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Don’t Let Satan Steal Your Joy-Or Your Faith!

“22 So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.”-John 16:22

Sometimes during difficult times, people turn to God for strength and comfort. But sometimes, people turn away from God. The heart break, the job loss, the virus, the race riots …are just too much. Sometimes it is as simple, as to much has changed. For example, in many cases, there is no school. Eating out in many cases is a thing of the past. Going shopping, going to the beach or movies-all on the no-no list. But God has NOT changed! He is the SAME as He has always been and He loves you!

But it is when we feel the worst, when we don’t want to pray, when we feel that God is not listening-that we need to pray the most and keep praying. Don’t rely on how you feel in this type of situation, instead rely on God Himself. For He is ever faithful-no matter what!

And if we do, we will come out the other side. We will re-find the joy we once had. We just have to keep praying, even when we don’t feel like it!

Joy In Times Of Great Trouble

“13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”- Romans 15:13

Yesterday, “Good Deeds and God’s Love” was posted. And it is so true. So often I have received far more joy than I think I could ever give when doing a kindness for another. That is part of how we are able to feel Joy, even in times of Great Trouble. Thinking of the “other guy”, Doing for the “other guy” often takes us out of our own troubles to a place of Happiness and Peace. It’s called “Loving Thy Neighbor”, a command that Jesus was so wise to give-in more ways than one 🙂

There is another place that Joy comes from in Times of Great Trouble, and that is the Holy Spirit. We are filled with the Holy Spirit. In the Bible, we are referred to as “Temples” of the Holy Spirit. But we often fail to ask the Holy Spirit for Help. God sent His Holy Spirit to us to be our Comforter and Friend. God our Father loves us, and so does His Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit can lift us out of our suffering and can give us great joy, even in Times of Great Trouble. The kind of joy that makes us feel like dancing . Joy that makes it impossible not to move. To sing and to dance. And although our circumstances may not change, how we feel might 🙂

The Holy Spirit can be our Great Comforter – if we ask Him in Jesus’ Name ?

Good Deeds and God’s Love

A friend sent me this, had to share 🙂

With all the chaos, violence, unrest, disease, fear taking place in the world today, one does not find good deeds and God’s Love being shown in the news very much. Truly, good deeds and God’s Love are happening MUCH more than all the bad news and evil put together. Acts of kindness and generosity come in SO many different forms.

God’s Love IS also reflected in SO many different ways. Both have the ability to touch us VERY deeply and stick in our memories and spirit, that makes sometimes even small gestures of kindness and sharing God’s Love, a powerful and lasting force in our lives. IS it not inspiring to witness someone, going out of their way to help someone else who has needs? IS it not also inspiring to witness someone sharing God’s Love openly and without shame or hesitation? Good deeds and God’s Love have no age limit or restrictions.

One may clearly see that in the generosity of very young people, especially in their imagination of ways to help others. Sometimes one may receive God’s Blessings, in their darkest hour, when looking for hope.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “One of the most beautiful compensations in life is that no man can help another without helping himself.” Goodness and God’s Love have a way of coming back. One doesn’t have to do good deeds or share God’s Love for a return. It just happens.

The lessons out of good deeds and God’s Love remain to inspire everyone to do the same. God’s Light stands out as His Beacon for others to follow. United together, with our Heavenly Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we are stronger. Evil attempts to disrupt this Union of faith by clever and widespread scams, that are making God’s Children distrust each other more than ever. ALWAYS go to God for His Direction, to reach out and help others, whether in needs or sharing Him. Do NOT hesitate in action, when His Holy Spirit stirs your heart. Praying with someone or for someone, who may be scared or worried about their future, is VERY important too.

Live to give!!

When the time comes, which side do you want to be on?

“³Those who are wise^[a] will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.”

Daniel 12, verse 3 KJV

When the time comes, which side do you want to be on?

Seasons of Conflict: Stand Up For Christ!

A friend sent me this, just had to share 🙂

“There are seasons of prosperity and adversity, victory and defeat. God’s children need to fervently pray in ALL seasons with ALL prayer. Paul’s communication to the believers in Ephesus, of how even though the Christian is blessed with all spiritual blessings in Christ, spiritual warfare is still the daily experience of believers in the world. “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication.” (Ephesians 6:18)

The same is true regarding the “inalienable rights” described in the Declaration of Independence. John Dickinson, a Pennsylvania Quaker and signer of the U.S. Constitution, wrote in the same year of the Constitution’s adoption: “Kings or parliaments could not give the rights essential to happiness — we claim them from a higher source — from the King of Kings and the Lord of all the Earth. They are not annexed to us by parchments or seals. They are created in us by the decrees of Providence, which establish the laws of our nature. They are born with us; and cannot be taken from us by any human power.”

Evil constantly attempts to take from God’s Children their God-given rights. Prayer is to be added, to those whom believe in God, to the Whole Armor of God when they go into battle against evil. The Christian soldier, if they fight to win, must pray fervently and continually. Only in this way are they able to defeat evil and his many agents. To pray on ALL occasions IS the Divine Direction from our Heavenly Father given to ALL Christ’s soldiers. Have you noticed, that evil will keep testing and stretching its tent to cover good in darkness?

SO, the question simply is, “Are you a Christian soldier, standing up and fighting to win against evil or NOT and just standing by with no resistance?” Evil will do its best to create fear and doubt, that you do nothing, allowing evil to advance its agenda.

Enough IS enough! Stand up for Christ!!”

People All Over The World Love Our Lord Jesus Christ

It’s such an enouragement to me when I see all these videos. Turn on the news, and one might easily be convinced that there are only a few Christians left. But nothing could be further from the truth. There are people all over this world who love our Lord Jesus Christ-and are not afraid to say so. Much is often said about “standing up for what is right”, the need to have “courage”. Perhaps this is where we start. Honor our Lord Jesus Christ and share Him with others-no matter what 🙂

And remember, courage is not the absence of fear, it’s the facing of it!

Real Freedom!

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” 2 Corinthians 3:16 NIV

In a time when so many of us are faced with what looks like a loss of freedom, it’s good to be reminded that our real freedom, our true freedom, comes from the Lord.

God IS Merciful!

Sometimes, perhaps always lol, the Bible just says it better 🙂

“For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward them that fear Him.

As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

Like as a father pities His children, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.

For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.

As for man, his days are as grass; as a flower in the field, so he flourishes. For the wind passes over it; and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know no more.

But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear Him, and His righteousness unto children’s children.“

Pslam 103 11-17 KJV

Freedom & Choices!

A friend of mine sent this, just had to share 🙂

“ALL of God’s Children are given choices between good and evil. This IS the way that God created us. Our Heavenly Father did not want “robots” to perform without thoughts or feelings.

He made us in His Own Image. He feels what we feel. He knows EVERYTHING about us, every intricate detail. He IS our Maker and each of us made to be unique. He also knew that giving us the ability, to make our own choices, would eventually take us to sin. God’s Mercy and Grace gave His Only Son, Jesus Christ to be our choice of Redemption, our Salvation, our Hope, through His Suffering, death, and Resurrection! Truly, His Love for His Children knows no boundary!

By accepting Jesus Christ, as our personal Lord and Savior, asking Him to come into our hearts, receiving His Holy Spirit and being Born Again, what does this really allow us? FREEDOM! Freedom from worry, fear of tomorrow, evils, and the material wants of the body.

Does this mean evil will no longer try to tempt and bombard us with fiery darts of doubt and pain? NO! Truly, it means we have a choice to attempt to take on all these things on our own (i.e. which we will surely fail) OR give our trials and tribulations to our Father in heaven to combat with us.

Worry means being drawn in different directions, distracted, anxious, disturbed, and upset in spirit. Jesus had warned against this very thing in the Sermon on the Mount. “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’….. For your Heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:31-34) Jesus was trying to show His people the true secret of a quiet mind, freedom from anxiety and unnecessary worry. Tomorrow’s evils were not to be considered. Our Lord was teaching the great lessons of complete and childlike trust and confidence in God.

Before we make choices on this earth, would it not be wise to take them to our Lord in fervent prayer and ask Him to send His Holy Spirit, to Guide and Direct us in His Will and Purpose? OH, how much grief and evil this would lift from us!! “

Covid 19 & Dieing

There’s been a lot written lately about the sadness of people dieing alone from Covid 19. And while it is incredibly hard not to be able to be with those we love when they pass, the truth is, as you know, no one dies alone. Because Jesus is with them :).

We live in extraordinary times and in these extraordinary times, Jesus may indeed give those we love extraordinary comfort, because He loves us 🙂