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There are two types of sin. Those we commit and those actions that we omit. Omit means there are some actions that we should take, but we don’t.

Sins that we “commit”, simply refers to actions that we take that God does not want us to do. Unfortunately, there are some who have depicted God as an angry God who set out a list of “rules” that we must obey just because He says so.

Nothing could be further from the Truth.

God gives us many guidelines as to how we should live. In fact, many refer to the Holy Bible as a Roadmap, a Roadmap that we need to use to go Home to Heaven. And that is True.

But what is also True, is that God gave us that “Roadmap” because He loves us. And because He created us, God knows what actions and choices will cause us pain and so He warned us.

But even though God lovingly warned us as to what would hurt us, sometimes we did it anyway. Kind of like when a mother warns her small child that a stove will be hot enough to burn us, but we touched it anyway.

But because God loved us so much, He sent His only Son to Save us 🙂

St. Faustina taught us much about God’s Divine Mercy. There is a prayer, a church, a day…all devoted to God’s Divine Mercy.

And surely, this is good. For certainly, God is Merciful. Just as God is Fair and Just. But before God’s Justice, comes His Mercy.

St. Faustina teaches us that God’s will, at one point, will grant us the ability to see our own souls as He does. We will see not only our good, along with the good we have done, but we will also see our sins and all the good things we have failed to do. And we will be given the Merciful Gift of making a choice. We will be able to choose to truly Follow Jesus or to continue on our current path. This is God’s Great Mercy; choose wisely.

This prophecy is often called “The Warning” or “The Illumination of Conscience”.

Many say that right before “The Illumination of Conscience”, we will see Two Suns.

Be Ready.

What is Grace? It is the difference between our own personal best and what God requires.

As we learn God’s Truth and what God requires of us, it becomes ever more clear that, even if we try our best, we will not be able to do all that God requires. And that is where Forgiveness and Grace come in.

God always knew that we would not be able to do it all, and so He gave us Forgiveness and Grace to make up the difference between what we can do and what He requires.

Thank you God!

Truth comes first, and then Grace. Some people think they are equal, but they are not.

Truth comes first and then Grace. For without the Truth, how would we even know that we need Grace?

This verse is from Psalm 23. So often we think of it during a war, or a fight, or many things…But when I read it in a book by Paula Wiseman, I was reminded of all of the things we all go through.

My own illnesses have at times been overwhelming . There used to be a time when I was ill, that I could push through my illness to help my husband and children. But sadly, those days have past. This year, I fell truly badly 3 times. The last fall, I was alone and could not even sit up.

Sometimes, I have been so nauseous and hot, I could barely remain sitting, much less walk. There have been so many things, including deep cuts, large cuts, slow gut motility, balance issues, pain, difficulty sleeping…

And yet, this verse so applies.

It applies, because no matter how much suffering our “enemy” heaps upon us and no matter what kind of suffering, if we keep our faith in Jesus, Jesus will prepare a table for us in the prescence of our enemies.

For those of this who love this country, who remember what it was, a shining city on a hill, letting go of what was is really hard.

But we need to let go, so we can begin the path forward.

We are Citizens of Heaven. Heaven is our real Home. We are just traveling through this world, loving God and loving our neighbor. And that is all that really matters.

We need to remember that nothing has happened that will stop us from doing what Jesus commanded:

“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” – Mark 12:30-31

America may have died today, but Jesus did not. God’s got us! Jesus Lives! And the Holy Spirit is still in us!

America may have died today, but our mission is still exactly the same:

“you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” – Mark 12:30-31

Nothing happened yesterday that changes that! And nothing happened yesterday that is going to stop us from doing that!

America may have died, but we who Follow Christ did not! We will live with Jesus forever :).

We, as Followers of Christ, have to Follow Jesus not just on Sundays, but every day and every minute. And that means – we also need to Follow Jesus when we are in the voting booth.

So what does that mean?

It means that anyone we vote for needs to Follow Jesus too. Truly Follow Him. And really, when we really think about it, can anyone lead our country who has gotten the most funamental, important thing -wrong.

Can anyone really lead our country who does not know and obey Jesus?

Whether it’s at work or at home, in our neighborhoods or within our friends, surrounding ourselves with fellow believers is really important.

Reaching out to non-believers is important too, but keeping our balance is also important. There are many tasks that need to be done. And all of them are so important. Reaching out to non-believers is just one of the tasks that we as Christians need to do, but in order to reach out to those who do not believe, we must have a very strong and steady faith ourselves.

In other words, we can only reach out to non-believers if we ourselves are strong enough in our own faith. We can’t share, what we don’t have. And if, for any reason, we lose our own faith, we have nothing to share.

And so, the majority of people that we surround ourselves should be those who truly believe in Jesus and follow Him. Because keeping our balance, and our faith, is always going to be the most important thing.

And by keeping our own faith strong, we can share it with others 🙂

There is no doubt that getting involved a Bible-believing church helps. And helps a lot. Especially now, when there are many churches which no longer truly follow the entire Word of God. Choosing intead to select only those parts of the Bible that support the life-style they have chosen.

So attending and supporting a truly Bible-Believing church can really help reinforce all that we have learned from the Word of God ourselves. And surrounding ourselves with people who truly love God and really follow God’s Word can really help us to stay on the path Home.

Ensuring that the church we are attending truly lifts us up and readies us for the week ahead is important, but so is giving too and supporting the church we attend. Hugging others and listening patiently, smiling at others and shaking hands can help to make church a place we all want to be.

A place we love God and love each other 🙂