandments to live by:
Exodus 20 / Deut. 5
1) You shall have no other gods but me.
2) You shall not make images to worship and serve them.
3) You shall not use my name in vain.
4) You shall rest on the seventh day and keep it holy.
5) You shall honor your father and mother.
6) You shall not murder (includes hating someone).
7) You shall not commit adultery (even lusting for someone).
8) You shall not steal.
9) You shall not lie about someone else (slander).
10) You shall not want and take what someone else has.

God's universal law says that the penalty for breaking any one of these laws is death. If you throw even one rock at a window, it will break. God's laws are binding.

So, if you've ever broken anyone of these laws (welcome to the Human Race), you will die in your sins and the Bible says you cannot enter Heaven.
"But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death (Hell)" Revelations 21:8

BUT THERE IS GOOD NEWS!!!
God loved His world so much that He sent His own Spirit to become flesh here on earth in the form of His Son, JESUS, who paid our penalty of death. That means HE died instead of us so we don't have to. John 1:1&14, John 3:16

AND THERE IS A CATCH!!!
With our own free will, we have to agree to His terms of payment; then we become His; not as slaves, but as His people to love, honor and cherish Him and one another.

Now how do we do this? It's very simple: By believing in Him and what He did for us.

So what choices do we have? ONLY TWO!
Jesus said "He who believes in Him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already". John 3:16-18

If you're ready to make a commitment to Him now, you must tell Him.

Here are a few words to say:
Lord Jesus, I see by your Laws that I have broken them and sinned. I confess that I can't keep them on my own. I understand that the penalty is death. I believe that you died on the cross and paid the price for me. I accept your free gift of sacrifice and forgiveness. I believe you rose again, so I can follow you into eternal life. I choose to belong to you. Come into my life, change my heart, baptise me in your Holy Spirit. Set me free and use me for your greater purpose. Thank you, my Lord, my Savior, my God. In YESHUA'S Name, Amen

IF YOU REALLY MEANT THAT...
Expect a complete change in your life. And:
1) Talk to God everyday (pray) like you would a friend, let Him be first.
2) Read the Bible, ask the Holy Spirit to explain what you don't understand.
3) Find other believers in Jesus in a loving church or group to grow. We are now brothers and sisters for ever.
4) Be baptized in water in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as a public statement you've turned from death to life.
5) Don't be afraid of mistakes, they will make you stronger, but turn away from them as fast as you can.
6) Enjoy this new life, even when you go through trials He will be with you. Be thankful for everything.
7) Love the Lord your God, with all your heart, mind, soul and strength; then love your neighbor as yourself starting with forgiving them, as you've just been forgiven.

God bless you with His Enormous LOVE as He walks with you to fulfill your destiny!
Rev. Olga Hermann