The Candle Of My Life BY JEAN CHAMBLEE

 

In a dark and lonely room

With a fire in my heart

I close my eyes and think of You

 

With unquenchable hunger

I call out to You

You are the union I crave

 

One taste of Your love

One drink of Your soul

My quest will last forever

 

Though clouded by flesh

Surrounded by worldliness

Like a flower buried beneath the snow

 

The enemy rages to rip us apart

Moments are stolen, some slip away

But light always returns

And melts away the baracade that tries to keep us apart

 

And that thing deep inside

First contact never dies

It twists and turns and cries out to survive

 

With conquering force

Breaks down all the lies

And sets free the heart , the love and the cries

 

The candle inside

the Love of my life

So much more than a Savior

His essence abides

Jesus, Jesus

Love of my life

May Your heart know how I hunger for You tonight

Our Need For A Savior

Our Need For A Savior

Romans 3:23 says for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

That is all of us. None of us is without sin. We have all done things that our consciences have told us not to do. Whether you have ever been to church or not. We have all violated that inner voice that tells us right from wrong.

In a way that is good news. Because salvation is not something we can earn or attain to. Not a position we can ascend to. It is a FREE gift. Purchased by Jesus Christ when he shed his blood on the cross. He alone as the Son of God lived a perfect life and could be the perfect sacrifice for our sins. And what love He had for us that He was willing to do that on our behalf.

John 3:16 says For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

WHOEVER believes. God does not discriminate. His gift is for us all. It is up to us to choose.

Romans 10: 9, 10 If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

That is just the beginning. A real relationship with Him is possible. An intimate place with Him for those who seek Him with all their hearts.

Prayer is simply talking to God. Nothing fancy. Here is an example of a salvation prayer:

God I believe you are real, I see your creation and something inside me tells me there is a reason you made me. I ask you to come into my heart, come into my life, come into my mind and show me who You are. I want to know you. I invite you to be my Lord and Savior. Help me to grow into a loving relationship with You. Help me to know Your ways. I want to enjoy getting to know you. I invite you to be a part of my life! Forgive my sins and give me a new start Speak to me and teach me to hear you.

Amen.

Simple just speak your heart anyway you like. He is Lord he also cares about all of your life and your joys and pains. He created you to be with Him a part of Him. Enjoy the journey my friend.

If I can help you in anyway let me know.

MY TESTIMONY by Jean Chamblee

I was overdosing and knew it.  I knew that my friends wouldn’t take me to the hospital for fear that they would get in trouble too.  So I went in the bathroom and knelt at the toilet for obvious reasons…….and there I thought about Jesus.

Funny how sometimes it takes a crisis to get our thinking on track.

I thought about Jesus and I knew He loved me.  So I cried out “Jesus Help Me”.

Now the Bible says in 2 Chronicles (16:9)  “ that the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are loyal to Him.”

You see I loved Jesus in my heart – but I was just foolish enough not to understand and believe that I wouldn’t reap the consequences of my sin.

But there I was ….reaping some pretty bad stuff.

 

But God heard my cry of faith.  And He showed up powerfully.  

It simply felt like “light”  from God fell on me and I was instantly sober…..my head was crystal clear.  It was miraculous.  And the other beauty of encountering light is really seeing the darkness in my life.  I saw the lie that had fooled me into thinking drugs aren’t so bad.  It is a destructive path and  we weren’t created for destruction, but for a relationship with God.

So God rescued me that night.  The next few weeks were strange.  I had encountered something I could not deny.  I knew Jesus was real…..I believed….but this made things really personal.  God was interacting in my life.

After a few weeks I had a dream from the Lord.  I think it was the first time I knew God even talked to people that way.  I had heard about it in the Bible stories….

Anyway – in the dream I was a soldier – in the Lord’s army.  

Now keep in mind – things are often symbolic.  I took out a sword and began fighting the darkness in the form of a dark hooded figure.  When I awoke I was astonished.  I had never felt anything so good before.  It beat drugs by a landslide.  Fighting for the Lord – in His army – was the most fulfilling thing I had ever felt.  Purpose.  Fulfullment.  It was awesome.   (By the way – the sword represents the Word of God-  the symbolism in the dream was pretty simple)

God used this dream to set me up for what was gonna happen next.  I was so awestruck that this God that I had heard about all my life was so real.  All the stuff they said about Him was true.  The Bible was real and alive and He is still available to interact with man like He always has.   He really is the same yesterday, today and forever.  He answers the cry of a hungry heart!

So life continued on and one day, with no forewarning,  I walked into my dorm room on the 6th floor of Tyler dorm at 11:00 in the morning.  As I walked in the room my legs collapsed under me as I walked into the presence of this incredible energy.  It was like electricity – but it did not hurt.

I was about to get afraid – but I then remembered the stained glass window at the church – of Jesus with a lamb on His shoulders.  I remember saying to myself  “Jesus is gentle”  I don’t have to be afraid.

So I crawled onto the bed and listened.  I felt the Lord saying to me….”Will you follow me?”  It is amazing that I felt so comfortable in His presence….but I thought about it.  Jesus was wanting me to count the cost.  He wasn’t asking for a quick answer.  I thought –  I will have to give up smoking pot and give up my partying friends because I knew I would get pulled back by them.  I thought about it and said “Yes”.   At that moment I felt weights just lifting off of me.  I was changed.  Never to be the same.

It is now 28 years later – I am still serving Him and pursuing to know Him more.  No regrets!  Ever!!!  My life has been an incredible journey.  Definitely not boring!  How cool to make a decision like that early in your life and live to say you have no regrets!!

You know the Bible says” Seek Him”.   Sometimes we get to feeling left out because we haven’t had a dramatic experience like that.  But I guarantee you that if you seek Him out…… with the hunger and passion like you would a romantic relationship.  God will not disappoint.  The David in the Bible was called “a man after God’s own heart”.  We need to be like that.

Your story will never be like mine.  But you will have a story. You will be able to testify that Jesus still lives!! He answers those that call on His name. You will find your purpose in life in God.  He is your Creator.  Who knows you better than He does and loves you with the passion of the Cross!!?

Whether you are conscious of it yet or not…..you are called to be a part of His army that carries love and truth to a troubled world.  You have the opportunity to impact someones life here….and for eternity.

Revival starts in the heart.  It must burn in you first.  Ask Him into your heart, ask Him to use you and fill you with His Holy fire and get ready for the ride of a lifetime!!  

Blessings,    Jean                     Website     http://www.jeanchamblee.com

Music on CDBABY.COM          www.cdbaby.com/cd/chamblee2

Release People From Their Past

WE MUST RELEASE PEOPLE FROM THEIR PAST

 

It is a phenomenon that I have noticed recently.  I have been in and around ministry for more than two decades,  but I believe this is something that the Lord is bringing to the forefront.  Something that we must catch ahold of as the body of Christ,  or we will hinder the working of the Holy Spirit in this vital hour.

 

God has always brought “extra grace required”  people into my life for me to impact and disciple, usually one at a time.  They are people that love the Lord with all their heart,  but somewhere in their past they were severely broken.  Usually with no fault of their own.  Abusive parents, no parents, molested as kids, wounded and traumatized in some way. 

 As they attempted to try and deal with the overwhelming issues of their lives,  they often developed traits that most of us tend to run away from.

For instance:  needy, lack of good boundries, lack of self control, immature,  and the list goes on,  you know them too.

 

In some ways I was one of them after an excruciating life altering trauma.

It took a while to get back on my feet.  During that time I did not always handle life with grace.  It was like walking around as a giant bruise.

I love the line my husband brought up from the movie “Seabiscuit”.  “ You don’t throw away a perfectly good horse just because it is banged up a bit”.  

 

The same is true with people.  We – the Church-  sometimes throw away some of God’s greatest treasures.  Like Seabiscuit,  with love, patience and re-training,  he became a winning racehorse with a spirit that would not quit.  So it is with people.

 

God has brought another such person into my life at this time.  The odds against this young girl are more than I have time to say….  It broke my heart when she shared the traumas that life has thrown at her.  She came to the Lord three years ago.  The Lord is working the damage out of her…but it is taking time and she has made many mistakes, but inside her I see the heart of a champion!!  Lord, give us your eyes to see with!

 

The tragedy is that the people around her won’t let go of their “image” of her.  An image that was created during a transitional period.

God is transforming my friend into a  leader and the church and her family are putting her down and boxing her into her failures and mistakes.  We are all guilty of doing that at one time or another and not even realizing it.

 

God wants us to help free people from their past.  There are leaders and valuable parts of the body of Christ just waiting for a little support and nurturing from us.  People can change.  We must not only let them, but help them.

 

What if the early church had not let the Apostle Paul free from his past?  Or Peter was made to quit the ministry because he failed and denied Christ three times?  Can we really afford to lose those whom the Lord has called?

In closing I want to encourage all of us to take a second look.  Allow someone with an earnest heart to change and help them do it.  Be a Barnabas that embraced Paul when others were afraid of his past.  The Lord knows we need ALL the available laborers that are willing to work in His kingdom.

 

Phillipians 3:13

Brethren I do not count myself to have apprehended, but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead. I press towards the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

 

Everyone should have the freedom to press ahead and be transformed into the image of Christ. Let’s help each other run the race instead of keeping them in the stall!

 

Blessings,

Jean Chamblee Thomas

Hello world!

Greetings!  My name is Jean and I am a singer/songwriter now living in North Carolina.  I love sharing my poetry.  I hope you enjoy it!