F.L.O.C.K Ministries

"Grace, so freely given"

Amazing grace so freely given, the things we do are not within Him.

How sweet it is for all who know that our Father in Heaven, loves us so.

The sound of His voice so soft yet profound, it’s at His feet were we will be found.

That every knee in His presence be bent, for mercy and forgiveness is why He was sent.

Saved and freed from the bondage of sin, with Christ in your life you will always win.

A wretch , a thief or someone in prison, there’s no one on earth who can’t be forgiven.

Like me ; cry out, repent and have faith in the Lord and a place in Heaven shall be your reward.

By, Tina Shinn

 

I wrote this poem about two months ago, I was taking my dog for a walk one evening, it was dark out already. As I passed by my neighbor’s house (they are also a Christian family) I noticed they were getting ready to sit down for dinner (they have a large window in front were the dining table sits). So, on our way back, I glanced over and saw one of the most heart warming, beautiful, awe inspiring moments in life. It was as if I was looking at a Norman Rockwell painting that had come to life. There, together as a family (Mom, Dad and three Sons), heads bowed, hands clasped in a prayer position and praying to our Lord God. It made me cry, it gave me hope when I really was needing it. It made me feel like I wasn’t all alone in this sometimes crazy world of ours. After bowing my head and saying a prayer for their family, the song Amazing Grace came into my mind and I thought about the words. They are both beautiful and true. And that’s when I was inspired to write my poem. You never know who’s watching you at any given time, you never know who you will inspire (or let down, God included) so be the best you can be everyday, let God’s grace abound in your life and let God be the director in your life. God Bless you all.. **Love, your Sister in Christ Jesus, Tina Shinn **

For all who read this, God be with you all of your days! Yes, it's been a long time since I've written anything. It's sad, but even I get lost in the rolling waves of life! But, lucky for me, God is good and perfect and merciful. We all need that perfect love in our lives all the time. We are human and fall on our faces from time to time and then after God picks us up and we dust our selves off we reflect on what's happened and wonder, "what in the world was I thinking!". Yes, I have had alot going on in my life recently, not much time for sleep or eating. Full time work and full time school 5 days a week for both, didn't leave much time for anything. Not even time for reading Gods word.(so I thought) If I could do it over again, I would make sure I at least read 10 or 15 mins. at least a day even if it meant loosing even more sleep. (I was lucky to get 3 hrs. sleep a day, really!) I thought I was strong enough to go through 7 weeks of a crazy schedule like that and not study Gods word like normal. Not!!! Satan had a blast with me I'm sure, the more tired I was the easier it was to be influenced. Please learn from my mistake, we are not strong enough to with stand satan and darkness on our own. I really felt I was in the best place in my life I've ever been, closer to God than I'd ever been and happier than I've ever been and I honestly thought that nothing, absolutly nothing could interfier with that. Please don't make the mistake of thinking like that, it's wrong and I know I'm not the only one who's been there, done it, bought the tee shirt and then had to burn it! If you're a preacher, a lay person or just an ordinary person who wants to do extraordinary things for God, don't let your guard down, not even for a short time. Be in Gods word everyday, suit up in the Armor of God everyday and keep your eye on the prize in the end. Nothing on earth is worth seperation from God, nothing. If you have been doing things you know you shouldn't be doing whether you've been saved or not, take the time to repent and turn away from your sins, it's worth its weight in gold. God is merciful, He sees your heart, He will forgive you of your sins if you just ask. If you ever want prayer from me or my family for you or someone you know, please write in the comments and we will make time for you, everyone is important to us, because you're important to God! Life being led by God is so much better! Jesus is just waiting for you to ask for what you need, He said ask in My name and it will be given to you! But, please always remember, as long as it's in God's will, God's not going to do something for you or give something to you if He knows you can't handle it the way you think you can. God wants us to succeed! Have a blessed day, God bless you today and always, Love, your sister in Christ Jesus, Tina T. Shinn 

I pray everyone has been doing well, if not, God be with you. It's been a while since I last wrote, my last computer was a hand me down and I was very thankful. Unfortunately it died on me. I now have another hand me down from my loving husband and it's better than the one I had before so, I'm moving along much better Thank God! Today I am writing in response to a person that calls their self Lost Prophet, this person made a comment to the last writings call Salvation has been given. Will you give or just take. I'm responding because I don't agree with or support what this person and organization believes in and supports. On the web page of this person it has a picture of a red cross (like first aid cross), the Cross, God's original plan for first aid. Anyways, behind this cross is a big cannabis leaf, yes marijuana. The life style  their organization supports does not line up with God's Word. And when I tried to respond back to this person, the computer could not find the service for the e-mail writen to respond to. I will make other attempts very soon just in case it's being worked on. I wanted to share my reply to this lost prophet. Reply ~ 8-24-2006  I'm happy you got to experience Spirit of West Coast. It was my first time, I enjoyed it. Lost Prophet (as you call yourself) wrote a comment on my blog. I always like to see what people have to say. I wanted you to know that I will be responding to what you wrote. I believe lost is what you truely are. I do not at any time believe in taking drugs and I know God , Jesus, and the Holy Spirit would not agree with you either. The Bible, God's Holy Word says that satan comes masquerading like an angel of light and I believe that is what has happened to you and your organization of followers. Your mind is an open receiver for the deceiver. When your mind is being altered by cannabis or any other drug you will believe anything the deceiver tells you and if you say it's not true you're only lying to yourself. And realize that who ever gave you the info. about cannabis in the temples is really blowing smoke. I pray you do not take offense to my writings because I only write what God's written on my heart. I would love for you and your followers to get help with your drug addiction and help from the Holy Spirit. Your heart is in the right place if you love Jesus and want to serve Him, I delight in that. God expects us to be obedient, only then can He truely work through us. God be with you, please visit my blog again sometime and you'll get to know my heart more. You don't need drugs to feel peace or to fix pain or some special anointing oil to get God's blessing. God can give you it all! Peace, healing, blessings and so much more just by coming to Him as a child and asking. A child would not use cannabis or anyother drug, besides it would defile their temple( remember, our body is God's Temple, keep it holy and pure). Like Matthew 18:3-4 says, " And He said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven." I pray that you will no longer allow yourself to be deceived or to help the deceiver deceive others and I pray this in the beautiful name of Jesus. Amen! ~  God be with you all and I ask the Holy Spirit to be with you and help lead you and I ask Jesus our wonderful Lord and Savior to be with you all and teach you what it truely means to walk like Him. It's easy to talk the talk, but are you willing to walk the walk. I challenge everyone to walk the walk, please take this challenge, it will be the best thing you ever did in your life! Your sister in Christ Jesus, Tina T. Shinn

Think about the life Jesus led, He did so much and He went through so much. He didn't have to, but He loved us so much, He decided it was all worth it. I consider myself to be a good person and it's very important to me to please God at all times if possible. But, when I look deep into the life of Jesus, I think about everything He went through. I can't help thinking about this sinful world and how few people seem to even care about Jesus' great sacrifice. Most people don't seem to care about God or what God has given them. I tried to put myself in the sandals of Jesus. I know that I would not be willing to give up my life for a bunch of unappreciative, sin loving people.(I include myself in this description). Thank God I'm not Jesus Christ, because I would have just thrown my hands up in the air and said, " I give up, they're not listening!". I know I'm not perfect but I'm striving everyday to make my life reflect what God has asked of us. I am willing to make sacrifices in my life for my Savior. How about you, are you willing? So far in my life, I've given up a lot of things. It's not like they were good for me anyway. I just had to realize it and do something about it. It's all about choices. It's all about sacrifice. It's all about showing our Savior that what He did for us was not for nothing. To show Him we are listening and are in agreement with His Word. We must show Him that He means so much to us that we are willing to abandon the dark things this world has to offer us. Show Him that we stand out as one of His and do our very best everyday to lead others to His light as He commanded us to do. Sacrifice, it's the one of the best ways we can show others the love of Jesus. If you don't look like Him that can only mean one thing, you're looking like the world. How can you lead others to Christ if you don't look like Him or one of His own? What are you willing to sacrifice in your life for Jesus? Are you allowing yourself to use the sacrifice Jesus made for us as an excuse to continue to sin? In Gods' Holy Word Paul said, "Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God." Romans 6:12-13 (NKJV) I pray that what I've written today causes you to reflect on your life. I pray that if you are weak in any areas of being the best Follower of Christ you can be that you would ask our Lord for guidance. Ask our Lord for a pure heart and the strength to fix those weak areas. Then when the world sees you, they no longer see just you, but they see Christ shining through you. I pray that when you read God's Holy Word, the Holy Spirit will guide you and give you understanding of the Truth. God Bless you all today and everyday. Love, your sister in Christ Jesus, Tina T. Shinn

Something that has been weighing on my mind a lot is; Churches and their belief that if you don't act as they say you should, (not the way God said you shall) you're going to hell! The church is made up of people that are supposed to be showing the world what Christ is all about. To be followers of Christ, to be in Christs' likeness, to show the world that the flesh or satan does not rule us and that it is possible to die to your old life and be born again, a new person. There are many different names, faiths, and beliefs in the church these days. I see most churches concentrating more on how they do their rituals than on Christ. I don't care if there are candles or if you kneel twice, sit, stand, do jumping jacks, etc.. It's all man made, so it looks special to the visitors or to give it that God inviting mood. What happened to just being Followers of Christ, plain and simple. No bells and whistles, maybe some beautiful songs reflecting the way we feel about our Lord, some good loving, scritural preaching that guides us in the right direction so that we can follow Christ the way He wanted us to. All His instructions are right there in the Bible, He explained what is bad, good, evil, right and wrong. It's all there at your finger tips. So, is your church a reflection of Christ? Is the preacher, minister, pastor, etc. a reflection of Christ Jesus? If not, maybe it's time to have a little talk with Jesus. Where there's doubt, there's not God. Does your preacher yell, rant, belittle you or have the it's my way or the highway? If you answered yes, they're not of Jesus. Jesus was humble, loving, caring, it's Jesus' way. So, if a church is trying to tell you that their church is the only one doing everything right and all other Christian churches are wrong and everyone outside of their type of church is going to hell, well, that's a good description of a cult. There are so many churches claiming to be the first church, to have the right understanding of the Holy Scriptures, that their way is the only way and they can back it up with scripture and every other type of Christian church is wrong. Not every church can be right and back everything up with scripture and everyone else is wrong, that make no sence. So, do you belong to a cult or do you and your church (if you have a church yet) follow Christ? I've chosen to follow Christ. It involved changing everything I do in my life so that if someone looks at me they see a reflection of Jesus. How about you? Will you follow the words Jesus left behind for us to follow? Jesus suffered and died for us, the least we can do for Him is show Him how much we love Him too by being obiediant children. I pray God leads you to a God loving, Jesus following church where you can have a wonderful fellowship while waiting for the return of Jesus our Saviour. God bless you all today and always. Love, your sister in Christ Jesus, Tina Shinn

Or as I say, "Happy Resurrection Day!". Have fun with the fuzzy bunnies, colorful eggs, sweet treats, cute little outfits, and thoughts of, "I sure hope I remember where I hid all of the eggs?!" as you think of the year before, when much later you found a very foul smelling odor from one of those, "where did I put it?" eggs! Although this time can be fun, there is so much more joy to be found in this day!! Please read, Matthew 28:1-10 and Matthew 28:16-20. It describes this beautiful day for what it truely is! Amazing! I pray that the reading of the resurrection of Jesus brings you peace, hope and great joy! This life we live is not the end, it's only the beginning of an eternal life with Jesus, just know He is always there for you. Have a blessed day! And don't forget to say a little prayer to thank Jesus for the sacrafice that He made for you and for me. Lord, I pray that You open the hearts and minds of the people who read this to help them fully understand the gift You have given them! Bless them with Your guideance and Your wisdom, heal them where ever healing is needed.In Your name Jesus I pray and I Thank You for loving us so much! Amen! With love, your sister in Christ Jesus, Tina Shinn

Ok, take a deep breathe, this one might hurt a little. But,I promise, it's only the truth and as they say, "sometimes the truth hurts. But, they also say, "the truth shall set you free!!". As Christians, our goal is to be Christ like, right? That's what I've always been told. Unfortunately, alot of people are saying they're Christians, but I'm not seeing it. Every once in a while I see people around me being a good example, but I do wish it was more often and more places. So, my question is, "do you have Christ in your 'Christian' walk?". Put any pride to the side for a moment and look deep inside yourself, I did it and do it all the time to keep my self on the narrow road that leads to heaven. I have weaknesses like everyone else, I choose to go to God with them and ask for strength, claim it in the name of Jesus and then I repent of whatever that weakness is, I want nothing to do with it. You can do this too! Jesus came in human form to show that living a sinless life could be done, He had free will and the ability to make choices just like we do and He chose to say no to sin and to satan. It really comes down to choices we make, it's that simple. People we choose to be around, places we choose to go, the way we choose to treat people, the way we choose to treat family members/ our children/spouse, the things we choose to buy, etc. I think you get the point. Jesus chose to make choices Our Father in Heaven would be pleased about, Jesus chose to be around people who were not living the best lives only to help them, He said,"it's the sick who are in need of a physician not the healthy". Are you around people and looking like the 'world' or are you trying to be Jesus to those people and trying to show them what a Christ lived life is all about? Are you doing and saying the things they are or are you being a good witness to the word of God? Do you know God's word enough to know what God expects of you? If you really don't know, please take time to read the Bible, it tells you everything you need to know on how to live a life God would be happy with. If King James is to hard for you to understand completely, I suggest New King James version.When Jesus went places, He went to those places to help people, not to do what they were doing, but to guide them to the truth and to teach them how to abandon their sinful ways. What kinds of places do you go to and what are you doing while you're there, are you drinking alcohol with everyone else or are you being a good example and talking others into not drinking also? You're better off just not going places you know you shouldn't go so that you won't be tempted, but if you go, go for the right reasons. Jesus taught everyone to love one another as He loves us. What a love! He died for you and for me, I don't know many people who would be willing to die for people, let alone people He didn't even know and for people who didn't even exist on earth yet! In your Christian walk, are people seeing the love of Christ? Do you love everyone or just the people you choose to love? Sometimes it can seem hard to love some people. But, sometimes the people that are irritating or mean are the people who need love the most. They are hurting people, hurting others before they can get hurt themselves. Most of the time it started out as things that happened in childhood and they've held on to those things all this time, alot of us do it, I've been guilty of it in the past myself. But, I let go of things and gave them to God and that's what we need to help people figure out. I'm not asking you to do anything that's impossible, if I can do it anyone can, I'm no one special. And I never ask someone to do something I'm not willing to do myself or are already doing in mylife. Anyone can live a Christ like 'walk', but you have to want it and live it everyday.Christ would not ask us to do something if He thought it was impossible for us to do. He said,"be holy, because our Father in heaven is holy" and He also said, "be perfect". I believe it's possible or Jesus wouldn't have said it. This is how I think and it has helped me have peace in my life. I don't hate anyone, I don't like the things some people do but, they'll be judged for those things. If they chose satan, they'll be in agony for all eternity all because they chose not to believe the Truth, I feel sadness for those people,they really don't realize what they've done to their eternal soul until it's too late. If you are someone who is not walking the walk they should be and think I'm taking thing to serious or you really don't believe and have read this site just to see what I'm writing, this is for you. If I'm wrong,I have not lost anything. If I die today and find out there's nothing, I won't know it anyway. So, I have the comfort in knowing I was the best person I could be,led a blessed life full of peace and love. I lost nothing. But, if you're wrong, you loose everything. Well, I hope you've been truthful with yourself. And if you're weak in any area, just ask God for guidance and forgiveness, ask and it will be given to you! So, are you a 'Christian'? Is the light of Christ shining through you for all to see? Can Christ see Himself in you? Don't look like the world when Jesus comes, you might be left behind because He didn't recognize you. God be with you all, this day and everyday! Love, your sister in Christ Jesus, Tina Shinn

I found this great description of the 'Armor of God' from Ephesians 6:10-18. I don't know who wrote it, but they put it beautifully! We must get spiritually dressed every day. We must put on our spiritual armor each morning. We'll then be able to withstand anything that may be permitted to come into our lives and experience victory. #1. The Belt of Truth {midsection/all other armor attaches to this}; Lord Jesus, you are the way, the truth, and the light. I pray that You will fill my mind with the truth all day, so that I will see things clearly, as they really are. #2. The Breastplate of Righteousness {heart}; Create in me a clean heart, oh Lord, and a right spirit within me. I pray that You will keep my heart pure all day, so I remain in right standing with You. #3. The Gospel of Peace {feet}; Heavenly Father, I pray that I have the Gospel of Peace in my life so that I might do Your works, and share Your Good News. Please help me to move forward throughout the day, walking with ever-ready feet, so that no matter what terrain I encounter, I will not stumble. #4. The Shield of Faith {deflects arrows of satan; allows belief in things not seen}; Heavenly Father, I put my faith in You. I know that You are a mighty and powerful God, full of mercy and grace. I believe in Your faithfulness, and I know that with You, all things are possible. I pray that I will stay strong in my faith, believing in that which I cannot see, even during challenging times. I believe in Your promises, Lord, and I pray that I will always remember that no matter what appears to be happening in my life, all things are working together for my ultimate good. #5. The Helmet of Salvation {head}; Thank You, Father, for the gift of Your Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ -who lived and then died a terrible death so that we might be saved, and given eternal life. I accept Jesus into my heart as Lord and Savior of my soul. I pray that You will protect my mind and thoughts all day. Please help me to keep my thoughts focused on only good and godly things, so that I might begin to think from Your perspective, and not the world's. #6. The Sword of the Spirit {word of God}; Thank You, Lord, for the power of Your Word- for the guidance and direction that You so willingly give. Please lead me and guide me to the words that You have for me today. I pray that I will be diligent in my study of Your Word, and that I will continue to grow in mind and spirit. I desire to become a godly and righteous person, whose thoughts, words, and deeds give glory to You at all times. Lord, Thank You for Your protection and loving presence in my life! * I pray this touches your life and blesses you. We, everyday, are in a worldly battlefield, make sure everyday that you put on this 'Armor of God'. It has protected me and I know if you have faith, it will protect you! As the Army of God it's our duty to always be on guard, to watch out for the enemy and defend yourself and others by prayer. The enemy is satan and his fallen angels. Don't fall into their traps. When things go wrong, no matter what it is, never blame God. That's the number one thing satan wants you to do and don't loose faith, but gain faith and know it's satan trying to hit a weak spot in your life. Ask God for guidance and He will help you, He will give you strength, protection and direction! God Bless you this day and every day! Tina Shinn

"The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."~2 Peter 3:9 I thank God that He's been so patient with me! So many people think that I'm an angel and that's nice. I live my life to please God now, not the world. But most people that know me never got to see the 'me' who satan had wrapped around his finger. It took me a while to finally trust in, and truly believe in God. I finally believe so deeply, not even satan can fool me anymore. I know him and I know his lies, and they are many! Please keep this in your mind, Jesus is coming, and it only seems sooner than later as days pass by. What are you doing with your life? And if Jesus showed up tomorrow, in a week, a year, in the next 5 mins., what will you be doing when He shows up? Will you be happy to see Him and be happy to show Him all parts of your life, not wanting to leave any part out? Will you be ashamed and what to hide from His sight if you even could? I say, live life as if He's already here and you'll never go wrong. The crazy thing is, He can see everything, the Bible says, "even darkness is light to Him". It's not as if you are living life unseen, so why do we do the things we do? That's how it started with me, those thoughts of sudden reality! It's not just God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit who watches over you, people like me, your parents, friends, etc. I pray all the time for people all over the world and I'm sure you have people in your life that pray for you also, and when someone loves you and you're not doing right or you love someone and you pray for them and they're not doing right, it breaks hearts and saddens us inside. If it effects us so much, can you imagine how much it must sadden God. Jesus came down to earth just to eventually die a horrible death just to save us from eternal death. What are we doing with our lives to say, Thank You Jesus? Life can be hard, but choices you make everyday can make a big difference when you seek God for guidance in every part of your life. Jesus came to also show us it could be done, to live a good and holy life, it's all about choices made. I promise you, if you put your trust and belief fully in God and ignore satan's lies, you'll watch your life change into something awesome, a life that Jesus would say, " My good and faithful servant!". If my life can be changed from where it was to where it is now, blessed, anyone can do it, just believe in yourself, don't let satan tell you your not strong enough. It's another one of his lies, with God, anything is possible! Please think about the questions above and answer them truthfully to yourself and share these questions and this site with others to help spread the word. God bless you and be with all of you! Love, your sister in Christ Jesus, Tina Shinn

I wrote this prayer on 5-27-03 when I decided to give my life to God. I pray it helps you with your walk and in times when you need a "pick me up". Dear Lord my God, I know that I have been a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I am willing to turn away from my sins. I believe Jesus is the Son of God, who died on the cross for my sins and was resurrected and sits at the right hand of God. I now invite Jesus Christ to come into my heart and life as my personal Savior. Lord, keep satan far away from me at all times, keep him from interfering with my thoughts, my actions and with serving You everyday of my life. Keep me out of darkness by guiding me with Your light. Take away all of my burdens, I have been carrying them with me too long. So, I give them up to You. Teach me how to forgive myself and others as You forgive me and those who call on You. Teach me patience in all things and let Your perfect love dwell within me at all times. Use me to glorify You in everything I do, everyday. Let everyone that sees me, see Your light shining within me and want to know You because, they have seen Your greatness through me. I promise to be a good, true and faithful serant to my Lord and to follow and obey Jesus Christ as the Lord of my life. Amen! I pray this prayer is a blessing to you, please feel free to use this prayer or say one from your own heart but, I pray that you ask Jesus to come into your life starting now! God bless you today and always. Your sister in Christ, Tina Shinn* Today, I'm also including some loving words from a Fellow Lover Of Christ's Kingdom, my mom Liz.~You may have gotten off to a rough start in life. Perhaps you experienced horrible poverty, despair, abuse or other negative things during your childhood. You may be tempted to let those negative experiences set the course for the rest of your life. Remember, just because you started life that way does not mean you have to finish it that way. You need to get a fresh vision of what God can do in your life and hold onto it. {"Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his or her life"~Matthew 6:27}{"Do not be overcome by evil but, overcome evil with good"~Romans 12:21}{"Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."~Ephesians 4:31-32} *Lord, please let me know the ways I am headed in the wrong direction so that I can turn around at once.**God, you are the source of all my strengh, in You only do I trust.**I do not want suffering Lord but, I want to accept Your will.**Lord God, I thank You for desiring that I become good and for giving me the grace to becoming better.* Remember, God does not want us to dwell in the past, but to live for today and tomorrow. Follow Christ and He will lead you to joy, peace and compassion with a longing to walk in His path. If you fall down, He will lift you up. Your sister in Christ, Liz Ginn