Author: Faith

“God’s people will have the Light of the Lord Jesus shining upon them in the midst of great darkness.  Sometimes the only light there is, is the Light of Jesus that the Christian shines forth”

In Isaiah 60, it speaks of a time when “darkness shall cover the earth”.  And it goes on to say that Jesus will “come and shine a great light”.  There will be times in the coming days, where Christians feel under attack.  Indeed this has already happened for many.  But we need not fear.

If “war is at the door, Jesus won”.

But in Isaiah, we also learn that the light of Jesus is IN us, and we need to share that light with others.  So in a time where many will not even listen to the Word of God, how can we reach out to them?  With acts of kindness.  Smile at someone, give someone who needs it a mask or cleaning supplies, say a few words of encouragement to others, brings groceries to someone in need…

Because our acts of kindness may be all they ever see of our Lord Jesus Christ.  ?

You can read more of the Bible Study on Isaiah 60 here: “God’s people will have the Light of the Lord Jesus shining upon them in the midst of the great darkness. Sometimes the only light there is, is the Light of Jesus that the Christian shines forth”

“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”-Matthew 3:11 NIV version

How do human beings go to Heaven?  They go through the forgiveness of God through His Son Jesus Christ.  In other words, they go to Heaven if they accept Jesus’ great gift of Salvation before they die.  For like any gift, to enjoy all of its benefits, we have to accept it ?

Often, I hear people wondering if they have to be baptized in water in order to go to Heaven, but the truth is the minute we accept Jesus as our Savior, we are born again in the Holy Spirit.  It is that which saves us and brings us to Heaven.

So how important is it to be publicly baptized with water?  It’s really important, but not necessary for Salvation. So if you know someone who is sick, or someone who can not get to a church, do not fear.Each person is saved the moment they accept Jesus as their Savior. 

For those who wonder, being baptized publicly in water is important too.  In the tradition of John the Baptist, It’s one way of letting others know that we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and that we have been born again in the Holy Spirit.  And whether one is immersed in water or sprinkled with water does not matter.  It is the dying to ourselves and being born again in the Holy Spirit that counts.

What does matter is our commitment to actively follow Jesus for the rest of our lives.  That matters-a lot. 🙂

In the Old Testament, we see time and again that God sometimes allowed nations that behaved badly to suffer.  Immoral behavior, sexual misconduct, and crimes against the innocent were just a few of the sins God judged these nations guilty of.  And some nations not only accepted these behaviors, they promoted them. And sometimes these nations were punished for their misdeeds.

Should we not be asking, where is American in all of this? 

Happy Father’s Day God!

So often we think of our own fathers or our husbands.  They work so hard and give so much!  And they love us so much! Without them, our lives would not be the same and we are all really grateful that they love us so!  It is good that there is a day set aside to honor them all and it gives us all the opportunity to show our appreciation for all that they do!

But there’s another Father that we also think of on this special day.  God.  We think of how much He loves us.   How much He has done for us.  And how much He has sacrificed.  When Jesus died on the Cross for us, He suffered too – so that we might go to Heaven and be a part of His Family Forever.

I can’t even imagine watching my son or daughter suffer as Jesus did.  I don’t think I could.  And as much as I love them, God loves them even more.  Can you imagine how much He must have loved His perfect, wonderful, amazing Son Jesus Christ?  And yet He watched Him suffer horrifically because He loved us, His children, too.  How Blessed we truly are and what an awesome Father we have in our Lord!

So Happy Father’s Day God, and thank you.  Truly, there is not a day that does by that we are not grateful for your Grace, Goodness and Love!  ?

I saw this at Wrightsville Beach shortly before the Pandemic started. And as if that was not enough, the riots soon followed… And although it’s not been reported nearly as much, China has been busy taking advantage of it all. Whether they intended harm, or whether they are just taking advantage of our country’s distraction, only God knows.

But that’s kind of the point :). Jesus knows all that has happened and all that will happen. And He knows something that we need to hold onto during these difficult days-

Jesus already won. Which means we did too 🙂

In the difficult times in which we live, life often seems unfair.  But God is always fair.  God is the one place you can go today and every day, and be assured that He will treat you with love and with fairness.  His Grace is always here for us. 

He never leaves us, although sometimes we leave Him, He always welcomes us back. Because God is always Faithful, even when we are not.

Because God loves us no matter what, and that is more than fair ?

We live in difficult times, and for some confusing ones.  Times that are not unlike the beginning of Nazi Germany.  During those times, people saw that wrong was being done, but they were afraid to speak up.  They were afraid to stand against it.   And as time went by, some even forgot there was a very real difference between right and wrong.  And as they slid down the slippery slope of relativism (where there is no absolute right and wrong), their fear of retaliation led them to do some horrifically evil things.

Flash forward to today, the times we currently live in.  There can be no doubt that evil is being made to appear good and good evil.  We used to know that harming another human being was wrong-no matter why it was done.  We used to know that destroying someone else’s property was just plain wrong.  We used to know that marches to support Satanism weren’t just wrong, they were dangerous!

But it appears that as a nation, we don’t know that anymore.  So what can we do?  What should we do?  First, we need to pray to the Holy Spirit that we will ALWAYS see the Truth in the world around us.  Not a truth, but THE truth. 

And then we need to ask the Holy Spirit for the courage to share THE truth with others…

And when we are afraid, we need to remember that this is not our home, Heaven IS ?

There is a line in the song “Here Now”, that says:  “Faith makes a fool of what makes sense”.  If we think about it, that is very true today.  How often do we see the world go one way and our faith calls us to go another way?  And how often do we see some in the media or some elected officials appear to make fun of those who are devoted to following Christ? In the current times in which we live,they would almost seem to “make sense”.

And yet, in the end, faith will make a “fool of them” all.  For in the end not only is the path following Christ the right one-it’s the only one.  Many will find that out when it is too late.

Thank God that we found it out in time ?

Today is Monday, and with it comes all of Monday’s troubles and worries.  But God will protect us and provide for us, because He loves us!

Take a moment and Read Psalm 91: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+91&version=ESV

So hang in there today.  Smile at someone.  Give a word of encouragement to someone.  Most of all, give yourself a break.  God’s With You, and God’s Got You ?

Speaking the truth can be very difficult. Sometimes, it’s hard to tell someone the Truth. Especially when that truth may be something they don’t want to hear!

In Ezekiel 33, verse 9, it says, “But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, that person shall die in his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.” (ESV version)

We are called to tell the Truth and to share the joy of the Gospel with others. Sometimes people don’t want to hear it. Or sometimes we see someone we love doing a great wrong, they don’t want to hear it either.

But that does not mean we don’t need to share it. Here is one thing that may help. Make sure you are sharing the Truth out of love and with love. The kind of unselfish love that God has for us! And in order to share that kind of love, we need to know that person and love them! We need to care for them and for their well-being. Are they hungry? Unhappy? In need of medical care?

Missionaries succeed so well, because they know that addressing these types of needs show the person that they really care about their well-being. By showing them that they truly care about their well-being on earth, they open the door to being able to show they care about their well-fare in the next life 🙂

So take a moment and share what you have. Perhaps it’s a meal, perhaps it’s your time or perhaps it’s the warmth of your smile. Whatever it is, God says – it’s enough. And if God says it is – it is 🙂