romanced beyond measure.

I received these roses this morning by one of the sweetest men i know. He turns 88 on Monday. I call him the “Abuelito” of the office. I was not expecting him to show up with roses for all the ladies that work here. It was a simple act of selflessness. He cares about others rather than himself.  In retrospect, this act of kindness reflected Jesus and what He did for me. It was like if Jesus, was handing me down some roses and a sweet note. He knows the way to my heart. He knows me so intimately and personally. He fashioned and formed me. (you can read that all over the book of Isaiah)

“I care about more than you know.”  A simple sentence that has soften my heart on another level. A simple sentence I needed to receive this morning. It has been such a difficult week with my thought life, but God has allowed it for His glory, because He has held my hand and has carried me through. Distinguishing between the three T’s (Trial, Test, and Temptation) – I can look back at this week that He has been testing me through this short trial. FEAR showed up unexpectedly and the idols of the heart and yeah. . digging deep, the LORD kept revealing Himself through me through the Holy Spirit and through the power of His word! I am His and He is mine. There is nothing on this earth i desire but Jesus and only Jesus. It is about Him, Loving Him, Loving others and reflecting Jesus to whoever He places before you. It is about today, the day He has given you! Focus on today, not your future or what awaits. In patience, we await that Day where He comes back for us!

Jesus is full of promises and His word with not return void! It is fulfilled by what God has predestined into existence.

I encourage you to meditate on these several verses:

“Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.” Psalm 139:23-24

“Examine me, O Lord, and prove me;
Try my mind and my heart.
For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes,
And I have walked in Your truth.” Psalm 26:2-3

^“And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel:  ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.  And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.” Exodus 19:3-6

It is not always rainbows and butterflies – suffering for the Name above all Names is not easy but worth it. He will carry you through and His Name will be exalted.

I leave you with Romans 8. Stand firm!

ROMANS 8

Free from Indwelling Sin

8 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus,^[a] who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. ² For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. ³ For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴ that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. ⁵ For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. ⁶ For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. ⁷ Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. ⁸ So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

⁹ But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. ¹⁰ And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. ¹¹ But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

Sonship Through the Spirit

¹² Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. ¹³ For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. ¹⁴ For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. ¹⁵ For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” ¹⁶ The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷ and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

From Suffering to Glory

¹⁸ For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. ¹⁹ For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; ²¹ because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. ²² For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. ²³ Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. ²⁴ For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.

²⁶ Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us^[b] with groanings which cannot be uttered. ²⁷ Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

²⁸ And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. ²⁹ For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. ³⁰ Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

God’s Everlasting Love

³¹ What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? ³³ Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ³⁶ As it is written:

“For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”^[c]

³⁷ Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

keep pressing on. . persevere in sanctification!

in His grace, Esther

 

 

 

captivate.

it seems like a few in the body of Christ today, maybe even you, that the enemy just is trying to have a foothold on you. . It’s only but faithful follwers of Christ, and it is no coincidence that over four people I have chatted with today are going through the same thing. . thoughts are everywhere, scattered, hearts are heavy, and souls just want to be isolated. I can speak for myself – it has been like that since yesterday. God is still Sovereign. We go through trials, so He can test our hearts, our souls, or minds. When a lie creeps through the crack, that’s where the enemy tries to feed our minds with our past and with lies. this is the testing of our faith, to believe a lie or stay rooted in the truth. This is why it is so important to read the Scriptures, to stay in communion with God through prayer, in meditation. Be covered in the Blood of Jesus’ you have eternal security, nothing and i mean NOTHING can separate you from His love. Spend countless amount of time with JESUS. i encourage you too! To the reader, this is for you – I am asking God to break those chains that are weighing you down. I ask of it Jesus, Joy Eternal. Cry out to Abba, Confess your sins to one another, Cling to Christ, Treasure His Word and kill your flesh. Stay alive in the Holy Spirit! Let’s e a generation a people of prayer. All things are possible through Jesus! its all about HIM!

The Whole Armor of God – Ephesians 6:10-20

10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age,[c] against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— 19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

A Perpetual Covenant of Peace – Isaiah 54

“Sing, O barren,
You who have not borne!
Break forth into singing, and cry aloud,
You who have not labored with child!
For more are the children of the desolate
Than the children of the married woman,” says the Lord.
² “Enlarge the place of your tent,
And let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings;
Do not spare;
Lengthen your cords,
And strengthen your stakes.
³ For you shall expand to the right and to the left,
And your descendants will inherit the nations,
And make the desolate cities inhabited.

⁴ “Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed;
Neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame;
For you will forget the shame of your youth,
And will not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore.
⁵ For your Maker is your husband,
The Lord of hosts is His name;
And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel;
He is called the God of the whole earth.
⁶ For the Lord has called you
Like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit,
Like a youthful wife when you were refused,”
Says your God.
⁷ “For a mere moment I have forsaken you,
But with great mercies I will gather you.
⁸ With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment;
But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,”
Says the Lord, your Redeemer.

⁹ “For this is like the waters of Noah to Me;
For as I have sworn
That the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth,
So have I sworn
That I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you.
¹⁰ For the mountains shall depart
And the hills be removed,
But My kindness shall not depart from you,
Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,”
Says the Lord, who has mercy on you.

¹¹ “O you afflicted one,
Tossed with tempest, and not comforted,
Behold, I will lay your stones with colorful gems,
And lay your foundations with sapphires.
¹² I will make your pinnacles of rubies,
Your gates of crystal,
And all your walls of precious stones.
¹³ All your children shall be taught by the Lord,
And great shall be the peace of your children.
¹⁴ In righteousness you shall be established;
You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear;
And from terror, for it shall not come near you.
¹⁵ Indeed they shall surely assemble, but not because of Me.
Whoever assembles against you shall fall for your sake.

¹⁶ “Behold, I have created the blacksmith
Who blows the coals in the fire,
Who brings forth an instrument for his work;
And I have created the spoiler to destroy.
¹⁷ No weapon formed against you shall prosper,
And every tongue which rises against you in judgment
You shall condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
And their righteousness is from Me,”
Says the Lord.

The Spiritual War – 2 Corinthians 10:1-6 10

Now I, Paul, myself am pleading with you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—who in presence am lowly among you, but being absent am bold toward you. 2 But I beg you that when I am present I may not be bold with that confidence by which I intend to be bold against some, who think of us as if we walked according to the flesh. 3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, 6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.

Meditate on These Things – Philippians 4:4-9

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God,which transcends all understanding,will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. 9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.

**Lord Jesus, we ask for Your peace. For Your comfort, for Your love. We cast our cares, our thoughts, or intentions of our decieved hearts, at the foot of the Cross, surrendered once at for all. Lord Jesus, we confess our sins to You, O Sweet Jesus. Holy Spirit renew our minds, we thirst for Living Water. We hunger for Your Word. Jesus we want more of You. Jesus we leave this at Your throne, in Boldness, in Righteousness and in Blameless, Spotless, without stain in Your Son Jesus’ for Your glory O God. Amen**

drowning.

so as I type this up during my working hours, I can not seem to understand why I have felt so distant from God. I have prayed with a sincere heart, read the Word, its inexplainable. A wave of doubt has poured over me and it’s never happened before with God’s existance, its one lie after the next. Especially with drowning in debt. With India approaching in a few months, I know its just the enemy is throwing dart after dart. I am asking Him for a surrendered authentic faith. A faith in response to what He did for me that I could not do on my own. He did it on my behalf and I have been reminding myself that the enemy can not win, Christ has covered me with His blood, once and for all. He is here, He is not distant. He is with me as He guides and holds my hand. He has just put this passages in my heart.  I will be meditating on this tonight as I devote myself in prayer. If you are reading this. Please keep me in your prayers.

The Compassion of the Lord

 “Come, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.
²  Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food.
³ Incline your ear, and come to me;
hear, that your soul may live;
and I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
my steadfast, sure love for David.
⁴  Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples,
a leader and commander for the peoples.
⁵  Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know,
and a nation that did not know you shall run to you,
because of the Lord your God, and of the Holy One of Israel,
for he has glorified you.

⁶  “Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call upon him while he is near;
⁷ let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
⁸ For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
⁹  For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

¹⁰  “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
¹¹ so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

¹²  “For you shall go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
shall break forth into singing,
and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
¹³  Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;
and it shall make a name for the Lord,
an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.” ISAIAH 55

“But now, thus says the Lord, yourCreator, O Jacob,

And He who formed you, O Israel,

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by name; you are Mine!

 “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

And through the rivers, they will not overflow you.

When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched,

Nor will the flame burn you.

 “For I am the Lord your God,

The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;” ISAIAH 43:1-2

in Jesus,

Esther

as it fades, it remains.

so its Friday night, and what better way than to express myself through a short post. 🙂

This whole week as my parents have been out of town, I have had the chance to organize myself and the mess I leave daily for them to clean up after me. Yes, I tend to take advantage of that even when I do not notice the little things. As they have been away, I was able to clean the house, yes, clean the house lol. House hold chores were never my cup of tea growing up. However, if I am ever to grow up in my parents eyes, it needs to come out of my own heart to dust a bit. Afterall, a heart overflowed with love, serves, and that means not necessarily at church or at work, but within the household and within the family.

Alot of memories come and goes since my Grandfather left to be with the Lord  in July of 2011. His life surrendered to God meant alot to me around the time I was saved back in 2008.  By that time, his Alzehimer’s had progressed and the times were he would read his bible and spend quiet time with the Lord no longer there. He lived a Godly life, a life I hadn’t paid too much attention to, when I was living in complete rebellion towards my family and towards God. I called him a crazy Christian in my teen years. I was depraved and a party girl. I didn’t know any better. By 2008 until his passing, my time with him consisted of just watching him sleep or watching my grandmother take care of him day in and day out. Her life to was fully surrendered to Christ and her Godly example as a humble wife has left a great example upon my life. She had sacrificed herself so much to take care of him and make sure that he was well fed, showered, you name it – she took care of him. I sometimes wished that I could have taken the time to get to know him earlier. It would have been great to have those conversations with him.  His missionary life in just evagelizing wherever God had him on a specific day, wether local or global – he was definately unashamed. As it fades, it remains.

Although, he is in Heaven enjoying Christ in God’s presence, he left a piece of him here with my grandmother. I love my grandmother so much. She has been there for me since birth. If she doesn’t have money, she will find resources to give a helping hand. I see Jesus in and through her. I love how she recites Bible verses to me in Spanish. She displays Christ so much through her actions. No matter how old I am – I am twenty-six, she treats me as a young girl. She has a servant’s heart.

Tonight was such a perfect night. In the time that I didn’t get to value or appreciate with my grandfather, I have been much more valuable with the time I have with my grandmother. She is 79. I do not want to think about the day she passes.  I absolutely love spending time with her. Just a hand to hold and tell her how much I appreciate her was just what I needed today. We drove around this evening and she insisted to buy her older brother some dinner, of which he lives alone, he is poor physically, but rich in Spirit, in Christ. As we drove off, she shed a few tears and was saddened by his condition and her condition of not being able to walk and not do much. She shared with me Matthew 25:24-40.  A way we should love is by serving others. LOVE GOD. LOVE OTHERS.

“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father,  inherit the kingdom prepared for you  from the foundation of the world. ³⁵ For  I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink;  I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; ³⁶ naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you  visited Me;  I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ ³⁷ Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? ³⁸ And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? ³⁹ When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ ⁴⁰ The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you,  to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’”

We proceeded and had dinner together. Fried rice tonight, a banana, and a glass of apple juice. It was a me and her kinda night. I cherish quality time. It’s one of my love languages. hehe. God’s timing is perfect i tell ya. Tomorrow the college group is office to do a reach beyond at a Retirement Center. My group is doing the Beauty Salon table with another group. I am excited to spend quality time with the elderly tomorrow. I am praying for opportunities to talk about Christ and share the gospel. The elderly are a group of people that need Jesus Christ as well. They are little children in God’s eyes.

Anywho, off to bed.

Good nighties

in His grace, Esther

have f a i t h.

For the past several weeks, God has just been pointing me to the word – OBEDIENCE. How does that play out in my personal walk with Christ? One aspect of obeying God, is by itimacy with Jesus Christ – to be in communion with Him and asking Him in faith to fulfill His will as instruments in this world. Often we disobey, we focus on pleasing man rather than putting our focus on living for an audience of One. Our desire is to live to please the Living, Sovereign Holy God. Below are a few Scripture verses that will encourage you to put your faith into practice as you Obey God’s voice through His Word. I encourage you also to PRAY IN FAITH! God can and will do the impossible!

But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘ Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you will be My people; and you will walk in all the way which I command you, that it may be well with you.’ Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and in the stubbornness of their evil heart, and went backward and not forward.  Jeremiah 7:23-24

“Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.  Matthew 10:27-28

In the morning, as he was returning to the city, he became hungry.  And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once.  When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?” And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.” Matthew 21:18-22

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds;and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Matthew 7:7-8

 The apostles said to the Lord,“Increase our faith!”  He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed,you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you. Luke 17:5-6

Humble yourself before the KING OF KINGS

Give Him thanks daily.

Obey His living Word.

Repent always.

Glorify Him.

Shine His light.

Pray in faith.

Love like JESUS.

ask. seek. knock.

in His Grace – Esther Victoria