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Russell Dean performs "Two Thousand Years" live at the 9th Annual Zion Christmas Concert. This years performance was held at
Seneca Baptist Church.
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Things that makes one go hmmmmmmmmm...
“And
Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not
where to lay his head.” Matthew 8:20 KJV
Today as I was helping my husband, I noticed a beautiful
red cardinal perched in the tree near us eating out of the bird feeder. It was simply amazing to watch
this bird as he ate each seed, not having one single worry pass through his mind. We
were building our cat a house to live in during our transition between homes.
Here this bird
is, flying around, eating seeds, while my poor cat has been waiting patiently for a place to lay her head since a few days
before Christmas. We moved from Rock Hill to Seneca after my husband was transferred to a different office.
We are staying with my mother in law who dislikes our cat. Although she refused to allow the cat
to stay in her house, she did agree to a small feline condominium in the back yard.
Matthew
8:20 came to my mind as I watched this bird. I thought about how Jesus was born in a stable that someone
else owned. He came to save a world from sin yet had no place to lay his head, except a feeding trough
for farm animals. How tempted he must have been to tell his Father, “You know daddy, I am a king’s son, and can
you arrange a hotel bed or a palace or something when I go to earth to become a savior?”
That would have been my response, however, Jesus knew his ending in the beginning, and he
willingly became flesh to die for our fleshly ways. He loved us that much! As the New Year approaches, a great verse to put to memory is Deuteronomy 31:8 "And the LORD, He is
the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed." New King James Version © 1982 Thomas Nelson
Blessings in Jesus and Happy New Year! Anita
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Guilt Is Gone
What happiness for those whose guilt has been forgiven! What joys when sins are covered over! What relief for those
who have confessed their sins and God has cleared their record. There was a time when I wouldn't admit what a sinner I
was. But my dishonesty made me miserable and filled my days with frustration. All day and all night your hand was heavy on
me. My strength evaporated like water on a sunny day until I finally admitted all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide
them. I said to myself, I will confess them to the Lord. And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. Psalm 32:1-5 The Living Bible
This is one of my favorite groups of scriptures.
This passage spoke to my heart when I was going through a deep valley. I felt so unworthy of God’s love because
of all of the wrong choices I had made. I was overwhelmed with guilt and secrets.
When I read Psalm 32:1-5,
God spoke to my heart. In a sweet soft voice, I knew that he loved me. I confessed my sins to him
knowing that he forgave me. Up to that point, I clung to the guilt as though it was a best friend, but after reading
this, my confession released me from the mountain of guilt.
I love it when the Lord speaks softly
to my spirit and shows me that my way is not his way. If you are like me, clinging to Satan’s lies are life support
sometimes. He has a way of making his sick suggestions look like truth. I am so glad that he has already been
defeated! God is bigger than any sin, any lie, any hurt, any deception that Satan can conjure up.
God loves his children and his forgiveness is powerful enough to cleanse even the darkest of sins. I cling to this
truth and so can you. I am what I am, not because of me, but because of the great I AM and his grace. I would love
to hear from you so please email me.
Blessings, Anita
Giants“45. Then David said to the Philistine, "You
come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies
of Israel, whom you have taunted. 46. "This day the LORD will deliver you up into my hands,
and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this
day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47. and that all this assembly may know that the LORD does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the LORD'S
and He will give you into our hands." 48. Then it happened when the Philistine rose and came and drew near to meet David,
that David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49. And David put his
hand into his bag and took from it a stone and slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead. And the stone sank into
his forehead, so that he fell on his face to the ground. 50. Thus David prevailed over the Philistine
with a sling and a stone, and he struck the Philistine and killed him; but there was no sword in David's hand. 51. Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and
cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.” 1 Samuel 17:45-51 NLT
Men and Women who choose abortion come against a great giant just as little David did when he
faced Goliath. Some giants are small enough to face his or herself but some giants are so big and so strong
that there must be outside intervention taken. As one who chose abortion I can vouch for the size of the
giants and how scary they are whether big or little when its time for battle.
Continue reading.... 
Deception"All the men in your
confederacy shall force you to the border; the men at peace with you shall deceive you and prevail against you. Those
who eat your bread shall lay a trap for you. No one is aware of it." Obadiah 1:7 NKJV
Has a friend
ever deceived you? Have you ever been deceptive? Both scenarios have most likely been a very real part of your
life at one point or another. I know they have been for me. I once lived in nothing
but lies, sin and deception. Satan used those things to hold me in constant bondage. On
the other side, he held me in just as much bondage over a friend’s deception toward me. The sad truth of sin is that it dominoes until you are overwhelmingly in so
deep that you feel that not even a back hoe digger could dig you out. As I read the book of Obadiah in the Bible, I came across this verse. I
immediately thought back to the stronghold that once ruled my life. I tried to break free from sin, but
the chains were strong. Satan would never cease to rub my nose into my weaknesses.
I do not know what battles you face, however, I do know that freedom is through Jesus Christ
alone. When battles are huge, and freedom seems like a distant thunder, God will pick you up and carry
you to higher ground in the middle of a storm. He
loves you. Life is not a hopeless punishment; it is God’s way of showing you that obtaining restoration
is through Him.
It will not be easy, in fact, it can take only a few minutes or it can take
several years. Do not get discouraged, just remind yourself to trust the truth. If you have to, write down the
verses of truth and read them when Satan whispers his lies into your mind.
"I can do all things through
Christ which strengtheneth me." Philippians 4:13KJV
"But my God shall supply
all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19KJV
"And
the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Philippians
4:7KJV
Reach out and take the hand of the one who can fill you hurt with joy.
The truth of it all is this….you cannot…but He can! He needs you to
need Him!Blessings,Anita
Clams make pearls???
"…15you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received
the Spirit of son ship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs–heirs of God and co‑heirs
with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory." Romans 8:15-17 NIV
 Have you ever thought about the formation process of pearls? It is not an everyday thought for me, however, I found
this clam while walking along the lakeshore with my son, and he asked me how clams made
pearls. As I explained the process to him, it dawned on me that humans have so many things in common with this amazing process.
A grain of sand, small particles or organisms enter the clams shell
valves when it opens up for feeding or respiration. The clam deposits overlapping
layers of calcium carbonate forming beautiful pearls through this process.
Just like foreign bodies entering the clam, sin enters our life when we are
least expecting it, leaving irritating evidence as it does. Its deposits overlap over time forming
huge deposits, leaving massive scars on our inner being. When we go to the Lord, he takes all of
the hurtful and ugly mess that we create forming beautiful creations that He uses to shine His glory through us.
The ironic beauty of this process is, no matter how bad we tend
to mess things up, God uses it to bring evidences of his amazing love, grace and mercy to the world.
I have done some lousy things in my life and for a long time,
I sat in my guilt and shame. Because I did not fully understand the depth of Christ’s love for me,
I kept my pearl tucked away, hidden for no one to see. I am so glad that God does not do that.
He opened my shell and now He displayed himself in beauty for others to wear.
His
Son Jesus is the only pearl that I can offer to you. If you do not know
Him, I pray that you will allow me to introduce you to Him. He can heal the deepest wounds if you will
only open yourself up to that healing.
This process takes time when there is deep wounds
but it can and will happen when you accept His free gift. Please email me because I would like introduce Him to you. The freedom He offers is so worth the beautiful
pearl that is produced. God loves you my friend. He really does!
In His Amazing Grace, Anita Dost
Beautiful Feet
Psalm 46
This past week, December 5th, 2006, my son would have celebrated his 14th birthday
party...if I would not have made a legal choice to end his life in my womb. There are millions of unborn children who
never see the light of day because abortion is an option.
The holidays can be extremely difficult for the
moms and dads of aborted babies. I would like to encourage you to pray for them and to reach out to those who have made
that choice and now regret it. If your loved one is grieving over a regretted choice, let her or him know that God loves
them. Show them that Jesus can heal and forgive them for all of his or her past, not just that but He also
can restore and use them for good.
I would also enourage you to contact me if you have any questions or
comments on this topic. May you find peace and comfort if abortion has touched your life.
In
Him,
Anita Dost
Executive President
Temporary "In this you greatly rejoice,
through now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials." 1 Peter 1:6NKJV 
As it kept coming to
my mind, I started to ask the Lord why and what lesson was I suppose to be getting from this reoccurring light bulb.
I thought about how sometimes we accomplish very few results for a life time of intense commitment.
As I became lost in my thoughts I started to recall times that were so hard to survive through and to even remember.
Through tough times we gain pain and sadness and it is so difficult to pray or to breath, when this happens.
We want to feel joy but sometimes depression and sadness not only visit us, it moves in and dwells in our livingroom
for an unwelcomed span.
I began to think about Peter. In 1 Peter, he described exchanging tough times
for good results. He wasn't talking about temporary tough times, he was talking about those times in our life when
trials come our way even though we didn't ask for them or choose them. The type of trials that have life altering
and lasting effects. He also follows that up with the fact that we should rejoice during those times, not because they
hurt or change who we believe we are, but because God will use those things to bring Himself honor and glory. These
are the permanent things that matter.
The next time that pain or sadness move in to stay longer than you
hoped, rest assured that God is moving and preparing to do something great. Depression may feel permanent but its only
temporary. God's purpose is forever.
We can endure this life's trials because of the joy that
the next life holds. Jesus loves you and that is something that you can cling to. You are not alone and nothing
that you have done or will do can ever change that. Satan will whisper lies to make you believe otherwise but he is
defeated. Remind him of his future when he reminds you of the past.
Remember, according to Philippians
4:13, we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength. I would love to pray for you in a specific way.
Feel free to email me and let me know just how to do that.
Blessings,
Anita Dost
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