Month: May 2020

What does Hope look like:

PSALM 91

91 You can go to God Most High to hide.
    You can go to God All-Powerful for protection.
² I say to the Lord, “You are my place of safety, my fortress.
    My God, I trust in you.”
³ God will save you from hidden dangers
    and from deadly diseases.
⁴ You can go to him for protection.
    He will cover you like a bird spreading its wings over its babies.
    You can trust him to surround and protect you like a shield.
⁵ You will have nothing to fear at night
    and no need to be afraid of enemy arrows during the day.
⁶ You will have no fear of diseases that come in the dark
    or terrible suffering that comes at noon.
⁷ A thousand people may fall dead at your side
    or ten thousand right beside you,
    but nothing bad will happen to you!
⁸ All you will have to do is watch,
    and you will see that the wicked are punished.
⁹ You trust in the Lord for protection.
    You have made God Most High your place of safety.
¹⁰ So nothing bad will happen to you.
    No diseases will come near your home.
¹¹ He will command his angels to protect you wherever you go.
¹² Their hands will catch you
    so that you will not hit your foot on a rock.
¹³ You will have power to trample on lions
    and poisonous snakes.
¹⁴ The Lord says, “If someone trusts me, I will save them.
    I will protect my followers who call to me for help.
¹⁵ When my followers call to me, I will answer them.
    I will be with them when they are in trouble.
    I will rescue them and honor them.
¹⁶ I will give my followers a long life
    and show them my power to save.”

In Daniel 12:1, it says “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which stands for the children of your people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.”

Perhaps the”children of your people” is us :).

We don’t often talk about the Power of Jesus. But it is very real.  We see that in the Bible time and again.  He healed the sick, made the blind see, created the world, He raised a person from death and He arose from death. Because He lived, we live.

But perhaps the “Power” that He had that mattered the most was His willingness to give up everything in order that we might live.  His willingness to suffer anything, bear any burden, so that we might go to Heaven.  His willingness to pay the price for our sin so that we wouldn’t have to.

In other words, the power that matters the most is the Power of Jesus’ Love for us!

As just one small example, think of the 40 days and nights that Jesus was tested by Satan.  Although He easily had the power to create bread to eat or water to drink, Jesus chose to go hungry and thirsty.  For us. Would we? Could we?

 Jesus chose to suffer Himself so that He might alleviate our suffering.  That is true love.  And that is the true Power of Love. 

It is easy to use power for one’s own sake, but to use it for the sake of another at the expense of one’s self, that takes a willingness and strength that is truly pleasing to God.

Jesus’ Power Was In His Willingness and in His Love for us.  Are We Willing too? Do we love Him enough? Can we?

There are times when I do not know what to pray; I find myself at a loss for words.  Sometimes it is a temptation that I face.  A bad dream that I awoke from.  A fear or worry I can not name.  But there is Power in the name of Jesus.  And sometimes, the simplest and best prayer is simply to call upon His Name.  Jesus.

“God’s Word mentions strength many times, representing the natural and supernatural. Scripture often links believers to be strong in the Lord and in His Mighty Power. (Ephesians 6:10) Truly, the Unlimited Power of Christ IS our source of strength for those who belong to Him. Know that what strength we have is not our own. It ultimately comes from our Heavenly Father. The Bible warns us of worldly boasting, “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I AM the Lord, exercising loving kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the Lord. (Jeremiah 9:23-24) It does not matter how strong we thing we are. The truth IS the flesh is weak. Left on our own, we fall into temptation and fail. God’s Word teaches us to rely upon the strength of the Lord EVERY day and night. Christ’s Power IS made perfect in weakness, especially for those “thorns in the flesh” that seem to never leave us on this earth.  

God IS Good! The Lord gives His Children strength to minister to others, strength to face persecution, and strength to overcome death. God’s Word places an importance on God’s Strength in our salvation. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9) Our strength IS found in Christ, in our fervent, growing relationship in Him. We are empowered, through His Holy Spirit, to do whatever is necessary for God’s Will and Purpose for us on earth. Truly, there IS no other source that gives us the strength to overcome the world, with its trials and temptations. ALL grow weary sometimes but ALL are given the choice to accept God’s Strength. “But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)

My thoughts are prayers are that you be strong. That you seek God’s Face, surrender to Him and rely upon His Strength to get you through, to perform His Will and Purpose for you. That you minister to others and share His Strength, that they may also choose this Only True Source! You never know how strong you are until to be strong is your only choice. In Jesus’ Name. Thy Will be done. Amen. Peace.

A friend sent me this, I wanted to pass it on 🙂

So often we confuse “believing in Jesus” with the emotions we assume will come from those beliefs.  But the emotions don’t always come right away.  Believing in Jesus is not about how we feel on any given day, but rather about who we choose to follow every single day. ?

Having believed in Jesus for over 50 years, I can assure you that some days I can feel His Presence in me, surrounding me, protecting me.  And sometimes I don’t.  And I can also assure you, it’s so much harder to follow Jesus when I can’t feel His Presence and we are not alone in this.

But then, how much more of a gift it is to follow Jesus when we are unsure?  To follow Jesus when we don’t “feel” His presence? 

In the Bible, Jesus talks with Thomas as to how incredibly special the people will be who believe, but will not have seen.  It’s the same with our emotions.

The people who follow Jesus even though they don’t always feel His Presence are incredibly special.  They follow Jesus “blindly”, with a faith that inspires us all.

The “emotion” of feeling God’s Presence is God’s gift to us, but following Jesus even when we don’t “feel” His Presence is our gift to Him.

Since Jesus has given us each so much, it’s nice to know that we have something that we can give Him ?

In Daniel 12:7, it says “when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.”

But what is the scattering of the power of the Holy people?  Perhaps we can look at another translation that says the power of the Holy people is “broken”.  Although in many ways it is the same, it seems clearer.

Both America and Israel have been struggling in recent years.  In many ways, they have faced the same challenges.  A people divided between good and evil.  A leadership that teeters on the brink.  A media, or at least a large portion of it, devoted to supporting that which is wrong in God’s site. 

Is the power of God’s Holy People broken?  Not yet!  Because we still have the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  We still have the ability to share God’s Word.  That is where our true power is,  it always has been! ?. 

And no power of this earth can stop us from praying for and from sharing our faith with each other!

And because of that, the power of God’s Holy People is not yet broken!  ?

Be Ready:  A Warning ?

Ignoring the times in which we live is a dangerous thing to do.  In Matthew 24, it warns us of what the world will look like at the “beginning of sorrows”.  And it looks a lot like the world in which we live.

Are we in the “beginning of sorrows”.  No one on earth really knows for sure.  But we do need to heed some of the signs that we see. 

For example, “many shall be offended”.  Truly, everyone seems to be offended these days…

Because “iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold”.  But what is iniquity?  It is “immoral or grossly unfair behavior”.  Well, there is certainly plenty of that!  And love itself has been redefined by many as a self centered thing, rather than a giving one. (Many care more about what they are getting, rather than what they are giving)

And then there is, “you shall be hated by all nations because of me”.  Christians are persecuted all over the world.  Even in this country, Christians are under attack.

And then there is “war and rumors of war”.  We need not say more…

And then there is: “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in diverse places.”  Here again, we need not say more…

Are these the “beginnings of sorrows”.  We do not know.  And so there is only one thing we can do:  Be Ready.

Part of getting ready is following what Jesus said.  One of the things Jesus told us is:  “Take heed, let no man deceive you”

How do we do that?  There are two things that can really help us. 

One is reading the Bible as often as possible.  For in the Bible it tells us that when Christ comes again, nothing that happens will conflict with what the Holy Bible teaches us. 

The second is to ask the Holy Spirit help us to see only the Truth.  The Holy Spirit is good like that. If you ask the Holy Spirit to help you see only the Truth, the Holy Spirit will ?

Happy Mother’s Day Mary

It must have been so hard to be Mary.  I know that it took more courage, faith and grace than I would ever have.  More willingness to accept more pain than I could ever handle myself.  Because no matter that Jesus was the Son of God, He was also still Mary’s Son.  And she loved Him.

To raise the Son of God.  What a privilege that must have been, but also what a burden.  To see your Son, who you love so much suffer so, and yet be willing!  No matter the wonder of it all, how much pain she must have suffered as well.

I can’t help but think of the times when my children were out and I worried until they came home.  And I think how it must have been for Mary as Jesus traveled preaching God’s Word.  It doesn’t matter how old our children grow, we still worry, because we still love them.  And I know for myself, I worry more! When they are little, we can fix almost any hurt.  But as they grow older, we can’t.  It must have been the same for Mary, only more so.  Every hurt Jesus felt, Mary must have also felt.  Because that’s how mothers are.  What faith she must have had, what courage, and how much she must have loved our Father!

 I will never know how Mary found the strength to stand at Jesus’ cross and watch him suffer so.  But I know she must have given Jesus great comfort, even though it must have cost her much in terms of her own suffering. 

I will always be grateful to Mary.  For her love.  For her willingness.  And for all that she did for Jesus, and those that loved Him.  And I can’t wait to meet her in Heaven one day ?

Corinthians 13:13- “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

We know of these, Love is the most important.  But Hope is important too.  Our hope lies in the Lord, for that is “where our help come from”.  And the good news?  Our Lord is more powerful than any force on earth, and He loves us very much!  So come to the Lord with the challenges you face, while you can 🙂

Because if we face difficult times, we need not fear, Jesus will face them with us ?