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Karrie Massotti's Writings |
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Karrie also has a Christian
Personal web page.
You will find more of her writings
there.
These writings below are the ones that have
appeared in our weekly church bulletin.
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3/28/99 |
Pastor’s Wife’s
Thoughts
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Do you ever stop to think of
what it means to be a "Child of God"? We hear this saying all of the
time, and if you are like most people you say to yourself "That’s
nice"; but do you ever stop and think of what it means?
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When our earthly fathers give us
laws and rules we know it is because they love us, and want what is best for us.
We expect that if we are to live under their roofs we are to obey their laws.
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Our heavenly Father is the same
way. He has expectations for us and it is not because He is waiting for us to
goof up so He can throw a lightening bolt at us. It is so we can be the best and
make Him proud.
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Also when we ask our earthly
fathers for something they measure whether it is really what is best for us. (We
do not always know what is truly in our best interest!) God is just like this.
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When Israel asked for a
king He tried to persuade them against it. It is not that He does not want us to
be blessed. "Every good gift and every perfect
gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights.." Jam 1:17. He
was against it for their own good.
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Sometimes we expect our Heavenly
Father to be more like a Grandpa. To spoil us with no thought of the
consequences. We are so used to praying prayers just like spoiled children that
sound like "Gimme Gimme Gimme".
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We need to stop expecting a
Grandpa God and start expecting a Father God. We are Children of God not
Grandchildren and He is our Father not our Grandfather.
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Next time you ask for something
from God think of how your earthly father might have handled the same request.
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And next time God asks something
of you — or you’re convicted by His Spirit — think of how you would have
responded to your earthly father’s correction.
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He truly is our Father and He has
our best interests at heart.
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© Karrie L. Massotti, 3/28/1999
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| 4/4/1999
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Most of the world today is
"Celebrating" Easter. Here are some facts about the origins of some of
the traditions which people are partaking in today. Think about this before you
join in any of these "Traditions". |
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The Word "Easter":
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"Easter" is derived
from "Eostre," the pagan Anglo-Saxon goddess, and/or "Eostare,"
the Norse pagan festival of spring the same goddess is also called Aphrodite,
Asherah, Ashtoreth, Astarte, Diana, Eostre, Ianna, Ishtar, Isis, Ostara,
Semiramis, Venus |
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Bunnies:
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According to Teutonic myth, the
hare was once a bird whom Eostre changed into a four-footed creature. Thus, it
can also lay eggs. The hare is also the sacred companion and sacrificial victim
of Eostre. |
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Eggs:
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The yolk represents the Sun God,
its white shell is for the White Goddess, and the whole is a symbol of rebirth.
Decorating hard-boiled eggs is an ancient Pagan custom associated with the
Goddess of Fertility. Pagans gathered colored eggs from the nests of birds this
is why we color eggs. The idea of Easter baskets for the eggs came from birds
nests. |
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Sunrise Service:
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The reason that sunrise services
was blended into this day’s celebrations is Eostre was the goddess of the
sunrise so once again they blended pagan with Christian practices to appease. |
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Lily:
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Asherah (a Sidonian goddess) was
frequently represented as a nude woman bestride a lion with a lily (symbolizing
grace and sex appeal) in one hand and a serpent (symbolizing fecundity) in the
other. |
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The list goes on and on! Every
thing we associate with this day (Easter) has it’s roots in paganism. The only
thing Christians should be doing today and everyday is thanking Jesus for being
willing to lay down his life so we might live. This is not even the accurate day
of his resurrection. There is no way to pinpoint it exactly so we should
celebrate it (the resurrection) and Him (Jesus) everyday. |
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Jesus said ... I am the
resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet
shall he live. John 11:25 |
© Karrie L. Massotti,
4/4/1999
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4/11/99
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I recently heard a message about
the "Bride of Jesus Christ". |
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This message had a profound
impact on me. I was thinking about the message and what a bride is like. |
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I thought about how she longs to
be near her love. |
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Can’t wait to see Him — be
near Him — touch Him |
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I was then thinking about
Christians today, comparing the heartbeat of a bride to the saints of God. |
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Do people today have this
longing to be with Jesus? |
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Do they have this desire to
touch Him? |
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To be in His
presence? |
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I realized something was missing
and I asked the Lord what it was. What did the church need in our relationship
with Him? |
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Did we need couples therapy or a
marriage encounter weekend? |
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What He shared with me was this:
He currently has a lot of girlfriends but very few fiancée's. He said that the
problem is commitment. He has proposed marriage but not yet received the
"YES" answer from many Christians. |
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Plus many Christians are
two-timing Him. We are devoted to the cares of this life (TV, work, homemaking,
sports, even church activities) instead of Him being our first focus. |
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Jesus explained that when we are
willing to lay aside all of these other loves and be committed to Him alone,
("go steady with Him") then we will truly be His fiancée — and soon
His bride. |
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Are you His fiancée — or
just a girlfriend? |
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Do you have other loves you
need to lay aside? |
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Are you ready to get
married to Jesus? |
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The bridegroom cometh shortly —
Decision time is now! |
He has proposed and is waiting
for your answer. Please won’t you come be part of the marriage feast?
© Karrie L. Massotti,
4/11/1999
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5/23/99
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I was looking at the
calendar and saw that today is Pentecost Sunday. That got me
thinking about Pentecost and what it means to today’s Christian.
Pentecost is the Greek name for the Jewish Feast of Weeks. It
celebrates the completion of the seven weeks leading to harvest
(7x7=49 days).
God’s pattern of sowing
and reaping is seen in this. You plant, wait, pray, and then
harvest. Seven is also the number of Spiritual completeness.
Perhaps these were some of the reasons why God choose to
"Baptize" the 120 in the Holy Spirit on the day of
Pentecost. And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were
all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound
from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the
house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven
tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they
were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other
tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2:1-4
These tongues are not just a
cool thing God did once upon a time. They are the sign that the
Holy Spirit is living inside you! God gave us this as a gift. He
had a purpose for this. I fear we take this wonderful gift for
granted sometimes. Here are some reminders of what this gift is
for.
Has the pain ever gotten so
deep that you no longer could verbalize? Well the Holy Spirit can
help you. If you release your tongue to God he will use it to pray
what you can not. Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our
infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought:
but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings
which cannot be uttered. Rom 8:26 (Also useful in times of intense
joy.)
He is our comforter. This
means when you need comforting he is always with you. If you turn
to your gift of the infilling you will be comforted. And I will
pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he
may abide with you for ever; John 14:16 But the Comforter, which
is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall
teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance,
whatsoever I have said unto you John 14:26. But when the Comforter
is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the
Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall
testify of me: John 15:26 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is
expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the
Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him
unto you. John 16:7
It also Glorifies God and is
a sign to the unbeliever. For they heard them speak with tongues,
and magnify God. Acts 10:46 And these signs shall follow them that
believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak
with new tongues; Mark 16:17 But ye shall receive power, after
that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses
unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and
unto the uttermost part of the earth. Acts 1:8
Paul knew how important this
gift was. I would that ye all spake with tongues 1 Cor 14:5 I
thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all: 1 Cor 14:18
Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak
with tongues. 1 Cor 14:39
You have been given a
wonderful gift.
Tell a friend!
USE IT!
© Karrie L, Massotti 5/23/1999
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6/6/99
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Darwin’s book "The Origin of Species by Means of Natural
Selection" was published in 1859 and "The Descent of Man.."
in 1871. The battle between creation and evolution has been a hot topic ever
since. |
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There are three main "camps" out there: |
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Creationism: (44% public support). God created the universe during 7
consecutive days less than 10,000 years ago; precisely as stated in the
Biblical book of Genesis |
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Theistic evolution: (39% support). God used evolution as a mechanism
to guide the development of new species. |
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Naturalistic Evolution: (10% support). God is assumed to have played
no part in the processes. Evolution was driven by purely natural forces. |
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Here are some points to ponder: |
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If God did not create the world then the Genesis record is not real. If
Genesis is not real how do we know if any of the rest is real. If God did
not make man then we are not created in His image and likeness (Gen. 1:26)
and we would have no dominion. We would not have any authority! We also
could not have the hope of being conformed into perfection. We can not even
be saved and believing in a Savior is pointless. |
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Ever go on a merry-go-round really fast and then stop it suddenly? What
happens? Everyone flies off in the same direction that the merry-go-round
was going. Evolution teaches that there was a giant mass of energy and
matter spinning in space and then BANG out came the planets. Of the planets
in our solar system, some spin one way and others the other way. Some moons
spin the opposite direction of the planet they rotate around. This alone
disproves BIG BANG and proves that there was a designer. |
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I cannot fit all of the many things that prove evolution wrong on this
one page. There are a lot of wonderful research tools on the topic. Tons of
books.And here are just a few Web sites dedicated to the topic. |
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http://www.rae.org/models.html
The Revolution Against Evolution |
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http://www.icr.org/
Institute for Creation Research |
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http://onramp.ior.com/~kjc/pages/7internt.html
Seven Powerful Evidences Confirming Special Creation |
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It was once said (and I echo) that this is not just an apologetic issue
for Christians. This is THE apologetic issue. Many Christians are confused
by all of the debates. Others sadly have a "who cares" attitude
about the topic. Please care about this. Please study to be able to defend
our God.
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God created us. He created the world. He created a salvation plan and
sent us a Savior. Think about this. It’s Cool!
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© Karrie L. Massotti, 06/06/1999
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11/7/99
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Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever
state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I
know how to abound… Phil 4:11,12
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What does this really mean? Some people say that it means we should be
poor, we should not have any material possessions. Is this what God was
trying to communicate through Paul? Lets look at that point.
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If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your
children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good
things to them that ask him? — Matthew 7:11
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But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is He that giveth
thee power to get wealth, that He may establish his covenant which He
sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day. — Deuteronomy 8:18
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The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and He addeth no sorrow
with it. — Proverbs 10:22
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If God wants us all to be poor would He have included verses about Him
blessing us with riches? If He were against money then all money verses
would be negative.
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Then there are those who say that God wants us all to be rich. They use
verses like those above to show how the Lord loves to give us things and how
God is the one who makes us rich. They teach that we all should be rich and
need to strive to get there. Consider the following verses.
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Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in
the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness.
— Psalm 52:7
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Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they
increase in riches. — Psalm 73:12
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For the love of money is the root of all evil. — 1 Timothy 6:10
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Their error is usually in the focus of money. They begin to focus more on
money than on God. They spend all of their days scheming or working for
riches.
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So are we to be rich or be poor? Which camp is correct? Neither
and Both! |
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He wants to be the One who blesses us. He Is our provider. God wants us
to trust in Him; then, whether we have a lot of money, because the Lord has
blessed us, or we struggle from payday to payday, we still trust in God.
Believe that
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Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
— Matthew 6:8
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If we fully trust in Him, and know that no matter what He has our best
interest in heart, then we too can fully be content weather we abase or
abound. We should be content no matter what because He will always provide.
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If we trust God and know Philippians 4:19
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"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches
in glory by Christ Jesus"
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then no matter what we can be content!
© Karrie L. Massotti, 11/7/1999
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4/9/2000
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We have all heard stories
of the mentally or physically challenged and how there is someone who
gives selflessly for them. We have heard stories of the faithful husband
who has to help the Alzheimer’s wife. We have heard of the mother who
was to care for a child with the mentality of a 5 year old and the body of
an adult. We call these caregivers extraordinary, unique people; which
they are. |
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I, just this week, heard
the testimony of a man who had been married for over 50 years; almost 30
of which his wife has had Alzheimer’s. She has not spoken in 7 years.
She does not even recognize him. At most, some mornings she smiles a quick
smile. He cares for her, bathes her, hand feeds her, dresses her — She
doesn’t say thanks. She doesn’t talk. However, she is able to grunt
when she does not like what he is doing. |
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I also know of two
different families with autistic children. Both children are grown adults
with the mental state of a toddler. They can dress themselves; however,
they throw temper tantrums if you lay out, say for example, the purple
shirt instead of the pink one. Both are equally good shirts; they just had
in their mind the pink one. They do not communicate their displeasure and
move on. Instead, they lash out in a tantrum — sometimes very violently. |
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Thank God most humans do
not have to experience this as part of their daily ritual. However, most
of us probably know someone who does. (This is not meant to offend those
people who live in these circumstances but rather to illustrate my point). |
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Imagine you are God. You
create this wonderful world. You create animals to play with, good food to
eat, and flowers to admire. You feed us everyday, you clothe us, even
bathe us in your Glory; and most of us do not ever talk to you. We
sometimes give a small smile when we start the day. More often than not we
throw temper tantrums when we are not given the things exactly as we want
them. We never say thanks and we never say that we love you! |
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I wonder if God doesn’t
allow these special people in the world just to illustrate this point. Lord,
You give and give and give selflessly and expect nothing in return even
though you know we are likely to not give anything back to you! Brothers
and sisters, this ought not to be! |
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If you have the capacity
to read this, then you have the capacity to talk everyday to God. To say
thanks to Him for all he does. Even to explain why you want the pink
shirt; rather than blame and throw a tantrum. |
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Please reflect on this.
Please talk to Him. He is waiting. He is patient and He will not stop
caring for you (just a the mother or husbands in the above examples); even
if you do not care back. |
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© Karrie L. Massotti,
4/9/2000 |
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10/15/00
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Have you noticed how our society is
based on how fast we can do things. |
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Fast food, Instant rice, instant
pudding, microwave popcorn, pre approved, immediate results… |
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We have drive up banking, drive up
espresso, drive up prescription refills, drive thru fast food and even
drive up weddings. There are not only cookbooks that promise to prepare
the foods in five minutes or less but with five ingredients or less. |
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We live in a society where most of
our entertainment is ½ hour TV shows. Even those ½ hour shows have 3 or
4 breaks for commercials. |
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They say that the average attention
span is 3 minutes. Jesus reprimanded the disciples for not praying with
him for one hour. Imagine how he would feel that now they would not have
lasted three minutes. |
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When did we get in so much of a
hurry? Who said something that takes a little time is wrong. |
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There are restaurants that are
praised because they do things the slow way. They make their foods from
scratch. The reason they are praised is it is a good thing to take a
little time to make things good. Quicker is not always better. If you have
ever been to one of these fine restaurants you would have noticed how you
enjoy the experience so much more? The food is better, it digests better,
it is better for you. At first it is hard to wait the ½ hour for them to
bring you the food but when it comes it tastes SO much better that it was
worth the wait. |
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Sermons can be compared to this. We
expect all sermons to be instant, quick. ½ hour with breaks. But now I
ask you, is a fast food hamburger better than a roast beef that cooked for
24 hours. Which tastes better? Which is better for you? Which has more
vitamins and nutrition for the body? It is the same with the Word of God.
The longer sermon will equip us for the job. It feeds our spirit and our
soul. It gives us the nutrition we need. If we just ate quick 15 minute
sermons we would end up like someone who lives on fast food, looking
powerful because of our massive size but in reality dying of malnutrition. |
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Slow down. Take the time to do it
right. Give the Lord the time and attention that He deserves. Your
spiritual and natural health will be better for it. |
© Karrie L. Massotti 10/15/2000
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11/19/00
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Thanksgiving week, |
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What is thanksgiving to you? |
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Turkey day? You know eat a
lot and then take a nap. |
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Or is it a time to get a
couple of days off of work.? |
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How about the busiest
shopping weekend of the year? |
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Perhaps you remember the
original Thanksgiving and are thankful to the pilgrims and Indians? |
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Have you ever thought of the
word itself - Thanksgiving, why thanksgiving? |
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Thanks to who? For what?
Why? |
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Thanksgiving was originally
and still should be a day set aside to reflect upon all of the blessings
that God has bestowed upon us. Once again our society has taken something
meant to give glory to God and turned it into a commercial success. |
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This Thursday stop yourself
between bites and ask yourself a couple of questions: |
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1. Who do I owe the thanks
for this good food (in addition to the cooks who prepared it) |
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What are some of the
blessings God has given me this year? |
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What am I thankful for? |
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How can I tell God that I am
grateful more than this one day a year? |
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We are blessed to live in
the country. We are blessed to have more food on our tables than some
entire cities get a week. We live in wonderful homes. We live in relative
peace. Remember these and the many more blessing and give God the praise
and thanksgiving. |
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© Karrie L. Massotti,
11/19/2000
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4/22/2001 |
The other day when I was
driving home the Christian radio had on a program where people can call in
and say a prayer. I was noticing that several of them who were praying
kept saying "In Your name" or "in the name of the
Lord".
This practice has always
troubled me (for reasons that I am not going to go into in this writing,)
but on this particular evening it dawned on me that there was one other
problem with this prayer.
We live in a time in this
country where there are people from many cultures, and a lot of people are
raised in atheist homes. These listeners would not have a clue that it was
Jesus the callers were referring to when praying.
When they said "In the
name of the Lord" or "In the Lords name" I kept saying to
myself while driving, "Lord – who?" "What is the name of
this Lord?" or when they said "In your name", I would
reply, "Which is?"
Now of course, I knew to
whom they were referring. This station is my favorite and I am familiar
with the format, but I was realizing that new listeners need to know who
this being is who has the ability to heal them, deliver them and set them
free!
As Christians I feel that
not only are we perhaps praying amiss, by not using the name of the Lord,
but we also are missing out on a wonderful witnessing opportunity.
So, in addition to all of
the other reasons to use His name, use the name of Jesus as a witness,
that the world may know Him.
© Karrie L. Massotti,
4/22/2001 |
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4/29/2001 |
We live in America, home of
the free, land of the brave, nation of the disrespectful. The media about
12 years ago started having a hay day making fun of our Vice President Dan
Quale. Since that time we have started referring to the president and vice
president as Bill or Quale and now Dub-Ya. There is even a new TV show
called "That’s my Bush" this show is a poke at the new
President of the United States, George W. Bush. I am not writing a
political argument over democrat vs republican, conservative vs. liberal.,
I am writing about respect. Weather you like the leader or not, he is our
leader.
What ever happened to Mr.
President! If we were in an other country we would be beheaded for treason
for showing such disrespect for our leader. But, we do not live under a
monarchy, we live in a republic. We are a free people; so, we do not know
and understand what it means to have a sovereign over us.
There is a Christian rap
song by Carman that has a line in it "Whose in the house? J.C."
Is this any different than referring to George W. bush as dub-ya? (This is
not against Carman, those of you who know me know that I love Carman and
respect his work)
We do not understand what a
sovereign is, what an emperor is, or what a king is, yet we call Jesus;
Lord, Master, King. Do you understand those words? Have you thought about
the meaning of those titles? Or so you see them as just His first name?
Jesus is King of Kings and
Lord of Lords. What does that mean to you? If you have accepted Him as the
Lord and Master of your life then it should mean that you will obey his
every word. You will only do what is pleasing to Him.
In countries who live under
the rule of a king, if you do not follow his orders completely you are
killed. There is no arguing with the King. His words are not just
suggestions. Thank God that our King gives us SO MUCH mercy. How many
times per day do you disobey His orders. Ignore His requests. Argue with
His will.
Just remember the next time
you call out to the Lord exactly what that title means. Are you letting
him be the Lord in your life? He is LORD of LORDS and KING of KINGS and He
reigns forevermore. Praise His name.
© Karrie Massotti 4/29/2001 |
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5/20/2001 |
Have you ever been
to the circus? Have you seen the high-wire act. They are WAY up there in
the air, but it looks like they are just walking on the ground. No
problem, no fears..
Truth is a tightrope. It is a very fine line. You must
stay on the very narrow line; if you go just a millimeter to the right or
left you will fall.
Circus acrobats are allowed a few tools that really
help them accomplish their job, these are what help it look effortless.
God, Likewise, has allowed us some of these tools
because he wants us to be able to walk in truth easily without stumbling.
The acrobats use a stick that helps them stay upright.
Without this stick they would surely fall. We too have a balance stick; it
is the word of God, the Holy Bible. If you make sure you are speaking
truth, based on the word not on conjecture or inference, then you will be
balanced.
The acrobats have a safety harness (a wire) that also
keeps them safe. The Lord provides us with basic principles called
hermeneutics. If we are not sure which way to use the balance stick (if an
area of the word seems gray) then use the principles of hermeneutics -- by
them we are wired up and will be safe.
The acrobats have a couple of assistants. They have one
assistant that helps them get up on the wire. We have Pastors, Teachers,
Prophets, Evangelists, and Apostles to help us get to the truth. They also
have assistants that are on the ground watching them. When they fall,
these are on the ground to help them, comfort them, and apply first aid.
If they successfully cross the wire, without harm, those on the ground are
the first to rejoice with them for a job well done. This is the body of
Christ.
If all else fails the acrobat has a net into which they
can safely fall. We have forgiveness and repentance. If you find that you
have fallen off of the truth, you have not died, just fallen; you can
repent. Before you know it, you are right back up there on the wire; ready
to go again.
So if you don’t quite know how to apply truth to your life, learn the
principles of hermeneutics, grab your Bible and go for a walk. God allows
a few stumbles (or He would not have given us that net). Just be sure to
be willing to use the net (willing to repent) or else it can be fatal.
©
Karrie L. Massotti, 5/20/2001
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6/03/2001
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There is a new trend in
Christianity to get involved in the Jewish traditions; such as: Feasts,
Rituals and so forth. I am sometimes curious as to what the real motive is
for this participation by Christians. The Bible clearly shows that Jesus is
the fulfillment of these things. "Think not that I am come to destroy
the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill."
(Matthew 5:17) So why do them? Consider the following:
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We are no longer required
to keep the feasts – we are abiding in Christ.
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We do not have to keep the
Sabbath – the comforter is our rest
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We do not have to
sacrifice – Jesus was our sacrifice
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The only laws that remain
are not ceremonial, they are health laws that deal with the body
(because bodies are constructed the same way they were 6000 years ago.)
and moral laws of behavior to help us not hurt one another.
If born again spirit-filled
Christians are going to messianic services to learn more about the customs
which our Lord and Savior was part of (to be able to better picture what is
being mentioned in Scripture.) then I say more power to them. Anyone who is
learning is bettering themselves! But even though I was to study about
another culture, it does not mean that I should start participating in their
worship practices, or even customs.
If Christians feel that they
need to keep these feasts, rites and rituals, in order to please God, then I
ask, "Are we not saying that what Jesus did for us on the cross was not
enough? The Holy Spirit is not enough?" It seems to me they might even
be fulfilling this scripture: "Seeing they crucify to themselves the
Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame." Hebrews 6: 4-6
If you choose to attend a
messianic celebration, or worship session, just remember that these are just
the types; the shadow has already come. We have Christ, Are in Christ, and
have put on Christ – our daily feast.
©
Karrie L. Massotti, 6/03/2001
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| 9/16/2001
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Some things to pray about: (written
after the Sept 11, 2001 WTC tragedy)
That the nation would repent
That we all will seek God’s face
Praise God for his intervention
Praise God for his mercy
Pray for Survivors
Pray for families of victims
Pray for rescue workers:
*that their strength be extended
*their hearts be strong
*their minds be free of the images
*that they get to see fruit of their labors
Pray for the unbelieving in this nation that they would come to know
Jesus
Pray for the terrorists that God would appear personally to them.
Pray for the pilots instructors that they are not riddled with guilt.
Pray for God to heal the hearts of EVERYONE who was affected Tuesday.
Isaiah 61:2-4
To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance
of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in
Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the
garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called
trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be
glorified. And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the
former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities,
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| 3/03/2002 |
Have you ever taken time to think of how clever our God
is?
Most of us have one area in our spiritual walk that we
find difficult. Our hearts are pure, our intentions just, however, we
never seem to follow through, or we rebel. For me this area of my life is
prayer. My head knows that I need to pray. My spirit craves this time with
my Beloved. My body is even willing but my will is stubborn.
So what does our Lord do? He gives me a call on my life
to prayer. To us this is contrary. If we owned a company, with many
employees, some of whom loved to create web pages and others who preferred
to fix cars, we would not assign the web design to the mechanics. His ways
are not like ours, His thoughts are higher than ours. His knowledge is
perfect and He does not make mistakes, so how did He remedy this situation
and motivate me to pray?
First, He knows my heart. He knows that I am true to my
word and that my word is sacred. On my Christian homepage He had me add a
submit prayer request section where I give my word that I will pray for
these other saints. He promised to never give us more than we can bear, so
I obeyed and added this link.
Can you guess what happened next? He started sending
His hurting to me for prayer via this page. I now get about one request
per day from different people all over the world, and being true to my
word, I am compelled to pray.
Now you might be one who has no difficulty in prayer, if so, you might
not relate to my story. However, what is difficult spiritually for you?
Perhaps your difficult area is reading your bible, witnessing, or
teaching. Meditate on this story, listen for the still small voice;
perhaps God is trying to give you a way to help. If nothing else, start
asking Him what you can do to make that area easier. He has an answer. ©
Karrie L. Massotti March
3, 2002
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05/01/2005 |
My niece got married the other day. They are very young
and went to a Justice of the Peace for a very informal wedding. Most of
the family is in shock and tears and not in favor of this event which got
me reflecting;
There is an old saying, don’t think of it as loosing a
daughter think of it as gaining a son. What if the parents respond with an
attitude that implies “but I don’t want him as a son!” When
you gave your heart to Jesus, that was Him asking you to marry Him and you
saying “Yes”. The wedding feast hasn’t occurred yet so we are His
finance. Imagine if God looking down upon this happy couple said “But I
don’t want him/her as a son/daughter.”
Jesus proposed(1) knowing
full and well who we were. When we met Him most of us were not worthy of
marriage. Most of us were people who other parents would have been
horrified of the proposal.
What if God had said; “But you are too
young to marry my Son” or “I don’t think you are a good influence on
my Son” or “You are making a mistake, why don’t you just take more
time and think it over” I am not condoning teenage marriages that is not
the point. I am simply saying that Thank God He is a parent that is
patient. He knows that when we became engaged to His Son, we were young
(spiritually) bad (spiritually) but thank God that He didn’t ask us to
think it over. Thank God that He said “Welcome to the Family” and with
opened His arms and His home to welcome us in. He loved us first.(2).
With God; Mercy rejoices over judgment.
So even if someone showed up and said
they objected to our wedding, the Judge of the universe would turn to us,
ask us if we were sure and if we confirmed (3) (confessed with
our mouth) that we were sure, He would say that the objection was
overruled because the decision is between us and Jesus.
The thing that my niece and her husband
have, is such a strong love that they didn’t care if their parents,
friends, neighbors, relatives agreed. They didn’t need a big fancy
thing, they just knew that they wanted to be together forever. I am not
condoning their actions but neither am I condemning them. How about
instead we learn from them. If we love our Finance (Jesus) so much that no
matter what our parents, friends, neighbors or relatives (4) say
we are getting married and no one can stop us. And we don’t need big
elaborate religious ritual, we just need a judge and witnesses to make it
official.
The wedding is coming(5), are
you prepared? Are you excited?
I know Jesus is!
1=Revelation 3:20 | 2=1 John 4:19 |
3=Romans 10:9 | 4=Luke 14:26 | 5=Revelation 19:9
© 05/01/2005 Karrie Lynn Massotti |
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07/09/06 |
News clip from Voice
of the Martyrs Canada:
In the early morning of May 16th, 15
Christians escaped from a military training camp in Asabe, Eritrea and
attempted to escape across the desert into neighboring Djibouti. According
to a June 23rd report from Open Doors U.K., the men had been detained in
metal shipping containers for the past two years because of their faith in
Christ. Military police pursued the men when they were discovered missing.
After two days, the bodies of five of them were found dead from exposure. At
last report the other 10 had not been found and there was no indication if
they were successful in crossing the border into Djibouti. If they remain in
Eritrea, their lives are in grave danger.
This is one of
hundreds, or dare I say thousands of cases of persecution against
Christians.
Why do you think the
enemy is doing this?
This is a fulfillment
of scriptures:
Remember the word that I said unto you, The
servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will
also persecute you; John 15:20
The enemy is scared.
You don’t hear of new-agers getting persecuted? You don't even hear of
Wicca's getting persecuted , why is that? Satan is not afraid of those
beliefs. They hold no harm to him or his kingdom.
Have hope, Saints in
God. This should give you great faith. Know that you are on the right road
and use these accounts as testimonies of The One True God and His kingdom.
Go make more Paul’s out of Saul’s
Go read
2
Corinthians 4 and praise the Lord that we are light.
©
Karrie L. Massotti 7/9/2006 |
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| 07/23/2006 |
The
Princess and her Peas.
As you may know, I (the
princess) love to garden. We have totally redone our yard taking out grass
in some areas and replacing it with beds for vegetables or flowers.
This year, as I do every
year, I went out back to my vegetable garden and was all excited to get
started. I did the diligence of tilling the earth, adding fresh compost,
making sure it was prepped and ready for planting. Then I carefully chose
my plants. I wanted a little of this, a little of that. One needs variety in
a garden after all.
My peas is where this
story gets interesting. I ensured the soil was ready and then set about
planning the seeds. I watered, I fertilized and they started to grow quite
nice. Then it happened, I got busy. I got tired. It got too hot to be
outside working.
What happened to the
peas? They flowered like they were supposed to, and then they bore fruit
like they were supposed to, and then they withered on the vine.
Also consider my
blueberries. I even bought netting for them so the birds wouldn’t get any
but then didn’t get out there to reap the reward and they are now dried dead
fruit.
I didn’t watch my
zucchini and cucumbers everyday and put a guard around them (sluggo) and so
due to this lack of attention were eaten up by slugs before they even got a
chance to grow.
There are good spiritual
lessons here. We often choose the right seeds (people hungry for the
truth). We make sure we have diversity in our spiritual garden. We till the
ground (take away their objections or answer their long held questions). We
plant, we water, we do everything right. Then just when it is about time to
harvest, the cares of this life or just plane laziness gets in the way and
we don’t follow through and harvest. Or worse yet, the enemy comes along
(like the slug) and causes them to not grow at all or claims them for his
own.
We need to be diligent
against the enemy to ensure these seeds grow, we need to protect these seeds
from being harvested by the enemy and most importantly, we need to grab our
sickles and get out there and harvest. The fields are white unto harvest
(see John 4:35)
© Karrie L. Massotti
7/23/2006 |
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| 04/01/2007 |
What is Unity?
I received an email this
week from someone in Nebraska. She asked the following questions:
I am having a hard time picking the "one true religion." I believe in
Christ and I believe in God and I believe that Christ was sent by God to
save us sinners. So far, so good. But what church most strictly
adheres to the true and accurate teaching of the Bible? I have been
lead in so many different directions and I am so horribly confused.
Also, I have been seeking what is meant by repenting in order to be
accepted into heaven, and I have been inundated by several different
theories, many different websites, etc., etc. That is how I came across
yours, just hoping and praying that
God would point me in the right direction. To whom do I repent? I have
been told to God only or perhaps a pastor, and I have been told to go
back to everyone I have ever sinned against - be it small or large - and
confess directly to that person that I sinned against. So I ask for you
guidance. I really want to figure this all out and I want to help lead
my family in the right direction, but I want to do it the right way.
It
occurred to me
when I read this that this is a classic example of lack of unity in the
church. How confusing we must be to the world. This one person who is
honestly seeking after truth is receiving conflicting messages and is
getting frustrated and confused.
Is God confused? He is
the author of confusion? NO! Scripture says:
“For
God is not the author of confusion, but of peace” 1 Corinthians 14:33
so where does
this confusion and lack of unity come from? It is another tactic of the
enemy.
Thank the Lord that this
one person continued seeking and didn’t give up. How many others when
receiving this type of conflicting message just give up and say “who can
know?”.
We need to remember that
we are at war and the spoils of this war are the souls of mankind. This
type of lack of unity and confusion is clearly the work of the author of
confusion to try to keep people in the dark. Just say “NO!” to confusion,
just say “NO!” to disharmony. Church, it is time to take out your sword and
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© Karrie L. Massotti 4/01/2007
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04/27/2008 |
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Fabulous Furry
FaithBuilders |
I was thinking the other day about why God gives us pets. Sure they are cute and
give us love and affection but I caught the deeper revelation of how they are a
type of the relationship between us and Him.
Here is the first of a series of examples;
I was working in my office and my cat Shiloh needed / wanted my attention. He
was in his room and hadn’t yet been let free for the day.
He started to meow and meow and meow and meow and no matter how much I called to
him he wouldn't stop. I told him that I was busy and was coming as soon as I
finished what I was working on… he didn’t care.. he just kept meowing.
This made me think about us in prayer. We often ask and ask and ask and beg and
feel like no one is hearing us, but in reality our prayers were heard the first
second we said them. God heard us and knows what we need. We need to trust that
He is coming to our aid.
That isn’t to say to stop asking. In fact the passage in Matthew and Luke about
asking, seeking and knocking, has the connotation of keep asking, keep seeking
and keep knocking. Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find;
knock, and it shall be opened unto you Matthew 7:7 & Luke 11:9
Shiloh was exhibiting perfect faith. He knew that I always open the door, he
knew if he kept meowing I would come. He wasn’t going to give up until he saw
the results. Interestingly enough, if he had quieted down and gone to sleep, I
might have forgotten about him for a while because I was pretty tied up. It was
that constant almost incessant noise that finally forced me to deal with the
situation.
Perhaps we need to be like that more with God. Don’t let up until we see the
results. That isn’t to say God ever forgets about us but perhaps it just shows
him that we mean it and we aren’t going to be “quite” until we see results
(faith). Maybe that is what is meant by being fervent (Acts 18:25, Colossians
4:12, James 5:16)
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© Karrie L. Massotti 4/27/2008 |
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Original Quote by Pastor Anthony |
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There is a road that leads UP, and a road that leads down -- all plateaus are merely you pausing.
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This site was last modified on 10/10/2007
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Content:
Anthony J. Massotti Th.M. || Technical:
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