Okay, well it's not classified any more. =) 

And here it is, folks!!!! 😍

The TOP SECRET treasure map that starts the big adventure in A Marvelous Redeemer! 😎

And of course, I had to take the mysterious writings off the map for the present time.
We couldn’t have people solving the mystery BEFORE they read the book, now could we?! 😯

I can’t take credit for the drawing, a dear friend of mine drew it. I’m so pleased with how it turned out! <3

I’m eager to share A Marvelous Redeemer with you all so that you can see how important this map really is! 📚

And, how it pretty much ruined the life of the MC. 😭
Okay, I’ll stop talking before I spoil something! 😉

Do you like these little sneak peeks? Would you like to see more as we draw nearer to the release of A Marvelous Redeemer? Let me know in the comments! 😀

Until next week, friends! Keep letting your lights shine!

(Could you tell I discovered the world of emojis? 😂 It wasn't too obvious, was it? 😬 Actually, I didn't JUST discover it, it's just that posts are so bland without them! 😭)

Okay, this is me, signing off! 😊
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(scroll down to see the not-so-top-secret-anymore treasure map!) 

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ALMOST THERE! =) 
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JUST KIDDING. KEEP ON SCROLLING.
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THIS BLOG POST WAS REALLY ABOUT THE VALUE OF PATIENCE. HA. =) 
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​I'M REALLY DOING THIS FOR YOUR SAKE. DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO TYPE ALL THESE DOTS?!
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TA DA! <3 

LADIES AND GENTS, I PRESENT TO YOU THE TREASURE MAP. 

​A dear friend of ours won his toughest battle on Friday.
​
Some people might say, “he lost his battle with cancer.”
But I say, “he won it.”
You were a fighter, Jonathan, and you never gave up. You didn't LOSE anything. No, on the contrary. You won the greatest reward EVER. And the reward you’re now experiencing is beyond any of our imaginations. Perfect peace, a perfect body, a beautiful home in the presence of our Savior. And that’s just scratching the surface!
The day of your burial, Jonathan, was blistery and cold. It seemed that when you left, you took the sunshine with you.
Our hearts grieve for those left behind, those whose lives feel empty because you’re no longer in it. It hasn’t even been a week and you’re already so sorely missed.
But we don’t grieve for you, friend. Because we know that as Charles Spurgeon says, “Death is no punishment to the believer. It is the gate of endless joy.” And that’s just what you’re experiencing!
We’ll never forget you, Jonathan. Your testimony will continue to change lives.
I think I can speak for everyone when I say, “we’re greatly looking forward to the day we meet again.”

​Do you want the peace that Jonathan had? Do you want the calm assurance that when you pass from this earth into the glory of Heaven, that’ll you’ll live with Jesus for eternity?
Friends, we’re ONE step away from the grave. We’re ONE accident away from death. It could be ten years from now, or it could be ten seconds. We don’t know our death date. Because of that, we MUST be ready at a moments notice. We must be ready, because if we're not, it could be too late.
 
If you don’t know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, let me share these scriptures with you. And even if you do know Him, these are great scriptures to memorize, because you never know when you might need them to share with others.

“I’m a good person. God will let me into heaven since I’m a nice guy.”

Romans 3:23  – “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Romans 3:10  – “As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one.”
Romans 5:12  – “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.”
​
 
“What’s the big deal with sin anyway? Some sin is fun, and it doesn’t hurt anyone.”

Romans 6:23 – “For the wages of sin is DEATH, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
 

“But, why would Jesus die for ME? He didn’t do anything wrong, it doesn’t make sense.”

Romans 5:8 – “But God demonstrates His own LOVE toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
 

"How can I be saved?" 

Romans 10:9-10 – “…If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
 

“How do I know if God really heard my prayer?”

Romans 10:13  – For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”

 
“What do I do now?”
Romans 10:17  – "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
​

Friends, our lives are SO short. Our time on earth is but a vapor. (James 4:14)
I talked last week about not holding on to your skeleton. The person you used to be has died, there’s no room for him any longer!

Let’s not waste a single minute of our lives, friends.

Let’s be lights for Christ doing our best to use our gifts and abilities for His glory. 

When I was little, I had a "heart transplant."
Little did I know then, that it would affect my life forever.
 
 
Have you ever thought about the fact that when you gave your life to Christ, you actually had a “heart transplant?” It says in Ezekiel 36:26, “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.”
 
That sure sounds a lot like a heart transplant to me! =) 
 
But have you ever thought about the fact that once you’ve given your life to Christ, nothing is ever the same again?
 
At least, once a true conversion happens you should never be the same again. You should be different in every aspect of life. You should talk differently, walk differently, hear differently, look differently, see the world through a different set of glasses.
 
Honestly, there’s not one thing that should stay the same. Why? Because your old man has DIED. And when someone dies, they’re ALL dead. They’re gone. Half of them doesn’t remain on the earth, while half of them goes onto heaven. 
 
And that folks, should be us.
 
A walking skeleton is pretty easy to spot, wouldn’t you agree?
 
Let’s not be walking skeletons of the people we once were. Let’s be NEW creations in Christ and live our lives so differently and set apart that people look at us in envy and want what we have.
The day we give our lives to Christ, let’s forsake our old man and throw him away for good. Let’s not cling to the skeleton of who we once were.
 
Five Ways You Might Be Holding on to Your Skeleton

1. If You Still Desire The Old

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” ( 2 Corinthians 5:17)
 
When you give your life to Christ, you become new. You shouldn’t desire the things you once did. Your fleshly desires should be replaced by heavenly, godly ones. A little ice cream isn’t a sin. Watching movies won’t kill you, but having these things as the focal point of your desires, thoughts, and motives, is a sign that you might be holding a little too tightly to your skeleton.
 
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     2. If You’re Not Quick to Love, and Forgive
“So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.” (​Colossians 3:12-14 )

When you give your life to Christ, you realize that the amount of patience, compassion, humility, gentleness, and forgiveness He has towards you is overwhelmingly big. Likewise, we should act the same way towards others. We understand that through our sin, the Lord forgave us. So shouldn’t we be readily available to do that for others? Lastly we see that as a new man we need to PUT ON  LOVE. Which, as Colossians says, is the BOND of unity. Without love, there will be no unity.
 
     3. If You’re Still a Slave to Sin
“Knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin.” (Romans 6:6 )

Once your old man dies, (or as Romans puts it “it’s crucified with Christ”) then we should no longer be slaves of sin. Sin shouldn’t own us. Will we still sin? Yes. Will there still BE sin? Yes. But, it shouldn’t rule us anymore. And when we sin, our spirit should grieve.  
 
 
     4. If You’re Not Bearing Fruit
"I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you." (John 15:1-8 )

I talked about this a few weeks ago. So, just to expound briefly here, if we’re new in Christ, we are branches in Christ. He is the vine, and in Him, we MUST bear fruit. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. If we’re not bearing these things we need to take a look at our lives. Because the branches that don’t bear fruit, as it says in John 15:6, are cast into the lake of fire.  


     5. If You’re Not Renewing Yourself Daily
“Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.” (2 Corinthians 4:16 )

When we give our lives to Christ, we should yearn to be more like our Father. Most little boys want to be “just like daddy when they grow up,” right? So we, as Christians, should desire to be like OUR Father and to learn about Him, and please Him, bringing glory to His name. In this way, we renew our inner man daily by reading His word, praying, fasting, attending services with other fellow believers, and encouraging and exhorting each other in the body of Christ.  
 
 
Friends, are you holding a little too tightly to your skeleton? Have you not fully forsaken the old man? Have you done these things, yet still can brush up on any of the points above?
I know there’s always room for improvement for me.
 
So, let’s work on them together.
 
Let’s try our hardest to be Lights for Christ in the midst of a darkening world. 

It's here folks!! 

Check it out!!! 

There's a riddle that goes something like, "You're standing on a bridge and you see a boat full of people. Yet, there isn't a single person. Why? Because they're all married." 

Well, I've got one for you this morning. "There's a room full of breathing men. They all have heartbeats, they all have pulses, yet, every single one of them are dead." 

Why? 

Well, because the death I'm talking about isn't physical. It's spiritual. 

They are all breathing, walking, talking, living, men. Yet, spiritually, they're deader than the ham on Christmas morning. 

Sometimes it's easy to spot these dead men. (Know that when I say "men" I also mean "women.") 

Yet, other times, they are so good at covering up the stench of death that we don't even notice. 

But today, we're not going to be focusing on other people. Today, we're going to be focusing on ourselves.
How do we know that we are alive in Christ? Well, these five points below are a big indication of our salvation. Also, if we look at this the other way around, we can spot these dead men rather quickly. If these men (and women) don't follow these five points, then it's time to look closer at the situation. 


5 Ways We Should Be Living Today 

     1. With Love (Mark 12:30-31) 
John said that other people will know we are Christians by our LOVE. (John 13:35) 
I said that sometimes it's hard to spot a dead man. But friends, trust me, if we're alive in Christ, people should be able to spot that from a million miles away. 
We should have love SO abundant that it's pouring out of us like Old Faithful. Love isn't only a sure sign of our salvation, but it's also commanded by God. (Mark 12:30-31) 

     2.  With Fruit (Galatians 5:22-23)
If we have the Holy spirit living in us, we should have such an abundance of fruit that we could start our own farmers market! Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. 
They should ALL be a part of our daily lives. 

     3. With Love for the Church (Acts 2:42-47) 
I know we already talked about loving others. But having a deep, yearning desire to be with His people is also very important. Sundays are a day of refreshment, a day to edify, strengthen, and exhort our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:11).
If we don't have a desire to be with His people, we might just want to check our spiritual pulse.   

     4. With Godly Actions (2 Peter 1-7)
A simple action can sometimes speak louder than a thousand words. Are we quick to volunteer? Are we always ready to lend a hand to the homeless, widowed and orphaned? Are we fast to put our own desires last, and others first? 
This, my friends, is where true joy is found. By putting Jesus first, Others second, and Yourself last. 


     5. With a Heavenly Mindset (Romans 12:2) 
My friends, this world is NOT our home. Of course we can be content, happy even, but our contentment shouldn't stem from worldly pleasures. It shouldn't come from ice cream, marvel movies, or The Greatest Showman. It shouldn't manifest itself in the next big adventure, a fancy car or a million dollar home. 
While all these things can have their proper places in our lives, our joy, our worth, our contentment, should be found in Christ. 
Don't get attached to this world, friends. It will fail you. EVERY TIME. 
Attach yourself to Christ who will NEVER fail you. Who will never leave you nor forsake you.  

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So, friends, let's make sure we aren't like those dead men. And if we find ourselves by a "dead man," let's be quick to tell him about Jesus. Quick to listen, and pray.  

Let's all keep in mind our heavenly goal, while trying our hardest to be Lights for Christ.