Keeping the Faith to Endure in Troubled Times: My Personal Testimony Part II

It took all that I had to get used to the day to day operations of my new positions... I had to make sooo many adjustments. Among those were:

• Moving from the corporate level to the local level
• The work load
• Managing over 30 hourly employees
• The hours {my hours were very flexible in my previous position}
• and most of all the MONEY!!!!!

I could be a little more detailed, but I digress. After spending the first few months in agony, I got this *bright* idea that maybe God had put me there for a reason. So I repented for being unthankful and I made a vow to Him that I would fulfill His purpose for Him having me there for such as time as this...

It was not long after that; that He revealed His purpose for my being there... It was so simple for me to receive but so hard for me to give... My purpose for being there was to share and show the love of God in my life and in my daily walk with Him....

Wow! What a mission to complete...

So I began to channel my creativity and have {themed} monthly birthday parties and holiday celebrations for my staff . That fostered so much unity... So many lives were touch and so many began to love and to care about one another...

Soon I was so engulfed with helping God's people that I forgot all about the 100 applications that I had on the job market. I was so engulfed with helping God's people that forgot all about me, my problems and my situation. It was all about the people of God!

A Moment with Mello: The Seven Places that Jesus Shed His Blood

Yes...you have guessed it...This post is not about the normal {wedding and scrapbooking} related topics. Today, it is my most ardent desire to take a moment to dedicate a post to My Father. The bible says, "in all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." {Proverbs 3:6} And this blog is no exception... So please join me as I share a very encouraging word that my pastor shared with us today....

The sermon was entitled Power in the Blood. Now, I will spare you from regurgitating the entire sermon, but I will however provide you will the {Cliff Notes} version. If this blesses you, I encourge you to carefully study these points and pray and ask God to reveal to you what it is that He wants you to understand about the power of the Blood of Jesus.....

The points are from notes that were taken during our Sunday Morning worship services, however I will also reference points that were brought forth by Jane Shelton in her article, "The Seven Places Jesus Shed His Blood Journey to the Cross."

The blood of Jesus is much more powerful than many of us recognize. It is the source of our
redemption and freedom. { To be redeemed means to recover ownership of by paying a specified sum} The price of redemption that had to be paid was the death of our Lord and his shed blood. The shedding of Jesus’ blood released us to be brought back to the original place; to life as it was in the Garden of Eden where every blessing was available to Adam and Eve {source: Jane Shelton}.

The places that Jesus shed his blood were as follows:

1. Garden of Gethsemane- When He shedded his blood here it was for our Will.
   {Luke 22:43-44}
2. The Stripes on His Back- When Jesus was scourged or whipped He received 39 stripes on his back for us to be healed. {Isaiah 53:5}
3. Crown of Thorns- They placed a crown of thorns on His head and Jesus shed his blood to break the curse of poverty off our land. {Matthew 27:29}
4. They Nailed his Hands- When the nails went through the hands of Jesus on the cross and the blood ran down, his blood redeemed our dominion and authority. { Genesis: 39:2-3}
5. His Feet- When the spike went into the feet of Jesus, through his blood dominion and authority was taken back. {Deut. 11:24}
6. His Side- The sixth place we have suffered loss is where the enemy came and broke our hearts. When the spear was thrust through Jesus’ side blood and water poured down. {Mark 15:34}
7. He Was Bruised-The last place we have suffered lost is in our emotions; that part of us which is the inner man. Isaiah 53:5 says, “He was wounded for our transgression; he was bruised for our iniquities…” A bruise is bleeding on the inside. The Bible says that the sins of the father are visited to the third and fourth generation. That is called a generational curse. Many are suffering hurts on the inside from iniquities that our forefathers passed down to us. This results many times in inner hurts and bruises. Jesus was bruised so we could be healed from the inside out. Because of the blood we can be healed, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Thank you Jesus for the Blood!