Living Above the Sun Ministries

"For because of Him the whole body (the church, in all its various parts), closely joined and firmly knit together by the joints and ligaments with which it is supplied, when each part [with power adapted to its need] is working properly [in all its functions], grows to full maturity, building itself up in love." -Ephesians 4:16 If someone asked what is the first essential of the Christian's walk, holiness would be one of the first things to come to mind. God did choose us in Christ that we should be holy. Ephesians 4:2-16 seem to outline and show that the first characteristic of a worthy walk is unity. What is the primary necessity for wholeness and health in a human body? It is the harmonious functioning of all the organs of the body. A displacement of even an insignificant organ or the maladjustment of any parts of the body can cause disease and disability. In the Church, the Body of Christ, spiritual health is dependent upon the harmonious functioning of all th

"BEHOLD, HOW good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity ! It is like the precious ointment poured on the head, that ran down on the beard, even the beard of Aaron [the first high priest], that came down upon the collar and skirts of his garments [consecrating the whole body]. It is like the dew of [lofty] Mount Hermon and the dew that comes on the hills of Zion; for there the Lord has commanded the blessing, even life forevermore [upon the high and the lowly]." -Psalm 133 Unity comes from the Greek word, "henotes" "heis" meaning one and "henos" meaning of one. It is speaking of oneness, it is a state of oneness or being in harmony and accord. Christians should be united in temper and affection, and not be split up. The Spirit in the body has created a basic unity that nothing can destroy. Here is the big point I am trying to make in this series. If Christians are going to impact the world for Christ, we must be

This is the first of a mini series on Unity. This will carry us to Sunday, when we will begin Advent. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving! Yes, I will post something on Thanksgiving. In the meantime let's get started on Unity and Spiritual Growth. Koinoina is the Greek word that means communion by intimate participation; the trust of one another, sharing of material goods, and harmony rather than hostility. The word is used frequently in the New Testament of the Bible to describe the relationship within the early Christian Church as well as the act of breaking bread in the manner which Christ prescribed during the Passover meal. As a result the word is used within the Christian Church to participate, as Paul says, in the Communion of - in this manner it identifies the idealised state of fellowship and community that should exist - Communion. We need to experience Koinoina love with God, with each other, and in the church. The foundation for a Koinoina church is found in Ephesians 3:14-1

One of the things I struggle with in life is comparing myself to others, and not in a "I'm better than you" way, it's more of a "I wish I were like them" way. I think it's okay to admire things in people, and they be a role model for you, but when it comes to life there is a reason everything happens, there a reason you are you. This is something the Lord is teaching me. When we compare ourselves to other people we set ourselves up for failure. It is then that we take our eyes off of Jesus and His unique plan for our life. We try to mold ourselves into this other person we are not suppose to be. Since this is not the plan for our life, we fail and end up hurting ourselves. Be who God made you to be, that plan that God has set before you is your standard. You wouldn't plagerize on a paper, because you would be failed. So don't plagerize in life. When you base your life on Christ's standards you can't fail. A woman I admire told

Shackled by a heavy burden, beneath a load of guilt and shame. Then the hand of Jesus touched me, now I am no longer the same. He touched me, oh He touched me, and oh the joy that floods my soul. Something happened and now I know, He touched me and made me whole. Today I celebrate my spiritual birthday. 9 years ago today Jesus rescued me and saved my soul. It's been quite a journey looking back. Along the way I have doubted, I deviated, I have stumbled, and fallen; but I am thankful to be able to tell you today that I know that I know I am saved. Not just because I can look back on this date, but because of what the last post covered. It's a covenant relationship. Nothing can separate us from the love of God. My testimony continues to change because God continues to change me. Over the last 9 years I have faced difficult circumstances, choices, and changes of all kinds. I'm thankful that I can look at this day last year and see that since then I have grown ev

The Christian story begins with creation in harmony, unity, and peace; and it ends with a restored creation. Between these two bookends is the drama of redemption. The covenants are major acts of this drama. Christ’s work is intimately related to and fulfills each of the five covenants that God initiated in the Old Testament. Covenants are about God’s activity and intention to redeem us , and the covenants tell us about ourselves—our condition, our brokenness, our dignity, our role as images of God, our suffering, and our calling. A covenant is a life and death relationship with God on His terms. The Greek word, "diatheke" refers to a person's last will and testament or to other solemn agreements involving benefits and responsibilities to all involved parties. In the New Testament, the word is often used as an equivalent to the Hebrew word "berith", especially in theological contexts. It is a binding agreement, a contract between at least two parties. It

As a friend and I were talking the other day, it's hard to find devotionals for women that don't leak and pour estrogen off the page. But this isn't a estrogen filled post, it's not intended to be at least. I have never been married, and I'm only 22 so there isn't much I can say about being a woman, or a married woman at that. But I can at least speak to the girls, who are becoming women and encourage them as they become who God wants them to be. We are all still on the path to becoming what God wants us to be. Young and old. We continue to learn. First and foremost I have to stress, respect yourself. This is hard for me too. You are a child of the King. I see so many young girls disrespect their bodies and put revealing pictures of themselves on facebook and try to draw outward attention. Whatever means you have to take, respect yourself, you don't belong to yourself. You are property of God. If you know Doctrine, then you know that we are to

"Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, then comes the harvest'? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, 'One sows and another reaps.' I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor." -John 4:35-38 Fall is the harvest season for crops. Jesus used agricultural illustrations a lot to illustrate the Kingdom and what it meant to be a Christian. Recently, a friend of mine was telling me how he and his son harvested their sweet potatoes this week. They got huge ones, medium sized ones, and small ones all from the same vine, and boy were they dirty! Potatoes are not ready to harvest until the vine dies. Until Christ, who is the vine died we were ill prepared for harvest. There are differ

Last night some friends and I went to the Rock and Worship concert at Bojangles Arena here in Charlotte. We were mainly there for our favorite band, "Disciple." (www.disciplerocks.com) It was totally worth $10.00 to see them perform their song,"Rise Up" they killed it! They did a few more too. The song is about Christians rising up together, and it totally rocks. There were some other bands there as well that I liked, Jars of Clay, Mercy Me, Hawk Nelson, just to name a few. Mercy Me did a good show too. It was very powerful at the end. The lead singer for Mercy Me spoke straight to our hearts and challenged us to stand out from the World, to be the change because the world isn't changing much. Just as we were singing with Disciple, "Rise Up" lets rise up as Christians and give the world Jesus, a change not even Obama can give you! I vote for that kind of change! I vote for Jesus. It was also during his talk that I was reminded that I am a

This is a picture of my cousin, Ben on the far left. This was at a fellow Marine's funeral over in Tennessee. Ben is Corporal Ben Wiley. I am so proud of him. I love this picture. Happy Veterans Day. I'm honored to say that I am related to Veteran's and am very proud of each one of them. To every Veteran out there, Thank you! For your service, dedication, and sacrifice. Today I did something different. I stopped by a grave yard and visited each grave with a flag. Just to read the names and branch of service and be respectful in not forgetting that they lived once and sacrificed a lot on my behalf. I took some pictures, I am fascinated with older tombstones too. It's always interesting to read inscriptions on the stones. Many are theologically and doctrinally off base, especially when it comes to calling them angels now, and sleeping in Jesus. But I try not to get worked up about it. I'll explain more later, because it does matter. Here are a few

Lately, I've been learned a lot about repentance. I dare say many of us know what true repentance is. It's been something I have struggled with always. I was talking to my sister one day this week and told her about the work God has done in my life lately. In response she said, "so it was a true repentance." Then the light went off! So that's repentance!! I'm not going into great detail, but I will tell you that true repentance has everything to do with Jesus living in you. It means possessing His Spirit only and laying down and turning from the things which are not of Him, and running into His grace. The things I thought I had once repented of really just hung around because I hadn't fully decided that I was turning from that lifestyle, I still liked the idea of it. That is not repentance, that's called confessing. Huge difference. Confessing is acknowledging that you did it, your sorry, but then you go out and do it again. The reason yo