What are we training for?... if not to win the battle?

In every aspect of our lives we are "training" for something. Our training is either passive or active, by which I mean that we are either:

passively training ~ going through a set of motions/behaviors/activities either unaware of, or with a lack of care for the goal or end in mind

actively training ~ going through a set of motions/behaviors/activities aware of and with action bringing us towards the desired end or goal in mind

An example of our everyday life training, our diet (by which I only mean what we are eating/drinking). We are either eating everything we want either unaware or with lack or care for how our bodies will ultimately turn out, or we are submitting our eating behavior to our desired goal to reach the end in mind, good health, fitness whatever. My point is either way we are training/preparing for something.

In the spiritual world this is the same, most people pray whether they really believe the answer will come or not, many will look for religious ways of attaining a perceived goal, do things they think are "good" to earn credit and what not.

What I really want to emphasize is:

The fact that this training exists in every aspect of our lives causes us to understand that there IS a goal and we ought to be aware of it and be prepared/trained for that end.

Every leadership/goal oriented book will explain that our natural (sinful) tendency is to desire and strive for comfort, but that comfort almost never is what is needed. We don't strive for comfort if we are training to win the prize. We do what we know to be right, learn from those who are already where we want to be, and put those same thoughts/motions/behaviors/activities into action.

The fact that we inherently know that training is good for our body, mind and soul shows us that there is a goal. Since training always has an adversary, even if that adversary is our own desire for comfort, then we are always battling an adversary of some sort. We either recognize the battle and train to win, or we pursue what our natural desire is (to do what is easy/comfortable and makes us feel good right now) and we lose. Thats it. It really is that simple. We know, and the adversary knows that whoever is better trained is going to win the battle.

I know we are aware of this, but I want to remind myself and anyone reading this that we are in a battle... TRAIN TO WIN!

Blessings of Christ Jesus upon you as you TRAIN TO WIN!

Inspiration

The great thing about the Holy Spirit is that for us that trust in Jesus and profess that faith to others have been blessed with His presence ALL THE TIME! So no matter what we are doing, whether it is a (seemingly) spiritual activity, or a (seemingly) everyday life activity (I say seemingly since there really is no distinction for us who are being daily transformed by the blood, power and love of Christ Jesus) he gives us wisdom and insight in ways that we would not have otherwise been prepared to hear and understand had we not been doing that specific activity. Since I have been training so much my thoughts are often wrapped in that frame of reference and as I was resting this morning between training sets this is the thought that came to mind. Be blessed.

Get Healthy New Year's Resolution?

This being the start of the year, many people are making resolutions in regards to weight, appearance, health and other things related to the body. I received a devotional from a fellow missionary who is also a certified Health Minister last week that I wanted to share with you. Personally he and his wife are trusted friends that we have come to rely on.

I am warning you. What he writes may go against the grain for most of what you have been conditioned to believe. It may cause you to deny the information he presents, however I ask that you would focus on what the Spirit is saying as you read.

The first time this stuff was presented to me I wasn't against it, but I was fairly apathetic to it. However after having lived in Thailand for 6 months and seeing the changes in me and my family I am more and more convinced every day of what Doc is preaching. In the 6 months we have been here I have lost 20lbs. and have more energy and life than before. My family and I (up until this week) had not been sick a single time (currently my children have a cold) and my daughters chronic ear infections have vanished. The main thing that has changed has been adjusting to eating a significantly improved diet consisting of mostly fresh fruits and vegetables and very little processed foods. So please read this post and pray as you read. I pray that you would receive the blessing that is available to you in the application of this wisdom.



“Running to the ANTI-Christ??!!” … what … why ??!!"
I am learning that Communication is one of the greatest gifts on the planet !!

If you can communicate then you can achieve, influence and accomplish a lot of good that will effect world’s His-Story for good … amen !!


I am really trying to learn how to communicate my PASSiONs,

this Devo is at the top of my PASSiON List to share and I pray that it will positively bless your Soul, Spirit and Body … amen. ;-)


First … THANK You … yes thank you, for fellowshipping with me online and keeping in touch. Thank you for accepting me for me and for hearing from God despite me. Many of us speak what God tells us and many don’t hear God because we are too busy judging the speaker. That is nothing new under the Sun because the Son has never been fully accepted by everyone … we will never be fully accepted by everyone. BUT the Saints of God are growing in His PASSiON daily … un-conditional Love and we are blessed … I am blessed by you – amen. ;-)


One thing I am learning is all of us have FILTERS in which we hear, receive and understand things that are said or written. These Filters for the most part were developed as a child and in our youth … just like the FOOD we like today. Most of us have Comfort Foods and these are foods we enjoyed as a Kid. One big way to get Kids off of Fast Food is = Do Not to take them to eat at Fast Food restaurants !! Morgan Spurlock in his movie “Super Size Me” said one way he is going to teach his Kids Not to eat at McDonald’s was when they ask him to take them there he was going to Punch them in Face … a little extreme but it will work right ?? LOL – I am “Laughing Out Loud” because I said that to my grandson Titus … guess what ?? He will not ask his LoLo/ Grandpa to take him to McDonald’s now. ;-)


Some people in Thailand ask me if I like the Fruit Durian?? To me, it is known as the stinky and yellow snot looking type of fruit. Some of my Thai friends love eating it everyday but only do so in its season. I have asked them if they ate Durian a lot when they were younger and almost all of them say YES. So I tell them I don’t like Durian because I did not eat it when I was a child and that answer seems to satisfy them … or confuse them. ;-)


Today’s Devo is like that … if I asked you, “Do you go to a Doctor when you get sick??”

Most would say, “YES” because that is what we did when we were Kids. But if you asked ME if I go to a Doctor when I get sick … I would say, “No, I do not take God’s Sacred Temple to an ANTI-Christ organization that gives mainly witch craft Drugs to cover up my sickness.” Or I could say, “I don’t get Sick because by Jesus’ Stripes I am healed and I have received His FULL Salvation which is Health and Healing for the Soul and BODY – amen.”


Wow … what ?? What crazy answers right??

Most people’s Filters go into shock about this type of answer. ;-)


I am writing this Devo because January 2011 is when everyone looks for ways to Loose Weight and many go to Doctors to do so. In America the Health Care Issue is a real big issue and it is one of the biggest reasons America is Trillions of Dollars in Debt and at the same time IT does not make Americans Healthy!!?? ;-(


If you hear me out … get past your Filters … you will be blessed. ;-)

Jesus always challenged our filters … big example = eating His Body and drinking His Blood gives you Eternal Life … amen. ;-)


1 John 4:1-6 “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. … but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the ANTI-Christ, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. … They are from the world and therefore speak from the VIEW-point of the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God, and whoever knows God Listens to Us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of Truth and the spirit of Falsehood.”


2 John 1:7 “Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the Deceiver and the ANTI-Christ.”


1 Corinthians 3:16-17 “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s Temple is Sacred, and you together are that temple.”


When it comes to HEALTH … taking care of God’s Sacred Temple … WHO are you going to listen to?? Do you listen to the World or to God’s health People?? Too simple right??


If you hear me out … get past your filters … you will be blessed. ;-)


Getting back to my answer about why I don’t go to Doctors =


1. Our Body is God’s Sacred Temple. (Plus+)

2. AMA – American Medical Association does not believe in God, they do not believe in prayer and they do not believe that Jesus came from God = Anti-Christ organization right ??

3. 1. + 2. = 3. One main reason that I do not go to Doctor’s.



So what is the Purpose of this Devo ??



IT is “NOT” to get you to Stop going to Doctors … it is to get you to THINK about your Health and how YOU can Divinely take care of God’s Sacred Temple your Body. ;-)


Devo’s are to get you to THINK, most do not like thinking because

CHANGE happens … we must Re-New our Minds & Change right ??


You want to be a Good Steward of God’s Sacred Temple … right ??


NOTE: Let me go on record, Doctor’s have done a lot of good in this world, there are a lot of good Christian Doctors but they are NOT the God given answer to Health, sickness or disease. Just like most Organizations in America, they are Motivated by MONEY and NOT Love and Divine PASSiON because the AMA clearly Rejects the Creator and Designer of the human body. Think of it … WHY do 90% plus Christians run to the Doctors ??


One thing Doctors are great for is if your body parts get chopped off then they are good in trying to put you back together. But when you are sick or diseased with CANCER and a Doctor ONLY offers you Poison (Chemotherapy), Burning (Radiation) and Cutting (Surgery) as an Answer to restoring your Divine Health then something must be SAID … right ??!!


In the beginning of this Devo … I said, “This Devo is at the top of my PASSiON List to share and I pray that it will positively bless your Soul, Spirit and Body …” One of my biggest childhood experiences was watching my GrandPA Die of CANCER. ;-(


He was a big Italian Welder and we watched him Die at 98 lbs. from CANCER. Here is the Heart of this Devo = if my GrandPA knew and did what God has shown me then he would still be ALIVE !! But he is Dead, mainly because of his lack of God’s knowledge and from running to the AMA which does not ask the Creator how to treat or heal His Creation.


As a baby I had my Tonsils cut out by a Doctor. I did not have a chance to ask the question, “Did you ask my Creator if I really do not need my Tonsils??” Please NOTE … Doctors are “Practicing Physicians”, they practice on US and today most Doctors do not do surgeries to take kid’s Tonsils out. Why ?? They have discovered we NEED them and they are one of the first lines of defense against sickness !!



Genesis 1:27-31

Only in the Beginning, in the Book of Genesis did the Creator say,

“ … it was very Good …” on Earth.

Only one time He said that … and guess what??


His Creation, human BEings, were the Healthiest ever in world history. Many of those Humans lived 100’s of years with NO recorded Sickness and Disease!! What Health PRINCIPLES can we learn that were in the Garden of Eden so that we will Not have to run to the Doctors and to take AMA Drugs the rest of our lives??


I am trying to keep this Devo small and simple … I know from (10) plus years of experience sharing God’s Divine Design on Health … most people’s FILTERS (or their Flesh) go Crazy when they hear things like this.


Please letzzz take a moment to Pray … I am Praying for you right now - amen. ;-)



There are many Health Principles in the Garden of Eden:

1. Air – Fresh Clean PURE Air.

2. Water – Fresh Clean PURE Water.

3. Food – Fresh Clean Pure PLANT Food.

4. Exercise – Daily Work that makes you Sweat.

5. Rest – Nightly times entering into God’s Rest.

6. Sun Light – Allowing God’s Healing Sun touch your skin.

7. Relationships – Allowing God & those around you LOVE you.



There are only TWO Principles that I encourage all to get involved in and they are very easy to ADD to anyone’s current lifestyle. If you do something it is better than nothing right ??


a. Good IN = Add daily fresh Juice or BarleyMax to your diet.

b. Bad OUT = Add daily fiber or FiberCleanse to your diet.


SO many people are excepting the Fact of taking Drugs Daily so

why not make a Divine Decision to get “Good IN” and “Bad OUT” Daily ??

You can start today … or in January 2011 … right?? ;-)


Reply … contact me and I will help and love you – amen. ;-)



For some reason the World is way ahead of Christians

in trying to take care of their Temples/ Body !!

Remember the Movie **** “SUPER SIZE ME !!”

http://www.rawfor30days.com/VideoSeries



They are showing Diabetes

… Diabetes = #1 CAUSE = The Food You Eat !!

We personally create Diabetes … we do not catch Diabetes !!

http://www.rawfor30days.com/cmd.php?Clk=4000472



I am a Health Minister with a MINISTRY that

has a Healthy RECORD of the Creator Curing Cancer … wow!!

www.Hacres.com – Daniel and Zina Docto Health Ministers #34687

Call 1-800-915-9355 or 1-704-481-1700



Zina and I started to study Divine Health in 1992 and got certified as Health Ministers in 1996. Please feel free to Reply to this Devo, please ask questions, now is the time to Sow into your Health so you can Reap Life to the Full – amen. ;-)



BEing a good steward of God’s Sacred Temple your Body and seeking to be Divinely Healthy makes you loose weight. Excess weight is just a sign that your body can not deal with the Excess Toxins around it and in it.



#1 prayer request in Church is about Sickness and Disease !!

The Creator has given us the ANSWERS to our Prayers … will we listen to Him?? ;-)



If you Ignore your Health … It will go away. ;-(

Ignore your Health and you will lose your Wealth. $$

Ignore your Health and you will lose your Ministry !!


“Running to the ANTI-Christ??!!” … what … why ??!!



Phra JAO uay phra pon- God bless, “DOC” ;-)

www.FaceBook.com/MuayThaiMissions

www.youtube.com/GsusKrist777

http://twitter.com/docthailand

Christmas Outreach Program

I had the privilege of doing a Christmas outreach program with a few other missionaries and some Thais through a church here in Krabi over the past three days. We went to six schools and spoke with about 1,500 students! Apparently many Thai's believe that Christmas is the Christian celebration of the New Year; so we explained the real reason for Christmas. We use the Christmas story to teach them English, we have a Thai share her testimony, and we do a skit about how God made us perfect but Satan brings distress and pain, but Gods answer was to send Jesus to bring redemption. Finally, all the students went home with a Gospel tract based on the Christmas story. It was good all three days, but this morning was especially incredible! This school was our smallest group at about 100 students in Elementary School, however this was the best school. They were the most well behaved and interactive of all of the schools. Not only did they listen and participate, we had many kids ask us questions to be answered to everyone. I was so surprised by the questions of these 8 - 12 year old children that I wrote them down to share with you:

Why was Jesus born?
What is the difference between Heaven and Hell?
When did Jesus go to Heaven?
Why do we celebrate Christmas?
Where did Satan come from?
When does Hell come?

Needless to say, through answering these questions we got to expand from just talking about the birth of Jesus, to His life, death and resurrection! Please pray for these children that God has clearly begun a work in, that Satan would not come in and steal the seed that has been planted here. Praise the Lord for His miraculous workings!

Amen.

Merry Christ-mas (Worship of Jesus Christ)

Adultery!

I hope that catchy title got you to read this :)... I have been reading in Proverbs and I was so struck by how much empahasis Solomon puts on warning men (but it applies to women as well) against adultery that I wanted to share with you some of God's words on this. Please skim the first 10 chapters of Proverbs and you will see that 3 out of those 10 are words of caution on how to avoid the adulteress and warning by laying out the consequences...

Proverbs 5

"3 For the lips of an adulteress drip honey,
and her speech is smoother than oil;

4 but in the end she is bitter as gall,
sharp as a double-edged sword.

5 Her feet go down to death;
her steps lead straight to the grave."

(I think it interesting that he remarks how sweet and beautiful the temptation is in the beginning...)

"8 Keep to a path far from her,
do not go near the door of her house,

9 lest you give your best strength to others
and your years to one who is cruel,

10 lest strangers feast on your wealth
and your toil enrich another man's house."

"15 Drink water from your own cistern,
running water from your own well.

16 Should your springs overflow in the streets,
your streams of water in the public squares?

17 Let them be yours alone,
never to be shared with strangers.

18 May your fountain be blessed,
and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.

19 A loving doe, a graceful deer—
may her breasts satisfy you always,
may you ever be captivated by her love.

20 Why be captivated, my son, by an adulteress?
Why embrace the bosom of another man's wife?"

Proverbs 6

"25 Do not lust in your heart after her beauty
or let her captivate you with her eyes,

26 for the prostitute reduces you to a loaf of bread,
and the adulteress preys upon your very life.

27 Can a man scoop fire into his lap
without his clothes being burned?

28 Can a man walk on hot coals
without his feet being scorched?"

I will conclude with all of Proverbs 7. I know it is long, but it is worth reading all of it...

Proverbs 7

" 1 My son, keep my words
and store up my commands within you.
2 Keep my commands and you will live;
guard my teachings as the apple of your eye.

3 Bind them on your fingers;
write them on the tablet of your heart.

4 Say to wisdom, "You are my sister,"
and call understanding your kinsman;

5 they will keep you from the adulteress,
from the wayward wife with her seductive words.

6 At the window of my house
I looked out through the lattice.

7 I saw among the simple,
I noticed among the young men,
a youth who lacked judgment.

8 He was going down the street near her corner,
walking along in the direction of her house

9 at twilight, as the day was fading,
as the dark of night set in.

10 Then out came a woman to meet him,
dressed like a prostitute and with crafty intent.

11 (She is loud and defiant,
her feet never stay at home;

12 now in the street, now in the squares,
at every corner she lurks.)

13 She took hold of him and kissed him
and with a brazen face she said:

14 "I have fellowship offerings [a] at home;
today I fulfilled my vows.

15 So I came out to meet you;
I looked for you and have found you!

16 I have covered my bed
with colored linens from Egypt.

17 I have perfumed my bed
with myrrh, aloes and cinnamon.

18 Come, let's drink deep of love till morning;
let's enjoy ourselves with love!

19 My husband is not at home;
he has gone on a long journey.

20 He took his purse filled with money
and will not be home till full moon."

21 With persuasive words she led him astray;
she seduced him with her smooth talk.

22 All at once he followed her
like an ox going to the slaughter,
like a deer [b] stepping into a noose [c]

23 till an arrow pierces his liver,
like a bird darting into a snare,
little knowing it will cost him his life.

24 Now then, my sons, listen to me;
pay attention to what I say.

25 Do not let your heart turn to her ways
or stray into her paths.

26 Many are the victims she has brought down;
her slain are a mighty throng.

27 Her house is a highway to the grave, [d]
leading down to the chambers of death."

If you are being tempted by sexual sin, REACH OUT to someone. If you have been snared by the temptress, REACH OUT to God and someone else!

God is faithful...

Just wanted to share an incredible testimony of God's faithfulness. In the Bible we read stories of God's faithfulness, but often it seems in life that it doesn't happen to me. I am finding that the more we take steps of faith where we really have to believe in God for miraculous things He comes through, and we get the blessing of experiencing His faithfulness in our lives...

Recently the Lord impressed upon my heart to begin a prayer meeting in the place where we live, Ao Nang. There currently is no church in Ao Nang and I greatly desire to see a place where God's name is exalted and God's people experience the Glory of God shining on this place. I have the desire to have a consistent prayer meeting occurring in Ao Nang that ultimately will become the church. Although we have this desire we lack other people to join us in beginning this gathering. After speaking with a dear brother of mine he reminded me that if God has given us a Word that is when it is time to act. It is not time to search for more Words, especially if none are given. He specifically challenged me to set a date to when we would have consistent prayer meetings occurring. He reminded me that when we put ourselves out there in setting a date, this creates urgency in our prayers, urgency in our striving, and gives us the faith to see God work in miraculous ways. So knowing that God was using him to clearly communicate to me, and confirming in prayer these things, I set the date of Oct 31st. I again contacted the people that I know in the area to let them know that I want to have our first meeting next week.

Well today God showed up and reminded me that it is His work to complete. I got a call from a guy named Andre whom had met another missionary friend of ours at a church in neighboring Krabi town last Sunday. He said he lived in Ao Nang and wanted to get together. We got together this afternoon and Andre and his wife Rita just moved to Ao Nang from Russia with the intention of starting a Russian Restaurant. Andre and Rita found christ due to the efforts of separate missionaries and met at Bible College. They served as missionaries within Russia and now have moved to Thailand to serve as business people on a mission! They are totally excited about being apart of prayer meetings and I can tell will be incredible witnesses to this place. I do not know yet how God is working, but I am so humbled and excited to be able to see Him move in miraculous ways! So great when you get to experience the miraculous, powerful love of the Father!

When you take big steps of faith, trusting in God alone to get you through, you won't be disappointed!

Puak rao ja namasagan phra Jao! (We will worship the Exalted Lord!)

Be Sent Out

As I was praying the other evening with another missionary God led us to pray for those we have influence with in the American Church. I also prayed that He would give us a platform to share on this topic, so I praise God for an answered prayer!

People are falling away from Christ because they are not taking the step of being sent out that being a disciple of Jesus demands. It is clear throughout the Gospels that Jesus disciples were sent out consistently while He was alive and after His resurrection [Luke 10:1-3; Matt 10:5-8; Acts 6:5-7; Acts 13, 14, 15]

Here is what I see happening… I (state your name here) go to church most of the time, pray semi-frequently, study the word semi-frequently, and even occasionally serve at my place of worship. Is this merely how I have allowed Christ to affect the pattern of my life? Or am I giving Him unrestricted Lordship of my life? Will I allow Christ to truly challenge me and take me places I wouldn't be compelled to go otherwise [Acts 20:22]. If I do not apply the knowledge I become so FULL of head knowledge that I literally get overstuffed and want to go to 'sleep' (like on Thanksgiving). This is the point at which people want to change churches (rational being the messages are the same and they aren't getting anything out of them anymore, worship doesn't do it for me anymore, etc.) or just move on altogether.

Jesus NEVER intended for us to just continually get filled with head knowledge and never GO OUT and use it! NEVER! Look at the pattern throughout Jesus' life. He would preach and then show them miraculous things, then He would send them out to do the same. Then He would gather them back together, ask them how things went (to show them that there faith could sustain them in those and even more difficult situations), teach them more, then SEND THEM BACK OUT!

We have experienced this in school as well. Even in basic courses we don't just learn from a book. At some point we are required to do a project or lab work. Why? Because they know that the only way for us to completely understand the lesson is for us to go experience it. In this example you are doing it under the supervision of the teacher, but later on if you continue in your learning you will be required to do field work, where you will take the knowledge and creativity that you have and complete a new project out in the field. This is what Christ calls us to do. Allow Him to give us creative input as we must trust in Him (because we finally are living in full faith) and apply the knowledge we already have to bring Glory to the Father. This is how Christ lived. This is how His followers will live.

One of the reasons we need to be sent out is that the bible doesn't make sense fully in our cultural context. Many of the stories cannot be understood unless we go to different places where we are able to apply the message in a different setting. For example, If we live in an urban setting, parables about vineyards and harvest time can only be imagined, we miss many, many insights because we have never labored in the soil.

Begin with your own life… When was the last time you allowed God to send you out to apply your knowledge in a new way? I would highly recommend to all followers of Christ to take a short term mission trip to a different country. You will begin to fulfill the final command that Jesus left us with, you will grow in ways you CANNOT by staying at home and you will understand the Gospel message in a new way.

You have more power than you think if you will just wield it! Go for it! Don't let anyone tell you you cannot. You can! I believe in you! God believes in you! If you have the Spirit of Christ in you then you can do ALL THINGS!

One Month... Culture Shock

Its been one month since we have arrived in Thailand. I would love to express a romantic picture of the first month and everything being incredible and perfect. I mean how could it be that bad right? Living in Ao Nang South Thailand, arguably one of the most picturesque paradises in the world. Enjoying the wonderful Thai people with my family. How could it get any better?


Maybe that is part of the hard part. I don't understand my feelings. I have felt extreme highs and lows since being here; Frustration, Anger, Depression, Doubt, Isolation, Abandonment, Lack of Control... These are just a few of the things that I have experienced over the past few weeks. More than anything else my mind and heart have felt like a battle field. Reading about the symptoms of culture shock and language shock have helped me at least to recognize that it isn't just me. Praying and trying to hold on to the strength of the Lord.

Coming to understand that I am not strong enough and I am still in need of a Savior.