Author: Theresa

We should forgive otheres because Christ forgave us. And we should forgive others because Our Father wants us too. And we should forgive others because it helps us 🙂

“and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” – Matthew 6:12

But our Lord in His wisdom also wants us to forgive others because it is the only way our hurt will begin to heal so that one day we can let go of our pain completely. For the longer we hold on to the hurt and anger, no matter how justified, the longer we hurt.

Some people think that forgiving someone means an immedicate sessation of pain and/or anger. But forgiveness is not a feeling, it’s a choice.

And once we make that choice, a next step to take in healing our own pain, is to pray for that person. The more we pray for them; the more that we will find that the heaviness that lays on our heart will lift and the easier it will become to forgive.

And as our forgiveness grows, so will God’s Grace. And our pain will fade until one day it is gone 🙂

“To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts”-Hebrews 3:15

So often we think of this verse, and we forget it applies to us! In order not to “harden our hearts”, we must be willing to feel not only the happy feelings that life brings, but the sad and hurtful ones too.

The joy of holding your baby; the sadness of watching the children who are suffering so horrifically in Ukraine. The warmth of a hug, the heart wrenching that comes when we see an elderly person suffer.

We are commanded to love God with all of our heart and soul, and our neighbor as ourselves-all of them. And that means we have to be willing to feel the good and the bad, because that is something that love commands.

So if we are to love God, we must not “harden not our heart”. We must be willing to be persistant in our prayer lives, but we must also be willing to accept when God says “no”, or “not yet”. And when we love others, we must be willing to accept the good and the bad-and love them anyway 🙂

“We celebrate their heart beat!  They are not forgotten” – Not Forgotten, Phil Cody & Cody Ray Love.

Let there be no doubt, abortion is wrong and it is murder!

“Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.” -Psalms 127:3

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.” – Matthew 18:10

“Vengeance is mine” – Deuteronomy 32:35

America stands at a Cross Roads.  Pray that we make the right turn.  Pray for God’s Children, born and unborn.  And pray and for the Supreme Court Justices who are under such horrific attack.  And pray for those who would commit mayhem and violence in the name of all that is evil.  For perhaps it is they who need our prayers most of all!

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”-Hebrews 11:1

Someone once asked, “is God still in he business of doing miracles?” He is! God always has been and He always will be 🙂

But we, my friends, can be out of practice in seeing them. Practice? The more faith we have; the more we see God’s Miracles. The more we recognize them 🙂

One helpful step in building our faith in God’s Miracles is to keep a journal of them. That way, on days when we struggle, we can look back and be reminded of God’s great love for us 🙂

A person who had great faith is Mary. There is a reason God chose Mary to be Jesus’ Mother and that is one of them. And her great faith led her to do anything and everything that God Willed!

And although there were days that were filled with Joy, there were also days that were filled with great Pain. But Mary never wavered. Her faith in God remained strong and sure. A guiding light in her life, her faith allowed her to follow God where others would not.

It is our faith that allows us to see the great miracles that God gives to us-everyday! Faith such as that is a Gift from God. And yet it is so simple to obtain faith like that, all we need to do is ask God for it, and God is so happy when we do 🙂

“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts”- Hebrews 3:15

“And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold”-Matthew 24:12

And we all know how much Jesus loves children. For more on that, read Matthew Chapter 18.

Azovstal steel plant wanted to evacuate their civilians.  But according to one article, there were a 1,000 civilians and only 100 were evacuated.  Still another article said that only 1 bus out of the 3 buses made it.  Today, the Mayor of Mariupol said in a Fox News article that the “evacuees never arrived”.  Children, Mothers, the elderly and the wounded…  All suffering horrifically!  All hungry!  All in need of care!

And yet, America fails to really act!

There was a time in this country in which every heart would ache for each of those suffering.  And the vast majority of our country would pray for them.  And we would all be crying with one voice—that we should save them.

Without a doubt, there are many Americans that do care. But as a nation, we have failed to do what we should. Sadly, America is shrinking. We are not the courageous and selfless City on a Hill that we once were. The “Americans are coming” used to be a cry that heartened nations and inspired hope…Now it creates doubt and mistrust.

The politics of the Russian-Ukraine war do not matter.  What matters is that a child cries at night, cold and hungry, scared and alone.  God’s child. And our nation has failed to act as it should. Our nation has “hardened it’s Heart”.

There is another choice and God has given us the time to make it. Love God and Love Our Neighbor more than ourselves.  The choice is before us; given to us by God Himself. Pray!

Judges 6:12 And the angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him, The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor!

The below devotion was written by George Whitten for Worthy Devotionals. Worthy Devotionals are wonderful and have taught me so much! You can sign up for them here :).

“Judges 6 begins with an angel talking to Gideon saying, “thou mighty man of valor!” However, in this passage Gideon isn’t feeling very valiant — he’s consumed with his circumstances — how poor his family is and how he’s the least of his fathers’ house. He doesn’t feel he’s done anything worthy of being called valiant, yet the angel still addresses him “mighty man of valor!”

Gideon is not the only one who struggles with feeling unvaliant, though, is he? Even the best of us struggle with feelings of failure and defeat. But we must remember that we are part of the Lord’s army — and in the Lord’s army, we do not depend upon our own strength. We depend upon the power of the Lord! We depend upon the victory that He has already won!

Imagine the countless thousands of saints like Gideon who have passed away before us and now sit in heaven’s glory where every tear is dried, and every wound is healed — who have already fought the battle of life and are calling down to us from heaven saying “Fellow Saint, you can get through this thing! Fight this battle — for we have fought these same battles in our lives and been rewarded with heaven’s glory! So fight through and we’ll see you soon beside us! March forward you mighty man and woman of valor!”

The Lord stands eagerly anxiouly awaiting our call. He wants us to walk in His power, not our own! Let’s give him our circumstances today and strive to rely on His strength to conquer them!”

“When the walls are closing in, You will make a way” -Makers, Woodlands Worship

America was THE City on the Hill.  God’s Gift to the world, it once was all that was good in this world.  Millions came here, not just to make money, but to BE American.  They wanted to learn English, because they wanted to BE American.

God didn’t just Bless our nation, He Blessed it Greatly.  He poured His Holy Spirit into it and we were so very grateful.  God wasn’t just welcome in the public square; God was the public square.  We passed our laws  with God in mind and applied them equally to each person.

Although we were founded as a Christian nation, we had a deep respect for those of all faiths and honored everyone’s right to worship as they chose.  We have and will always share a special bond for those of Jewish faith for they share so much with us ? And such was born the Jewish-Christian Heritage upon which many of our laws are based on.

We believed in freedom, faith and family.  And especially freedom of speech.  For the minute we try to take someone else’s freedom, we loose our own!

And that Freedom, that Freedom was given to us by God Himself!

We are not that nation anymore, nor are we a world leader!  To be that kind of nation takes faith and courage, and our nation does not have that anymore.  It takes caring about someone else more than ourselves.  It takes a willingness to do the Will of God, instead of our own.  Many Americans may still have that kind of faith, but our nation does not, but it could again!

The choice is ours, given to us by God Himself!

“² And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” – Romans 12:2

When one looks around our earthly world, it is hard not to be discouraged. Wars and rumours of wars, poverty, disease and just pure evil seem to fill the headlines these days. And even worse, much of it seems to be brought about by human hands. But although we may be “in this world”, we are “not of it”!

We, each one of us, need to focus our eyes and hearts on God. And keep them there :). The coming days may be ugly, but we can see the beauty of the world that is awaiting us -if we focus on it.

God wants to help us do that! And we can :). So choose your TV and music carefully. Take your children out of public school. There are plenty of educational options now! Pray -with others and alone with God, stayed focused on God :). And immerse yourselves in God’s world. It’s waiting for you and your family. And the Joy & Peace that “surpasses all understanding” will fill your hearts – despite all that is happening in our world!

God’s True Safe Space is waiting for you and yours. And it is the only “safe space” that truly works! 🙂