Decisions determine destiny

Decisions determine destiny

BY Argie Simonis                                                                                                                                

Do you believe in destiny? I do! In fact I believe in destiny based on the choises we make. I believe that your decisions determine your destiny.

Let me illustrate this with an example.Let's say you want to go on a trip. You don't just grab your laggage, get on the first plane available and go where ever it takes you to. First you have to choose a destination, plan the trip, check the route, choose a transportation and take all necessary actions to get you to your goal. You may not do everything perfect, but if you stick to the plan you will get where you want to go.

Likewise, you make decisions every day that either move you closer to God's planed destiny for you, or away from it. May be you think that God's plan will come to pass to your life by just waiting and doing nothing. Well, that's a deception! The plan that God has for your life involves also other people, and that's what makes it constantly moving and changing dynamic. It’s like catching a flight. There is always a possibility of missing it.

It’s true that the Lord can get you to your destiny in another way. His ways are much better than our ways and He is certainly smarter than we are.
There is always a later flight with God. We can see that with the thief on the cross. His got his flight just before he died (Luke 23:43). But who wants to get through all this hassle, disapointment and delay that comes from missing a flight? Don't you want God's best? I do!

Just think of all these great "heros of faith" mentioned in the Bible. Think of all those people you know and admire for their faith. What would all of these people’s lives have been like if they hadn’t made the decisions they did? An even greater question might be, what would the lives of the millions of people they’ve affected have been like without them? Every one of us has a God-planned  destiny that is designed to touch others. We can even be carriers of other people's miracles. You see, God uses people as vessels to perform His miracles. I know it is not possible to have a full understanding of this but I am sure that the lives of millions of people were changed simply because these "heroes of faith" made the right decisions.

Are you certain that the decisions you are making every day are the ones the Lord wants you to make? You may not intentionally decide to miss your destiny. May be you are getting too busy with the cares of life, worry too much with the situation around you, and before you know it you get stuck in a place that seems so hard to get out of! But remember, your life is the result of choices. YOUR choices. Others can influence or hinder you, but your choices are the determining factor of your destiny. It is never too late to make the right choices.

I was raised in a quite relegious christian environment, Greek-orthodox. Since my childhood, I was praying to God for me and my family in a simple child's way. And that was great!  But after getting in high-school, I started moving away from God and enjoying the pleasures of life with all the consequences that came along with the package. It was my choise. Nobody forced me to do it.

My spiritual life started with a choise as well. It was the time when I met my wife. I am so grateful that the Lord used her to stir up my faith and draw me close to Him, but you see even then I had to make a choise. I am glad that I've made the right one, an absolute and complete, unconditional surrender to the Lord and I can taste the fruit of that choise in my life today. God revealed Himself to me in a way that changed my life forever. I have never been and will never be the same!

"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the LORD." (2Cor 3:18)

It is a constant change and it only goes upwards! I aim for the top! Decisions do determine destiny, but those decisions must be based on the truth of the Word. It was the Word of God that changed my life, and it will change your life as well!
The Lord has awesome things planned for your life. Regardless of what things look like now, the right decisions you make can change everything!

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, said the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." (Jer 29:11)

Amen!

Women 2gether With Jesus

REJECTION is the one of the bigger struggles in the body of Christ, which blocks the anoiting and stops the destiny of people who are called by God to have a fruitful and victorious life.

There is a way to be FREE and receive HEALING and RESTORATION!!

WELCOME to the "Women 2gether with Jesus" gathering at 19.00 to Zion Kirke, and let God change your life! Bring your friends to experience the presence of God.

It's an english-norwegian meeting, and a place for all women, all ages, all denominations.
Don't miss it!!

We rend at Zion church , Meiergata 24 Bryne 4347

Preecher: Peggy Spyrou Simonis

FIND US :
"Women 2gether with Jesus ♥" on Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/groups/Womens.ministry.no/

Our page on Fb: "2gether with Jesus"

"2gether with Jesus" our blog: http://2getherwithjesus.blogspot.no/

The hardened heart

The hardened heart

BY Argie Simonis                                                                                                                                

Have you ever thought of giving the definition of a hard heart? The dictionary defines hardened as cold, insensitive, unfeeling, and unyielding. Do you relate yourself to the fact that there are certain areas of your life where you have a hard heart towards God?

I used to think that a hard hearted person is someone that hates God or is in rebelion to Him. Well, the Lord showed me that my thinking was quite far from the truth. It is really awesome to read the story of Jesus walking on water to aproach His deciples in Mark 6:45-52. Wouldn't you be amazed if you saw Jesus right in front of your eyes walking on water? The deciples had the same reaction:

"They were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered." (Mark 6:51)

It surely sounds natural for someone to be amazed in front of such a miracle, but lets continue reading:

"For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened" (Mark 6:52)

That feels just like a slap in the face, doesn't it?

According to this scripture, being shocked, amazed, or surprised at a miracle was an indication of a hard heart!

In other words, relating to the natural more than the supernatural is an indication of a hard heart.

I believe there is a right time for hardening our heart in avoiding negative influence, but we have to be carefull not to turn against us what God meant to be good in the first place.

You can see a very good example by reading the book of Exodus. Pharaoh refused to allow the people of Israel to leave from Egypt as God had commanded. It is mentioned 15 times that his heart was hardened. This explains his stubbornness and persistence in resisting God, when it was so evident he was no match for Him.

When people are hardhearted toward God, it’s like they are spiritually blind and deaf.They just can’t see spiritual truth or hear the Lord speak to them. And they can’t remember. Not remembering is a major indication of the condition of their hearts:

"And when Jesus knew it, he said to them, Why reason you, because you have no bread? perceive you not yet, neither understand? have you your heart yet hardened?
Having eyes, see you not? and having ears, hear you not? and do you not remember?" (Μark 8:17-18)

Some of you may say that it takes photographic memory to be able to remember all these Bible verses, but I am sure that all of my football-fan friends out there know all the latest drafts in Bayern, Real, or Liverpool, scores and top scorers of the last 5 years games! Isn't that right?

I believe that whatever you consider, (study, examine, meditate, focus) your heart becomes softened toward. That’s what Mark 6:52 reveals:

"For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened"

The reason that their hearts where hardened was not sin. It was their focus on other things rather that the miracle Jesus performed. They were occupied with trying to save their live in the midst of the storm. That was not sin. 

Now, let me clear something out. I would like to have some worldly knowledge if it was for me to go sailing. And if I ride with you in a car I don't want you to drive by faith. I want you to have your eyes open and your brain working. That's not wrong. But if you get into a situation where this worldly  knowledge won't be able to save your life, you must go beyond the natural and start moving in the supernatural. God has not created us to be limited into the natural realm. 

That's what happened with the deciples. Jesus has fed at least 15.000 people with five small loaves of bread and two small fish. Wow! They have witnessed a great miracle and instead of keeping their minds on that miracle, they were shocked and amazed to see Jesus walking on the water.

Notice that Mark 6:45 makes special mention of the fact that Jesus "constrained" His disciples to get into the boat and go to the other side. In other words, He forced them to get into the boat. I assume the reason for this was that the deciples were able to read the weather since they were fishermen, so they saw the storm coming and they didn't want to go. But they chose to obey the Master, which makes Jesus responsible for what happened to them.
If they had focused to that spiritual truth instead of their worldly way of thinking, they wouldn't have been surpised seeing Jesus walking on the water; they would have expected it!

Likewise, if we were not dominated by focusing in the natural, the supernatural would be a norm to us! We should expect to see the supernatural power of God manifesting in our daily life! If you really want to experience this, you can reverse the process and use it to become hardened against the devil. You are the one to decide what your heart accepts or rejects.

Control your thoughts and you will control your actions!

Amen?

Release life into your life!

Release life into your life!

BY Argie Simonis                                                                                                                                

Have you ever been praying a prayer of faith and seemed like nothing happened? May be got into the Word of God, planted a seed, prayed for a miracle but still no answer?

Many people stop believing at that point. In Mark 11:24 we read: "Therefore I say to you, What things soever you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them." The Bible says to believe when you pray that you have received.

According to Matthew 7:7 if we ask it shall be given to us. However, if we don't see an immediate answer to our prayer we can get discouraged and say that may be not everyone receives. Do you know that this is not biblical? The exact following verse says: "For every one that asks receives". If this is your case, it means that you have allowed thoughts of disbelieve to steal your excitement and expectation from God.

We have to aknowledge our responsibility to carry out God's will. The fact that God is all powerful and all mighty doesn't mean that His will comes to pass no matter what we do. God is bound by His own laws. In second Peter 3:9 we read that it is not God's will that anyone should perish, but still people loose heaven when they die! In order for people to get saved, someone has to preach the Gospel. God's will does not automatically come to pass. He gave us authority over the devil and we must excercice what we have been given.

We must learn to interpret our circumstances by God's Word and not God's Word by our circumstances. If someone for example doesn't get healed after been prayed for,  doesn't give us the right to make our own theology out of it denying that the healing of God is not for every one. So, here comes the question: How can we harmonize the fact that God is faithful to His promises, even if we have beleived in the best of our ability and yet didn't see it coming to pass?

There is a  physical world and a spiritual world. The physical was created by the spiritual. Before any physical manifestation takes place, there is always a spiritual reality behind it. You can have a taste of this by reading the story  of Elisha in 2 Kings 6, with the Syrian army surrounding Elisha, and the chariots of fire with the angels ready to defend them.

Some people think it is not proper to say that you are healed when you don't feel healed. Well, feelings are based only on your five senses. The area you are operating in is the area you will experience things. If you really want to experience breakthroughs in your life, you have to walk in the spirit. 

"It is the spirit that vivifies; the flesh profits nothing: the words that I speak to you, they are spirit, and they are life." (John 6:63)

The Word is the truth. We are limited when we trust only in our five senses. Just because you can't see, touch, smell, hear or taste doesn't mean that God didn't do it. God always answers when you pray according to His will. His answer comes first in the spiritual realm and faith is the key that brings this answer into the physical realm:

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (Heb 11:1)

You have to believe something is happening beyond your five senses. If you don't believe it until you see it, you won't receive from God. The Bible says you have to believe that you receive when you pray.

Let's see an example of what takes place between the time you say amen and the manifestation of your prayer. In Daniel 9:20 we see Daniel praying and the angel Gabriel appears and says (verse 23): "At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee."  

We see God answering his prayer instantly! Sometimes it takes just a little time to manifest in the physical.

In Daniel 10, Daniel is praying again. This time he was fasting and praying for three weeks! In verse 10 God sents His answer. Why did it take a few moments the first time and three weeks the second time for Daniel to receive his answer? Some believe that God is deliberately making them wait in order to teach them something. Well, the Bible says that the Scripture is given to teach us (2Tim 3:16). We can of course learn through trials, but God doesn't send them to teach us (James 1:13). 

In verse 12, the angel told Daniel that God heard his prayer the first day and sent the answer. What held up the answer? We see that there was a spiritual warfare going on for three weeks with satan trying to keep the answer from reaching Daniel. In the Old Testament people did not have authority over satan. In the New Testament though, things are different: "Behold, I give to you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you." (Luke 10:19).

We don't have to wait for the devil to run his course.If you pray and don't see manifestation immediately, you must take an active stand against the devil and bring it into being.

Satan may use people to hinter your prayer. Sometimes, other people are involved in your answer. If you are praying for finances, pray for the people who will be used in your prosperity. If you are trying to sell a house, pray for the person who will buy your house. If you want a promotion at work, pray for the boss who will be used to give you your promotion. If you think that you  don't have enough faith to believe for a miracle, then you should meditate on Romans 12:3, where you can read that God has dealt to every man THE measure of faith, meaning that we all have received ther same measure of faith, which in combination with Galatians 2:20, it is the faith of Jesus: 

"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." (Gal 2:20)

Paul uses the faith of Jesus. You have the same amount of faith that Jesus has! That should be more than enough to see your prayer come to pass! 

Frame Your Miracle!

Frame Your Miracle!

BY Argie Simonis                                                                                                                                

 Miracle - The supernatural intervention of God over the natural laws in a crisis situation.
I think this is a simple definition of the word.
I am sure that all of us have been in a tough place dealing with health, finances or relationship issues and really had a need of a miracle. If you have not been there yet I am sure that you will be one day! But how do I receive a miracle from God?

It is sad to see that many christians do not know how to receive a miracle from God or even worse are not aware that God still performs miracles today; but even if you do believe that God is able to do it, it is just not enough. You have to learn how to receive it!

The best thing to start wth is don't wait until a storm hits you to learn how to believe God for a miracle. During that storm your emotions will cancel out your faith, and the Bible teaches that we can only receive by faith (Hebrew 11:8,13,17,31,39).

We must understand that there are natural and spiritual laws operating around us. For example if you let go off a stone holding on your hand, it will fall on the ground due to the law of gravity.If someone jumbs off a building and dies, you may wonder why God did that. Well, He didn't, but there are laws that He put in place. In a few words, if you cooperate with God's laws you will be fine. If you ignore those laws you may be killed, even if those laws were intended for your own good. The same goes with the spiritual laws of God.

Faith is governed by laws: "Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? No: but by the law of faith." Romans 3:27

The kingdom of God operates under law. It is consistent.
So, how do you receive a miracle from God? First, you must recognize that a miracle is not an accidental happening. You learn the laws of God and how they work, and miracles WILL happen. I'm not saying you can push a button and God pops out or you can make God do whatever you want. I'm saying God is turned on all the time and any time and if you get turned on and tune in with Him, you can see the power of God operate. God is always wanting to move on your behalf. God is for you — He is a good God!

You are the one who controls God's ability in your life. God doesn't. It is by God's power and His ability, but it's up to you. The Scripture says in Ephesians 3:20, "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us." Many people leave off that last phrase, "according to the power that worketh in us." You are responsible for allowing that power to flow through you. God has chosen to never violate your will. Satan can't stop God's power, but you can! God wants you to have a miracle, but you have to stop waiting and start believing.

God did all His miracles by the spoken Word. When God creates, He speaks it into existence by His Word:
"(... who (God) vivifies the dead, and calls those things which be not as though they were. (Rom. 4:17)
In Genesis, He created the world by the spoken Word. Hebrews 11 tells us, "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear."

The important point is that your words are involved in your miracle. Many Christians put prayer above all and believe that if you pray, it will happen. Prayer is like water or fertilizer that you put on the seed. But, without planting a seed, watering is useless. If God was moved by need, every person's need would be met.
I believe every one of us has a spiritual womb where the Word of God enters in, springs up and we conceive a miracle. Sometimes you may receive a miracle as a gift through someone else's faith. You can't depend on someone else; God wants you to be able to conceive a miracle. Meditate on the Word day and night, and you will get spiritually pregnant and bring forth fruit.
A farmer can't expect to have a harvest of corn unless he plants seeds of corn; likewise it's impossible to have a miracle without planting the Word of God. Some of us haven't had the seed planted in us, but we want the crop. "There is a time of sowing and reaping" (Gal. 6:9).

We don't just naturally grow up believing God. It takes renewing our minds. God's Word is the most important step to receive a miracle. Romans 10:17 says, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." You can't just know the Word intellectually. You must meditate on it so it becomes living and active on the inside of you. Most of us don't meditate on the Word as we should. We are occupied and don't have time, and we are upset with God when we don't receive our miracle. That's just as foolish as the farmer who didn't plant his seed but was upset when he didn't receive a crop.

If God's Word is planted in your heart, you'll receive. It doesn't matter what you feel — God's Word will produce a miracle!

To be continued... :-)

New Year's Thoughts

New Year's Thoughts

BY ARGIE SIMONIS                                                                                                                                

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16)


Wow! What a powerful truth! Sounds too good to be true for some of you? Well, what has really captured my heart here is the fact that God didn't love us for His benefit or with the  kind of love that we experience from people around us, when this wordly kind of love usually comes with "strings attached".

He has  graven us upon the palms of His hands (Isa 49:16), and He is rejoicing over us with singing (Zephaniah 3:17). God didn't love us because we are lovely; He loved us because God is love (1John 4:16).

"Love suffers long, and is kind; love envies not; love braggs not itself, is not puffed up, does not behave itself unseemly, seeks not her own, is not easily provoked, thinks no evil;
Rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;

--- Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."--- (1Corinthian 13:4-7)

That's the way we are loved by God!
Wow!!!
Amazing, unconditional, pure, perfect love!

"Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13)
Jesus laid His life for us, so that we can have eternal life. I am sure that all of you have a personal understanding for eternal life, but let's take a look at Jesus definition of it:
"And this is life eternal, that they might know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." (John 17:3)

You see, the only way to really know someone in an intimate way, is to spend time with him. Let that person open up to you and show you the deepest of his heart. Knowing someone through rumors, other people's words or speculations is just not enough.
God speaks. He speaks in many ways, through His Word, through visions, dreams, signs and wonders, through other people, through situations, but most of all God speaks directly to your heart:
"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." (Revelation 3:20)

My wish to all of you for this new year  is to open the door of your heart to Jesus and let Him rest in you and you in Him and enjoy His fellowship. I pray that the new year of 2014 will be a time of new beginings and right choises in your life. I wish you all health, joy, peace and lots of love!
God bless you all!