The Last Post for this blog

My dear friends, 

The Lord is leading me to yet another ministry and that is to reach out to Hispanics with the truth. Next week I'll be participating at Luis Palau's Arizona City Fest as a bilingual counselor helping people who want to give their lives to Jesus. 

I'm also going to start a new blog: En Espanol: La Verdad (In Spanish: The Truth). My goal is only to tell the truth of Jesus Christ in Spanish. Mostly I'll be translating articles I've already written. 

I feel that the articles in this Joy of Single Living Blog have covered most all of the issues singles may face. Though there will be no more new posts, the blog articles will remain, archived in cyberspace eternity. 

I do want to leave you singles out there with this message from 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8:

For this is the will of God, that you should be consecrated (separated and set apart for pure and holy living): that you should abstain and shrink from all sexual vice, that each one of you should know how to possess (control, manage) his own body in consecration (purity, separated from things profane) and honor, not [to be used] in the passion of lust like the heathen, who are ignorant of the true God and have no knowledge of His will...

... For the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we have already warned you solemnly and told you plainly.

For God has not called us to impurity but to consecration [to dedicate ourselves to the most thorough purity]. 

Therefore whoever disregards (sets aside and rejects this) disregards not man but God, Whose [very] Spirit [Whom] He gives to you is holy (chaste, pure).

As the Lord said, "I will not leave you as orphans in the night..." there is another blog for you to follow with great articles and advice for singles and that's Boundless.org. I especially like their last article: Called to Singleness.

If God has called me to be single to better service Him, then I'll serve in a state of sexually abstinent singleness.

Soli Deo Gloria!

To God Alone be the Glory!

Giselle Aguiar

Award Winning Christian Author

Why do I need to be baptized again if I was baptized as a child?

That was my question for a long time. Born to Catholic parents in a mostly Catholic island (Puerto Rico), I was baptized when I was 6 months old. 

As an adult, in my early 30’s when I decided to find a Protestant church. My landlady took me to her Baptist church and they kept asking me when I was “born again” or when I was “baptized”. 

My answer always was that I’ve grown up “knowing” that Jesus was the Son of God and that He died on the cross for the forgiveness of sins. (I memorized the Apostles Creed like a good Catholic girl). And I was baptized as a child. I didn’t get it. 

After a little church shopping, I joined the United Church of Christ “reaffirming my faith” that Jesus is the Savior. 

A little while later, during a church service the first week in January commemorating Jesus’ baptism, everyone walked up to the pastor who baptized us touching our foreheads with a bit of water. Baptized twice. I thought I was set. 

It wasn’t until I came to Phoenix and attended the “101 Class” (now called “First Steps”) at First Christian Church of Phoenix did one of the pastors, Scott Pixler, explain it in a logical way that finally registered.

Full-emersion baptism - that is being dunked completely in the water - replicates Jesus‘ death and resurrection. When a person is baptized by emersion, the old person dies and a new person is born - purified from all the sins of the past. Hence the phrase “born again.”

Nowhere in the bible is “sprinkling” mentioned. So how did sprinkling come to replace full-emersion baptism? 

In my researching my novel, I remembered reading something about that.    

And concerning baptism, baptize this way: Having first said all these things, baptize into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, in living water. But if you have no living water, baptize into other water; and if you cannot do so in cold water, do so in warm. But if you have neither, pour out water three times upon the head into the name of Father and Son and Holy Spirit. But before the baptism let the baptizer fast, and the baptized, and whoever else can; but you shall order the baptized to fast one or two days before. – The Didache Chapter 7. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Didache 

The Early Church Fathers wanted people to be baptized no matter what. Ideally, it should be in living water - a river, lake, ocean, etc. If that isn’t available, then a tub will do. I you don’t have that, then sprinkle water on their heads. 

Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ~Acts 2:38

Repent -- a 6-month-old baby can’t repent their sins. They haven’t committed any sins. A child should be baptized when he or she understands and believes that Jesus dies for their sins. Not before. So, Catholic baptism as a baby, does not a Christian make. 

There is only one way to guarantee your ticket to Heaven - admit that you’re a sinner, repent (vow not to sin again), then be baptized. 

Click here to get to know God. 

God Bless,
Giselle Aguiar
Soli Deo Gloria
www.giselleaguiar.com/novel1
Search Amazon.com for knowing God

Stuck in the mud

Have you ever been stuck in the mud? I was once. There was a pond near our house in upstate NY and I used to like to watch the frogs and other critters in the pond. One day when I was about 12, I ventured too close to the water after a rain.

I had rubber boots on and I sank into the mud. I couldn’t get out. Not that I was sinking like quicksand, but every time I tried to lift my legs, the suction was too strong. I would manage to get my foot out of my boots, but then where would I stand. I can’t remember who came to rescue me, but the lesson was learned. Stay out of the mud.

Have you ever been stuck in a snow drift with your car? Or on an icy road? I managed to do that a few times up in Vermont where I went to college. The wheels go round and round yet it goes nowhere. That’s why they say to keep cat litter or sand in the trunk of your car. Being prepared helps you get out of sticky situations.

Sometimes, we get stuck in life situations and we need to be rescued.

I grew up Catholic, but left the church when I went to college. From the age of 18 till my early thirties, my “lost years” - I didn’t care about anything but myself, having fun, traveling and making money. When I was 28, I was on a contract job, far from home, with a boss with which I argued daily and endlessly. I hated going to work, but I was stuck.

I was miserable. One day, I found myself in front of a chapel and I went in. I prayed to God - hand’t done that in years. I needed help. My parents weren’t going to rescue me and there wasn’t any other solution except to look up. I prayed.

A month later, that boss was replaced by a nice gal who ended up being my best friend.

Now, you can call that luck or a happy coincidence, but I know it was all God’s doing. That wasn’t the exact moment that “converted” me to Christianity, but it was the start of my journey back on the right path.

It took a while for God’s messages to get through my thick head, but I know He got me out of the mud I was stuck in.

Since then, as a committed Christian, I’ve found myself in other sticky situations, but I put my trust in God and He got me out.

Are you stuck? You may think so. It could be that you’re stuck in the vicious cycle of joblessness or financial ruin with no hope in sight. There is a rescuer! He is Jesus!

Turn to Jesus and He will save you from the mud.

Knowing God
Become a Christian

I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. (Psalm 40:1-2)

God Bless,

Giselle Aguiar

Soli Deo Gloria

www.giselleaguiar.com/novel1

Follow Giselle on Twitter: https://twitter.com/giselleaguiar

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Modern Christmas carols II - 'How Many Kings'

If you don’t listen to Christian Radio, you probably have never heard this song. It’s relatively new and it’s not a classic yet. But it’s one of those that makes you stop and think. It’s not your traditional “Hark” song. But it addresses why a King would be born in a stable.

How Many Kings
From the album Bethlehem Skyline by Downhere

Follow the star to a place unexpected
Would you believe, after all we've projected,
A child in a manger?
Lowly and small, the weakest of all
Unlikeliest hero, wrapped in his mother's shawl - just a child
Is this who we've waited for? 'cause...

How many kings step down from their thrones?
How many lords have abandoned their homes?
How many greats have become the least for me?
And how many gods have poured out their hearts
To romance a world that is torn all apart
How many fathers gave up their sons for me?

Bringing our gifts for the newborn Savior
All that we have, whether costly or meek
Because we believe.
Gold for his honor, and frankincense for his pleasure
And myrrh for the cross he will suffer
Do you believe?
Is this who we've waited for?

How many kings step down from their thrones?
How many lords have abandoned their homes?
How many greats have become the least for me?
And how many gods have poured out their hearts
To romance a world that is torn all apart
How many fathers gave up their sons for me?

Only one did that for me.

All for me...
All for you...

Downhere live performance

“How many fathers gave up their sons for me?” The answer is only one.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him..." ~ John 3:16-17

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ~ 1 John 4:8-10

No other king, lord or god ever did that for mankind, for you.

Merry Christmas

Giselle Aguiar

Soli Deo Gloria

www.giselleaguiar.com/wwjd 

A modern Christmas carol - 'Mary Did You Know?'

Last Sunday at church we were asked to reveal what our favorite Christmas carol is during greeting time. A few years ago, I would have said, "O, Holy Night!" but now it's "Mary, Did you Know?" - A modern Christmas Carol.


You'd think there were enough of them. You hear them every year for 2 months or more. Most of you know them by heart. It’s one thing to sing along mindlessly and it’s another thing to take in the real meaning.

In 1984, Mary Did You Know? was penned by Mark Lowry, a Christian comedian. He wrote it for a Christmas play thinking about the questions that he would ask Mary, the mother of Jesus, if he had the chance. It became a new Christmas classic.


Mary knew her Son was special – an angel from God announced that she would become pregnant by the Holy Spirit and give birth to a Son and He shall be called the Son of God. (Luke 1:26-38)

That’s all she was told, all she knew and she replied, "I am the Lord's servant. May it be to me as you have said."

She had no idea what she was getting into, but she put all her trust in the Lord.

When you read the words to this song, think about that young mother with her baby and then who He grew up to be.

Mary Did you Know 
by Mark Lowry

Mary did you know that your baby boy will one day walk on water?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?
Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you've delivered, will soon deliver you.


Mary did you know that your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand?
Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
And when you kiss your little baby, you have kissed the face of God.


The blind will see, the deaf will hear and the dead will live again.
The lame will leap, the dumb will speak, the praises of the lamb.


Mary did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will one day rule the nations?
Did you know that your baby boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?
This sleeping child you're holding is the great I am.

Here are two other versions with videos that help tell the story:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1oHJR2g7Tw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcb6B9dAZ88

Merry Christmas
Search Amazon.com for Mary Did You Know?

Giselle Aguiar
Soli Deo Gloria
www.giselleaguiar.com/wwjd

Ask and you shall receive

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" ~Matthew 7:7-11

If you don’t ask, you won’t get, right?

At the end of a job interview what are you supposed to do? Ask for the job. If you don’t, how do you expect to get it? Ok, you may get it anyway, but if you ask for the position, it shows you are earnestly interested in it and you have a better chance of getting it.

If you need help, ask for it. You never know who may be in the position to help you. If you don’t ask, you’ll never know, will you?

If you’re lost, ask for directions. (Why do guys have a problem with this?) It may take you a long time to figure out where you are, even with a GPS in your car. If you program the wrong address or if the street is new, it’s not going to give you the right information. Save time, ask for directions. (Even Mapquest gets it wrong sometimes.)

That’s how God works. Kind of like the jeanie in the bottle. “Your wish is my command!” Well, sort of. King Solomon had that opportunity once. One night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, "Ask for whatever you want me to give you." (2 Chronicles 1:7).

Solomon, wise man that he was, could have asked God for wealth or power, but he actually asked for something he already had - wisdom. Wisdom to better govern God’s people.

God did better than just giving him wisdom, but He blessed him with the riches that he didn’t ask for, simply because Solomon was humble, not greedy or power-hungry. You can read all of what God gave him in 2 Chronicles 7:8-14.

So, don’t be shy, ask God for what you need and don’t be greedy about it. Ask Him for what you need, not what you want. There’s a big difference.

How? Just pray. Talk to God. He’ll listen. You may ask Him for next month’s rent money and you may end up getting a good permanent job. You may ask Him for a job, but he may give you a new direction to go in with better opportunities.

You won’t know until you ask.

God Bless
Giselle Aguiar
Soli Deo Gloria
Search Amazon.com for christian books
www.giselleaguiar.com/wwjd

Online dating services - go Christian

The other night I was watching a late (after midnight) movie and a commercial came on for an online dating service - which I won't mention because I refuse to give them publicity - but their tagline shocked me: "log in - hook up". 

My first thought was "we Christians are fighting a losing battle - there's just too much sex out there." Then I remembered that God wins in the end. I thought it seems an impossible task to turn a sex-crased world into God-fearing, Christ-centered people. Then I remembered that nothing is impossible for God. 

Then I thought "there are going to be a lot of people in hell." Yep. But we still have to try and reach as many people as we can. 

The best way to resist temptation is to avoid it in the first place. 

How do you do that? 

Hang out with Christians. You start behaving like the people you hang out with. 

Don't watch movies with sexual content. Stay away from R-rated movies. Check to see why it was given the R rating. Ask yourself, would Jesus watch this? 

Read your Bible. God gave us instructions for living for a reason. He gave us free-will, but he wants us to make the right decisions, thus he laid it all out in the world's best seller - the Bible. If you don't own one, go online to www.biblegateway.com or www.crosswalk.com.

Use the Christian dating services like www.ChristianCafe.com. My former roommate recently met her fiance there. 

I can do everything through Him who gives me strength. ~Philippians 4:13 

Do you know God?

God Bless,

Giselle Aguiar

Soli Deo Gloria

www.giselleaguiar.com

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Note: I am no longer the Phoenix Unchurched Singles Examiner. Those articles will stay live in their archives.