Hello! Welcome to my Strike Four website! I would like to thank the daughter of one of my previous Co-Managers at WalMart in Bremerton for designing the awesome Strike Four logo! There is no way I could have done that. I really want to see this website take off, so to speak. You see, I really do feel like this website is the beginning of something so much greater. I am tired of my life as a "status quo" Christian. I am tired of playing church and being an average Christian. It is my prayer and desire that God use me to help the lost as well as the saved who are discouraged. The whole purpose behind "strike four" is to realize that yes, we are going to fall as Christians and make mistakes, but God is a God of INFINITE MERCY, and He forgives us!! Now, as I also emphasize later on down in this page, I do not think that is an excuse or a "pass" to sin and sin and sin, and I do believe that there are consequences to sin. But God is a God of mercy, isn't that great?!? I hope to soon write some devotionals on Bible characters whom we would consider "incredibly holy" that had times of regret and depression, even! Think of David, who committed not only adultery but murder as well! What about Elijah, the great man of God who begged God to kill him!! Then there is the "harlot Rahab," whom God used in HIS family tree! See, God can use anyone and more importantly, He can use your mistakes!!
Here is a further explanation of the term "strike four:" The phrase popped into my mind a few years ago. At the age of nine, I asked the Lord to come into my heart and save me. I realized that I was a sinner and that without Jesus I would spend an eternity in hell. Right after I made that life-changing decision, I was SO excited. I wanted to tell everyone! I would like to say that I have always kept that zeal, that passion for the Lord that I felt then. But that would not be true. As I got older, I went the opposite way from God. Although active in my church, I was not living the life of a dedicated Christian. Daily prayer and devotional times were nonexistent. Not surprisingly, it was during these times that I felt miserable. I had, like David in Psalm 51:12, lost the JOY of my salvation. I did NOT lose my salvation, nor will I ever! (Rom 8:38-39 KJV) "For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Yet when we run from God we are miserable! If you are a Christian and you have ran from the Lord you know what I am talking about!
I needed to get right with God, and I knew it! Yet it seemed that every time I took one step forward, I fell back two steps! There were some very trying times when I felt like I would never be able to live the "real" Christian life. At times I wondered if God would ever be able to forgive me when I kept on doing things against His will. Then I read this verse: (Psa 103:12 KJV) "As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us." When God forgives us, He forgets them! Does this give us a liberty to sin? Not at all!!! (Rom 6:14-15 KJV) "For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid." Still, God knew from the beginning that we would all be born with a sin nature, and that we would struggle with sins. For some reason, I tried to find a way to symbolize this unbelieveable mercy and forgiveness. I thought about the great American pastime of baseball. In this sport, after three strikes you are out. With God, you will never "strike out." There will never be a time when you sin and God says "Okay. That's it. You are out! You are NOT going to Home!!" You see, He is a God of third chances, fourth chances, fiftieth chances, hundredth chances. . . Check out these awesome verses: (1 John 1:8-2:2 KJV) "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." See. . . . God knows that we are going to sin. He tells us that if we say we do NOT sin, then we are a liar! But praise God, we have an advocate! We have Jesus Christ, who pleads on our behalf!! So I decided on the phrase "strike four," which is one more strike than you get in baseball. You never "strike out." Isn't that great to know!!
Listed below are some "exits," much like exits on the Interstate. They will guide you to some places you may like to go. Some will take you to my web pages where you can find out more about who I am and what God is doing in my life. Others are links to some AWESOME web sites, including a 100% Christian chatroom!! I guarantee you that you will not see trash in this chat room. I have been chatting in it for over four years and never have seen anything offensive! There is also a website where you can take a test to determine what your spiritual gift(s) is/are. If you go into the link about Prayer, you can submit prayer requests as well as answer a survey question about your prayer life! Two of my favorite websites are there as well; the Prayer of Jabez website, and the Purpose Driven Life website.
I am a complete novice at this whole "website" thing, so bear with me. I want to eventually add some pictures and make this a fun website. In the meanite, hope you enjoy!! May God bless you INDEED!!!
Oh yeah, by the way, underneath here you will find some sayings and verses that I really like. If you refresh your screen a new one will pop up. That's pretty cool, huh?
The link of Prayer:Gotta Have It is an invaluable tool to anyone on this website. You can post prayer requests for your fellow Christians to pray for. Please use it!! God has really done some great things in my life the past few days. . . I have been up against a couple mountains and He moved them! I pray that He will move mountains for YOU as well!! God bless you INDEED!!!!!
EXITS
EXIT 101:Prayer of Jabez website
EXIT 102:the Purpose Driven Life website
EXIT 103:AWESOME 100% Christian chatroom
EXIT 104:Your Spiritual Gifts Analysis
EXIT 201:My Story
EXIT 202:Prayer: Gotta Have It!
EXIT 301:Poems I Have Written
EXIT 302:News in My Life
EXIT 303:Pictures!!
