The Word 6:11

  12/26/2021 was a day I will never forget. It was the day I gave my life to the Lord, and it changed everything. I was excited to celebrate it in 2025. I have learned so many amazing things about our Lord over the past 4 years. My reminder this year was the reality of the Holy Spirit's presence in my life and the very real leading and prompting of God. I spent the day with my Christian fellowship friend to celebrate the birth of our Savior. We went to Dillons, the local supermarket, to buy a couple of items to make green bean casserole and a pecan pie (my favorite). As we were walking through the store, I noticed this motherly lady with a cool hat and complimented her on her hat. I was in the spirit and acknowledging God every couple of minutes as we shopped. We ended up finding a different pecan pie that was a little cheaper, and so I started to go back to put the pecan pie back in its display stand. As I walked, I noticed the same woman and felt this very strong urge that I shou...

 This was a fun essay I wrote in college for Biblical studies this semester! Who I Am. I woke up in my bed at the homeless shelter, groggy, and immediately turned to the Lord for refreshment in prayer. Thoughts of peace and hope filled my mind, another day of drug recovery, sailing with God. I picked up my devotional book and read the day’s message: it referenced, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds” ( English Standard Version Jas. 1.2) . I pondered trials in the past where patience was tested, and ridicule was observed. "Am I to be joyous in these moments?” I asked myself. A few days later, at a revival meeting, peace permeated the air like a loving blanket, reminding me of childlike safety. Moments of glee and joy abounded, as we shared with one another in fellowship. The preacher spoke, and we all listened attentively, “Count it all joy”, she began. My interest was piqued, from the lesson repeated, like a sail catching a fresh wind.  ...

We tend to scroll through dozens of posts on social media in a matter of seconds and never take a second thought about what kinds of information we are ingesting. I would encourage people to stop ingesting information so quickly!  Here is an example: if we read 300 social media posts in 2 hours. It would be like walking through a crowded mall and listening to everyone's conversations. There probably isn't much information to glean from that situation. However, if we sat down and listened to a 30-minute lecture from a 30-year professional who spent 10 years researching a topic we are interested in. Their words will be loaded to the brim with information that we would probably have to study for hours to even begin to understand what they were talking about. Imagine a person going around collecting a brick from 300 different people. Each brick is slightly different in shape; some are falling apart, others are rubber bricks, and some are made of steel and weigh a ton. Then, after t...

 

Thanksgiving is a holiday many people tend to take for granted. The internet and popular culture are rife with allusions to being annoyed about having to spend time with family and jokes about the dread of hearing the same old stories from their "boring" uncle. I am currently in a Christian Ethics course in college, and it is on my mind to be thankful for all that I am blessed with. In America, we have almost unlimited access to fresh drinking water and the internet, which we all too easily use to complain about our lives. According to UNICEF, "2.1 billion people still lacked safely managed drinking water, 1.5 billion had basic services, 287 million had limited services, 302 million relied on unimproved sources, and 106 million collected water directly from surface water sources such as rivers and lakes."(Unicef.org) Given the disparities experienced throughout the developing world, it is a powerful exercise to take inventory of the blessings we have.  We can stop i...

  Well, it has been a long time since I updated this blog, and a lot has changed! I was working at a local drug and alcohol rehab, dishing out the gospel and encouraging all the newly sober children of God on their journey towards sobriety. I ran into some issues with the workplace and decided it was best to resign. I prayerfully spoke about it with my heavenly father, and the thought of going to college for biblical studies kept coming to my mind. I started researching colleges in my area and others that were outside of my state. Originally, I was going to just up and move to a small town in Kansas to attend a college that offered a biblical studies degree. The Lord had different plans. Every time I prayed about it and talked to my wise council, it seemed like staying put and pursuing an online degree was the best option. I looked around the internet and found Regent University. It hit all the boxes: price, prestige, accreditation, and history. I kept praying about it, and it s...

  The Power of a Private Message Hey everyone, I wanted to share something the Lord showed me recently. I had a moment in a Discord where a joking comment landed a little harder than I expected. At first, I didn’t want to say anything—but I felt the Holy Spirit nudging me not to just let it sit. Not out of offense or pride, but because these little moments can either build unity or quietly create division. So I messaged the person privately. I shared how the joke had made me feel, and where I was coming from. And to his credit, he didn’t get defensive. He responded with grace, clarified what he meant, and even pointed me back to Scripture. He reminded me that God heals wounds we don’t always know how to handle (Psalm 147:3). That short conversation reminded me how powerful a private message can be. Not every disagreement needs to be public. And not every wound is an attack—sometimes it’s just a moment to slow down, talk, and make peace. Things this taught me: It’s better ...

  I had a miraculous experience. I am living in a sober living home and am 2 years sober from drugs now. I have this Pocket New Testament Bible that I like because it is older and has a cool 80s leather look. A few weeks ago, I started noticing that I was having prideful thoughts surrounding Christians who are not pursuing the Lord as heartily as I am. These thoughts kept surfacing, and I would pray for the Lord to take them away and help me with my sinful thinking. I noticed these thoughts surfacing throughout my day, especially when I saw hypocrisy and unjust actions or words in the news or in my day-to-day life. I was working at a drug rehabilitation center and was handing out pamphlets and printouts of custom inspirational messages from the Bible to the people who were just getting sober. I preached the gospel to a few and had a great time. However, I noticed my coworkers were becoming increasingly agitated with me.  I started having prideful thoughts about them. Thinking,...

Today was a super blessed day! It started out as a normal day and I had to go in for 4 hours of overtime to pick up a shift for a coworker. I caught an uber to work and evangelized to the driver and had a wonderful conversation. I got to work and encouraged my coworker and had an exploratory conversation with her about her faith. It went well she has a lot of church hurt.  I hoped on a group chat call for this Digital missionary training I'm going through and got some good moments and ideas! Then as I was leaving work I was going to uber home and I got a prompting from the holy spirit to cancel the uber and take the bus downtown and ride the bus home.  I didn't know if it was too late to catch the bus home from the downtown transit area but I've learned to just be obedient when I feel compelled to do something.  I took the bus ride downtown listening to the rest of my meeting call with the digital missionaries and then found myself at the bus terminal. A guy asked me to u...

  I was on a mountain top from December through January and was working at a rehab in Kansas City. I had recently realized that I could prophesy and spent every single day asking the Lord to guide me around granularly. I would ask: where to go, what to do, who to talk to and what to say. I am a walking evangelizer and exhorter powered by the holy spirit. I woke up in the middle of the night one night on January 17th. I got the strongest urge and couldnt shake the feeling that I need to go to Wichita. The idea came to me to go on a greyhound the first one out in the morning. I messaged my mentor at 5 am and asked him to pray and give me advice. He told me “May the Lord direct you where He would have you to be.” I packed all my stuff and quit my job and packed up all my stuff and threw away what I didnt need. Just clothes and the money in my pocket about 1600$ I had saved up. I hopped on a greyhound bus and immediately at the greyhound station there was a man that I knew that was goi...

  One of the best and easiest ways to be obedient and be filled with the Holy Spirit is to simply walk according to the spirit. You may ask yourself well how do I do that? In proverbs 3:5-6 it states not to lean on your own understanding but in ALL your ways acknowledge the Lord and he will make straight your paths.  This first requires us to know who the Lord is and what his commandments are to be fully obedient. I would recommend you start walking in the spirit early on in your walk. The holy spirit is the teacher of men for all holiness.  James 1 states that when we meet trials of various kinds that we should rejoice and ask for wisdom on how to overcome the trial when we are faced with it. This is easily accomplished by asking the Lord what to do. Then DOING IT.  Ill give you an example, I woke up this morning and thanked the Lord for waking me up and asked for him to guide me and fill me with his spirit. I was then Instantly at peace and joyful and not full of a...

 We are specifically called to walk in the spirit of God. The Holy Spirit is perfectly able to guide us to good works if we depend on him. Let's talk about dependence, depending on the Holy Spirit requires us to give up the notion that we actually can create Holy thoughts without Christ guiding us. We have to give up the notion that quoting bible scripture to people will be good enough. This is leaning on our own "holy" understanding. Depending on the Lord is asking him for help in our everyday conversations. It's asking him what he wants us to do today.  Sometimes what seems like the right thing to do can lead us to walking into darkness for that day. If we depend on our own understanding of what we THINK the Lord wants us to do, without consulting him, we can have good intentions and motives, but still lack the backing and power of the Lord. As he wanted us to say or do something a bit different. When we are walking in obedience to the Lord, we are on a path where e...

This is a testimony I read off at church not to long ago! I am a relatively new believer and was snatched out of the fire on 12/26/2021. A short testimony that I tell people is that I was agnostic my whole life and then started exploring spirituality in my late 20s. I started becoming interested in New age spirituality and the "One Source". This is basically a God of our own creation that you can meditate on and practice energy control and what amounts to witchcraft. I practiced with energy transference like "calm cool serenity" and had success with imbuing that emotional reaction into people and gemstones as a way to "bless" them.  This was spiritually satisfying for a short while and I even joined an online cult. However, my life did not improve and I started getting worse and worse depression and anxiety. Eventually several years later I picked up a bible in the hotel room that I was going to commit suicide in. I read a few verses and immediately starte...

    It all began several months ago when I took the idea of asking the Lord for guidance with literal pretense. I started going on walks around the downtown Kansas City area and asking the Lord to literally guide my way. Approaching a 4 way stop and asking Jesus, “Should I go left?”; “Should I go right?” I would then turn whichever way seemed to be the correct way to turn. Over a few months this led me to have a myriad of experiences where I seemed to be in the right place at the right time to grow my faith as a Christian or offer a profound word of encouragement and point people towards Christ. One situation that stands out in my mind, I was getting off work and was going to walk to the bus stop to go to Walmart to pick up some gifts and items for myself with my first paycheck. I started asking the Lord to lead me around and asking him where I should go. As I walked by Waffle house the thought popped into my head to go into Waffle house. I thought to myself: “well this is...

I have been practicing the presence of God for several months now. This wraps many scriptures into the idea on how to wrangle your mind under the obedience of Christ. I wanted to write something to give a general idea of my thought life! I started with analyzing my moods before I was Christian, this is a process that is referred to in psychology as Cognitive behavioral therapy. The idea is that we have many varied thoughts all throughout the day. The great majority of them can be negative or sinful as we are fallen creatures. When we realize that we are having a sinful thought we can then recognize it as such and ask the Lord to take that thought away. Effectively ‘nipping it in the bud’, funny how that saying can be applied to being in the vine and asking the Lord to trim away the sinful thought before it grows into a strong desire and then an outward sinful action. Take lust for example, as we go throughout our day as males in America we are constantly assaulted with visuals of scant...

Entering a difficult environment requires wisdom, humility, and the armor of God. Here are some steps to navigate your role in a toxic workplace: 1. Anchor Yourself in Christ Begin each day with prayer, asking for wisdom, patience, and the grace to reflect Christ’s love. Meditate on scriptures like Philippians 2:14-16, which urges us to do everything without grumbling so we may shine as lights in a dark world. Memorize and hold fast to Colossians 3:23-24: "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men." 2. Be a Vessel of Peace Toxic environments thrive on strife, gossip, and bitterness. You are called to be a peacemaker (Matthew 5:9). Speak with grace and avoid participating in negativity, even if you’re invited into it. Your actions, words, and attitudes can reflect God’s peace, offering an alternative to the toxicity around you. 3. Practice Humility and Excellence Accept your position with humility, trusting that God opposes the proud but gives grace to th...

I wrote these down when I was at church listening to the worship songs and wanted to save them somewhere. We will shine With the divine Worship his holy name We will share His brightest glare Worship his holy name Love is bright In his light  Worship his holy name Time to find His holy grind Worship his holy name There are stars In his arms Worship his holy name When we look With his book We will be all the rave! In all his love We shine like a dove Practice his holy game There is no shame With his fame Forget your lonely pain Heaven declares Heveanly prayers Love his holy name Angels share Heavenly fare Woship his holy name  Sing him a song  The sound of gong Make the world long If you share  His holy glare He will bless your life! He wants his son To be the one To glorify his holy name If you find  His mighty sign He will pour out his love! There are times When we rhyme Everything in its time! He gives the words To sing to birds Loving his holy fame If you cli...

I recently had one of my clients tell me that he had terrible night terrors and he could not have a peaceful night's sleep for the past year and a half. The Lord motivated me to print something up for him and this is what I delivered to him.  The next night he told me he had the most peaceful night sleep he had ever had! Meditate on Christ Before Bed : Spend time in prayer and Scripture before sleeping. Focus on Christ’s promises, such as:   John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” Let His peace guard your heart . Psalm 4:8 In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord , make me dwell in safety . Pray for Release : Ask Jesus to break the power of these dreams and protect your mind as you rest. Pray specifically for His light to replace any darkness and for peace to reign. Seek God’s Purpose : Ask the Lord to reveal if there is a meaning or calling in these dreams. Remember Romans 8:28—God works all things for good for those who love Him and are ca...

Meditating with Jesus involves intentional focus on His presence, teachings, and love. Here are some ideas to deepen your meditation with Him: Scripture Meditation Choose a passage that speaks to your heart, such as John 15:5 or Psalm 23. Read it slowly, emphasizing each word or phrase. Reflect on its meaning and how Jesus is speaking to you through it. Picture Yourself in a Gospel Scene Imagine being with Jesus during His ministry: sitting at His feet as He teaches, walking with Him on the road, or standing by Him at the cross. Use all your senses to experience His love, wisdom, and peace. Centering Prayer Sit quietly and repeat a simple phrase or name, like "Jesus, my Shepherd" or "Come, Lord Jesus." Let this focus draw your heart toward His presence and block out distractions. Prayerful Silence Spend time in silent adoration, simply resting in the knowledge of His love. If your mind wanders, gently bring it back by focusing on His attributes: His mercy, grace, or...

Sometimes when we think of the Lord we think of a genie that we can ask for assistance and then bottle him up and put him on the shelf! While it's always good to ask Jesus for assistance in your day, we should be trying to build up a relationship and depend on him all the day long! Proverbs 3:5-6 state that to lean not on your OWN understanding and in ALL our ways to ACKNOWLEDGE God and he will direct our paths. He is not only available for big decisions he's available for ALL things. Praise him when you are allowed to breath his air! Ask him for help in EVERY conversation!  James talks about how the tongue can set the world on fire 🔥 so why should we be so arrogant and think that we can rely on our supposed knowledge of God in our conversations but not acknowledge him and ask for his help to give the right message at the right time!  Sometimes the Lord wants us to shut up and not offer advice as his child just wants to be heard! We know nothing about others lives but he know...

He was despised and rejected by mankind,     a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces     he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our pain     and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God,     stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions,     he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him,     and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray,     each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him     the iniquity of us all. Scroll down for answer!     This is Jesus, but it is from the book of Isaiah! This is in the Old Testament, 700 years before Jesus was born! Isn't that amazing!

I have overcome anxiety and depression with the help of biblical truths and an investigative practice of taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.  2nd Corinthians 10:5 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, The main idea is that we have thousands of thoughts that come through our minds every day. We need to practice analyzing those thoughts to see whether they are from God. This is similar to cognitive-behavioral therapy : taking thoughts captive.  For example, if you have a depressive thought that you are not a good person, and you have done bad things in the past. Then you should take that thought captive and analyze it. Realize that Jesus died for all of our sins, and he knew since the beginning of time that we would commit all those sins. He is GOD, has the power to forgive all sins, and has already done so.  So we simply say in our minds: "Father, I am sorry fo...

Developing a meaningful prayer life with the Lord is much like beginning a new workout journey. At the start, it might feel challenging and a little uncomfortable to face yourself and the faults the Lord uncovers—just like the initial soreness when trying out a new exercise routine. But with gentle, consistent effort—like setting aside time to pray each morning and evening—you'll begin to notice positive changes. After a few weeks, you’ll likely feel a sense of increased peace and joy in your daily life, similar to the small wins and progress you see when you stick with your fitness routine. However, our spiritual training has a purpose: we are running a marathon with the goal of growing closer to the Lord. To reach this goal, we must continue building spiritual stamina. This means praying more often, reading about God, and spending more time with Him. Over time, these practices become easier and more enjoyable because of the peace that comes from living in obedience to Him. The ul...

 Hello, This is Jeremy Bistline, and I am creating this blog to keep track of my experiences with our Lord and savior Jesus Christ and his wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit.  I may include some writings I feel inspired to write about! Thank you for reading, and may the God of peace and joy, our savior Jesus Christ, be with you! I am a relatively new believer and was snatched out of the fire on 12/26/2021. A short testimony that I tell people is that I was agnostic my whole life and then started exploring spiritualty in my late 20s. I started becoming interested in New Age spirituality and the "One Source". This is basically a God of our own creation that you can meditate on and practice energy control, and what amounts to witchcraft. I practiced with energy transference like "calm, cool serenity" and had success with imbuing that emotional reaction into people and gemstones as a way to "bless" them.  This was spiritually satisfying for a short while, and I...