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No one likes to suffer, but sometimes, if we let it, it can bring us closer to God 🙂

Sometimes we suffer terribly. Whether it is war, disease, or the loss of a loved one, or something else, suffering is a part of life on earth. The question isn’t, will we have suffering. Jesus warned us we would (“In this world you will have trouble”-John 16:33). The real question is how do we handle it?

Some choose to turn to God with all that they suffer. They lay their suffering at His feet and even offer it up as penance for others (in general). They ask God for help so that they can continue to love God and love others. And no matter their “troubles”, they hold onto their faith-realizing it is a Gift from God 🙂

Sadly, some sink into their suffering. Thinking God should have healed them; they choose to turn away from God. But God never said that life on earth would be easy. In fact Jesus warned us that in “this life we would have troubles”.

Notice the word “choice”. It’s our choice as to how we choose to handle our suffering. We can choose to grow closer to God or turn away from Him.

Choosing wisely can help us bear our suffering well 🙂

“He that dwells in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty”-Psalm 91:1

So in other words, “the safe space”. What does safe mean? Sometimes it means exactly what we would think: physically, emotionally and spiritually safe.

But sometimes, we do suffer, at least physically and emotionally. We can have great faith in God and still suffer terribly. And yet, we can also still be “safe” spiritually. For the only way the enemy can destroy our soul or stop us from going to Heaven is if we let him!

For no matter what happens in our lives on earth, we always have a choice. We can call upon our Lord and tell Him we are struggling and need His Help, or we can turn away from God.

The choice is always our own, given to us by God Himself!

“Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted.
 But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,“

“And by His stripes we are healed. ⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray;”

“We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”

That last line was the and it is now. So many in our world are doing things “their own way”, instead of God’s way. Clearly from the above verses, Jesus loves us so much! God our Father loves us so much! And yet we don’t listen.

So today, let’s ask the Holy Spirit to read the Bible with us- and start living God’s way 🙂

Read the Bible with the Holy Spirit!

⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴² For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’”-Matthew 25: 40-43

Sin is sin. As human beings we, of course, like to focus on God’s Mercy and Christ’s forgiveness :). But it is a mistake to focus only on them. For God is also Just.

The above verse lists a few sins, but the Bible lists plenty more. All sins require repentance and change. Repentance for the sins we have committed and for the sins of omission (such as the ones above) and a willingness to change.

God, through His Son Jesus Christ, forgives our sins, but we must not take advantage of His forgiveness.

Saint Michael The Archangel Church In Ukraine

This morning, there was yet another threat of the use of nuclear weapons out of Russia-against Ukraine. This time it was alleged that one of Putin’s supporters, allegedly urged Putin to use them against Ukraine.

Once this evil door is opened it can not be closed! The suffering that would occur is beyond our imagining.

Please pray for the people of Ukraine. Please pray that Putin will come to his senses. And please pray for our world to turn back to God, before it is to late!

And remember, the only safe place is with Jesus!

“¹² No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. ¹³ By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. ¹⁴ And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. ¹⁵ Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God” – 1 John 4:12-15

We know that Jesus is the Son of God and our Lord and Savior. How Blessed are we that He loves us so and walks with us!

Medical care, farm markets after church, real Bible Studies with people at church and at home with our families, daily prayer, shared resources, bartering, setting up soup dinner nights, sharing tools, donating clothes and setting up a “closet” so those who are in need can obtain them… We can share medical and dental care, set up nurses on call and set up a medical equipment closet with donated wheel chairs and walkers…Some churches do many of these things; some need too…

There is so much we can do as a “church” family to prepare for the future. And whether we worry about a war or inflation, these steps will help us to prepare. And we need to prepare, setting up items like these at “church” can take time; we need to start now!

We also need to memorize as many Bible verses as we can. We used to be more focused on this, but Bibles became so plentiful that we put memorization of Bible verses lower on the list :). But true Bibles may not always be so readily available. When we memorize a verse, we have it forever in our heart and that is why it is so important!

Many of the very early churches met in homes. It was the Holy Spirit’s presence and their fervent worship of the Lord that made them special, not the building. In the long run, wherever your “church” is, whether it is in a church building or home, if “two or more are gathered in His Name…Jesus will be there 🙂

“91 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
² I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.”

³ Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the ^[a]fowler
And from the perilous pestilence.
⁴ He shall cover you with His feathers,
And under His wings you shall take refuge;
His truth shall be your shield and ^[b]buckler.
⁵ You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
⁶ Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

⁷ A thousand may fall at your side,
And ten thousand at your right hand;
But it shall not come near you.
⁸ Only with your eyes shall you look,
And see the reward of the wicked.” – Psalm 91:1-8

While praying the Rosary, I saw a soldier standing by a tank. But we do not have to fear for God’s IS With Us 🙂

A good friend of mine sent this, it was so good, just had to share 🙂

“It is impossible to follow God unless we are led by the Spirit. The only way to be led by the Spirit is to follow God’s command to be filled by the Spirit. God’s Word interestingly compares being filled with the Spirit with being drunk.

Somebody who is drunk with wine or alcohol is controlled by it. But someone who is “drunk in the Spirit” is controlled and consumed by the Spirit, who helps us live holy lives.

How are we filled with the Spirit? The Holy Spirit enters you when you decided to give your life to Christ, to become a Christian. But we need to continually ask the Holy Spirit to lead us, to guide us, to help us do the things God wants us to do. When we’re growing as Christians, we should allow the Spirit to take control over more and more of our lives.

The Holy Spirit plays many roles. You can read about some of them in these passages in God’s Word: John 14:15-27; John 16: 5-15, Romans 8: 1-17; Galatians 5:16-26. In John 14, for example, Jesus says the Holy Spirit will comfort us when we’re hurting and promises that the Spirit will bring us peace. Jesus also says the Spirit will help us recall the things we’ve learned about God, which also means the Spirit will help us when we tell others about our faith.

In John 16, Jesus refers to the Spirit as a “Counselor” who will guide us in our everyday lives. One way is by convicting us of sin. And this is really a good thing: God wants us to get rid of the things that displease Him, and the only way to identify those things is to be convicted by the Spirit. The Spirit works through our conscience to make us aware of sin in our lives. Romans 8 tells us the Spirit will help us stop sinning and do the things that please God.

A verse later in that chapter also tells us that the Spirit helps us pray. When we go to God and say, “Lord, I’m just not sure how to pray or what to say”, the Holy Spirit helps us in those times, and actually intercedes for us, with the help of Jesus Christ, saying the prayers for us. IS that cool or what?

We are still responsible to do our part, especially to consistently read our Bibles and pray, asking the Spirit to show us the Truth and teach us how to live. It’s important to remember that the Spirit will not prompt us to do anything that goes against Scripture. People sometimes justify their actions by saying, “My conscience told me…..”. We need to make sure we’re listening the the Voice of the Holy Spirit, not the voice of our own desires. And we know which is which by checking this voice against the Truth of God’s Word. How can you tell if you’re being led by the Spirit? By the “fruit” of your life, your attitudes and actions. Galatians 5:22-23 says, “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” Are these things evident in your life? Two verses later, it says, “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”

My thoughts and prayers are that you are walking in the Spirit. Truly, we still make mistakes while on earth. That is why Jesus took our place, because of His Mercy and Grace, knowing we would be forever lost without His Sacrifice on the Cross. Only with His Strength and Courage, can we possibly defeat the evil one at his own game. We should continually become closer and closer to our Heavenly Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for moments granted on earth, with just a short step to meet Jesus and be introduced to our Father to live with Him, forever and ever.”

“In Jesus’ Name. Thy Will be done. Amen. Peace.”